Tom Athans is an accomplished media entrepreneur, public affairs professional, and Democratic political strategist who is widely considered to be one of the pioneering architects of the current Progressive Talk Media format in the United States.
In 1997, after serving seven years on active duty in the United States Air Force, Mr. Athans joined the staff of U.S. Representative Dale E. Kildee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Concurrent to his time as a staffer in the U.S. House, he served two terms as an elected Councilmember and Council President in the Village of Oxford in Michigan. In 2002, Mr. Athans joined the staff of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow in the United States Senate.
During his time as a staffer in the Senate, Mr. Athans privately conducted research to quantify the impact that talk radio was having on the nation's electorate. The results indicated that talk radio’s impact was profound and played a significant role in the “Republican Revolution” of 1994 that saw the U.S. House of Representatives gain a Republican majority for the first time in decades. The study also indicated that conservative content was monopolizing the nation’s airwaves by a 10 to 1 margin - despite the fact that only forty-eight percent of Americans self-identified as being conservative. Talk radio was also having a clear cultural impact. It had such an impact, it altered the very language of politics spoken throughout American history. The word “liberal” had been so demonized by talk radio, liberals felt forced to change their identity. By the early 2000's, liberals became “progressives” - a name that sounded far less negative.
In 2002, Mr. Athans developed a political strategy and a business plan to address the national media imbalance, which resulted in the launching of Democracy Radio. Democracy Radio was a Washington DC based media content company that launched the national careers of political media personalities Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and Leslie Marshall, among others. Mr. Athans developed several million dollars in funding, using a hybrid non-profit / for-profit business model, and launched America's first successful progressive political talk programs on the nation's airwaves.
As Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Democracy Radio, Mr. Athans developed and launched The Ed Schultz Show into national syndication. In its first year, the show generated $1.5 million in gross revenue. At its peak, The Ed Schultz Show was heard on nearly 200 radio stations in 9 of the top 10 markets throughout the nation, as well as Sirius XM Satellite Radio and the Armed Forces Radio Network (AFRN). The success of The Ed Schultz Show led to the launch of The Ed Show on MSNBC, a primetime political television program that ran for eight years on MSNBC.
In September 2004, Mr. Athans developed and launched The Stephanie Miller Show into national syndication, hosted by the daughter of Congressman William Miller, Barry Goldwater’s 1964 Republican presidential running mate. Mr. Athans also developed and launched The Leslie Marshall Show, hosted by the longtime Fox News Analyst. Other programs launched were Washington Monthly Magazine On The Air, The Business Shrink, and The Nancy Skinner Show.
In November 2005, Mr. Athans joined forces with Air America Media in New York, becoming its Executive Vice President. During his tenure at Air America, Mr. Athans raised venture capital, co-developed new programming, and acted as a company liaison to the political community in Washington, D.C. Mr. Athans remained with Air America until January 2008.
From 2008 to 2018, Mr. Athans served as Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for Helicon Holdings, a privately held multi-holdings company in Detroit, Michigan. While at Helicon, Mr. Athans navigated the company through a politically challenging permitting process with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Elected officials from the local, state, and federal governments strongly opposed the permitting of an underground hazardous waste treatment and storage facility owned by Helicon. The Governor of Michigan attempted to arbitrarily close the facility by terminating existing state permits. The Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. House's Energy and Commerce Committee was similarly opposed to the issuance of EPA federal permits. Nevertheless, in 2015 the EPA and DEQ simultaneously issued their respective permits and the facility began operations soon thereafter.
In August 2018, Mr. Athans was appointed Chief Development Officer at NRM Streamcast, a startup podcasting network based in Farmington Hills, Michigan. As CDO, Mr. Athans’ primary duties were to assist in the preparation of the company's Private Placement Offering (PPO) and develop programming strategies that would populate the network with top tier marketable content. Among several programs developed was The Virg Bernero Show, a political talk program hosted by the longtime Mayor of Lansing, Michigan and the 2010 Democratic candidate for Governor of Michigan.
In April 2015, Mr. Athans launched Champion Kids, an after-school martial arts mentoring program for youth and teens. The program is designed to teach Karate's ethical code - Integrity, Respect, Courage, Honor, Compassion, Honesty, and Duty. While the program also teaches defensive fighting arts, it's main goal is to instill a moral code in students that will positively inform their entire lives well into their adult years. Karate also builds confidence and self-esteem. Many of Mr. Athans students excel in sport karate competition, having won tournaments at the state, regional, national, and international level. Such successes instills a sense of great pride and self-esteem. Mr. Athans is an alumnus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a veteran of the United States Air Force and Michigan Air National Guard. In his personal time, Mr. Athans enjoys spending time with his family, as well as cycling, golf, and an occasional baseball game.
