Thanks for all the interest: sarcasm and barbs duly recorded. Let me clarify: I found the same stories on Air America that you all mention a couple days ago in Internet searches and by using Factiva, a paid service we use for research. I've asked the Associated Press to move a story and mentioned the interest among some local readers. So far this investigation has been reported as a local story in New York.

To publish stories from other publications, we must have rights to them through the news services to which we subscribe.

I don't feel overly defensive about this, so carry on. There are many, many stories in publications all over America that don't gain national distribution. The advantage of the Internet is that people can find these stories themselves, and of course point them out to us, which you all have.

Admin's note: The comment thread for this post has been deleted edited because of personal attacks against comment posters and false impersonation. Critical appraisal of the N&O is encouraged, but personal attacks are unacceptable.

Comments:

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:13
"So far this investigation has been reported as a local story in New York. "

Really?

The Oregonian, that's a local NY paper is it?

Pittsburgh Tribune Review? Is that published in the Bronx?

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana), that's a Queens based periodical.

Investor's Business Daily: a Staten Island classic.

The Washington Times: Doesn't get any more Brooklyn than that one, not since the Brooklyn Eagle died.

Comment from: Michael [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:15
CJRdaily just "broke" the Air America story... AFTER I tipped off the managing editor, Steve Lovelady, to the story FOUR days ago...

He said in his email reply he hadn't heard of it until I told him of it., and although he thanked me for the tip in his email, the CJR story doesn't credit me for cluing them in...

Some "watchdog" this outfit is!...

We have "editors" who can't "find" news stories.. And watchdogs who can't find the clueless editors on their own!...

And these are the "professional journalists" of the mainstream media!.....

Comment from: Bill Coons [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:16
Dear Ms. Sill,

If the above blog entry is true, I am surprised that a professional writer could have communicated your point so poorly in the earlier post. I have re-read it, and am again left with the focus being that you were unable to locate the story. To read it the other way, I have to parse the message in the same manner that people used to reserve for the pronouncements made by President Clinton.

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:16
Compare this:

"We've checked our news services in recent days and do not find this story"

to this

"I found the same stories on Air America that you all mention a couple days ago in Internet searches and by using Factiva, a paid service we use for research"

I am so confused...

You didn't find the story...but you did.

The story is only "reported as a local story in New York. " yet the papers from Oregon, Pittsburgh, DC and Louisiana all have material on it.

I am so very, very confused.

Please advise.

Comment from: DOUG ZIMMERMAN [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:19
It sure looks like bias reporting and a cover up. I know you will do the right thing in the long run

Comment from: thomas maloney [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:22
I wonder, since air america does broadcast here and recieved favorable coverage at startup, why you don't consider this story news? I also wonder at wether you report news or merely pass on "corporate product"news off wire service and the like. It seems a (greedy) corporation (stealing) borrowing money from a non profit childrens charity is not news worthy? Huh?

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:35
thomas maloney raises an excellent point:

"I wonder, since air america does broadcast here and recieved favorable coverage at startup, why you don't consider this story news? "

The News & Observer did find the time to print some 13, mostly fawning/flattering pieces on Air America in the last year (well, 15 months).

So, you have enough time to tout the happy, cheerful rah rah pieces on Air America, but when it comes to anything even vaguely negative, nope too busy?

Comment from: Mary Evans [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 16:38
The Air America scandal has been reported in the NY Post,NY Sun, NY Daily News as well as other papers across the country such as the Oregonian, Pittsburgh Tribune Investor's Business Daily, Washington Times etc. Shouldn't the N&O be as concerned with the theft of taxpayer dollars as these other news orgs.? Also the fact that Air America is preying on disadvantaged children should make you wish to expose the perpetrators, or does the fact that the thieves are liberals explain your lack of interest in exposing wrong doing? So much for "journalistic integrity!

Comment from: Mary Evans [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 17:02
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Perhaps you would like to know that an article titled: HIDDEN ANGLE in todays Columbia Journalism Review is on the Air America scandal.Why not take a look at it, CJR being lefty to the core should provide cover for the N&O to finally report the story. ALso, I forgot to mention in my previous post that New York City's Dept of Investigation as well as Eliot Spitzer have opened investigations into the matter. Spitzer being a DEM. interested in higher public office, should also assure you that it is okay for the N&O to report the story even though it IS about LIBERAL WRONG DOING>

Comment from: not_one_jot [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 17:14
Well, now that the liberals have joined the discussion, I'm sure that we can expect the quality of comments to improve dramatically (not).

Comment from: ortho [Visitor] · http://myspace.com/knamiproko

08/10/05 at 17:22
Wow, Debra, you nailed it on your bloggy. With all the money wasted on the war, to focus on a couple kids and their fun-money being temporairly misplaced is awful nit-picky.

Comment from: AC [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 17:22
Bill -

I owe you a drink, or perhaps I should say that I ow you s**t for brans conservative looser for a drink?

-AC

Comment from: not_one_jot [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 17:28
Hmmm. Well, I'm sorry to have been proven right so quickly.

Comment from: Reader [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 18:05
Ms. Sill, can you appreciate the irony of your situation? To wit, that you cannot "find" a story that's easily available to anyone who cares to look for it has now become somewhat of a story of its own. Rest assured that when someone from a small town on the other side of the continent from Raleigh hears about it, it's a story. As is the brewing Air America scandal. You readers would be better served if you edited the stories that your reporters cover instead of trying to edit the news, itself. I believe this is a lesson Mary Mapes already learned so editors like yourself wouldn't have to. By the way, there is a big, hot, shiny orange thing that hangs around the sky commonly referred to as the "sun". It has been around since the beginning of time and is known to be fairly important to the survival of life on our planet. If you are interested in confirming it's existence, you need only look up to find it.

Comment from: Bartleby [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 20:00
I just looked on the Drudge Report, and he doesn't have anything on Air America either.

Why is Drudge covering up for his buddy Al Franken? Where is the outrage?

Comment from: me [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 21:52
You must be related to John "FlipFlop" Kerry! Compare this: "We've checked our news services in recent days and do not find this story" to this "I found the same stories on Air America that you all mention a couple days ago in Internet searches and by using Factiva, a paid service we use for research" I am so confused... You didn't find the story...but you did.

Comment from: Anon [Visitor]

08/10/05 at 23:23
I apolog-wise for Gloria-ifying this topic and making fun of poer spellars.

