Air America Off The Air After Only Two Weeks?

It may be too early yet to gloat, but it's true. i heard about it on Larry Elder's show this afternoon and immediately tuned over to KBLA 1580 AM, where i heard a bunch of women praying in Spanish. Air America is definitely off the air in L.A. and Chicago. No telling when or if they'll be back.

After just two weeks of broadcasting, Air America Radio, the fledgling liberal talk-radio network featuring Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo, was pulled off the air Wednesday morning in Chicago and Los Angeles, the network's second- and third-largest markets, in a payment dispute that shows no sign of quick resolution.

They bounced a check!

Arthur Liu, owner of Multicultural Radio Broadcasting, which owns Air America affiliates WNTD-950 AM in Chicago and KBLA-1580 AM in Los Angeles, said Air America bounced a check and owes him more than $1 million. Air America and Multicultural had entered into a time brokerage agreement in which the network was essentially renting Multicultural's airtime, Liu said.

Hardy-har-har!

'They bounced a check today,' Liu said. 'It's a default. They have paid only a very small portion of what they owe us.' Liu declined to say how much Multicultural is owed, but did say he is holding $1 million in checks that Air America has asked the company not to cash.

i thought liberals were supposed to be the fiscally conservative ones nowadays.

Ooops, i wasn't going to gloat. Sorry.

Like any good liberal, Air America's executive vice president (a lawyer, no surprise) immediately filed a lawsuit.

Air America filed a complaint Wednesday in New York state Supreme Court charging Multicultural with breaching their contract and seeking an injunction forcing Air America back on the Chicago station. An Air America source said a separate lawsuit over the Los Angeles station is forthcoming.

. . .

According to Air America's suit, a Multicultural representative showed up at WNTD's offices Wednesday morning, kicked out Air America's lone staffer overseeing the network's feed to the station from New York and changed the locks on the doors.

i would never have suspected that a company calling itself Multicultural Radio Broadcasting would be a member of the VRWC. Go figure. Good work guys!

Update: Ryan at soundfury has some good background. Link via Instapundit, who of course had a post about this hours ago.