> Air America Will Displace Black Talk On WLIB
> http://www.sacobserver.com/news/032304/wlib_air_america_radio.shtml
>
> By Karen Juanita Carrillo | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES
<snip>
> The station was in many ways a Black activist outlet.
>
> But by the end of this month, WLIB will be taking on a different hue,
> as it joins the launch of Progress Media's "Air America Radio," the
> new, predominately White, liberal talk-radio network. Air America has
> reportedly partnered with Inner City Broadcasting Corporation (ICBC),
> which owns WLIB.
>
> "We are excited about the diverse and important voices Air America
> Radio is bringing to the airwaves, both on our own WLIB signal and
> others," said ICBC Chairman Pierre Sutton.
Just for the record: Pierre Sutton is the son of Percy Sutton, aka the Silver Fox, who has been the undisputed boss of Harlem ever since Adam Clayton Powell died in 1970, and who is pretty much now the political boss of Manhattan when it comes to things like judgeships. This could be seen as another extension of the Harlem power structure beyond Harlem, and as a way to get more influence among white Democrats.
And as a way to make money. It might be that those black activists have been losing talk market share on WLIB just like they are on WBAI. I've often sat behind black cabbies who preferred listening to the worst racists on earth because they enjoyed the show better. I asked one why. He said he enjoyed the laughs and he liked getting fired up angry.
Michael