Charity that made loan to AAR must repay city; loses city funding

[fred flintstone]

RadioDailyNews.com

A Bronx charity will pay the city back $625,000 that had been intended for children and the elderly but was improperly lent to Air America Radio (read more - NY Times)

The New York Times reports that $625,000 of $875,000 the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club "loaned" to AAR will go back to the city. AAR had put the $875,000 it received two years ago into an escrow account as the state and city investigations were underway. The club will be able to use the balance for charitable activities but has lost its city contracts and funding (at one time accounting for 80 per cent of their budget).

 

[1q2w3e]

Can you imagine the uproar that would have happened if Rush, or Hannity or any right wing talker would have done this???

The double standard lives on strong! : : :

RadioDailyNews.com

A Bronx charity will pay the city back $625,000 that had been intended for children and the elderly but was improperly lent to Air America Radio (read more - NY Times)

The New York Times reports that $625,000 of $875,000 the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club "loaned" to AAR will go back to the city. AAR had put the $875,000 it received two years ago into an escrow account as the state and city investigations were underway. The club will be able to use the balance for charitable activities but has lost its city contracts and funding (at one time accounting for 80 per cent of their budget).

 

[fred flintstone]

Can you imagine the uproar that would have happened if Rush, or Hannity or any right wing talker would have done this???

The double standard lives on strong! : : :

What double-standard? There was an uproar. Maybe you missed it. Where have you been?

 

[1q2w3e]

Can you imagine the uproar that would have happened if Rush, or Hannity or any right wing talker would have done this???

The double standard lives on strong! : : :

What double-standard? There was an uproar. Maybe you missed it. Where have you been?

What uproar (other than a few blogs)?

I stand by my statement.

 

[fred flintstone]

What uproar (other than a few blogs)?

I stand by my statement.

Stand wherever you want. The story I posted was from the New York Times. All three major New York dailies did multiple stories on this over a period of several weeks until an agreement was reached.. Two of them - the Daily News and the Post - generated so much "uproar" that they were accused on this board of right-wing bias. Between AAR's launch and AAR losing their lease on WLIB, this was about the only mention of AAR in the Times.

The story also received considerable ink in radio industry trade publications.

Joseph Goebbels was right: Repeat lies enough and people will believe them. So, you just keep standing by your statement.

I stand by this statement: You don't know what the _____ you are talking about.

 

[dampier]

Can you imagine the uproar that would have happened if Rush, or Hannity or any right wing talker would have done this???

The double standard lives on strong! : : :

It sounds like good oversight is now punishing an organization that shouldn't have made the loan in the first place. There was an uproar, and there remains one to this day on Fox News and on a few blog sites. Of course, the failed attempt to link this loan deal as some sort of criminal activity on the part of AAR failed as the talking point narrative to run hit pieces on AAR only passed the sniff test on the right wing sites.

The truth is, this loan was authorized by Evan Cohen, former CEO of AAR who was out within the first month (and who also had involvement in the Gloria Wise group). AAR/Piquant, which now runs AAR, had no involvement in the loan except in repaying it in full because they felt obligated to do so morally after Cohen was out.

The lie the right tries to pass off is that AAR talent (Al Franken notably) had some involvement in this financial matter. They didn't, no matter how many dollar bills people like Brian Baloney try to drop on Franken's head in his "cartoons."

In the end, this news item is about a charitable organization and its dealings with the city of New York. That AAR was brought into it is a very minor side issue.

 

[fred flintstone]

Phil, it was a bit more than a "moral" obligation. It was a legal obligation, which Piquant assumed (along with other assets and liabilities) when it purchased the company.

And this "loan" did not involve, in any way, any of their following (or their predecessors, successors or assignees):
Jones Radio
Stephanie Miller, KTLK and WYD Media
Ed Schultz, KFGO and P1 Media
Lionel, WOR Networks and Buckley Broadcasting
Clear Channel Radio or the operators of any progressive talk station outside New York.

In other words, the real radio and business people involved in progressive talk radio.

 

[dampier]

Phil, it was a bit more than a "moral" obligation. It was a legal obligation, which Piquant assumed (along with other assets and liabilities) when it purchased the company.

