NRA in financial trouble, streaming service may die

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Steve Timko

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Aug 3, 2018, 2:10:15 PM8/3/18
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Can't tell if this is legal bluster or real.

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Tom Wolper

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Aug 3, 2018, 2:41:27 PM8/3/18
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On Fri, Aug 3, 2018 at 2:10 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
My first thought is bluster as the NRA has a reputation for being a well run nonprofit and well run organizations are built to weather adverse times. When an organization gets in trouble they talk to their megadonors first and then try to make up any shortfalls with a direct appeal to their members. They don't admit to being in trouble, they make an appeal to keep up the fight or announce a new campaign, even if the money will just be going into the general fund to cover a deficit. But the article says the NRA overspent by $46 million last year and a well run organization doesn't do that, especially when they have a political agenda and their party runs the White House and both houses of Congress. Also if they want to cut expenses to help out they announce the cuts, not put out an alarm that they might have to cut them. Really, nobody will miss the print magazine or NRA TV if they go away. I suspect they can't justify the budget money spent on them.

After the Parkland shooting, when the GOP shrugged their shoulders and made it clear that they were not going to move a muscle to restrain assault weapons, it makes sense that NRA opponents would look to affect the organization where they could: namely their banking and insurance. Remember that the NRA has a relatively small membership with outsized influence and a large majority of Americans favor some level of gun control and pressure can be put on banks and insurance companies.

What the NRA is asking the court to do is force the banks and insurance companies to do business with them. It seems to go against conservative doctrine to ask the government to get involved in this way but these are interesting times.

Kevin M.

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Aug 3, 2018, 2:57:28 PM8/3/18
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I’d guess part bluster, but with what remains of American journalism has been busy filing FOIA and other related inquiries, it is going to get tougher for those who like to fund things to do so anonymously. I do think this relates to the world of television, inasmuch as a lot of money has been funneled into so-called new media without evidence of a lot of profit. Generally speaking, investors don’t like to pour money into something without return, so if they aren’t making a financial profit, one has to speculate what other potential profit could be made by controlling media. 

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Tom Wolper

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Aug 4, 2018, 8:51:50 PM8/4/18
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On Fri, Aug 3, 2018 at 2:57 PM Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:
I’d guess part bluster, but with what remains of American journalism has been busy filing FOIA and other related inquiries, it is going to get tougher for those who like to fund things to do so anonymously. I do think this relates to the world of television, inasmuch as a lot of money has been funneled into so-called new media without evidence of a lot of profit. Generally speaking, investors don’t like to pour money into something without return, so if they aren’t making a financial profit, one has to speculate what other potential profit could be made by controlling media.

One thing about the NRA that Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo tweeted yesterday is that the NRA claimed financial difficulty in a court filing and there are criminal penalties for knowingly putting false information in a filing.

Jon Delfin

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Aug 4, 2018, 10:23:47 PM8/4/18
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That doesn't seem to be an issue lately. 

Steve Timko

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Aug 5, 2018, 9:45:54 PM8/5/18
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It's fairly routine to exaggerate your case to try to win a judge's sympathy. I saw it all the time when I covered courts. It is seldom enforced. The worst offenders are more likely to be disciplined by the bar.

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Tom Wolper

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Aug 5, 2018, 10:19:41 PM8/5/18
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On Sun, Aug 5, 2018 at 9:45 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
It's fairly routine to exaggerate your case to try to win a judge's sympathy. I saw it all the time when I covered courts. It is seldom enforced. The worst offenders are more likely to be disciplined by the bar.

Yeah, using terms like "irreparable damage" is exaggerated and common. The NRA might have to prove specific claims like closing down the magazine and streaming site will follow if the NRA doesn't win their case.

Tom Wolper

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Aug 6, 2018, 1:07:23 PM8/6/18
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Steve Timko

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Jun 26, 2019, 1:12:51 AM6/26/19
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An ad agency has filed a lawsuit over unpaid bills. Death seems imminent.


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Kevin M.

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Jun 26, 2019, 1:15:56 AM6/26/19
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On Tue, Jun 25, 2019 at 10:12 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
An ad agency has filed a lawsuit over unpaid bills. Death seems imminent.



According to the Times, NRA TV is as dead as the victims of gun violence it helped to create


On Mon, Aug 6, 2018, 10:07 AM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sun, Aug 5, 2018 at 10:19 PM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sun, Aug 5, 2018 at 9:45 PM Steve Timko <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:
It's fairly routine to exaggerate your case to try to win a judge's sympathy. I saw it all the time when I covered courts. It is seldom enforced. The worst offenders are more likely to be disciplined by the bar.

Yeah, using terms like "irreparable damage" is exaggerated and common. The NRA might have to prove specific claims like closing down the magazine and streaming site will follow if the NRA doesn't win their case.

Here's a little more reporting from Rolling Stone:

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