(Sorry, had to do it)

After all, one could find a full time job making the N&O look silly.

Anyone want to take bets it's been years since anyone talked to MS this way?

Or for how long this blog will last?

-AC

Comment from: William Teach [Visitor] · http://www.thepiratescove.us/

08/11/05 at 08:10
Melanie, it shouldn't be about you being defensive. It should be about the N&O getting off the ball and taking a look at what is going on at Air America, which is a nationally syndicated (sort of) radio station. They have an affilliate in Chapel Hill. You will pretty much have to drive up there to listen. Don't expect to hear the broadcast in Raleigh. The money went to the Air America corp, making this an interstate affair.

And the Exempt Media wants to ignore this story, as stated many times, because it would make a liberal look bad. Were this the EIB network (Rush Limbaugh's), the MSM's would be all over it.

Comment from: Donna Remini [Visitor]

08/11/05 at 08:21

Oh, the usual liberal media tricks aren't working?
Can't keep this story under wraps?
What's a girl to do?
I think it is time for you to find another line of work because clearly, you are either completely brain dead or an absolute liar.....

Comment from: Bob Owens [Visitor] · http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

08/11/05 at 13:53
According to Air America's own web site, WCHL-AM 1360 AM is an affiliate that operates out of Chapel Hill, NC.

As the $800,000+ that Air America obtained under potentially illegal circumstances paid for content broadcast by a Triangle area radio station, I would strongly argue that a local angle has been established in North Carolina, not just in New York.

Unless, of course, the Air America affiliate in Chapel Hill runs 100% original content?

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/11/05 at 14:34
On 1/16/05 in a piece entitled "Answers to agenda questions" you made the following comment:

"In all honesty, no. Our front-page picks are based on news value and impact on our readers. This (the indictment of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's former finance director on charges of filing false reports about a campaign fund-raiser) didn't merit Page One play."

Fair enough.

However, let's take a look at what you HAVE put on the front page with respect to Air America.

On March 31, 2004 an A1 front page piece entitled "New liberal network takes on conservative kings of radio" on Air America by James Rosen of your Washington Bureau.

So, apparently you have no problem with reporting on Air America on your front page AND doing your own independent reporting on it when it is a good, positive happy piece. However, when it is not so happy, it doesn't even make it into the paper, much less A1.

But let's continue

On April 15, 2004 an A2 piece entitled "Liberal talk coming after all; WCHL near deal with Air America". Ok, this isn't front page, more like back of front page.

But you have been more than willing to front (section) page a slew of Air America stories, such as April 14, 2005's "A lefty wings it" in NEWS Pg. B1. I see. So Air America was NEWS front page worth in April but now, no?

How about another front (section) page fluff piece on Air America, such as April 10, 2005's "Franken relishes role as agitator; Air America host to do Triangle show" in ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pg. G1? That Al Franken, great copy when you are doing a fawning piece for the A&E section, front page stuff that. But when it comes to allegations about the network he's on? Can't quite seem to find the ink for that...

And least we forget the News & Observer's open love letter to Air America, the April 17, 2004 "The talk of one town" EDITORIAL/OPINION on Pg. A17. That ran 62 words. Funny, that a little over a year later, you cannot muster even 6 words on Air America's woes.

That April, the love affair with News & Observer and Air America was heavy in the air. We had pieces such as "This time, straight talk" in April 13, 2004's LIFE on Pg. E1. Wow, imagine that, yet ANOTHER front (section) page on Air America!

We also got "Liberal radio has its charm" on April 6, 2004's LIFE section and what a surprise it was on Pg. E1. Yet ANOTHER front (section) page!

And how about "Writer at loose ends" the April 1, 2004 front (section) page for the LIFE section (Pg. E1 to be specific)

Now, this doesn't even include some of the other pieces written further into the paper on Air America over the last 18 months or so, but I think I made my point:

Positive, fawning pieces on Air America have earned one A1 front page story (March 31, 2004), one A2 page (April 15, 2004), *FIVE* count them *FIVE* front (section) page stories (April 14, 2005, NEWS; April 10, 2005 A&E; April 13, 2004, LIFE; April 6, 2004, LIFE; April 1, 2004, LIFE) and an editorial (April 17, 2004).

Thousands of words.
A half dozen front pages (section or otherwise) stories.
And not a single syllable on the current scandal ongoing.

"Our front-page picks are based on news value and impact on our readers."

So when the Air America stories are positive, they are of high "news value and impact on our readers" and "merit Page One play."

But when there's a negative story? Not only does it not get Page One play, it doesn't get ANY play whatsoever.

Please advise.

Comment from: Steve Bensen [Visitor]

08/11/05 at 15:58
This is utterly without excuse. If it is not on the AP wire then it is not news even though it is a local radio station and there is a statement on the Air America web site. You don't have reporters? You refuse to publish anything not on the wire? That is not true; you have published stories on Air america before that were not off any wire service.

Why do you continue to lie about your reasons for ignoring the story?

Comment from: lyndi [Visitor]

08/11/05 at 17:05
The excuse that if a story is not on the AP then it's not in your paper is either a lame excuse for not covering the story, or a sure sign that your editors and reporters are lazy enough not to make some calls themselves. How hard is it to call Elliott Spitzer, who will talk to any journalist? How hard not to call Gloria Wise? Air America?

I'm sure it is news to your readers that unless something happens on the AP, it won't be happening in the Observer.

I guess this explains why our nightly newscasts are always full of murder and violence and child abuse from other states. Those stories make the AP wire.

So sad.

Comment from: Lance [Visitor] · http://www.redstaterant.com

08/11/05 at 17:39
Im not going to acuse anyone of anything. As Rachel said earlier give a reporter a phone and let them wade through all of the muck. I think the fact that the story has not been reported outside of Editorials and blogs is becoming the much larger story and it continues to fuel conspiracy threories. Melanie make liars out of us and report this. It certainly deserves at least page 3 news. Eliot Spitzer investigating the "loan" ought to be enough to trigger that.

Comment from: Bob Owens [Visitor] · http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

08/12/05 at 01:43
The "Paper of Record" has fiannly dropped the story, so I think you guys have permission to be reporters now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/nyregion/12network.html

Comment from: William Teach [Visitor] · http://www.thepiratescove.us/

08/12/05 at 07:38
Melanie? The NY Times now has a rehash story, including an edited quote from Al Franken (which is a disgrace), up: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/12/nyregion/12network.html

Will the N&O no consider covering this story?

