Evan Cohen and Rex Sorensen's reality show hits second season.

Lotus Media Services' first locally produced show airs its second season of "The Buzz" on FOX 6.

Dubbed as Guam's reality TV, The Buzz, is a fun show depicting life on Guam. According to Sorensen Media Group and Lotus Media Services Managing Director Evan Montvel Cohen, Lotus Media Services sees the potential in promoting the reality TV craze that has swept the U.S. through the creation of The Buzz.

The light-hearted innovative show delves into the lives of celebrities on Guam. The Buzz also gives insight into the culture of the island through comedy. The program is a mirror of the youth of the community as all the latest styles, fashions, and crazes are also featured.

Sorensen Media Group CEO Rex Sorensen said, “We now know that reality TV isn't just a craze .... it is a viable programming element for networks. There are about a hundred different reality TV programs being offered to the American television viewer. The U.S. is the pioneer but Asia is just starting to move on creating similar types of programming and we want to be there to see it grow.”

Cohen said Lotus Media Services is continually developing different types of entertainment to suit the young “tween” to teenage demographic. “We are definitely working on providing dynamic content that will entertain young audiences. Based on the popularity of national network sitcoms and reality shows aimed at this market it is important that we provide the programming that will appeal to this type of demographic,” Cohen said. Cohen continues to look for opportunities to develop broadcast content for television and radio in Asia and the U.S.

Evan Cohen is a media entrepreneur who has owned and operated advertising agencies, publishing companies and radio networks. In 2004, Cohen launched Air America Radio, one of the mostly highly anticipated and talked about media launches in the last 5 years. In 2006, he returned to Guam and launched Lotus Media Services. He is the founder and Managing Director of Lotus Media Services. Cohen currently also is the Managing Director of News Talk K57, Power 98, 105 the KAT, FOX 6 and ABC 7.

Sorensen Media Group, a privately-held media and entertainment conglomerate, is the leading broadcast company in the Western Pacific with holdings in television, radio and Internet programming, development, production and broadcasting.

Rex Sorensen is Chairman and CEO of Sorensen Media Group which includes the stations of News Talk K57, Power 98, 105 The KAT, Fox 6 and ABC 7 on Guam. Rex Sorensen has been involved in building and creating media platforms in Asia and the United States for over 20 years.

7:47 PM - 11/14/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Former Air America Chairman Evan Cohen head of content development company.

Former Air America Chairman Evan Cohen heads up content development company in the Pacific - Lotus Media Services. Cohen's business partner Rex Sorensen is joining him on this new endeavor.

Sorensen Media Group CEO Rex Sorensen and Media Entrepreneur Evan Montvel Cohen teamed up to open up a savvy creative development company - Lotus Media Services. Both Sorensen and Cohen tout Lotus Media Services as a dynamic, strategic, creative development company. According to Cohen, Lotus Media Services is equipped with state-of-the-art tools and resources ready to provide turnkey broadcasting entertainment products. After buying the Guam FOX and ABC television stations Sorensen said he saw a need for local programming. Rex Sorensen and Evan Cohen started the creative content development house as a vehicle to introduce new local programming into the FOX and ABC affiliate stations on Guam.

Innovative programs developed for the Guam market include “GU MD”, “The Buzz”, and “TimeOut”.

GU MD is a program aimed at telling positive stories about the medical industry and community on Guam, while the BUZZ looks to provide light-hearted “reality show” entertainment for Guam's
“tweens” and teens, and TimeOut provides entertainment news from the Philippines in a fun and exciting “MTV” way. Looking ahead at future possibilities, Cohen said LMS is poised to create programming for other markets. Sorensen said, “While my intent is to ensure we fill the need to provide programming for the affiliate stations of FOX 6 and ABC 7 it is my goal to distribute unique and exciting broadcast programming products for Asia and North America.”

Sorensen Media Group has experience in providing programming for major markets. SMG worked with Radio I Nagoya and Inter FM Tokyo for five years to provide American radio programming for these two major Japanese markets. Sorensen and Cohen are already taking steps to realize the idea of providing television programming products to major markets and partnered with MTV Philippines to create programming for a large under served Filipino-American youth population in Guam.

“We are at the edge of both the Asian and American markets and we believe that Guam could be the vanguard for providing new and unique programming for both markets,” Cohen said. SMG is also launching television programming in Shanghai, China this year. Cohen and Sorensen returned to familiar and friendlier territory after their stint in New York.

