Air America: Phoenix Progressives Back on the Air!
Just in from Phoenician liberal media sources:
You wanted a way to keep AA Phoenix on the air? Well, here it is. Station hosts Mike Newcomb, Jeff Farias and other KXXT alumni have a station with a 10,000 watt signal. The sum for half a year's lease is $500,000 and they're asking liberals to put up the cash.
At the end of the lease term another investor (whose details I'm not disclosing but with which I am familiar and can testify to their being solid gold) will either pick up the lease or buy the station. In either event the upshot will be an Air America Phoenix affiliate station owned and run by liberals for liberals.
What more can I say?
(UPDATE) Here's my dKos post on the same.
(UPDATE 03-07-06) Someone needs to start asking these guys some harder questions. Maybe folks putting in the bigger bucks, maybe the public. Those questions begin with: why do you need $500,000? That's nearly $3K a day. Clearly this is about operating costs but like I said before, liberals supported the last AAP and a lot of the cash went into whose pockets? And in the end, who made out except the rich owner?
Are these really the right guys to support? Are we really just going to belly up to the bar--hearts in hand--again? If we are learning anything doesn't some of it amount to 'just because you're nice doesn't make you right', or 'just because you say you're liberal doesn't make you my kind of liberal'? Hello? "Alito nominations" ring a bell? Are these progressives left enough to be liberal? To talk outside the "big D" democratic box?
I read emails from folks saying things like "I just want my AAP back". Well, I don't. I want a great liberal talk format for the valley and I'm not so willing to give my "pixel" dinero to just anyone. I deserve to have my trust earned. Am I the only one who wants a better station this time?
(UPDATE 03-09-10) I have a bit of the skinny on the doings partly through my association with the M&M Brothers (I did the blog report segment on their Sunday afternoon show) as well as direct chats with Jeff Farias. With Jeff I have more than once now suggested that he and others associated with the new endeavor do the job liberal/progressive (whatever you want to call it) talk in the valley did not get from Christy: a display of their serious commitment to liberals.
Christy made a six-figure salary, true. Goyette was bringing in five and Goyette's engineer was doing okay as well. NO other talent on the show was paid. How do you feel about that? Does that tell you anything? Christy and Goyette are libertarians--that is not a liberal position--it is in some cases as far right as to be anarchist and at least as far right as to be unfettered free-market. Either one, particularly when it leaves all other folks unpaid, is not reflecting the liberal values of which I'm a subscriber. At least one of those values is equity--a stake at the table.
Now, it has been suggested to me that Christy's pay may have included a loan repayment--and I don't know that it didn't--so I am willing to reserve some of my irritation about that salary based on my ignorance of the full situation, but it doesn't have any effect on another of my opinions about the old AAP and the "new" one: the station must be built for longevity for the liberal voice. 'By liberals, for liberals and about liberals', is the way I put it in my first post put up the night the station folded.
I've also been asking Jeff to suggest to all involved that they use this opportunity of raising the new Phoenix AA to use it as an opportunity to model leadership and true liberal values. They can start to do that by creating a page on the site where the non-proprietary business details can be viewed by all. I suggested a mission statement, five-year plan, some details about those involved (like profiles and related background) et al. In short, I'm suggesting (hell, asking) that they treat it like an opportunity to sell the station to potential investors--even when those investors are just average folks with ten dollars they're willing to contribute.
Why? Because among the many factors contributing to the negative stereotype of liberals are these two: lack of business acumen and lack of leadership. The raising of a new AAP gives the liberals involved a very public forum to demonstrate--to us and the valley--liberal skills in both of those areas. After all, who discloses such stuff publicly in a business deal? It's not really done, is it? Hey, maybe it could be an idea (gasp) from "new" liberals--or better yet, an outside-the-box approach from the enduring 'old' ones--wrongly framed as incompetents by valley (and national) Republicans whose sole purpose is to take over, not help--our communities.
In fact liberals/progressives always have been and always will be not only more than competent ( we are exemplary in our abilities) in our commitment to community, in our commitment to *transparency* (so unlike the current Republican culture of corruption). Commitment to the well-being of others is in our progressive DNA. After all, was it the current AAP Phoenix team (Farias/Newcomb, et al) getting the big buck salaries? No. By the way, where are the guys who were? They and Ed Schultz (who has already stated he does not want to participate in the current AAP team) are looking for the financial solution that's right for them--and as far as I know--they still aren't including input from you or me.
I'm a true blue liberal--not an anarchist or a softie rightie. I champion community. I want community in my radio and if not full-bore community radio (which BTW, is always a possibility for those of you so inclined) then at least enough disclosure to know for who and what I'm voting with my pixel dinero. I value myself, my time and frankly, my voice. I don't just want the best for me; I want it for us all. Don't you deserve that kind of commitment from those bringing you media? Then get it.