Comment from: Lance [Visitor] · http://www.redstaterant.com

08/12/05 at 10:58
Melanie,
The comments section is supposed to be an interactive forum. So please interact. It is the polite thing to do.

Comment from: Melanie Sill [Member] · http://www.newsobserver.com

08/12/05 at 11:45
Lance:

Thanks. This is a new blog. Its purpose is to talk with N&O readers about our coverage, focused on news about North Carolina, the Triangle region and local communities. Each post has a comments section. I plan to post new items at least two to three times a week -- sometimes more and sometimes less -- and to keep the conversation moving on to new topics. I don't expect to respond to all comments; the discussion among readers is valuable. The blog will allow me to address questions and comments I hear regarding N&O coverage, by phone, email, the blog or in person, so from time to time I'll use a new post to address comments that were submitted for a previous post. Thanks for reading.

Comment from: Holt [Visitor]

08/12/05 at 12:33
If it's not on AP then it's not news?

That's an interesting journalistic position, especially for such a large outfit as the N&O.

If that's the way it is, then I can get all my "news" from yahoo. Thank you for that money-saving tip.

But seriously .. if this was Limbaugh instead of AirAmerica, does anyone seriously doubt that this story would not have been front page above the fold on every paper from Hatteras to Hilo?

I wonder if Dan Rather simply thought that "Kinkos" was an AP affiliate.

- Holt
a soon-to-be a "former N&O subscriber"

Comment from: Lance [Visitor] · http://www.redstaterant.com

08/13/05 at 08:57
We see you ran the Times Article on Air America, thats a start Melanie and thank you for listening to us vent. The AP article that is being carried by about 50 papers this morning is better but getting this out was the right thing to do. You have been patient and proffessional. I hope we werent to hard on you

Lance

Comment from: michel [Visitor]

08/13/05 at 14:32
I agree with you, Lance, and thank you, Melanie.

When O'Reilly and Limbaugh faced personal problems, the MSM was eager to cover their private affairs in print. "Air America" should be under the same scrutiny, and not be shielded by sympathizers in the liberal community.

Somewhere along the line, we ALL have to stop being ideologues. and start being citizens, interested in the same goals of disseminating information equally.

Melanie, you've proven you *get it.*

Comment from: Mel Lewis [Visitor]

08/13/05 at 17:35
An AirAmer scandal story did indeed run on page 6A witha promo on 3A of Saturday N&O. Is this a "victory" for us Conservs or would it have eventually run any way? We'll never know. Moot point now.

Now we can start looking for the adjectives "ultra left-wing ..." to appear whenever leading Democratic politicians are referred to by the N&O. If Tom Delay and other Repub leaders must always be "ultra right wing ..." then its only fair from non-partisan reporters ... Correct?

"Ultra left-wing columnist Molly Ivins" ... "ultra left-wing columnist Maureen Dowd" ... and howsabout all those "ultra left-wing NY Times junkies" to balance out us "ultra right wing talk show junkies" ... seems only fair from a non-partisan newspaper ???

And while you're at it N&O ... lets balance out pejorative references to "the Christian right ..." with equally pejorative references to "the Academic left ..." ... in the interest of journalistic fairness dontchaknow ...

ML

Comment from: Michael of Cary [Visitor]

08/13/05 at 20:24
Melanie - thanks for just having this blog and responding to the post. The old N&O just held the public in utter contempt. In this day and age of the internet, jouranlist integirity must be moved even higher. I hope that goal for your paper.

Micahel of Cary

Comment from: DT [Visitor]

08/13/05 at 21:23
As a conservative I see the News & Observer's non-coverage of the Air America story as a non-story about a non-entity. Perhaps the real reason this affair isn't getting much play is because Air America's ratings are terrible and the general public probably doesn't know who or what it is. Say what you will about the media, they do have a good record for understanding what the public is interested in and knows about.

The difference in the Limbaugh story and the loan story is that Limbaugh is a very well known public figure and influential voice in the nation's political debates. He gets covered for the same reasons that other celebrities do. People immediately know who he is.

If Al Franken had been involved in the loan, which he wasn't, then it would have been worthy of some news space because Franken is a best selling author. This whole incident may be mildly interesting, but it's really not much of a story.

When I read the News & Observer I expect that what gets covered is influenced by it's editorial point of view. I may not like it, but for over 100 years the paper has lived up to it's well stated ideals. The only way we, as conservatives, can change the slant of a newspaper is to avoid supporting it. Newspapers with a liberal bias will eventually have to become more balanced or less relevant.

Finally, we damage the image of conservatives when we are disrespectful to people with opposing viewpoints. Our points are better made with courtesy and reason. Ms. Sill deserves to be treated with civility.

Comment from: Mel Lewis [Visitor]

08/13/05 at 23:50
I agree with DT that Air America's latest travails is a trivial non-story ... in the same way that it's much heralded start-up was a trivial non-story ... a trivial story reported (ie "promoted") effusively by every major "WE'RE NOT PARTISAN" newspaper in the country including the N&O. ... and despite this unprecedented free publicity, it still failed even in "blue state" markets, which says something for the eroding "influence" of these newspapers in 2005.

Report the news ... the good and the bad ... regardless of which side of the aisle is involved.

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/14/05 at 12:52
DT: You would be right about this "non-coverage of the Air America story as a non-story about a non-entity" except for N&O's prior coverage of Air America stories about it as an entity and its radio personalities.

As I noted before: Air America got no less than 6 front page or front section page stories are recently as April of this year, all the pieces fawning, praiseworthy and without a single negative or critical sentence.

Yet this Air America story was no covered because according to editor Sill 1) she couldn't find it 2) she could find it 3) it was a "local New York story". Well, she obviousy could and did find it, she later admitted it, and the fact that they covered Air America so much in the past proves that they view Air America as a "local New York story" only when it suits them.

Comment from: david [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 09:16
It seems like y'all are missing a big point here: When Air America launched, it WAS a big deal because it was the first time anybody had really made a concerted effort to challenge Rush, Hannity, etc. Talk radio is huge in American politics -- who doesn't know who Rush Limbaugh is? -- so the fact that there was a competing entity there was not a "nonevent." Far from it. It's something people on both ends of the political spectrum could find interesting (and did, given the amount of attention given to this blog post).

