Air Partisan

American Demographics, Feb 1, 2004

Progress Media is a relative newcomer to broadcasting. In November, Walsh and a group of investors bought out Chicago philanthropists Anita and Sheldon Drobny's $10 million investment in AnShell Media LLC, a venture to start a liberal talk radio network to counter conservative shows. The Drobnys, who remain minority shareholders in Central Air, received considerable press for their fledgling enterprise, especially in the summer of 2003, when former Vice President Al Gore was one of their advisers, introducing them to politically active Hollywood executives and possible financial backers.

Shortly afterward, Walsh went on a media blitz promoting the company's grandiose plan to purchase five radio stations by the end of January to form the basis of its Central Air network. Walsh refused to identify any of the properties or even reveal whether they would be AM or FM stations. By the end of December, the company hadn't bought a single radio station or completed construction of its Manhattan studios. Walsh's circumspection led many radio industry observers to believe that he was more involved in a publicity stunt than in the introduction of a viable company.

Scoffing at such skepticism, Walsh calls Progress Media's unconventional inception "a multi-city, cold-engine, hand-cranked start."

Jon Sinton, a former Atlanta broadcasting executive who is now Progress Media's president, is more forthcoming. As of early January, he says the company completed the purchase of an AM station, has definitive agreements to buy four others and has tentative deals for two more. (All sales are subject to regulatory approval.) "We have seven in the shopping cart and some on the shelf," he says. "We plan to buy as many as we can get. And I'm not being coy."

Sinton wouldn't disclose how much Progress Media paid for the stations, however, industry observers who are familiar with the company's operations say the first set of transactions may be worth around $150 million, or $30 million for each station. Within the past year, Robin Flynn, a TV and radio analyst at Kagan Worldwide Media, in Carmel, Calif., says an AM station in New York City went for $38 million.

Sinton also refuses to discuss how much Progress Media has to invest. However, he's quick to point out that one of the lead investors is Evan Cohen, a New York venture capitalist. "What is interesting about our project is that we have investors at the high level, who have invested millions and millions, and we have some, who are equally important to us, but much smaller investors, who have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars."

Progress Media's more heavyweight investors weren't concerned about Central Air's political agenda, he says. "In general terms, those with lower investments are more emotional investors," he says. "On the other side of the coin, the high-dollar investors are not emotional; they're dispassionate and they're making a purely business decision. They're as likely to be Republicans as anything. They think we have a competent business plan. They see a hole in the marketplace and a business opportunity. It's all about ROI."