Background
Athans, of Greek descent, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
founder Chief Executive Officer of Democracy Radio
Athans, of Greek descent, was born in Detroit, Michigan.
He is widely considered the originator of the progressive talk radio format in the United States. After his tenure at Democracy Radio, he joined Air America as Executive Vice President for Programming. Athans was formerly married to United States. Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat of Michigan.
The couple divorced in May 2010.
He was a Congressional Aide in the United States. House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Previous to his tenure as a staffer in Congress, he was elected to local office and served two terms as a Councilman and President of the Village Council in Oxford, Michigan.
Athans is also a veteran of the United States Air Force and the Michigan Air National Guard. In 2002, Tom Athans and radio industry veteran Paul Fiddick founded Democracy Radio, an organization dedicated to creating political balance on America"s commercial radio airwaves.
Their concept was to develop, fund and incubate progressive oriented talk programming and enlist radio networks to market the programs to stations around the country.
Democracy Radio developed and produced talk shows that launched the national careers of Editor Schultz and Stephanie Miller, among others On June 8, 2005, Democracy Radio sold its stake in The Editor Schultz Show to a new company headed by veteran radio executive Randy Michaels, the former Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Radio. On November 4, 2005, Athans stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Democracy Radio.
After stepping down from Democracy Radio, Athans became Executive Vice-President of Air America, a Progressive talk radio network.
Athans was in charge of developing new programming to expand Air America"s lineup. He also headed Air America"s Washington, District of Columbia corporate office.
After Air America underwent bankruptcy procedures in late 2006, Athans founded TalkUSA Radio, a radio production company. Talk United States of America launched The Leslie Marshall Show and Washington Monthly on the Radio into national syndication.
Athans, an occasional contributor to The Huffington Post, currently resides in Saint Clair Shores, Michigan and is Vice President of Communications at Helicon Holdings, Limited Liability Company. in Detroit, Michigan.
In February 2008, Athans was detained in Troy, Michigan, as part of a prostitution sting and admitted to paying for a sex acting Athans was not charged but was ticketed for driving with a suspended driver license. In April, Athans made a public statement, "Number words can fully express how sorry I american
At the time this incident occurred, I took responsibility for my actions and fully cooperated with law enforcement.
My family and I are dealing with this matter in a personal and private way.".