11:19 PM - 11/12/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Former Air America Chairman Evan Montvel Cohen returns to media roots

Former Air America Chairman Evan Montvel Cohen is working on providing content for television viewers. Cohen is also seeking opportunities to take that same content and distribute it to larger markets. Cohen is now the managing director of Sorensen Media Group and Lotus Media Services.  

After a hectic, exciting, and intense experience in New York  media entrepreneur Evan Montvel Cohen makes his way back to Guam and is continuing to work in the media industry. “I am back, the family is all here, now. While New York was certainly interesting and fast paced I am happy to be back in the Pacific region. I am working with Rex on a number of projects,” Cohen said. Cohen is referring to his business associate and the chairman and CEO of Sorensen Media Group which includes the stations of News Talk K57, Power 98, 105 The KAT, Fox 6 and ABC 7 on Guam. Sorensen was involved in building and creating media platforms in Asia and the United States for over 20 years.

Evan Cohen said his focus is providing media solutions for advertisers, creating television and radio content, and providing media products to both Asia and the U.S. “Rex asked me if I would be willing to work with him to create programming content. At the time, he had just purchased two television stations " the ABC and Fox affiliate on Guam. I agreed to work with him,” he said. Cohen returned to Guam and is now the managing director of Lotus Media Services. “Lotus Media Services is a creative content production house providing content for the Guam market,” Cohen said.

In 2006, Lotus Media Services created a light-hearted reality television program highlighting Guam's contemporary culture through comedy. Cohen said in 2007 Lotus Media Services also launched a medical magazine featuring positive news about the industry on Guam. “For a long time we have heard about the struggles to provide adequate health care on Guam but I believed there was a lot of good stories to be told about the advancements and technology available to treat patients locally. We see a lot of potential from this series. We are currently working on another medical series,” Cohen said.

Cohen is optimistic about doing more with the series by featuring more stories from the region and distributing them to other markets. “The series is titled, 'Medical Mysteries of Micronesia', and it would be appropriate to produce this series for the local market with the possibility of distribution outside of the region,” he said.

According to Cohen, Guam is a perfect base of operations for media expansion into Asia markets. “There are a lot of opportunities to provide media content in Asia and the U.S. mainland. Sorensen Media Group and Lotus Media Services have partnered with MTV Philippines. We have repackaged content to appeal to U.S. markets through the creation of TimeOut. TimeOut is a fun and entertaining television news magazine providing updates about Filipino superstars and social events happening in the Philippines in a way only MTV can,” he said.

Guam is a conglomeration of numerous ethnicities and many communities are made up of people from Asia. “While, certainly, Guam can be be looked at as a mini-laboratory of sorts what might work on Guam may not work in Japan and vice-versa but audiences here can provide some insight because of the sensitivities to Asian culture and because so many in the community are from parts of Asia,” Cohen said.

Cohen said Sorensen Media Group and Lotus Media Services are working to provide content in China. “We are looking to provide radio content for China. China is growing, economically, by leaps and bounds and we want to be on the ground floor during this boon,” he said. Sorensen Media Group provided radio content to Asia markets in the past specifically Japan with Radio I Nagoya and Inter FM Tokyo.

9:43 PM - 10/29/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Sorensen and Cohen spearhead launch of Air America

Evan M. Cohen and Rex Sorensen are media entrepreneurs and investors, originally from Guam. Sorensen owns radio stations in Guam and Saipan. Cohen has invested, owned and operated ad agencies and publishing companies on Guam and throughout the Pacific Rim. Cohen tells reporters “This is not completely uncharted territory. Compelling, political talk radio is produced every day and listened to by millions of Americans. We’re just tweaking the model a little. There are millions of hungry ears waiting for something else. If we can create compelling content day in and day out, this business will work. Of course, in a politically charged atmosphere, you’re going to get commentary from everybody. That’s just part of the business.” Cohen adds, “Franken brings a lot of buzz, but I think you’ll see, in the end, that the talent pool is pretty deep and the opportunity pretty significant. It is risky though.”

BUSINESS/FINANCIAL DESK

THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Liberal Talk

Radio Network To Start Up in Three

Cities

l

Cohen, Sorensen, Walsh behind launch of new network

Original article By JACQUES STEINBERG (NYT)

Originally Published: March 11, 2004

The creators of a fledgling liberal talk radio

network who hope to challenge the

dominance of conservative voices on the

nation's airwaves said yesterday that its programming would make

its debut on March 31 on low-rated stations in New York, Los

Angeles and Chicago.

The network, known as Air America Radio, said its hosts would

include Al Franken, the comedian and political satirist, whose

program will be broadcast from noon to 3 p.m.; Janeane Garofalo,

an actress whose program will be on from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.;

Chuck D, a hip-hop artist, who will be a co-anchor of a morning

program; and Martin Kaplan, a media analyst who has previously

appeared on National Public Radio.

Mr. Franken's program will be called ''The O'Franken Factor,'' in a

barb aimed at Bill O'Reilly, the host of ''The O'Reilly Factor'' on

the Fox News Channel. Fox News sued Mr. Franken and his

publisher last summer in an unsuccessful effort to block

distribution of his book, ''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell

Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right'' (E.P. Dutton,

2003). The network charged that the book's use of Fox's ''fair and

balanced'' tagline would tarnish its image.

For all Air America's relative star power and connections -- Mark

Walsh, the network's chief executive, has donated more than

$100,000 to the Democratic Party and has served as an adviser to

the presidential candidate John Kerry on Internet issues -- the

network faces enormous hurdles. They include making money for

its investors and unseating the biggest conservative voices in talk

radio, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, whose programs appear

on hundreds of stations. Nonetheless, Mr. Walsh said the effort had support, including an

initial investment of more than $20 million provided by several

backers, including Evan Cohen, a venture capitalist, and Rex

Sorensen, a entrepreneur. Cohen and Sorensen are media entrepreneurs and investors, originally from Guam. Sorensen owns radio stations in Guam and Saipan. Cohen has invested, owned and operated ad agencies and publishing companies on Guam and throughout the Pacific Rim. Cohen tells reporters “This is not completely uncharted territory. Compelling, political talk radio is produced every day and listened to by millions of Americans. We’re just tweaking the model a little. There are millions of hungry ears waiting for something else. If we can create compelling content day in and day out, this business will work. Of course, in a politically charged atmosphere, you’re going to get commentary from everybody. That’s just part of the business.” Cohen adds, “Franken brings a lot of buzz, but I think you’ll see, in the end, that the talent pool is pretty deep and the opportunity pretty significant. It is risky though.”

''It's tough to build a syndicated show, let alone a whole array of

syndicated shows,'' said Michael Harrison, a former radio station

owner who is the publisher of Talkers, a trade magazine.

In New York, for example, Air America will broadcast on WLIB,

an AM station that was ranked 24th in the metropolitan New York

market last fall, according to Arbitron; WABC, which broadcasts

Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Hannity, was ranked 12th. Similarly, in

Chicago, Air America's affiliate, WNTD, was ranked 32nd; the

Limbaugh affiliate, WLS, was ranked fifth. In Los Angeles, Air

America will be broadcast on KBLA, which ranked 30th.

Mr. Walsh said that he expected the network, whose parent

company is Progress Media, would offer something unique on talk

radio -- a megaphone for liberals -- and that by the end of the year

he anticipated its programming would be carried by stations in at

least a dozen other markets, including San Francisco. Mr. Walsh

declined to name any other cities where the network was pursuing

stations.

Mr. Franken, who described himself in a telephone interview as ''a

comedian first and a citizen second,'' said he intended his show to

be ''entertaining, funny and hard-hitting.''

''This territory has been ceded to the right way too long,'' he said.

''We're going to take it to them.''

Mr. Franken said that he had called his show ''The O'Franken

Factor'' with the hope that it would ''annoy and bait'' Mr. O'Reilly.

Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for Fox News, said: ''One of this

country's founding principles is the right to free speech. We wish

them well.''

12:25 AM - 10/16/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Liberal Radio Group Says It Is Close to Acquiring 5 Stations

Liberal Radio Group Says It Is Close to Acquiring 5 Stations

By JIM RUTENBERG

Published: December 1, 2003

A Democratic investment group planning to start a liberal radio network to counterbalance conservative radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh says it is close to buying radio stations in five major cities.

The acquisitions would represent a major ward making the network real. After its conception was announced in February, many radio analysts and even some Democratic activists predicted that the network would face too many challenges to get off the ground, including finding stations to run its programming and bucking a historical record replete with failed liberal radio attempts.

But executives with the newly formed company, Progress Media, said late last week that if all went as planned they would have the network running by early spring, in time to be part of the public dialogue during the presidential campaign season.

The executives said the stations they were acquiring reached all radios in 5 of the 10 largest media markets: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston. They said they would buy stations in other markets in the near future.

"We're steady as she goes to have a broadcast debut in early 2004, which gives us time to be part of the election year," said Mark Walsh, the company's chief executive and an Internet entrepreneur formerly with VerticalNet and America Online.

The group is planning to present a daily schedule filled with liberal personalities as hosts of a range of programs, including news analysis segments, talk shows and entertainment programs in the spirit of "The Daily Show," the spoof news program on cable television's Comedy Central that skewers Washington.

Jon Sinton, Progress Media's president, said the company had hired Lizz Winstead, one of the creators of "The Daily Show," to oversee entertainment programming. Shelley Lewis, a longtime network news producer who was most recently in charge of "American Morning" on CNN, will oversee news programming, Mr. Sinton said.

He said Progress Media was pursuing a deal to give the comedian Al Franken a daily talk show. The company, whose programming division is to be called Central Air, is also talking with representatives of the comedian Janeane Garofalo.

The network has hired Martin Kaplan to be the host of an early evening talk show about the news media. Mr. Kaplan is associate dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California and was once a speechwriter for Walter F. Mondale as well as a Disney studio executive.

Mr. Kaplan said in an interview that part of his charge would be to address some of the more extreme voices on the right. "It will be a chance to make fun of the pomposity and the bullying which the right has engaged in, and which a good chunk of the mainstream media has bought into," he said. "The self-righteousness of the right is now their greatest weakness, and I think we need to put those people on a whoopee cushion."

But in terms of ratings, history is against the likes of Mr. Kaplan, Mr. Franken and Ms. Garofalo. Radio analysts say there is a reason there are so many more popular conservative radio hosts than there are liberal ones, and a reason so many highly publicized attempts to start left-leaning radio programming have failed. (Mario M. Cuomo's talk show was canceled. Jim Hightower, who once had a nationally syndicated three-hour show, is still in the radio business, but as the host of a two-minute commentary segment heard mostly on noncommercial radio.)

Some political analysts have attributed past failures to liberal audiences' lack of interest in hearing their own views repeated. Some radio executives, including Kraig T. Kitchin, the president of Rush Limbaugh's radio distributor, Premiere Radio Networks, have said the cultural composite of the left is too diffuse to be easily targeted.

For his part, Mr. Limbaugh has dismissed reports about planned liberal alternatives to his program as silly, contending that he is merely a counterweight to overwhelmingly liberal mainstream news and entertainment media.

"Please! On TV you own C-Span, PBS, C-Span 2, CNN, ABC, CNNfn, CBS, MSNBC, CNN Headline News, NBC, CNBC, Bloomberg, Lifetime, Oxygen, etc.," he wrote on his Web site this year, addressing liberals. "Simply for giving the conservative point of view equal time, you call Fox `conservative.' You have radio guys on NPR 24/7!"

In response, Mr. Sinton said: "While individuals on those networks may occasionally express views that are left of center, on balance we find those organizations to be pretty centrist. Our task is more than to be left leaning "” with the exception of Al, who wants to call his show `The Liberal Show.' Our task is to be funny and entertaining, a no-sacred-cows sort of thing."

Progress Media would not say which stations it was planning to buy. Officials said they had begun to build a central studio space in midtown Manhattan.

They would not say how much the stations would cost altogether. But a major-market station can cost on the order of $30 million.

Much of the money for the company initially came from Sheldon and Anita Drobny, wealthy Chicago Democrats who originated the project but sold much of their stake to Evan Cohen, a New York investor.

8:43 PM - 2/27/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Air America to Present Liberal Talk-Radio Alternative

By Michael White

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Air America Radio will be seeking about $1,500 for a minute of advertising time when comedian Al Franken takes to the airwaves tomorrow as a liberal alternative to talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh.

That's just a fraction of Limbaugh's rate, which goes as high as $16,000 for a 60-second ad. The disparity illustrates the difficulty New York-based Air America may face as it seeks to counter what its creators say is a conservative influence in U.S. radio. The network begins broadcasting at noon New York time on Wednesday.

``They're pushing a rock up a hill,'' said Robert Carey, president of Syndicated Solutions Inc., which sells programming to radio stations. ``There are only so many talk stations in the country and these stations already run some very solid programming.''

