Air America stops broadcasting to file for bankruptcy

“It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding down of the business,” the chairman of Air America Media, Charlie Kireker, said in a statement posted on its website.

The company founded in 2004 couldn’t overcome the industry drop in advertising revenue, which declined in the past 10 quarters and 21 percent in 2009, according to the statement.

It blamed a very difficult economic environment, along with drastically dropping national and local ad revenues.

In 2006, the firm filed for protection from creditors, but managed to stay on the air at that time.

“National and local advertising revenues have fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or seek bankruptcy protection,” Air America said in the statement.