Air America Radio, the network that features such liberal mouthpieces as Al Franken and Randi Rhodes, is denying reports that it will declare bankruptcy.
The Web site ThinkProgress.org, citing "three independent sources,” started a buzz on the Internet by claiming that Air America is expected to file for bankruptcy on Friday.
The Drudge Report headlined ThinkProgress.org's story Wednesday afternoon and word spread throughout the blogs about a possible bankruptcy at the network.
But just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Air America spokesperson Jamie Horn told Eric Deggans, media critic for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, in an e-mail: "If Air America had filed for bankruptcy every time someone rumored it to be doing so, we would have ceased to exist long ago.
"It may be frustrating to some that this hasn’t happened. No decision has been taken to make any filing of any kind. We are not sure of the source of these rumors.”
Franken, however, confirmed that the network, which debuted in March 2004, is suffering from cash-flow problems. He told Radar Online about the bankruptcy claim: "I don't know if that's true or not. We do know that there have been cash-flow problems. I haven’t been paid in a while. Like, there’s no cash flowing to me.”
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The blog site Radio Equalizer said it could not verify the bankruptcy claim, but had a different story to tell, claiming that Air America is "broke and up for sale.”
On the radio industry-focused site, longtime radio host and columnist Brian Maloney writes: "What our own sources are telling the Radio Equalizer is that two potential buyers have recently been looking to scoop up Air America's assets. But internal board squabbling has created a disunited front, with some members looking to hand the network back to eccentric co-founder Sheldon Drobny, while the rest shop for buyers.
"Jon Sinton, a former Air America and Clear Channel Radio executive, is said to be leading the effort to seek a purchaser.”