Just in from Phoenician liberal media talk host Jeff Farias:
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 located a valley station with a 10,000 watt signal on which they intend to relaunch Air America.
The tear-jerker letter Bob Christy sent regarding the Phoenician affiliate (at the end of this post), suggests that he attempted to keep the station on air. Truth is, given the numbers Christy could not keep the station on air and continue his own six-figure salary nor that of five figures for his libertarian buddy, Charles Goyette.
After the station shut it's doors and the liberals in the business mix got access to the real data they realized the problem was not at all about dollars for the station. By keeping their own salaries bare-bones, doing some creative marketing and reaching out to the people who want liberal talk in Phoenix, KXXT's past listeners can get Air America not only get back on-air, but get the station we Phoenicians really deserve: one devoted to earning revenues for and by liberal talk, not just earning revenues.
So here's the business skinny: the sum for half a year's lease is $500,000. At the end of the lease term an investment group (whose details I'm not disclosing but which is owned entirely by liberals with solid credentials, oh hell, one of them is Air America founder Sheldon Drobney) will either pick up the lease or buy the station. In either event the upshot will be an Air America Phoenix affiliate OWNED and RUN by liberals.
Your part is contribution and you can do that here right NOW!
Did I thank you for reading this diary? And for contributing to liberal talk in the Red southwest? No?
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
(Here's the site link again).
Christy's KXXT farewell letter:
February 28th, 2006
Dear Friends of Air America Phoenix,
Thank you to the staff, the listeners and the clients for all
you've done in the past 17 months.
You helped take an unrated, unprofitable AM radio station and
pushed it to a tie for 3rd place out of 25 AM stations in
Phoenix. You took that same AM station and made it profitable
in less than a year and even after the sale was announced you
stood by Air America Phoenix and we kept on making money even
when our future was in doubt and we didn't know when our "plug"
was going to be pulled. In fact, the last month we were on the
air was the 3rd best month we've had financially!
Air America Phoenix has now disappeared into the ether and
Phoenix is left with multiple Christian formats, some in
English and others in Spanish, several "brokered' time stations
(you know the radio stations selling you vitamins, good bowel
movements and financial advice) a bagful of right wing "
Conservative Talk stations" featuring Rush, Sean, Laura, Bill
Bennett, Savage, Medved and all of their local imitators,
three "Sports Talk" stations that live off the largess of their
sister stations in the big corporate clusters that dominate the
dial in Phoenix. Is anyone enjoying Tony Snow on KTAR...did
anyone ask for him? And there are 3 "nostalgia" stations on AM
and another on the FM dial. (The inside radio joke on nostalgia
is that listeners are "dying" for it!) CBS' new "Free" FM is
another station loaded with sophomoric chatter, but without the
interruption of overplayed songs! Free FM is a continuous loop
of bad FM morning show humor 24 hours a day! CBS should have
stood by Howard Stern and they will regret the day they didn't!
Phoenix has 60 odd radio signals on the AM and FM dial and the
best of those signals are owned by four companies; CBS, Clear
Channel, Bonneville and Sandusky, they play it safe and
considering the level of investment, it is certainly
understandable. Innovation and change has to come from the
smaller clusters and the one and two station owners. Will they
innovate? Take a chance like we did with KXXT? Probably not,
they never have and they never will, like the classic
definition of insanity they "continue to do the same thing over
and over expecting different results"! Only a special company
like James Crystal would let me take the chance, Thanks, Jim!
Over the past 4 months I have tried to raise the money to buy a
new station for Air America Phoenix. We made offers on 2
stations; one didn't have an adequate signal to insure success
and the other was laughably over priced. I have talked to more
BS artists and rich guys who pretend they want to get "
involved" and "progressive" venture firms that live in the
world of "new media" and think that good old terrestrial radio,
the kind that everyone has access to and is free 24/7, is so "
over"! When I finally put together the right banker and the
right investors, we were out of time! I'm mad at myself for
wasting time with the charlatans, the BS artists and the
dreamers. I'm also worn out and I have to publicly apologize to
the love of my life, Jan, for being so damn grumpy and short
since last fall. Baby, you have been just great, thank you!
I need to thank all the great network people; Al, Mike,
Stephanie, Sam and Jeanine. And of course my friend Ed Schultz
who was the first on and signed! And Randi...I always love you
more!
This has been the single best experience I've had in
broadcasting, better than being number one in Boston! KXXT has
simply been the best. The people I've worked with at AA Phoenix
have been the most dedicated, hard working and they wouldn't
leave when I tried (twice) to throw them out of the building. I
love you all and as Jan says we are a family!
Thank you for all you've done!
Robert J Christy
[UPDATE 03-09-06]
I have a bit of the skinny on the doing's 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 (http://crankylittleblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/1010-kxxt-phoenix-az-dead-air.html).
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 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--our skills in both of those areas. Who discloses such stuff in a business deal? It's not really done, is it? I don't know, maybe it could be an idea (gasp) from "new" liberals--or better yet, an outside-the-box approach from the same 'old' ones that have been here all along--wrongly framed as incompetents by valley and national Republicans whose sole purpose is to take over, not help--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) in our progressive nature. After all, was it the current AAP Phoenix team getting the big buck salaries? No. Where are those guys by the way? 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.