Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

Have you ever spent a few minutes reading through the trash that some people post as comments to newspaper websites? If so, then you may agree with me that there is a tremendous market in exactly the kind of talk that Rush Limbaugh has been dispensing through his nationally syndicated programs.

A commenter to my article Hilo station KPUA dumps Limbaugh (3/5/2012) wrote in part:

KHVH wont be THAT tough of a nut to crack. What WILL work to shut Limbaugh down on Oahu is if local businesses currently advertising on KHVH decide that it isn’t in their long-term interest to associate themselves with this misogynistic blowhard. If all the LOCAL businesses that advertise on Rush start getting complaints via Facebook, Twitter and phone calls they will likely choose to funnel their precious ad dollars into less controversial media. When the local advertisers bolt, KHVH owner Clear Channel will lose most of their revenue stream from programming Rush on Oahu and that will seal his fate in the islands.

I agree that KHVH might conceivably do the right thing (pun intended) if advertisers pulled out, but let’s face it, Rush is good for KHVH and so far I’m not aware of any significant movement to pressure his Hawaii sponsors. If I’m wrong, please let me know.

Chris Leonard, president and general manager of New West Broadcasting, probably lost precious revenue for KPUA when he made a principled decision to dump Limbaugh:

The most recent incident has crossed a line of decency and a standard that we expect of programming on KPUA whether it is locally produced or a syndicated program like the Rush Limbaugh show.

No doubt some KPUA listeners (some of whom may also be newspaper website commenters) were unhappy to lose Limbaugh because he fed their habit. KHVH listeners would presumably be similarly unhappy with the station if they ever dumped Limbaugh.

But KHVH is no KPUA, and their management obviously loves Limbaugh enough to keep him. Limbaugh’s sponsors must also love him enough to want their product advertised next to his message. It’s important to note that while this one incident has spurred particularly strong reaction against Limbaugh, his average fare is not much better, and it suits KHVH and his sponsors to propagate it.

But offensive comments like those are exactly what Rush Limbaugh gets paid for. He got his first talk show in 1985, and has been saying offensive things about women –and gay people, and people of color, and non-Republican presidents, and occasionally small children–ever since. This is the guy who bemoaned the presence of “lard-ass women in politics,” argued that women who protest sexual harassment do so because “[it’s] what they actually wish would happen to them sometimes,” practically trademarked the term “feminazi,’” and once shared his belief that women are basically cats who can talk.

[In These Times, What Rush Has Wrought, 3/8/2012]

So where is the outrage against KHVH?  On balance, they do very well with their business plan and so far no one is pressuring them effectively to change it. If they liked Rush before, no doubt they still like Rush now.

The commenter suggested learning who the Limbaugh sponsors are. If any group is actively working on that, please feel free to say how it’s going so far.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 3/08/2012 04:07:00 PM