Now that it's launched, though, it's not popular. It's not in the public consciousness anymore. The only people who care about it are partisans on both ends of the political spectrum. What was once a genuinely interesting topic just happened to fizzle out; if a newspaper recognizes that fact, that's not political bias, it's smart news judgment. Have you seen the N&O running any Karl Rove stories in the last couple of weeks? Liberals would say that's because they're brainwashed by the Bush administration, but really, it's just that there's nothing of note to report.

I agree that the Air America atory is interesting and needed to be given media attention, especially given our local angle. But it is certainly not as important as many of y'all seem to think -- because frankly, nobody else (except a dedicated liberal listening base, I'd imagine) gives two hoots about it! Comparing it to the Rush Limbaugh scandal borders on the absurd; as I said earlier, everyone knows who Rush is, and only a select handful of people care about Al Franken.

Finally: Some have wondered why the N&O didn't put one of their own reporters on the Air America story. The answer is that in my experience, newspapers have limited resources, and they can't just stick a local beat reporter on a story of limited national importance. You can miss local stories that way -- and in this day and age, getting a local story that nobody else is going to report is much more important than getting a national story you can read by going onto Google News.

People are quick to point out bias in newspapers, and I'm not saying it doesn't exist -- it does, and sometimes quite glaringly in the local papers. But more often than not, people want to find political bias when really, it's just editors exercising their news judgment -- correctly or incorrectly.

Comment from: John [Visitor] · http://www.johnincarolina.com

08/15/05 at 14:43
David,

I read your comment with interest.

If you see this one, I hope you will respond to the following:

The Air America loan scandal involves the loss of significant community social service to about 20,000 poor children and elderly.

Two government investigative agencies are involved.

A nationally know public figure and best-selling author who has been widely discussed as a U. S. Senate candidate in '08 is involved.

This public figure, Al Franken, calls himself "a victim" of the loan scandal and his former employer "a crook."

The former employer can't be located.

The former employer was simultaneously an exec at Air America and the community agency when a series of loans totaling almost $900,000.00 were made by the community agency to Air America.

Air America is considered the liberal voice of talk-radio and has been supported in many ways by some of the country's best known liberals and MSM organizations.

In an unrelated matter, there was a dustup between Robert Novak and James Carville on CNN which led to Novak's walking off the set and subsequently being suspended by CNN.

The day following the Novak-Carville dustup, the N&O covered it with a pg. 2A, three-column story with photo.

For almost 2 weeks the N&O ran nothing on the Air America scandal.

During that time, the N&O exec. editor for news gave readers self-contradictory explanations as to why the N&O was not reporting on Air America.

There's more I could say but I'll end here.

Again, I hope you respond.

John
www.johnincarolina.com

Comment from: Melanie Sill [Member] · http://www.newsobserver.com

08/15/05 at 15:14
John: I can see that you haven't understood my responses, so let me clarify again. My first post said accurately that I did not find the story in a search of our news service queues -- these were the stories available for our use at that time through our news services.

There is a difference between what one can find on the Internet and what is available to a newspaper for publication on a given day. My follow up post aimed to clarify. On Tuesday, the day of my first post, I could and did find the links mentioned by you and others on the Internet -- the NY Post and Sun stories and numerous commentaries. However, in checking our many news services I did not find a story available to The N&O for publication. On Friday, both AP and the NY Times moved stories, and we published the Times version on Saturday.

You're certainly welcome to criticize our decisions, but I hope this clears up any confusion you have about my first post and the followup. Perhaps I assumed too much knowledge about the difference between the Internet and national distribution of news content through news services. It's possible that I'll use a post later on to explain a little more about how news services work and how we make decisions at The N&O on what stories to pick up for our national and international news report.

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 20:07
I think there has been several deep misunderstandings about the scnadal.

#1 it was the leadership at the Boys and Girls club that was at fault.

#2 The man involved at Progress Media, which owned AAR, was a republican operative from Guam.

#3 Air America Radio practically went bankrupt after Evan Cohen lied about his financial resources. The company was reformed and Evan's share was sold off after he was drummed out. He was a crook and a liar and AAR listeners dispise him. God only knows what else Cohen did during the Month he was at AAR before the truth came out. The story of Air Americas early pitfalls had plenty of press if I rememebre correctly including the "liberal" N&O ( though I can't find it, or much of anything else, archived). Conservatives set up death watches and the end was said to be near. Now that they have failed to predict the demise of Liberal Talk they are in search of some other bit of juicy distortion to sell.

#4 Newspaper reviews of AAR have been overwhelmingly negative. In fact the only positive news comes from station owners and corporations like Clear Channel which have had success with the new progressive talk format. Anyone accusing Clear Channel of liberal bias has got to be out of their minds!

#5 Liberals view mainstream media like The N&O as incompetant. Whether or not this story should have been pursued is a non-issue- the N&O is too busy publishing gardening tips and giving us updates on the new chef at the white hous (it's a Woman!- who gives a rats hiney- that ain't news).

#6The current management at AAR is going to pay back the Boys and Girls Club because it is the right thing to do, not because they have been forced to. How many companies would do that?

As for the N&O's glowing reviews- obviously no one on this blog has read the stories. How bout these gems from Staff Writer Gearino:
"Me, liberal? Smile when you say that, pardner. Racist? Nah, just clumsy. What was I trying to say? Well, I'll try again, going slowly this time to prevent further misunderstandings: Air. America. Is. Just. More. Partisan. Self. Indulgence. Like. Any. Other. Radio. Talk. Show. (Rush. I'm. Looking. At. You.)"

Wow that was left wingy if i ever heard it!

How bout this gem:

"Ah, well. Maybe conservatives don't draw well. Sort of like how liberals don't seem to talk well -- as Air America Radio has shown."

What a Partisan! Does he sleep with Hillary on Fridays during lent?!

A search on the N&O website doesn't show hardly any stories on AAR. A couple of Fluff stories from the Chapel Hill section when Al Franken came to town in April is the only recent info I could find.

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 20:34
Editor Sill, I am afraid you are contradicting yourself yet again.

First you claim you couldn't find the story. Then you claim you could. Now you claim you did, but could not publish it (?).

Second you claim this was and I quote "a local story in New York". Now you described the story as part of the "our national and international news report." So, which is it? A national story or "only a local story in New York"?

