Air America Goes Green (& Al Franken Takes the Green and Runs)

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


The latest chapter in the looooong saga of Air America has evidently been penned, but I must say that even those of us who’d wondered if the network’s tortured history had become parody/proof of the right’s criticism of the left didn’t quite see this one coming. AA or Ax2 or Asquared will, it seems, be acquired by NYC real estate mogul Stephen Green, brother of perennial NY mayor/senate/attorney general candiate Mark Green. “Speaking only as the brother of the purchaser,” Mark Green, who’s also played guest host on AA, told the NYT that “no hiring or programming positions had been decided for the network, should the deal go through.”

None ‘cept one, I’d guess.

And if Brother Green becomes a permanent AA personality, he won’t have to live in the shadow of Al Franken. Franken, who’d been paid a truly outrageous $2 million a year—10 times more than “many other syndicated hosts with a similar audience reach“—will host his last show on Valentine’s Day. Franken’s outsized salary makes him an easy target for those who mourn AA’s passing, but to my mind it’s just further proof that the people behind the network (and there have been lots) just had too much money and little idea of the media terrain. Wishing you (and why would you?) had a lefty 24-hour equivalent to Rush/Imus don’t make it so people.

Meanwhile, Spinsanity Alert: Green said the sale will, in the words of the NYT, “usher in a new phase for Air America, focused on digital content distribution rather than radio.”

“In this digital era, the tech changes by the day and Air America Radio has to become something of a new media company,” Mark Green said. “We look forward to an A.A.R. 2.0 that has sharp smart content better distributed over a variety of platforms. And what better time to try this than with progressive and democratic values obviously on the rise?”

So does this mean that Stephen is buying his brother a podcast? If so, Senator Chris Dodd has some programming suggestions.

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate