CNN: All talk radio suffering from Limbaugh fallout

http://www.americablog.com/2012/03/cnn-all-talk-radio-suffering-from.html?utm...

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201203120005

140 advertisers dump Limbaugh

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/rush-limbaugh-losing-more-...

By Greg Sargent

Think Progress gets its hands on an internal memo from Premiere Radio Networks that lists nearly 100 national companies that have asked that their advertisements not be played on the Rush Limbaugh show — companies that have not been publicly named until now. Think Progress claims that brings the total of sponsors who have pulled out in the wake of the “slut” controversy to 141 — far more than previously thought.

I’ve confirmed the authenticity of the memo with a spokesperson for Premiere, home to Rush’s show. It’s unclear for now what exactly it means. The spokesperson, Rachel Nelson, emails:

This is a routine communication that notifies our affiliates’ traffic managers of advertisers that prefer not to be in ANY potentially controversial programs. It is prepared and disseminated on a quarterly basis.

That appears to mean that nearly 100 advertisers asked for their ads not to be included on any “controversial” show, Limbaugh’s included.

And indeed the memo does say this of those advertisers: “They’ve speifically asked that you schedule their commercials in dayparts or programs free of content you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Hannity). Those are defined as environments likely to stir negative sentiment from a very small percentage of the listening public.”

What’s unclear is whether this is a direct reaction to the Limbaugh controversy. Nearly 100 major advertisers are asking to be excluded from these shows. That hardly seems routine. The question now is whether anything like this has happened before and whether these companies previously were okay advertising on these shows, before the “slut” controversy broke out.

Nelson didn’t respond to repeated requests for a follow interview so I could get clarification on these points.

Premiere has defended Limbaugh’s right to controversial opinions and said that his apology was sufficient. But this memo raises at least the possibility that Limbaugh is on the verge of losing far more advertisers than previously thought, though more clarification is in order. More when I learn it.

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A history of Rush Limbaugh's disturbing attacks on children

http://www.americablog.com/2012/03/history-of-rush-limbaughs-disturbing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog%29

Rush Limbaugh’s disgusting anti-woman tirades over the past few days haven’t been limited to Sandra Fluke and women. An overgrown bully in every sense, Limbaugh’s disturbing rants over the past decades have extended to children, most notably First Daughters Chelsea Clinton, Malia Obama, and Amy Carter.

It’s no coincidence that the girls are also children of Democratic presidents – a quick Google search finds Limbaugh defending Jenna Bush from “liberal media” only a few years ago. Further searches reveal that neither Jenna nor her sister have been subjected to the same humiliating taunts, with Rush and his on-air cohorts only describing Jenna as “spunky.”

Consider Limbaugh's treatment of Malia Obama in 2010 when she was only 11 years old.  Limbaugh mocked Malia in a disturbing “skit” about the BP spill, where he tried to imitate the child’s voice and instead came out sounding like something out of “The Exorcist.” Malia’s inclusion in this topic was inexplicable, as the child had nothing to do with the spill, and was seemingly introduced as a gratuitous way for Limbaugh to humiliate her father.

In 1988, an adult Amy Carter – the sole daughter of President Jimmy Carter – reemerged to the national spotlight after protesting U.S. involvement in Central America and apartheid in South Africa. Instead of furthering civil discussion of these topics, Limbaugh’s response was to call her “the most unattractive presidential daughter in the history of the country." He was forced to apologize, but not before adding an additional insult years later during his radio show: “She can't help the way she looks.”

Limbaugh’s most disturbing bullying incident stretches to a few years later, when he called a then-13-year-old Chelsea Clinton “the White House dog.” Limbaugh again half-heartedly apologized, but not before blaming the error on a technical glitch, saying that a picture of Chelsea was mistakenly displayed instead of the dog’s. “I don't need to get laughs by commenting on people's looks, especially a young child who's done nothing wrong,” he added. “I mean, she can't control the way she looks.”

Sound familiar?

While Limbaugh's attacks on Fluke and other women are despicable, adults are able to defend themselves. Picking on kids – as Limbaugh has done and continues to do – has no place in public discourse. When Limbaugh goes to this place, he ceases to be the commentator he claims to be and instead becomes the schoolyard bully who picks on the younger and more helpless kids in order to satisfy his own demented hunger for power.

What kind of a man picks on children?

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UPDATE: Ultra Violet, a group that organizes around issues important to women and has launched a campaign to pressure advertisers to drop Limbaugh, is up with a new ad on D.C. cable pressing the issue on Mitt Romney.

http://www.americablog.com/2012/03/140-advertisers-dump-limbaugh.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Americablog+%28AMERICAblog%29

From Greg Sargent at the Washington Post: 

Think Progress gets its hands on an internal memo from Premiere Radio Networks that lists nearly 100 national companies that have asked that their advertisements not be played on the Rush Limbaugh show — companies that have not been publicly named until now. Think Progress claims that brings the total of sponsors who have pulled out in the wake of the “slut” controversy to 141 — far more than previously thought.

I’ve confirmed the authenticity of the memo with a spokesperson for Premiere, home to Rush’s show. It’s unclear for now what exactly it means.