Moreover, your argument that you would not cover Air America because it was "only a local story in New York" is belied by the (hate to repeat myself) 6m ***six**** front page or front section page stories about Air America in the last 18 months, plus an editorial. You've been willing to publish and expend reporting resources to the tune of THOUSANDS of words about Air America, but suddenly it is "only a local story in New York"?

Moreover, the "only a local story in New York" was belied by the coverage in papers from Investors Business Daily, to the Washington TImes, even the Arizona Republic, The Oregonian and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. This was not just "only a local story in New York". It WAS a story about a liberal radio network who N&O fawningly profiled and editorialized about, which made them apparently immune from criticism.

So, according to your own coverage we have the following equation:
GOOD stories about Air America get front page or front section page treatment (6 times in 18 months).
BAD stories about Air America are "only a local story in New York" and are not published until the AP and/or the NY Times runs stories.

I still await some sort of coherent, non-contradictory rationale.

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 21:37
J. Stuart: Not a single quote from any of these stories...typical. I did a search of the Archives and no such luck at finding the 6 stories mentioned way up in the thread- must be the N&O is hiding them. A couple of fluff peices on the Chapel hill visit from Al Franken (one peice was- now get this- two paragraphs long! Sacre bleu!) and some rather negative editorial reviews of the network from last year. That is fawning? In fact, in the last year the N&O has had no stories on AAR, only on Al Franken's visit to the triangle, and it was really 1 story and one announcement in a regional section. Only by extending your range to 18 months can you pull in the few stories published during the start up (if the numbers being stated are correct).

The story is a non-story that republican bloggers have built up into something when nothing is there. That is why no one cared about it. A couple of right wing blogs decided to repeat to each other that AAR was stealing from poor kids (which is not true). Then if the media didn't regurgitate the story they were demonized as "liberals".

Now we get what appears to be distortions of the N&O's coverage of AAR (which has been far from Fawning) and no one will call you people on it.

I have been the only person in this whole thread who has quoted an N&O story (actually two editorial peices), but all you folks don't need quotes I guess. You can just tell half-truths and distortions over and over again in your little echo chamber.

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 22:02
Robby:

1) I did not quote because you can go to any library and read the stories for yourself or if you have Lexis/Nexis access. The N&O is not hiding them, they simply didn't archive them or did but their archive is limited to how long they hold stories.

You found some in the archive, but selective quoted. I urge everyone to read up on the coverage, the entirety of the coverage. Then compare it to the recent silence of Sill.

2) I went to 18 months because when I performed the Lexis/Nexis search for "Air America", that's what came up.

3) Here are the names of the stories as well as they dates they appeared. As previously noted, simply because the website archive doesn't have them doesn't mean they never appeared in N&O. I have access to the full newpapser archives via Lexis/Nexis.

March 31, 2004 an A1 front page piece entitled "New liberal network takes on conservative kings of radio".

April 15, 2004 an A2 piece entitled "Liberal talk coming after all; WCHL near deal with Air America".

April 14, 2005's "A lefty wings it" in NEWS Pg. B1.

April 10, 2005 "Franken relishes role as agitator; Air America host to do Triangle show" in ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Pg. G1

April 17, 2004 "The talk of one town" EDITORIAL/OPINION on Pg. A17.

April 13, 2004 "This time, straight talk" LIFE on Pg. E1.

April 6, 2004 "Liberal radio has its charm" LIFE section Pg. E1.

April 1, 2004 "Writer at loose ends" LIFE Pg. E1

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 22:07
One final point Robby:

This was a tad more than just two paragraphs of fawning coverage. It was thousands of words. Here are exact dates, pages and word counts.

I happened to focus on just the front page stories alone, but if you want to compare how coverage of Air America suddenly dried up with Sill et al. found a negative story they just simply could not (or would not) cover...

1. A lefty wings it, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 14, 2005 Thursday Correction Appended, Final Edition, NEWS; Pg. B1, 307 words, Danny Hooley, Staff Writer
2. Franken relishes role as agitator; Air America host to do Triangle show, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 10, 2005 Sunday, Final Edition, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. G1, 1175 words, Danny Hooley, Staff Writer
3. Tar Heel heads WCHL, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), January 11, 2005 Tuesday, Final Edition, LIFE; Pg. E1, 456 words, Danny Hooley, Staff Writer
4. Career moves, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), November 2, 2004 Tuesday, Final Edition, BUSINESS; Pg. D3, 659 words
5. Comics jar this reader, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), May 4, 2004 Tuesday, Final Edition, LIFE; Pg. E1, 538 words, G.D. Gearino, Staff Writer
6. The talk of one town, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 17, 2004 Saturday, Final Edition, EDITORIAL/OPINION; Pg. A17, 62 words
7. Liberal talk coming after all; WCHL near deal with Air America, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 15, 2004 Thursday, Final Edition, NEWS; Pg. A2, 489 words, Vicki Hyman, Staff Writer
8. 10 Questions, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 14, 2004 Wednesday, Final Edition, NEWS; Pg. B8, 487 words
9. This time, straight talk, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 13, 2004 Tuesday, Final Edition, LIFE; Pg. E1, 528 words, G.D. Gearino, Staff Writer
10. Forget Rush and Al. Give us Bubba!, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 9, 2004 Friday, Final Edition, NORTH RALEIGH NEWS; Pg. N2, 762 words, Phil Dickerson, Correspondent
11. Liberal radio has its charm, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 6, 2004 Tuesday, Final Edition, LIFE; Pg. E1, 558 words, G.D. Gearino, Staff Writer
12. Writer at loose ends, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), April 1, 2004 Thursday, Final Edition, LIFE; Pg. E1, 559 words, G.D. Gearino, Staff Writer
13. New liberal network takes on conservative kings of radio, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), March 31, 2004 Wednesday, Final Edition, NEWS; Pg. A1, 1036 words, James Rosen, News & Observer Washington Bureau
14. Local Air America deal fails, The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), March 31, 2004 Wednesday, Final Edition, NEWS; Pg. A11, 338 words, Vicki Hyman, Staff Writer

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 22:27
Melanie,

You are failing to respond to the outright distortions in this blog. The editorial reviews were fawning? Come on- these people never even read them. They are complaining about stories from over a year ago and distorting the content of those stories.

