Efforts to silence Rush Limbaugh are apparently having a significant impact on the talk radio business as a whole, including syndicated radio shows hosted by Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Glenn Beck.After provocative comments made about a female Georgetown law school student, Limbaugh's show has been targeted by liberal groups that have pressured more than two dozen advertisers to drop his program from their ad buys.
Now, Rush's syndicator, Premiere Networks, is losing advertisers for other conservative programs it airs.
According to an internal Premiere memorandum obtained by Radio-Info.com, the company says 98 advertisers no longer wanted to air ad spots on any "offensive or controversial" talk programs.
Radio-Info says the list of advertisers include "carmakers (Ford, GM, Toyota), insurance companies (Allstate, Geico, Prudential, State Farm) and restaurants (McDonald’s, Subway)."
An excerpt of the Premiere memo follows:
“To all Traffic Managers: The information below applies to your Premiere Radio Networks commercial inventory. More than 350 different advertisers sponsor the programs and services provided to your station on a barter basis. Like advertisers that purchase commercials on your radio station from your sales staff, our sponsors communicate specific rotations, daypart preferences and advertising environments they prefer… They’ve specifically asked that you schedule their commercials in dayparts or programs free of content that you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity). Those are defined as environments likely to stir negative sentiment from a very small percentage of the listening public.”
Hmmm.
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