Show me where there is a legal finding suggesting that. Even the NY DOI did not find AAR/Piquant was legally responsible for the loan. In fact, Baloney himself made a big deal out of that because, he claimed, AAR's reorganization into the Piquant entity was done partly to avoid responsibility for the loan. In fact, it was Cohen's deal and that was what got the DOI started in the first place. It's been awhile, but the way the papers were drawn up, AAR for whatever reason did not directly assume that liability legally - it may have had to do with the separation agreement Cohen signed and something to do with a delayed repayment schedule. Cohen, who had a position of authority at Gloria Wise was the one who suggested and pushed for the loan of money from that organization to AAR, which he was CEO of at the time. That is the mother of all conflicts of interest, and it was that issue alone which started the ball rolling, to determine if public money was misappropriated at Cohen's direction from B&G to AAR.

However, the DOI did agree with AAR's statement that it had a moral obligation, and the two parties together structured the escrow account to protect that asset.

In other words, the real radio and business people involved in progressive talk radio.

I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

 

[fred flintstone]

In other words, the real radio and business people involved in progressive talk radio.

I have no idea what that is supposed to mean.

This whole business is typical public sector wheeling-dealing behavior.
AAR has operated like a public sector organization all along - not like a business.
Let's hope the progressive talk format can survive AAR's incompetence.

 

[Legend City]

Can you imagine the uproar that would have happened if Rush, or Hannity or any right wing talker would have done this???

The double standard lives on strong! : : :





Yep, it would be front page news, on the cover of Time and Newsqueak.

AAR gets a pass, this never made mainstream media, I wonder why.......................?

 

[fred flintstone]

Yep, it would be front page news, on the cover of Time and Newsqueak.

AAR gets a pass, this never made mainstream media, I wonder why.......................?

Bull. Was Rush's drug bust on the cover of Time or Newsweek?

Boy, without Rush to tell you what to think, righties don't have a clue. Before you comment on Time and Newsweek, maybe you should try reading them sometime (in private, so nobody sees your lips move).

 

[evnlee]

The truth is, this loan was authorized by Evan Cohen, former CEO of AAR who was out within the first month (and who also had involvement in the Gloria Wise group). AAR/Piquant, which now runs AAR, had no involvement in the loan except in repaying it in full because they felt obligated to do so morally after Cohen was out.

I love it. Anyone remember the all consuming worship of Evan Cohen in the preceeding months to AAR's first broadcast? The fawning media blitz? The wonderous predicitions of monetary stability and soon to be showcased talent?

Good thing Cohen is there to take the fall for these bumbling myrmidons. Here's the most shocking revelation: AAR and it's cheerleading section got suckered by a former GOP-like politico from Guam. What a crew of foolish clowns

 

[fred flintstone]

I love it. Anyone remember the all consuming worship of Evan Cohen in the preceeding months to AAR's first broadcast? The fawning media blitz? The wonderous predicitions of monetary stability and soon to be showcased talent?

Good thing Cohen is there to take the fall for these bumbling myrmidons. Here's the most shocking revelation: AAR and it's cheerleading section got suckered by a former GOP-like politico from Guam. What a crew of foolish clowns

No! As a matter of fact, I don't remember it. I do remember a lot of very skeptical it-will-never-work articles, quoting the usual suspects of talk radio. I don't remember fawning. And I don't remember anybody even mentioning Evan Cohen at the time.

Do you have specific examples? Or is this another instance where righties make up stories about how the media is soooooo biased against them, which get endlessly repeated until real people who don't know any better start believing them?

 

[dampier]

I love it. Anyone remember the all consuming worship of Evan Cohen in the preceeding months to AAR's first broadcast? The fawning media blitz? The wonderous predicitions of monetary stability and soon to be showcased talent?

Good thing Cohen is there to take the fall for these bumbling myrmidons. Here's the most shocking revelation: AAR and it's cheerleading section got suckered by a former GOP-like politico from Guam. What a crew of foolish clowns

I was sitting right here in this forum before AAR went on the air. Nobody spoke of Evan Cohen or knew who he was. There was no golden chariot in the press or on these online pages for him. Nobody cared about the management of AAR. What we got instead was attention paid to the radio personalities on the station and the concept of libtalk itself. And from the moment it looked like it was signing on it was attack, attack, attack. Even before AAR signed on, some two bit #19 talk show host from Philadelphia was yelling on Paula Zahn's show on CNN to Randi Rhodes (who was #1 in Palm Beach) that "nobody wanted to listen to liberal talk."

And the supposition that the media "fawned" over AAR is also ridiculous. In addition to the myriad of articles in the right wing press which, to this very day, still attack it as often as they did in 2004, almost all of the press coverage came at the network launch because, imagine this, it was NEWSWORTHY. An actual panoply of liberal talk shows launching on a network which had never been done in a series of major markets before. It was new. It was different. It was NEWS.

