Losing stations has become a
thing for the Republican 'king of hate radio.' Last month it was
WIBC in Indiana. And now this month (so far) it's WRKO in Boston.
AllAccess.com confirmed and published a statement by
Premiere on Tuesday:
“We were unable to reach agreeable terms for The RUSH LIMBAUGH Show to continue on WRKO. A final broadcast date will be announced in the near future. RUSH LIMBAUGH airs daily in every measured media market in AMERICA, and we look forward to announcing exciting news for our BOSTON listeners soon.”
That last line, to me, is political speak for:
"Rush, we're trying like hell not to piss you, the Right-Wing, and your dittoheads off. For all we know, you just might make a comeback. So, we're going make 'dumping your ass' sound as nice as possible. Love ya, big guy! (We just don't LUV no mo. Yer killin' us.)
Just a hunch.
Limbaugh has been spouting and provoking hate on public TV/radio for decades. It started to catch up with him several years ago when he attempted to demean and degrade an unknown college student, calling her a 'slut,' and worse, on air, for three days. That student is now the attorney and activist, Sandra Fluke. In 2012, Fluke was advocating for mandatory insurance coverage for birth control, emphasizing birth control is also used for medicinal purposes. Limbaugh bullied Fluke relentlessly -- because that's how he rolls. But this time the public found out, via social media, and it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Brian Rosenwald, in his February Time Magazine piece, talks about how Limbaugh's hateful and inflammatory words now go far beyond the ears of his dittoheads/fans/listeners than they did 25 years ago. His vitriol can easily reach hundreds of thousands via social media campaigns:
Indeed, a show’s actual audience need not be bothered for comments to cause trouble. Campaigns against a host can build over time, and social media makes it easy to pressure station management and advertisers.
In fact, the provocative, unpredictable content that produces the best talk radio fits poorly with an advertiser-based business model in the Internet and social media era. This problem may eventually drive the content provided by Limbaugh and his peers to an internet-based subscription platform, where hosts do not have to worry about losing advertisers when they generate controversy.
With the
Limbaugh Sponsor Petition (now at 135k signatures) and social media campaigns like
StopRush, sometimes 'bad press,' really is 'bad press.' Advertisers continue to dodge Rush Limbaugh's show daily. The flailing, self-proclaimed 'El Rushbo' continues to lose millions in ad revenue, radio stations, and ratings. If there is such a think as Karma, it seems to enjoy coming around to visit Rush Limbaugh a LOT these days - and rightfully so.
To join the hundreds of thousands in this powerful citizen/consumer-driven protest:
Visit/Like: BoycottRush Facebook Group
Sign: Limbaugh Sponsor & Clear Channel/iHeartPetition
Join: The Fight To Flush Rush
Visit: StopRush.net for an extensive list of Limbaugh Sponsors
Twitter: #StopRush and #FlushRush
Thank you, Kossack Richard Myers. Rest in peace. We miss you dear friend. We will finish this.
Special thanks to Gary Flinn and Freya Malin!