Some things about Limbaugh and talk radio.

[certainot]

1) This is a talk radio problem, not just a Limbaugh problem. Sean Hannity started his 500-station radio show with excuses for Limbaugh and he said if Georgetown female college students had so much trouble paying for contraceptives they should just buy the much cheaper condoms. He may have though of that solution all by himself, as opposed to getting it from the Heritage Foundation.

2) No one better represents the ideals and morals of the GOP better than Limbaugh. He's the biggest PC cop and censor-by-threat in the country. No one has done more to take the GOP toward the edge of the cliff and like cowards they're dragging the country along with them. Anything to challenge Limbaugh and RW radio is a plus for liberals and especially needed this election season. Anything that brings Limbaugh out from under his invisibility cloak and puts him in his rightful place as point man for the talk radio monopoly and at the top of the GOP is good for democracy. "That's what Limbaugh said" should be a common retort for any Democratic politician or spokesperson in media who has to debate lying Republicans and their media shills. The Party of Lincoln is now the Party of Limbaugh and it needs to be treated that way.

3) Merely going after national advertisers may not work in the long run. And some national advertisers have been sponsoring progressive talkers, probably to a much smaller degree, but significant for them. There are probably plenty of teabagger business owners lined up and ready to fill in. The Citizens United ruling may allow massive infusions of cash to make up the difference.

4) To make a long term difference the response to Limbaugh needs to extend to right wing radio in general and the individual stations that make it up. The 'Left's' response to right wing radio, the Right's most important media tool, has usually been limited to anger at individual examples of 20 years of lies, hate, racism, and misogyny. Meanwhile the coordinated campaigns that deserve much of the credit for getting us where we are now have largely been invisible until too late and often attributed after the fact to their other media assets.

5) There is still no organized effort by the 'Left' to monitor and counter RW talk radio. Isn't it possible now to use voice recognition software to provide a daily online written record of the main national and local talkers? This year with Citizens United it is especially important to fix this advantage the Republicans and 1% have. Far too many good candidates and issues get attacked and lied about unnoticed, until it is too late. Until there is an organized opposition progressive organizations and the Democratic Party will continue to waste volunteer hours and donations because they ignore the giant coordinated megaphones shouting over them.

6) The radio stations that put Limbaugh on are the problem. They need to feel pressure to balance with progressive talkers or quit talk radio. For most of their air time they function as continuing free political advertisements for the GOP and the 1%. With few exceptions, radio stations that play Limbaugh are dedicated to GOP, Tea Party, and right wing think tank propaganda. They are coordinated locally and nationally to attack all things liberal and sell all things republican. Consider them KKK radio stations that do some sports and community programming once in a while. They play the racism and hate most of the day and part time on weekends. Staff and producers and managers are tied in with the local GOP. Those stations are licensed to operate in the public interest but worked together to obstruct action on global warming, lie us into Iraq, deregulate Wall Street, make single payer politically impossible, make Bush an acceptable election thief, and pass voter suppression laws.

7) All advertisers on those stations need to feel the shame. So do the universities that endorse RW radio by broadcasting athletics on them. Like these 76 that broadcast on Limbaugh stations ( Universities for Rush Limbaugh . One of the most significant boycott successes may be the Cleveland Cavaliers dissociating themselves from his radio stations. University and pro sports dissociating from RW radio will be a hit they can't fix.

8) I think ad agencies and RW radio stations move ads around to reduce the 'liability' (is that standard? Or maybe they don't want to give advertisers the option of opting out of supporting Limbaugh, for instance). It may be that ads are moved around to make sure the Limbaugh show is covered. Anyone out there in advertising? Ad agencies need to be pressured to offer choices to opt out of RW radio so that Cabot Cheese can't use the excuse that their ads on the Limbaugh show were just part of a larger apolitical ad buy. Maybe there's a job in that.