Air America, supported by as much as $60 million from investors including RealNetworks Inc. Chairman Rob Glaser, will offer 24-hour programming on five radio stations and on XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.'s pay service. It may take years for the network to establish itself with advertisers and listeners, Carey said.

Air America probably will charge about $1,500 for a one- minute commercial in prime time, said Jackie Rossinsky, executive vice president for sales and marketing at the network. Those who want to advertise only on a particular show, such as the 52-year- old Franken's ``The O'Franken Factor'' program, will pay a 20 percent to 25 percent premium, she said.

As of Friday, the network had sold $1.2 million in advertising time, Air America Radio Chairman Evan Cohen said.

Rush Limbaugh

Limbaugh, 53, whose program is sold through Premiere Radio Networks, a unit of Clear Channel Communications Inc., commands as much as $16,000 for 60 seconds of national ad time, said Matt Feinberg, senior vice president for national radio sales at Zenith Media in New York. Clear Channel is the biggest U.S. radio broadcaster with almost 1,200 stations.

Limbaugh's show, which was syndicated on 56 stations in 1988, is now carried on about 600 of the 1,300 English-language talk stations in the U.S., Carey, the syndicator of radio content, said. The show generates as much as $50 million annually in ad revenue, MediaWeek reported in August.

Tony Knight, a spokesman for Limbaugh, declined to comment on the show's advertising revenue. Knight said Limbaugh wouldn't comment on Air America.

Radio Stations

Air America will be on WLIB-AM in New York, KBLA-AM in Los Angeles, WNTD-AM in Chicago, KPOJ-AM in Portland and KCAA-AM in San Bernardino, California. The company is negotiating to air on a sixth station in San Francisco, Air America spokeswoman Candace McAdams said.

XM Satellite Radio agreed on Monday to offer Air America programs to its 3 million subscribers.

For now, Air America isn't offering individual programs for syndication. Stations that want Air America shows must buy the network's entire 24-hour schedule, said Mark Walsh, 49, chief executive of Progress Media, Air America's parent. The network, which doesn't expect to be profitable until its fourth year, may lease or buy additional stations to expand its audience, he said.

``One of the reasons liberal radio has sort of flagged in the past is it's usually one show that's progressively oriented, sort of an island bobbing in an ocean of right-wing bile,'' Walsh said. ``We decided to control the full broadcast day.''

Obstacle

That may become an obstacle because most stations want to run local programming during morning and afternoon drive time, said Carey. For the hours in-between, he said, they look for syndicated programs with large audiences, such as those of Limbaugh or fellow conservative Sean Hannity, whose show appears on about 350 stations.

Station owners will be reluctant to replace such programs with Air America's untried schedule, Carey said.

``Just saying, `We're here, take us,' doesn't work in this business,'' Carey said. ``Radio is a collection of followers, and right now the followers know conservative radio wins.''

Air America's price for an ad is high for a new network and may be difficult to sustain after the elections, Carey said.

``They haven't had a lot of time out there in the marketplace'' to attract advertisers, he said.

NPR Audience

The network will compete for listeners with National Public Radio, which appeals to people who want political news and discussion without a conservative bent, said Tom Adams, president of Carmel, California-based Adams Media Research.

``They'll need to capture NPR listeners,'' Adams said. ``Since NPR won't be competing with them on the ad front, they'll have a golden opportunity to sell ads to a niche.''

Walsh, former chief executive officer of VerticalNet Inc., a manager of Web sites where companies buy and sell goods, helped create Air America with Cohen, 38, a venture capitalist who has invested in media properties in Asia.

Walsh, who remains on VerticalNet's board, quit as CEO in 2002 and volunteered as chief technology adviser to the Democratic National Committee. He was head of Internet strategy for Democratic Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign for several months last year before becoming CEO of privately held Progress Media.

Walsh and Cohen said they want to make money while providing a liberal alternative for listeners.

``I tell folks we're not in the regime-change business,'' Walsh said. ``We're trying to build a sustainable, profitable business. Whoever wins in November, I'd like to think we'll have a very robust opportunity.''

That will depend on the quality of the programming. Air America hosts such as Franken, comedian Janeane Garofalo and rap musician Chuck D are unproven on radio, said Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers magazine, a talk-radio trade publication.

``It will fly or sink based upon the quality and the viability of its product,'' he said. ``Of course liberal radio can make it. Any kind of radio can make it if it's good.''