Air America Radio is not under investigation at all- so the phrase AAR scandal is a lie. The Gloria Wise Boys and Girls club is under investigation for misusing public funds. Those funds found there way to Progress Media (by way of Evan Cohen), which is now defunct. AAR thinks the whole mess is dispicable and blames Cohen who is gone- long gone for over a year.

The Newspapers that Broke this story are nothing more than right wing rags more interested in self promotion through blogs than any journalistic integrity. The NYT finally mentioned it out of pure harrassment by right wingers that have forced your hand here as well. Glad to see the media continues to write whatever the Right wants to read. the Truth be damned and no balance of course.

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 23:07
J. Stuart:

Numbers 3 and 4 are local peices on a career moves that hardly mention AAR. More WCHL (the local affiliate that plays a few of the AAR line-up)

Numbers 5-14 all happenned in March/April/May of last year (over 1 year ago) when the network was starting up. They are hardly Fawning pieces.

As for #1 and #2 they are two stories covering Al Franken;s visit to the area- worthy of some discussion I would say. The story was in Arts and Entertainment G1 for number 2 and B1 for #1 (on that big readership day Thursday!).

Sean Hannity did as well as Franken in #1 on the 29th of July getting 425 words on B1. Hardly a bad thing to say about him.

The A&E story is pretty easy going with Franken but I wouldn't call it fawning. A bit of Fluff for sure, but it isn't exactly sections A or B. How is that new White House Chef (front page story today) How bout the president's new puppy! The right gets plenty of fluff from the good old N&O.

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/15/05 at 23:35
J. Stuart:

It appears that coverage Dried up in April of last year, long before your conservative friends found out about your new scamdal, with the exception of a bit of fluff over Franken coming to Chapel Hill in April the paper seems less than interested in anything AAR until you guys showed up.

Comment from: John [Visitor] · http://www.johnincarolina.com

08/16/05 at 00:19
Melanie,

Thank you for your reply.

It deserves a thoughtful answer.

That will probably be sometime tomorrow. Sorry for the delay, but the hour is late.

Meanwhile, I'm going to post your reply at www.johnincarolina.com I’ll title it: From Editor Sill’s blog.

My posting your reply is a proper thing to do since I’ve criticized you here at your blog, at JinC, and in an e-mail for your failure to respond to the many important questions and comments readers sent you here, at JinC, in e-mails they sent you and copied to me, and, readers tell me, in e-mails and phone calls to you.

I’ll post first my comment that preceded yours; then, your comment; and finally, this initial response to your comment. For future reference, I’ll identify your response tonight by date: 8-15-05.

While your comment tonight is well short of what readers are due, I appreciate its civility.

John

Comment from: John [Visitor] · http://www.johnincarolina.com

08/16/05 at 00:24
To J. Stuart,

I've left you a comment somewhere else to wit: I marval at how you marshall facts.

I hope you visit www.johnincarolina.com and make comments there.

Or better yet, why not start a blog yourself.

People who use facts wisely are wonderful people.

John
www.johnincarolina

Comment from: John [Visitor] · http://www.johnincarolina.com

08/16/05 at 00:50
For Robby

You say:
"Air America Radio is not under investigation at all- so the phrase AAR scandal is a lie."

I've used the phrase "Air America loan scandal" and don't believe I lied.

Please take a look at the following lead and intro to an AP report and comment.

Investigators probe loan to Air America Radio

Sunday, August 14, 2005
David B. Caruso
Associated Press

New York- State and city officials are investigating how $875,000 from a community center funded largely by government grants and contracts wound up in the coffers of Air America, the liberal radio network.

John

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/16/05 at 07:54
Well John, with all due respect- you would be wrong.

The Loan to Progress Media which used to own Air America by the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club is a long shot to the current ownership of the Air America Radio Network. There was certainly Malfeasance at the Boys and Girls Club and I wouldn' count Evan Cohen's involvement at nothing but I haven't heard word one about the content of this story. Just how upset conservatives are that it hasn't been reported. The fact that the AP has capitulated and printed a distorted story on the issue proves nothing than the fact that it is a pathetic news organization.

Instead I have heard distortions about N&O coverage that went without rebuttal, even from the N&O. None of that has been disputed. When I reviewed the archive and Discovered that the pieces on AAR published last year (primarily in April) were not "fawning" the facts have less than motivated people to comment. Three peices in April of this year about Al Franken's visit (really 2) are the only examples we have of the paper discussing AAR- Sean Hannity Managed to get more coverage in a B1 story than Al did on his B1. If it wasn;t for 1 A&E story (section G of all places with not much more than a blurb on the front page of that section BTW) the entire notion of a fawning N&O would be laghable. More like an uninterested N&O that has hardly metntioned AAR in the last 12 months.

So to summarize:

The story is unrelated to AAR or its current management.
The Boys and Girls Club scandal is a local story out of New York.
AAR haas publicly commented (on July 30 BTW, before this Blog even started) and is paying the organization back and giving them free publicity even though it did nothing wrong. This is just to prevent the image that anything improper may have occurred.

But this isn;t good enough for our conservative friends who have an agenda to push on our compliant media. How many dead in Iraq? the president lies over and over again? Not really an issue when you distract yourself with Trivia like Michael Moore and AAR- who can blame them for not wnating to face the real horrors of this administration after they voted for this guy.

Comment from: David [Visitor]

