On the eve of AAR moving stations in NYC, Malloy is fired....

[Junkdrawer]

Air America Gets New Flagship Station in NYC

Beginning September 1, politically liberal talk radio Air America will change its flagship station from WLIB to WWRL-AM owned by Access 1.

It will take the place of WWRL's Urban Talk format, Mediaweek reports.

WLIB-AM, owned by Inner City, has been Air America's New York flagship since its launch in March 2004. WLIB may consider launching a progressive talk show with more local programming.

"We are excited about our new affiliation and the platform this move will establish for Air America in the years ahead," says Jim Wiggett, acting CEO of Air America.

http://www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2006/08/03/air_america_gets_new_flagship_s/




Last January, Malloy was removed from WLIB's lineup:

On January 2006, Malloy's show was removed from WLIB, Air America's New York City affiliate. He was replaced by the apolitical Satellite Sisters' show. On August 11, 2006, he announced his pending return to WLIB on September 1, 2006, barring no unforseen difficulties. A significant portion of Malloy's audience listen to internet streams or the XM Satellite Radio broadcasts of his show, a fact that he typically acknoweldges in a sign-off comment such as "thanks for participating however you did that."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Malloy


If I were looking for reasons why Malloy was fired, I'd start in NYC.

[KamaAina]

1. "Barring no unforeseen difficulties"

Ouch. The only way Mike is getting on WLIB is if he joins a gospel choir.

http://www.wlib.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLIB

It was rumored that the progressive talk format would be retained using local hosts and syndicated talker Ed Schultz, under a lease agreement with Randy Michaels' company, Radioactive, LLC.<4> However, negotiations fell through, and on August 21, 2006, WLIB announced that they would switch to a gospel music format, after considering country music, oldies and even urban talk from Radio One.

"Negotiations fell through". Charming. Now sort-of-progressive AAR is, as Imus says, "up there by the police calls" at 1600, and the more powerful 1190 blew its chance to compete with them.

[Junkdrawer]

10. Just a hunch, but I'm guessing *someone* offered more money...

to keep AAR off WLIB than AAR could pay to stay on WLIB.

Just a hunch.

[LaPera]

2. Was it cause Mike was one of the few in media who supported Lebanon

so strongly & vocally over Israels invasion?

Also I recall Malloy trashing AAR suits as being cheap for not
sending the on air personalities to AAR affiliates around the country more often, to help promote Air America Radio...I heard him trashing the "suits" about a week ago on his own show....I agree with Mike.

"Mike is the lowest paid of all the regular hosts on AAR and they put him in an awful time slot, 10pm-1am ET.

I suspect Malloy's termination was more about personality than performance. It certainly was not about money. My suggestion to those who love Mike Malloy is to do what the audience of 60 Minutes did when they terminated Andy Rooney several years ago. Email or write them about your feelings and we may still have a chance to get him back. I have already vigorously registered my complaint directly to the board and I understand that Sam Sedar also did on the air yesterday. Go to the AAR web site at http://www.airamericaradio.com and let them know how you feel. Register on line free and click "About Us" on the right side of the top and "Contact us" will appear. I talked to Mike Malloy and he would be open to coming back if too much time does not pass."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-drobny/mike-malloy-and-andy-roon_b_28437.html

BartCop (www.bartcop.com) says, it's an outrage and who are they going to get as good as Malloy.

Apparently the "suits" at AAR who just want to profit big time from liberal radio-with no care or meaning to them, about substance and progressive ideology!

http://www.petitiononline.com/Malloy/

[Junkdrawer]

3. Ya think that position might ruffle a few feathers in NYC...

:shrug:

[NYCGirl]

4. Even though his show was removed from WLIB BEFORE the Lebanon "war"?

[GreenTea]

5. They knew Mike's positions well-And they know NY will dictate whether AAR

makes it or breaks it!

[NYCGirl]

6. So he was a fan of Lebanon before and talked about it? NT

[GreenTea]

7. It wasn't that he was such a fan of Lebanon-But Malloy is NOT afraid to

mention, if American imperialism backing Israel's right-wing government was pursuing imperialistic goals of their own...Mike has never been shy to say so...and that seems to step on some ignorant toes, silly as it seems to me, However, unfortunately true.

Mike is certainly NOT anti-Semitic nor a racist by any means...but when he's sees the unfair & unjust right-wing imperialism and greed and lies in anyone, or ANY country, he will go after them, he can't help it---and that's why I love him...there's no prejudice on Malloy's part what so ever...Just the facts and saying look at the hypocrisy and bullshit!!!!

Man, I miss him already!

[never_get_over_it]

12. I don't think Mike's view on the recent "war" in Lebanon

was the reason - Mike's position wasn't fundamentally the same as Randi's and Sam's

[onenote]

8. and yet the NYC Chapter of the March of Dimes gave Malloy an award

Doesn't fit with the conspiracy theory unless you think the M.O.D. folks are immune from the type of pressure your postulating exists in NYC against Malloy.

[Junkdrawer]

9. You're right. It's quite the "conspiracy theory" to think that all of NYC

doesn't love Malloy. After all, the March of Dimes gave him an award.

:wtf:

[onenote]

11. well, why don't you explain your "I'd start with NYC" theory

What I read into it, and what seems to be indicated by some of the other comments (not necessarily yours) in this thread is that Malloy's views on Israel made him anathema to the New York market (presumably because the Jews control that market -- unspoken, but implicit in the theory). That's why, it is impliedly speculated, Malloy was taken off WLIB.

Of course, assuming that Malloy's views created pressure on New York radio stations' not to give him a forum (an assumption I don't buy, but for argument's sake let's go with it), here's a question: why would AAR have to fire him now? Why couldn't they have simply have kept him off the new NYC affiliate, just as they kept him off WLIB?

And going back to my original point, if there was so much anti-Malloy sentiment in NYC as to force AAR to drop him from the WLIB lineup, why would the March of Dimes, which depends on contributions from New Yorkers, celebrate the very person that is so loathed in NY that pressure is brought to bear to keep him off the airwaves.

:wtf: back at ya

[Junkdrawer]

13. NYC is AAR's flagship city. If AAR goes off the air in NYC, AAR...

is pretty well done.

Now, all it would take is a small, well-heeled pressure group to bring more pressure to bear than AAR wants to deal with. That group might be any one of a dozen suspects and the pressure group may or may not be based in NYC.

As for "Why couldn't they have simply have kept him off the new NYC affiliate?", someone gave Mike the word that, when the stations changed Sept.1, he'd be back in NYC - and he announced that on the air. To take back that promise, but give Mike a national audience (and an Internet audience in NYC) would be asking for trouble.

I still say that the timing is awfully suspicious and my guess is that Mike was offered up as a sacrificial lamb.

[Junkdrawer]

14. .

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

15. I can't agree. Malloy had the courage to have Alex Jones on and supported

that Bushco was behind 9/11. I think that was the straw that broke the mainstream afraid to approach alternative 9/11 theories back.....