3:51 PM - 2/20/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Evan Montvel-Cohen, former Chairman of Air America Radio is one of the Managing Principals of C3 Tech Innovations funds.

[September 14, 2004]       

C3 Tech Innovations Launches $10 Million Private Equity Fund

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2004/sep/1073099.htm

NEW YORK --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 14, 2004 -- New York Real Estate Developer Charles Cara Leads Investor Group Targeting Overlooked or Under-Funded Technology Companies.  <span style="font-weight:bold;">Evan Montvel-Cohen</span>, former Chairman of Air America Radio is one of the Managing Principals of the fund.  C3 Tech Innovations, LLC, today announced that it has launched a $10 million private equity investment fund targeting technology companies that were overlooked or under-funded during the post-bubble retreat.

Charles Cara, New York City real estate developer and an early-stage investor in technology and media companies, is Senior Investor in the fund, called C3 Tech Fund 1. C3 Tech Innovations will provide equity, capital, debt and related financing in the $250,000 to $1 million range to technology and digital media start-ups.

"C3 Tech Fund 1 was created with the recognition that there were early-stage technology companies with compelling business propositions that fell off the radar in the rush to the exits during the tech bust," said Cara. "Our German investments and our business partnerships underscore the international scope of the fund and give us a valuable foothold in one of Europe's key technology and financial capitals."

Cara added, "We see exceptional opportunities for the efficient use of private equity in Germany, New York, and other technology centers." To date in Germany, according to Cara, C3 Tech Fund 1 has closed on one investment and expects to close on a second investment shortly.

Background

C3 Tech Innovations principals have a wealth of experience building successful companies from the ground up in the fields of technology, real estate, media, market research, quick service restaurants and construction. The fund works actively with portfolio companies on all facets of business including strategy, implementation and financing.

Mr. Cara is a Brooklyn-based developer. He has completed commercial and residential property deals valued at more than $150 million, including deals involving 81 Pearl St. and 31 Washington St. in Brooklyn's high-end real estate development area, Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass (DUMBO). An announcement on a DUMBO mixed-use condominium tower with 268 apartments, ground-floor retail, a 350-car parking garage, and easy access to Wall Street is expected soon.

C3 Tech Innovations invites senior officers of technology companies seeking early capital rounds to submit their business plan and a written proposal to info@c3techinnovations.com. For more information, please visit www.c3techinnovations.com.

11:21 PM - 1/7/2007 - comments {0} - post comment

Interview with Evan Montvel-Cohen on his new entertainment ventures.

September 30, 2004

Trend Central:  So, we’re here catching up with Evan Montvel-Cohen, former chairman of Air America Radio, the talk radio network headquartered in New York. 

Evan, so what new ventures are you working with right now?

Evan Montvel-Cohen:  Well, for now I’m staying in the entertainment sector, I’ve got a couple of investments in this arena.  I’m a principal with C3 Tech Innovations, a New York based private investment fund.  One of the deals that I’m working on right now is with a company called Digital Transaction Machines, which has created a new digital media and entertainment delivery station, named the E2Go.  We recently introduced E2Go at Popkomm, an international music and entertainment industry trade show in Berlin. E2Go is an ATM-like machine which delivers various types of digital entertainment with the swipe of a debit card, credit card, or even cash. Songs can be selected and burned into a CD on the spot, ringtones can be instantly downloaded into mobile phones, and photos can be uploaded and printed instantly. Other products such as DVDs, tickets, software and screensavers will soon be available.

11:55 PM - 12/26/2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Liberal talk radio

Let's take a quick trip down memory lane to when the concept of liberal talk radio finally took root. Evan Montvel Cohen,  the New York venture capitalist and media entrepreneur, announced that he was launching a brand new entertaining, liberal, political talk radio network in early spring 2004.  The following article talks about the talent lineup and the network distribution.

Jennifer Frey discusses the highly anticipated radio network launch in her article in the Washington Post on January 14, 2004:  A Liberal Haven on the Radio Dial; Talk Network Plans to Begin National Broadcast in Spring

The much-discussed liberal radio network, designed to challenge conservatives' dominance of talk radio, took its first steps toward reality yesterday, when newly formed Progress Media announced it had both signed comedian and author Al Frankento host his own talk show and completed its first distribution deal in a major market.

Franken's show is expected to air weekdays from noon to 3 p.m., in direct competition with the popular "Rush Limbaugh Show." Franken is the author of two best-selling nonfiction books, the first titled "Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot."