9)) It's easy and fun to listen for a few minutes to get the phone numbers of local advertisers and talk to owners and managers. It's fun to hear the horror in the voice of an employee who didn't know they were advertising on Limbaugh. Few I've spoken to will scream into the phone that they love Limbaugh. Most are making business decisions and buying ad packages. Most probably believe the lie that Limbaugh and Hannity are just political entertainers. Most have no clue how badly some of their neighbors think of them.

10) Limbaugh is and will have a lot of influence in the primaries, keeping non-establishment candidates in. When it's time for him to follow orders and get behind Romney, what will be his price? Another Palin? There still may be some thinking moderates in the GOP ready to dump Limbaugh.

11) Don't waste time emailing his show and thinking it matters. I think I once heard him joke that all emails are counted as fan mail. This morning the day after calling Sandra Fluke a slut he says he was inundated by emails wondering if he was okay after the bomb scare at his house.

[progress2k12nbynd]

1. We also need a program to counter it.

Progressive radio, for the most part, has been a failure. We either admit that the USA public isn't buying what we're selling (which I don't think is the case based on the fact that Democrats and progressives do get5 elected to office) or we admit that we've had the wrong format/people in place.

Complaining about the fact that right-wing radio is effective in getting its message out doesn't really get us anywhere. Why don't we create some actual competition?

[certainot]

6. they have a monopoly and with global warming we don't have time for 'market' solutions to

challenge what is a very well protected and subsidized and established monopoly.

getting universities to pull out will force many stations to switch programming or begin to offer balance.

BTW, progressive talkers can and do beat the main RW talkers in heads up competition in a lot of places that it has happened. RW doesn't want it to happen and routinely interferes with progresssive radio efforts. the RW routinely repeats that prog radio doesn't sell and it's a lie.

[AlinPA]

2. The Koch brothers and other billionaires will probbaly replace those sponsors who are

dropping/suspending Limbaugh. He won't leave the air.

[librechik]

3. There is no organized Left, that's why there is no organized response

We're not anything like the goose-stepping RW, all outraged in the same way by the same identical talking points.

We won't ever be: The Left is natually opposed to organized hegemony and by inclination won't hang together.

But there are lots of separate groups which act not in concert but more or less simultaneously. We have to learn to work well within that paradigm.

That's what Occupy is all about.

[certainot]

7. RW radio is OWS biggest loudesst constant opposition but OWS protestors have been

ignoring it.

for instance, WABC is one of limbaugh's mother stations and is located right near one of the biggest transit hubs in NYC. limbaugh and the rest of the RW blowhards are constantly egging on and making excuses for the cops and local govs to crack the protests. RW radio is the bullhorn of the 1% but OWS ignores it.

[mac56]

4. I work in small market radio and I can tell you

that advertisers HATE controversy. Especially smaller businesses.

Comments from current/potential/past customers about this DO have an impact. Just don't be controversial/pissy/confrontational yourself.

[certainot]

8. i agree it works. but it needs to go all the way this year to fix the radio, especially with

citizens united. limbaugh is not the only one- he's the point man and america's going to have a very weak democracy until the whole RW radio monopoly if fixed.

[mac56]

11. I'm with you there, but remember that all politics are local.

Don't underestimate the impact of a hundred calls to a local or regional business. Just sayin'

[certainot]

12. yeah, i think that works better- and when i call local advertisers few will defend limbaugh but

i've usually been the only one who called

[1ProudAtheist]

5. Progressive Radio Fails

Because it does not target it's message to the deepest, darkest, most loathesome, thoughts that a person has........FEAR. One thing that I have learned about the right and how they are able to connect with their base, is that they make them scared of anything and everything that they can imagine. That seems to stir one's emotions more so than appealing to common sense and reason.

[Marrah_G]

9. And also because clearchannel owns most radio

[mac56]

13. Not true by a long shot.

nm

[certainot]

10. your'e right about the fear motivator but it is a RW lie that progressive radio fails. progressive

ive talkers beat RW talkers in heads up competition but the subsidized monopoly tries not to let that happen. there are blue areas with duplicate RW talkers and NO progressive.

but re fear, check this out for where a lot of it comes from relative to certainty uncertainty

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