You wanted a way to keep AA Phoenix on the air? Well, here it is. Station hosts Mike Newcomb, Jeff Farias and other KXXT alumni have a station with a 10,000 watt signal. The sum for half a year's lease is $500,000 and they're asking liberals to put up the cash.
At the end of the lease term another investor (whose details I'm not disclosing but with which I am familiar and can testify to their being solid gold) will either pick up the lease or buy the station. In either event the upshot will be an Air America Phoenix affiliate station owned and run by liberals for liberals.
What more can I say?
(UPDATE) Here's my dKos post on the same.
(UPDATE 03-07-06) Someone needs to start asking these guys some harder questions. Maybe folks putting in the bigger bucks, maybe the public. Those questions begin with: why do you need $500,000? That's nearly $3K a day. Clearly this is about operating costs but like I said before, liberals supported the last AAP and a lot of the cash went into whose pockets? And in the end, who made out except the rich owner?
Are these really the right guys to support? Are we really just going to belly up to the bar--hearts in hand--again? If we are learning anything doesn't some of it amount to 'just because you're nice doesn't make you right', or 'just because you say you're liberal doesn't make you my kind of liberal'? Hello? "Alito nominations" ring a bell? Are these progressives left enough to be liberal? To talk outside the "big D" democratic box?
I read emails from folks saying things like "I just want my AAP back". Well, I don't. I want a great liberal talk format for the valley and I'm not so willing to give my "pixel" dinero to just anyone. I deserve to have my trust earned. Am I the only one who wants a better station this time?
(UPDATE 03-09-10) I have a bit of the skinny on the doings partly through my association with the M&M Brothers (I did the blog report segment on their Sunday afternoon show) as well as direct chats with Jeff Farias. With Jeff I have more than once now suggested that he and others associated with the new endeavor do the job liberal/progressive (whatever you want to call it) talk in the valley did not get from Christy: a display of their serious commitment to liberals.
Christy made a six-figure salary, true. Goyette was bringing in five and Goyette's engineer was doing okay as well. NO other talent on the show was paid. How do you feel about that? Does that tell you anything? Christy and Goyette are libertarians--that is not a liberal position--it is in some cases as far right as to be anarchist and at least as far right as to be unfettered free-market. Either one, particularly when it leaves all other folks unpaid, is not reflecting the liberal values of which I'm a subscriber. At least one of those values is equity--a stake at the table.
Now, it has been suggested to me that Christy's pay may have included a loan repayment--and I don't know that it didn't--so I am willing to reserve some of my irritation about that salary based on my ignorance of the full situation, but it doesn't have any effect on another of my opinions about the old AAP and the "new" one: the station must be built for longevity for the liberal voice. 'By liberals, for liberals and about liberals', is the way I put it in my first post put up the night the station folded.
I've also been asking Jeff to suggest to all involved that they use this opportunity of raising the new Phoenix AA to use it as an opportunity to model leadership and true liberal values. They can start to do that by creating a page on the site where the non-proprietary business details can be viewed by all. I suggested a mission statement, five-year plan, some details about those involved (like profiles and related background) et al. In short, I'm suggesting (hell, asking) that they treat it like an opportunity to sell the station to potential investors--even when those investors are just average folks with ten dollars they're willing to contribute.
Why? Because among the many factors contributing to the negative stereotype of liberals are these two: lack of business acumen and lack of leadership. The raising of a new AAP gives the liberals involved a very public forum to demonstrate--to us and the valley--liberal skills in both of those areas. After all, who discloses such stuff publicly in a business deal? It's not really done, is it? Hey, maybe it could be an idea (gasp) from "new" liberals--or better yet, an outside-the-box approach from the enduring 'old' ones--wrongly framed as incompetents by valley (and national) Republicans whose sole purpose is to take over, not help--our communities.
In fact liberals/progressives always have been and always will be not only more than competent ( we are exemplary in our abilities) in our commitment to community, in our commitment to *transparency* (so unlike the current Republican culture of corruption). Commitment to the well-being of others is in our progressive DNA. After all, was it the current AAP Phoenix team (Farias/Newcomb, et al) getting the big buck salaries? No. By the way, where are the guys who were? They and Ed Schultz (who has already stated he does not want to participate in the current AAP team) are looking for the financial solution that's right for them--and as far as I know--they still aren't including input from you or me.
I'm a true blue liberal--not an anarchist or a softie rightie. I champion community. I want community in my radio and if not full-bore community radio (which BTW, is always a possibility for those of you so inclined) then at least enough disclosure to know for who and what I'm voting with my pixel dinero. I value myself, my time and frankly, my voice. I don't just want the best for me; I want it for us all. Don't you deserve that kind of commitment from those bringing you media? Then get it.
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