Frank Dresser wrote:


"Tom Betz" wrote in message
. 70...

Not an advertising beef. They leased the two months prior to their debut,
and allowed Arthur Liu to run filler during those two months.

Liu, in violation of their contract, leased the LA station during those
two
months to someone else. It's as if you rented an apartment from someone
else
but couldn't move in for two months, so the landlord rents it to someone
else. When Air America discovered this (two days ago) they notified Liu
that
they wanted to arbitrate this violation per their contract and stopped
payment on one check for the LA station per their contract. Liu, in
violation of BOTH contracts, cut them off in both LA and Chicago.

I'm reading that Liu has a long history as a sleazier-than-usual station
owner.


OK, I don't have any first hand knowledge of the facts. Let's say Liu is a
sleazeball. Why stop his check? Take him to arbitration. Take him to
court. Stay on the air, and fix the problems off the air.

Like Dish Network, who abruptly and without warning yanked BOTH Viacom
(including local CBS affiliates) and Turner Broadcasting because they
wouldn't roll over and agree to EchoStar's terms without protesting? It
seems that pulling the plug when the tenant complains is getting common
in broadcasting nowadays.