Progress Media also announced that it had signed environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to co-host another program for its anticipated lineup of round-the-clock talk radio. 

"We're trying to give people an alternative," Franken said in a telephone interview. "We want to provide a change in the political landscape and a beacon of hope for ordinary Americans who work hard and play by the rules."

And of course he also wants another platform to attack his nemeses, including conservative talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

"We're trying to get sued by a right-wing jerk -- hence the name of our program, 'The O'Franken Factor,' " Franken joked.

Though its name has yet to be chosen, the network plans to go on the air by March or April, according to Progress Media CEO Mark Walsh. According to Walsh, the first distribution deal --a lease for round-the-clock air time at WNTD (950 AM) in Chicago-- will be followed by several others in the next two weeks, likely in the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco markets. No deal with a Washington area station is imminent, although talks have taken place, Walsh said.

"There's been alot of heat and light, and now we have some more traction in commitments to infrastructure and distribution," Walsh said in a phone interview. 

The announcements came two months after a new leadership team bought the majority interest in the proposed network from Sheldon and Anita Drobny, major Democratic donors who formed AnShell Media early last year. The new owners-- led by Evan Cohen, a New York venture capitalist, and Walsh, a Chevy Chase-based Internet entrepreneur who has served as a technology adviser to theDemocratic National Committee -- moved quickly to sign Franken, who from the beginning had been in talks to be the network's flagship talk-show host.

"I wasn't going to agree to get involved in this unless it had a chance to succeed," said Franken, who agreed to a one-year deal but would not disclose the terms."There's always a risk. But I wanted to make a calculated risk."

Liberal talk radio has largely failed in the past in part because the industry is so heavily dominated by conservatives that liberal shows sandwiched between right-wing programming were all but destined to fail. As Franken put it, "That's like having three hours of country followed by three hours of hip-hop. It's not going to work." As an alternative, Progress Media plans to provide a 24-hour liberal-dominated home base for its talkers, albeit one that works in humor and an openness to debate.

"If all we are perceived as is being the mouthpiece of the Democratic Party, we have failed," Walsh said.

Walsh is tempering his expectations in the early going -- "we expect to have a pretty decent radio product that we hope gets some ratings; our ambition is not blockbusterish," he says -- and Progress Media expects to make a significant financial investment in the network as it attempts to expand its audience.

"Considering the state of politics, I believe that the times might be more fertile in the years ahead for liberals to be able to do what the conservatives have done, and that is to develop a core audience for liberal talk radio," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, the leading trade magazine on the subject. "However, even with the times being right, it won't be easy, because it took Limbaugh years to develop his following."

1:32 AM - 8/1/2006 - comments {0} - post comment

Choice is important in a Democracy

The situation in Iraq is getting worse. The death toll continues to rise. There are thousands of people who want our family members serving in the military to come back home. President George Bush continues to get support for keeping the troops in Iraq from a Republican controlled Congress. All of these topics continue to dominate discussion in coffee shops and back yard barbecues all across America. Yet, when anyone speaks out about the desire to have their loved ones back home and out of harm's way they are looked at with disdain or their patriotism is put into question. Liberal talk radio is being called into question. Evan Cohen, Mark Walsh, and Rex Sorensen invested in an idea and that idea is helping to provide a different perspective. The views and opinions being put out over the airwaves appears to sound un-American to many conservatives and supporters of the war. However, this country was founded on protest. This author understands the need to protect the nation but how do we defend our country if most of our military is deployed away from home? We need to hear an opposing side to what is being said by those in the government. We may not agree with what is being said but to hear another perspective is important in allowing the citizenry a choice. Choice is healthy. Choice allows us to make decisions. So, I like the fact that there is a choice on the radio. Choice is just a word that sums up ... "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  

10:53 PM - 5/10/2005 - comments {0} - post comment

Cohen and Sorensen spearhead Air America radio launch

Evan M. Cohen and Rex Sorensen are media entrepreneurs and investors, originally from Guam. Sorensen owns radio stations in Guam and Saipan. Cohen has invested, owned and operated ad agencies and publishing companies on Guam and throughout the Pacific Rim. Cohen tells reporters “This is not completely uncharted territory. Compelling, political talk radio is produced every day and listened to by millions of Americans. We’re just tweaking the model a little. There are millions of hungry ears waiting for something else. If we can create compelling content day in and day out, this business will work. Of course, in a politically charged atmosphere, you’re going to get commentary from everybody. That’s just part of the business.” Cohen adds, “Franken brings a lot of buzz, but I think you’ll see, in the end, that the talent pool is pretty deep and the opportunity pretty significant. It is risky though.”