08/16/05 at 12:56
J. Stuart: What Melanie is trying to say is that newspapers can't just go around, willy-nilly, publishing any story they find on the Internet. Newspaper articles, like most other written works, are copyrighted, and it would be a serious legal lapse to publish something you didn't have the right to publish. So what can the N&O publish? Only the stories written by newspapers that belong to the news services to which the N&O subscribes. To run down the list you made at the top of this thread: The Oregonian is owned by Advance Publications, Inc., which runs the Newhouse News Service. The N&O doesn't subscribe to that, so far as I can tell -- I've never seen a byline from any Newhouse paper. The Baton Rouge Advocate is owned by Capital City Press, which I believe is a small-town business that owns a TV station and a radio station in Baton Rouge on top of the newspaper. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is owned by a small Pennsylvania company, the Tribune-Review Publishing Co., that only owns a handful of newspapers across that state. And it didn't even run an article about Air America (that I can find on Nexis-Lexis, at least); it ran Michelle Malkin's column. Say what you will about Malkin's politics, but she's not known for her journalistic prowess, and her recent book about Japanese internment camps during WWII has been basically discredited by people on both sides of the political spectrum. If you want to talk about biased, she might be a good place to start. (This isn't just some lefty-discrediting-conservative talk, either. How mad would it make you if someone came on this blog and talked about Molly Ivins' columns as if they were the unadorned truth?) The Washington Times is an independent newspaper. I don't think it has a news service, and if it does, the N&O certainly hasn't subscribed to it. So that's why, Mr./Mrs. Stuart, the N&O wasn't able to run the stories you saw in any of those newspapers. It doesn't subscribe to Newhouse News; it doesn't run Malkin's column; it certainly can't get stories from independent newspapers that don't have news services. That's why they waited for AP/the NYT to put the story across the wire -- they simply didn't have any other choice. (Except putitng a local reporter on that story, which, as I said earlier, just would have been silly). Finally, John in NC: I recognize your points and welcome your offer to respond to them: 1. The 20,000 children aren't in North Carolina. That angle of the story, at least, isn't particularly relevant to readers here, who want to know about their own lives in their own hometown. 2. Calling Al Franken a nationally known figure is fair game, but I'm not sure he's a celebrity outside politlcal circles. And I know for darn sure that even fewer people know what Air America is, and even fewer people listen to it. That doesn't mean the story's not newsworthy. It certainly is. But it's not the biggest story of the year by any means. (I agree with you that the N&O overplayed the Novak-walking-off-CNN story; I just don't see how Novak is a celebrity worthy of being in the same "item" as Brad and Angelina or whatever the kids find interesting these days. But one mistake shouldn't beget another, and as I implied earlier in this thread, I don't think the placement of the Novak story had anything to do with politics -- it had everything to do with the fact that it was juicy gossip for the gossip page, which I abhor in general). Anyway, this is already way too long, and I'm not usually big on the blogosphere, but this caught my interest. Cheers, all.

Comment from: David [Visitor]

08/16/05 at 12:57
Oh, goodness, I accidentally unclicked the auto-BR box. Apologies.

Comment from: Anon [Visitor]

08/16/05 at 14:00
Hmm, does anyone know if the new owners of Air America purchased it from the previous owners in an "asset sale" or as "going concern" purchase?

I believe it is likely to be the latter as the current owners are (or have) promised to pay back the money.

It also means that if any management is still in place (ex: financial controller) they will be under scrutiny for their role in the mis-appropriation.

But I believe it is probably not correct to posit that there is no corporate liability in this matter.

-AC

Comment from: Anon [Visitor]

08/16/05 at 14:02
Oh, and David, if you want to disregard Malkin's work on Japanese internment, it migh be more fair to link to the several web sights (hers included) which have a long and complex discussion on the matter.

I don't believe your statement on her work (journalistic or historical) is accurate at all.

-AC

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 09:29
One more thing to keep in mind to make you appreciate the bogus nature of Editor Sill's excuses.

They went from "Can't find it" to "Did find it" to "Did find it but could not publish it".

The fact is N&O and other mewspapers have *always* included stories that start or were in the middle "according to reports in" and then give the periodical.

Johnincarolina found the precise word for it in his interviews with editors (it is called "precis") but the fact remains that Editor Sill's excuseS (plural) just do not wash when confronted with what I found and the interviews Johnincarolina has performed.

And of course, I don't expect her or the ombudsman to actually 'fess up to this, but it is right there at johnincarolina.com

Sill & the N&O could have covered Air America and DID cover Air America right up to the point where there was a negative story. Then she came up with excuse after excuse, none of which appear to now wash.

What say you, Editor Sill?

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 09:59
Prompted by what Johnincarolina found, I decided to see if the News and Observer had indeed taken sections of OTHER stories from the same news sources that printed the Air America story.

Not a surprise, they had:

One of the papers that broke the story, the NY Post, has been cited DOZENS of times. The latest example was a
February 8, 2005 report in the BUSINESS section Pg. D4. Refering to Oshkosh B'Gosh, the paper had this to say "The Wisconsin-based company has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to find a buyer, the New York Post reported."

So, the News and Observer CAN report what the NY Post reported, they just decided not to in the case of Air America.

The News & Observer also publishes DOZENS of stories each year from the Daily News. That's right, entire STORIES. Since August 1, the News & Observer has published ***5*** different Daily News stories VERBATIM.

1. The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), August 14, 2005 Sunday, Final Edition, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT; Pg. G6, New Stones song lashes out at Bush, Helen Kennedy, New York Daily News
Copyright 2005 The News and Observer
2. The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), August 10, 2005 Wednesday, Final Edition, LIFE; Pg. E8, Disney is raving about 'Raven', Richard Huff, New York Daily News
Copyright 2005 The News and Observer
3. The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), August 9, 2005 Tuesday, Final Edition, NEWS; Pg. A2, Wood on teen sex: Explore responsibly
Copyright 2005 The News and Observer
4. The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), August 1, 2005 Monday, Final Edition, SPORTS; Pg. D1, Four honored at Hall; Boggs, Sandberg among inductees, Bill Madden, New York Daily News
Copyright 2005 The News and Observer
5. The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina), August 1, 2005 Monday, Final Edition, SPORTS; Pg. D7, Brown hoping to transform Marbury into leader, Frank Isola, New York Daily News
Copyright 2005 The News and Observer

The Daily News by the way has done numerous stories in the Air America scandal. Now, did they reprint THOSE verbatim? Nope, somehow that didn't seem to fit the N&O's priorities. But it DOES discount Sill's claim that she simply could not publish what she found as she clearly CAN and HAS published from the Daily News AND copied directly from the NY Post in the past.

So again, I ask you, to follow the excuses:

1) "We've checked our news services in recent days and do not find this story"

2) "I found the same stories on Air America that you all mention a couple days ago in Internet searches and by using Factiva, a paid service we use for research"

3) ""(I)n checking our many news services I did not find a story available to The N&O for publication."

Well, excuse 3) didn't stop N&O from publishing quotes or sections of stories from the NY Post or ENTIRE ARTICLES VERBATIM from the NY Daily News, so clearly there were stories that WERE available to the N&O for publication.

She, or other editors, simply chose not to publish.

Comment from: J. Stuart [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 10:03
One other note:

Sill wrote a blog entry last week complaining about how elected officials gave "no comments" and refused to answer questions N&O posed to them in a blog entry she called "Governor's position? No comment"

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/editor/index.php?title=governor_s_position_no_comment&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Now, let's see what her position will be confronted with the facts Johnincarolina and I produced.