As if Rush Limbaugh never got attention in the media -- guest shots on major Sunday talk shows, his own television show (and a guest host stint on a late night show), his appearance on sports networks... et al. That hundreds of "me-too" conservative talk shows don't get national attention may be because they are doing the same things that are already on talk radio, so what makes that news?

Cohen was one of those self-promoting blowhards that needed to sit with so many other corporate executives in some ethnics in business classes. But AAR was smart enough to toss him out after the first month and had to cover for his shady loan deal. At least AAR didn't stick it to the little guys, like so many other corporations in this country do.

 

[fred flintstone]

Current Bunch Is Not Much Better

Cohen was one of those self-promoting blowhards that needed to sit with so many other corporate executives in some ethnics in business classes. But AAR was smart enough to toss him out after the first month and had to cover for his shady loan deal. At least AAR didn't stick it to the little guys, like so many other corporations in this country do.

Agreed, just the kind political/public sector types seem so often to hire.
And the current bunch is not much of an improvement over Cohen and Company. AAR still suffers from high turn-over (and and off the air), shaky finances and a poor to mediocre programming. The format is not growing and within the format, AAR is losing clearances. The current crew of the Titanic is not even rearranging the deck chairs; mostly they are trying to claim there ain't no iceberg.

FTR: The Gloria Wise thing had not come out when Cohen left. He got fired because checks were bouncing, not because of his "ethics."

 

[evnlee]

Nobody spoke of Evan Cohen or knew who he was. There was no golden chariot in the press or on these online pages for him. Nobody cared about the management of AAR.....Cohen was one of those self-promoting blowhards that needed to sit with so many other corporate executives in some ethnics in business classes. But AAR was smart enough to toss him out after the first month and had to cover for his shady loan deal. At least AAR didn't stick it to the little guys, like so many other corporations in this country do.

Wow. That's some impresive spin, Phil!

Hate to burst y'alls bubble here, but you really need to re-watch 'Left of the Dial', the HBO documentary taping the run up to the start of AAR.

So much was made of Evan Cohen's 'brain cancer recovery' that turned him into a "progressive" that Wikipedia put it in his bio!

And here's a little snippet from HBO's synopsis of the film:

" Offering an intimate look at rehearsals with the celebrated public faces of Air America - including author-comedian Al Franken, outspoken radio veteran Randi Rhodes, and comedian-actress Janeane Garofalo - LEFT OF THE DIAL reveals the nervous expectations of investors who staked their careers on the network. Among them are Evan Cohen, Air America's chairman, and David Goodfriend, who becomes Air America's general counsel. Cautiously optimistic, Cohen observes, "If we succeed, we'll succeed fabulously, but if we fail, at least we'll fail spectacularly."


In the days before launch, the energy picks up amidst a whirlwind of photo shoots, CNN sound bites, the creation of marketing/PR materials, and delivery of the hot-off-the-presses New York Times Magazine featuring Al Franken on the cover - a publicity coup and implicit endorsement.

With Air America facing severe financial problems, and the conservative media reporting every minute of its travails, Cohen abruptly disappears, leaving Goodfriend and the network's executive producer, Carl Ginsburg, in the lurch. Silent investor Doug Kreeger steps up to take a more active role in the venture, navigating the staff through a crisis when employees temporarily lose their health benefits. Eventually, Cohen signs over his interest in Air America, and Goodfriend resigns, feeling betrayed by his good friend. "



Now maybe they werent throwing Cohen's name around on these boards, but watch the movie again. You will see Cohen doing most of the talking to the media. Just because you progressives didn't know who Cohen was until he screwed you doesn't mean he was put out there as the 'answer man' for the liberal network. And I'm not even going to respond to your ridiculous 'they didn't screw the little guy' analogy. I'll let some others explain to you how incorrect that statement is again. :

 

[fred flintstone]

The HBO movie shown about a year after AAR launched.

At the time, as Phil pointed out, they did "personality profiles" but nothing about Evan Cohen. And a story in the Sunday Magazine is not an "explict endorsement" - except in your own head. They've had Bush on the cover, too. Was that an endorsement?

Wow. That's some impresive spin, Phil!

I praise from one who knows all about spin. :

 

[evnlee]

The HBO movie shown about a year after AAR launched.