BUSINESS/FINANCIAL DESK

THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Liberal Talk

Radio Network To Start Up in Three

Cities

l

Cohen, Sorensen, Walsh behind launch of new network

Original article By JACQUES STEINBERG (NYT)

Originally Published: March 11, 2004

The creators of a fledgling liberal talk radio

network who hope to challenge the

dominance of conservative voices on the

nation's airwaves said yesterday that its programming would make

its debut on March 31 on low-rated stations in New York, Los

Angeles and Chicago.

The network, known as Air America Radio, said its hosts would

include Al Franken, the comedian and political satirist, whose

program will be broadcast from noon to 3 p.m.; Janeane Garofalo,

an actress whose program will be on from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m.;

Chuck D, a hip-hop artist, who will be a co-anchor of a morning

program; and Martin Kaplan, a media analyst who has previously

appeared on National Public Radio.

Mr. Franken's program will be called ''The O'Franken Factor,'' in a

barb aimed at Bill O'Reilly, the host of ''The O'Reilly Factor'' on

the Fox News Channel. Fox News sued Mr. Franken and his

publisher last summer in an unsuccessful effort to block

distribution of his book, ''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell

Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right'' (E.P. Dutton,

2003). The network charged that the book's use of Fox's ''fair and

balanced'' tagline would tarnish its image.

For all Air America's relative star power and connections -- Mark

Walsh, the network's chief executive, has donated more than

$100,000 to the Democratic Party and has served as an adviser to

the presidential candidate John Kerry on Internet issues -- the

network faces enormous hurdles. They include making money for

its investors and unseating the biggest conservative voices in talk

radio, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, whose programs appear

on hundreds of stations. Nonetheless, Mr. Walsh said the effort had support, including an

initial investment of more than $20 million provided by several

backers, including Evan Cohen, a venture capitalist, and Rex

Sorensen, a entrepreneur. Cohen and Sorensen are media entrepreneurs and investors, originally from Guam. Sorensen owns radio stations in Guam and Saipan. Cohen has invested, owned and operated ad agencies and publishing companies on Guam and throughout the Pacific Rim. Cohen tells reporters “This is not completely uncharted territory. Compelling, political talk radio is produced every day and listened to by millions of Americans. We’re just tweaking the model a little. There are millions of hungry ears waiting for something else. If we can create compelling content day in and day out, this business will work. Of course, in a politically charged atmosphere, you’re going to get commentary from everybody. That’s just part of the business.” Cohen adds, “Franken brings a lot of buzz, but I think you’ll see, in the end, that the talent pool is pretty deep and the opportunity pretty significant. It is risky though.”

''It's tough to build a syndicated show, let alone a whole array of

syndicated shows,'' said Michael Harrison, a former radio station

owner who is the publisher of Talkers, a trade magazine.

In New York, for example, Air America will broadcast on WLIB,

an AM station that was ranked 24th in the metropolitan New York

market last fall, according to Arbitron; WABC, which broadcasts

Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Hannity, was ranked 12th. Similarly, in

Chicago, Air America's affiliate, WNTD, was ranked 32nd; the

Limbaugh affiliate, WLS, was ranked fifth. In Los Angeles, Air

America will be broadcast on KBLA, which ranked 30th.

Mr. Walsh said that he expected the network, whose parent

company is Progress Media, would offer something unique on talk

radio -- a megaphone for liberals -- and that by the end of the year

he anticipated its programming would be carried by stations in at

least a dozen other markets, including San Francisco. Mr. Walsh

declined to name any other cities where the network was pursuing

stations.

Mr. Franken, who described himself in a telephone interview as ''a

comedian first and a citizen second,'' said he intended his show to

be ''entertaining, funny and hard-hitting.''

''This territory has been ceded to the right way too long,'' he said.

''We're going to take it to them.''

Mr. Franken said that he had called his show ''The O'Franken

Factor'' with the hope that it would ''annoy and bait'' Mr. O'Reilly.

Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for Fox News, said: ''One of this

country's founding principles is the right to free speech. We wish

them well.''

12:19 AM - 3/31/2004 - comments {0} - post comment