EDITOR'S position? No comment?

Comment from: Bob Owens [Visitor] · http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

08/17/05 at 11:25
Melanie,

You have explained to my satisfaction why you could not run internet or blog reports.

You have not explained to anyone's satisifaction why the News and Observer refuses to do original reporting on a story that has obvious local reader interest and a local angle (Chapel Hill's Air America affiliate).

Interestingly enough, your excuses--nearly mirror in reasoning the excuses given by the Star-Tribune's editors. As you are both McClatchy-owned liberal papers, I'd like to ask a simple yes or no question of you:

Was their a communication from anyone in McClatchy to anyone at the News and Observer or any of the other McClathy papers regarding how to cover, or not cover the Air America/Gloria Wise story?

I eargerly await your response.

Comment from: Bob Owens [Visitor] · http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

08/17/05 at 11:25
Oops.

"there" not "their"

Comment from: nc_litigator [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 13:07
editor sill: i would like more stories about why nobody seems to care we didn't find any WMDs in Iraq, and why we aren't impeaching bush for it right now. i know i don't own the N&O, but i expect you to follow my wishes. thank you. and your next column should be about this al franken stuff, or about how bloggers have responded to john w matthew's personal complaint about the lack of good coverage on it. because i dont really care about air america. or bill lumaye. in fact, bill could write the article about air america.

Comment from: Bob Owens [Visitor] · http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

08/17/05 at 14:40
Let me see... a NC litigator who can't write a cohesive sentence with even rudimentary cohensive thoughts, who wants to focus on Bush in a blog entry about Air America...

Mr. Edwards, don't you have something better to do?

Comment from: not_one_jot [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 17:12
Radio Equalizer/MichelleMalkin.com have just ripped the lid off this thing with their own investigative reporting. Let's see how long it takes the N&O to wake up.

Comment from: Anon [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 17:30
As a proud Carolina graduate I'm just hoping that the purported litigator went to law school at Dook.

-AC

PS - That is not a personal attack, I'm sure many fine d*mnyankees went to school at Dook, though probably they're only good in retrospect and after they went home again.

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/17/05 at 20:24
radioequlazer is a hack site with a worthless reputation. Why didn't the N&O cover the Gloria Wise Scandal? Because it is a local NY scandal. Not only that, no one at Air America is covering their faces and denying wrongdoing. Instead they are paying back the loan, providing free publicity for the charity and calling their former CEO a crook. Wow- what a scandal. AAR isn;t even that popular and probably appreciates all the free publicity it is gettting.

Why won't anyone comment on the Scandal and not the coverage? Because 30 seconds of investigation shows AAR is innocent.

Comment from: The Opinionator [Visitor] · http://opinionator.blogs.com/the_opinionator/

08/17/05 at 20:58
Ms. Sill,

What still mystifies me is why the N&O had to wait until someone else published stories about the Air America Scandal in the first place? I thought getting a scoop was a big deal in journalism. Why wait for someone else to do the work when the N&O can do some of it's own reporting on a story. Hopefully, your job does not consist of merely taking other's stories and editing them to fit the N&O's space and style guidelines. The N&O could have done a story of it's own rather than be shamed into running the tepid piece by The New York Times. However, it does shine a light on how the NYT sets the agenda for news coverage around the nation.

JHP2
Apex, NC

Comment from: Bob Owens [Visitor] · http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/

08/17/05 at 23:03
robby, Air America has not paid back one thin dime.

In addition, as the money taken from the New York Boy's Club
was taken to pay for operating costs on a nationwide network, including the salary of a man who would run for the national office of Senator, it is clearly a national story.

Air America is also accused of being involved in even more fraud, involving Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, Inc. in which AA has already lost one lawsuit, and they've so far avoided paying that obligation, either.

Piquant LLC seems to be a shell company, and the word is out.

Heads will roll over this. It just remains to be seen how many.

Comment from: nc_litigator [Visitor]

08/18/05 at 00:57
i see some of you took my post literally.

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/20/05 at 07:54
Bob-

Where do you have evidence of that? I can not find one source that supports that conclusion (other than bloggers who don't use sources but other bloggers). Is it now my duty to refute your claim?
If you do not have evidence to support your claims do not make them.

There is currently an agreement to pay back the money that Evan and the crooks at Gloria Wise mishandled- that is known. I do not know what that agreement entails but it was worked out months ago. Read the AAR press release yourself:

http://www.airamericaradio.com/press/gloriawise

Comment from: robby [Visitor]

08/20/05 at 08:40
Bob-

Since Al Franken will not be running until 2008 (if then...) connecting this to a senatorial campaign is a bit of a stretch.

It was reported here the good ole worthless N&O that AAR couldn't make the payments to Multicultural back in April/May of last year (wow- hot off the presses!- more Fawning coverage from the N&O I suppose). This was another example of Evan Cohen's mismanagement that finally got him drummed out of the organization (after a months operation).

Multicultural dropped the network from their stations in LA and Chicago and AAR couldn;t even pay the salaries of the hosts becasue of Evan. In fact, ironically, had Evan really destroyed the network there would no be no way to get the money back for the Boys and Girls Club. Thankfully the network survived under new ownership and although not legally bound to do so (!) it is going to pay back the Club.

Now Conservative bloggers, claiming great knowledge of the law, are trying to figure out if there is some legal authority for claiming that Piquant is legally responsible for Progress media malfeasance. They have no evidence but that is really no bother for them. Since anyone who knows the history of AAR knows what happened and knows who was responsible- this attack on AAR is laughable.

Comment from: Melanie Sill [Visitor] · http://blogs.newsobserver.com

08/21/05 at 09:30
J. Stuart: Reading through your posts and accusations, including this comment above, I'm guessing you have misunderstood at least parts my responses. (For instance, I never said we don't publish information found in The NY Post. The story you mention likely moved nationally, crediting the Post's reporting) If you have a few questions to which you want answers, I'll take a run at responding as time permits. Cheers.

Comment from: Air America Fan [Visitor] · http://www.airamericaplace.com

08/23/05 at 19:44
Melanie,

Thanks for putting the pic of Janeane Garofalo in today's paper. As more and more of your liberal readers know, she is on AAR from 7-10pm M-F.

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