At the time, as Phil pointed out, they did "personality profiles" but nothing about Evan Cohen. And a story in the Sunday Magazine is not an "explict endorsement" - except in your own head. They've had Bush on the cover, too. Was that an endorsement?

Wow. That's some impresive spin, Phil!

I praise from one who knows all about spin. :

The movie was shot prior to AAR's launch, and chronicled Cohen's many media appearances. If you or Phil have a problem with HBO's synopsis ( not mine ) you should take it up with them.

Fred, Phil, watch the movie again. Then get back to me about how Cohen was 'in the shadows'. Nothing could be further from the truth, even if it's smarts a little.

Also, I think your looking for the term 'high praise', Fred

 

[fred flintstone]

The movie was shot prior to AAR's launch, and chronicled Cohen's many media appearances. If you or Phil have a problem with HBO's synopsis ( not mine ) you should take it up with them.

Fred, Phil, watch the movie again. Then get back to me about how Cohen was 'in the shadows'. Nothing could be further from the truth, even if it's smarts a little.

Also, I think your looking for the term 'high praise', Fred

No, the movie was being shot (12 days) before, during and after the launch. I found the documentary weak on both narrative and reporting. It was just the kind of extended candid camera exercise that passes for video journalism in film schools these days.

You're reading a synopsis but you want us to go back and watch the movie?
I read the synopsis. Here is what it says about Evan Cohen:

LEFT OF THE DIAL reveals the nervous expectations of investors who staked their careers on the network. Among them are Evan Cohen, Air America's chairman, and David Goodfriend, who becomes Air America's general counsel. Cautiously optimistic, Cohen observes, "If we succeed, we'll succeed fabulously, but if we fail, at least we'll fail spectacularly." [snip]

With Air America facing severe financial problems, and the conservative media reporting every minute of its travails, Cohen abruptly disappears, leaving Goodfriend and the network's executive producer, Carl Ginsburg, in the lurch. Silent investor Doug Kreeger steps up to take a more active role in the venture, navigating the staff through a crisis when employees temporarily lose their health benefits. Eventually, Cohen signs over his interest in Air America, and Goodfriend resigns, feeling betrayed by his good friend.

That's it. No reference to any media appearances (except for Franken).
The first most anybody heard of Cohen was in the documentary. The next was when the Gloria Wise scandal broke.
Stop making sh__ up.

Your intolerance for any opinions on the radio with which you don't agree is outstanding.

 

[evnlee]

You're reading a synopsis but you want us to go back and watch the movie?
No reference to any media appearances (except for Franken).
The first most anybody heard of Cohen was in the documentary. The next was when the Gloria Wise scandal broke.
Stop making sh__ up.

Your intolerance for any opinions on the radio with which you don't agree is outstanding.

someone is being intolerant here, and his name rhymes with 'sped'

Okay, so Cohen was an unknown and made NO media appearances, right?

oops:

" CNN LIVE TRANSCRIPTS

Today Marks 25th Anniversary Of Three Mile Island Accident; "Air America" Begins Broadcasting This Week; Teacher Investigated For Class Discussion Of Gay Marriage

Aired March 28, 2004 - 18:30 ET
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL FRANKEN, COMEDIAN: If I was friends with Ken Adelman, I'm sure he is a nice Jewish boy.

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Comedian Al Franken couldn't resist. Even the name of his upcoming radio show sounds like a punch line. It's called "The O'Franken Factor," a clear swipe at the conservative Bill O'Reilly show, "The O'Reilly Factor." The creators of "Air America", the country's first self-proclaimed liberal radio network are betting that humor will pull in listeners.

[EDIT]


So, Fred, care to retract? A little google searching and I can find numerous media appearances and interviews with the * ahem * CHAIRMAN of AIR AMERICA RADIO, Evan Cohen! It's just too bad that he's now the 'Foley' of 'progressive news talk'.

You see, I actually watched the documentary and can recall Evan Cohen as being promoted as an honest, passionate investor and knowledgeable purveyor of radio talent.

I don't expect you to step up and admit you were wrong. It doesn't fit the mold. It's usually those that point and scream 'intolerance' thatare that way themselves.

Sorry if the truth hurts, buddy ;D

[EDIT-truncated because substantial citation violates fair use restrictions under radio-info's TOS. In the future please limit your citation of a copyrighted source to one paragraph and please provide the URL as is done so below as a courtesy]

http://archives.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0403/28/sun.03.html