Friday, August 05, 2005
Air Enron America: A corporate governance scandal
I have never listened to Air America (on what station may I hear it in central New Jersey?), and do not really care what happens to it. I do find it more than a little interesting that the giants of the mainstream media have blown off this story, especially given the attention lavished on Rush Limbaugh's personal troubles. To get a sense of the scandal and the extent to which the MSM has ignored it, go here and scroll down to the list of "previous" links. Michelle also passes along this list of unanswered questions about the scandal, helpfully prepared by Bob Johnson of Righttalk.com.
The most interesting aspect of this scandal is its implications for the corporate governance crusade. I find it fascinating that when an avowedly left-wing organization fails to adhere to the corporate governance standards propounded by the mainstream media and its political darlings (Eliot Spitzer, where are you?), none of them seem to notice or care. Spitzer in particular could prove that he is in fact the principled prosecutor he claims to be by opening a serious investigation into Air America's financing.
4 Comments:
By 
Cardinalpark, at
Fri Aug 05, 11:18:00 AM:
Having thought about it, I don't think I mind the lack of coverage...the fact that you don't know which radio station to tune into is what made me draw that conclusion. No need for free PR to drive liberal listeners to Airhead Radio. Lewt the ocnservative crown cover the story..and let AA fade into that good night.
From a governance perspective, comparing this dinky little startup with Enron is a little overwrought. If somebody needs to prosecute, they should do it. I don't even know where AA is based...is it NY? Or could somebody else launch an investigation besides the NYAG?
Much more $ and people at stake at Enron...not comparable.
By TigerHawk, at
Fri Aug 05, 11:23:00 AM:
Fair point about the money involved, but the silence of the governance bluenoses is still interesting.
By Cardinalpark, at
Fri Aug 05, 11:27:00 AM:
They're busy getting their noses bloodied by the BofA broker, Grasso and now Hank Greenberg. True enough that the AA clowns would make for an easy scalp.
By KJ, at
Fri Aug 05, 02:16:00 PM:
I don't think you want Air America to fail. Once it fails and the Left has no hope to reach people via talk radio, they will go back to trying to push through a fairness doctrine that will stop conservative talk radio in its tracks.
So long as Air America is viable, the Left may hesitate b/c it would have to give up something to take out talk radio.
