What excuse do these 76 universities have for endorsing Limbaugh?

[certainot]

Last edited Thu Mar 1, 2012, 11:39 PM - Edit history (1)

The 76 or so universities listed below endorse Rush Limbaugh by broadcasting their athletics on about 170 stations that play his show. Some of these and other universities also broadcast on right wing radio stations that headline other RW talkers other than Limbaugh.

Almost all of those stations are exclusively right wing. The national and local talkers may have their own styles but in general and for important campaigns they all get the same material to repeat.

Those 1000-plus coordinated radio stations are why we can no longer have a national fact-based discussion about any significant issue and why one of our major parties can't even acknowledge global warming.

University athletics are a major draw for local advertisers. So much so that the radio stations pay the universities for the privilege. Some stations started those associations long before they were bought out to be part of the RW radio lie machine.

How can any 'institution of higher learning' justify endorsing Limbaugh stations and the misogyny, hate, racism, global warming denial, ignorance, and partisan lying they are dedicated to? For money? If universities honored half the promises and pledges they make in their 'mission statements' they would have to start looking for alternatives.

If a few of these universities can be pressured into looking for alternatives others will follow. Sponsors will notice and look for alternatives. Pro sports teams will notice. Many of the loudest and key pieces of the right wing media, those giant stations that can dominate local and state politics in many of the red states, will be in trouble.

In this election season the Citizens United ruling makes it more important than ever for the 'Left' to finally challenge the talk radio monopoly that has been plaguing US media and politics since Ronald Reagan killed the Fairness Doctrine.

Boycotting Limbaugh advertisers will help. Boycotting ALL advertisers on those radio stations will be even better.

But when these universities start looking for alternatives or demanding balance on those radio stations because their students and faculty and communities demand it, the right wing radio hate machine will start to fall apart.

From Universities for Rush Limbaugh :

United States Air Force Academy
University of Alabama
Arizona State University
University of Arkansas
United States Army War College
Auburn University
Baylor University
Boise State University
Boston College
Bowling Green State University
Clemson University
University of Colorado–Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Dayton
East Carolina University
University of Florida
Florida State University
California State University–Fresno
University of Georgia
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Idaho
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
Indiana University–Bloomington
University of Iowa
Iowa State University
University of Kansas
Kansas State University
University of Kentucky
University of Louisiana–Monroe
University of Louisville
Louisiana State University
University of Maryland–College Park
University of Memphis
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
University of Minnesota–Duluth
University of Mississippi
Mississippi State University
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska–Omaha
University of Nevada–Reno
University of New Mexico
New Mexico State University
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
Ohio State University
University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University
Oral Roberts University
University of Oregon
Oregon State University
Pennsylvania State University
University of Pittsburgh
Purdue University
Seton Hall University
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of Southern Mississippi
Syracuse University
Texas Christian University
Temple University
University of Tennessee
University of Texas–Austin
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University
Troy University
University of Central Florida
University of California–Los Angeles
Utah State University
University of Virginia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State
University
University of Washington
Washington State University
Wichita State University
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Xavier University

[sadbear]

1. I'm glad you put 'liberal' in quotations.

A lot of the communities that host those universities are pretty conservative.

[Fla_Democrat]

2. They want their games heard.

And a radio audience, use to hearing talk, chatter, something other than music is the best chance they have of their games being heard. Do you really think the listening audience of the top 40 station is going to stay around for 2-4 hours of chatter? No, they are there for music, they want to hear music. Same for any genre.

If you are programing for a station, would you give up a block of your time, knowing that you stand to loose a good percent of your listening audience for the time you are playing something they did not tune in for?

So, you have a station, that has a built in audience, use to the format that will be coming out of the speakers, if not the topics. It only makes sense. I dare say gulf 104 would have half their audience, if they were the new official Seminole network.

Have a viable alternative, a left leaning station (talk) in a market, I imagine it would be easier for the universities to change. Have just music as an alternative, it would be stupid for them to move, if it was even possible.

[certainot]

3. a lot of teams broadcast on sports talk and music stations. people listen to the sports to hear

their teams play. that's why they listen to it, not because it's the only station they listen to and then it comes on. it could play just as well on just about any format.

in many cases they could easily find alternatives that don't require them to mock their mission statements and wade in shit.

[Fla_Democrat]

4. I disagree

but, that's only an opinion I formed from listening to the local market for 30 years, and observing.

So, why do they do it, if there is a viable alternative, and they are screwing them selves over in the process... self loathing?

[certainot]

5. many unis have multiple outlets for sports broadcasting - but the main ones are usually going to be

the RW radio megastations. notre dame had over 100. many others have dozens. (i've also been listening to talk radio and sports for that long...)

some stations bought up for limbaugh and RW radio were probably chosen for sports associations- good move. (i heard of some and suspect there may be quite a few- it makes sense)

they are going to be the loudest stations and that makes sense from the economic perspective but my point is what are their missions statements worth if they endorse the likes of Limbaugh. unfortunately because the left ignores talk radio the stations have been able to pretend it's just political entertainment and sell it as such. most of the left reads, watches, and listens to music, so they ignore RW radio and here we are. profs and students might listen to the game but if they're repulsed by what's on the rest of the week they'll probably ignore it, turn on the music.

[pstokely]

6. They want to be on the powerful RW blowtorches (nt)

nt