[Headline edited - MB]
Word is leaking out that Rush Limbaugh's heart attack is a staged media event. It all comes down to him wanting more cash for his ad rates. The ad rates for 2010 are set by the highest three days in December. Turns out Rush was furious when he found out this year's high dates.
Respected journalist Brett Meisner broke the story:
Rush apparently turned to his staff and said "watch this" -- and turned a scheduled routine trip to the hospital to have two minor procedure (including a hearing check)into a "media event" after he told an operator he was having chest discomfort. They "snuck" Limbaugh out of the hospital after making sure word got out. And so it began.
http://www.velvetrope.com/...
Currently Rush needs the media manipulation since Clear Channel has just launched Rush Radio as a format. In many markets the AM station that has carried Rush for 20 plus years has lost the show. He's now on FM channels. So he needs all the attention to make sure his dittoheads understand that they need to change the channel and the AM/FM button.
What better way to do such a thing than by staging an medical emergency including setting out rumors that he's in critical status. He also is only letting his show have the exclusive updates to his condition. Even Fox News this morning didn't have a reporter standing outside his hospital giving us updates. It's almost like there's a gentleman's agreement to not cover him even though the president is on the same island so there's plenty of media types roaming the land of Jack Lord and Don Ho.
It does show that Rush understand that the best way to get a crowd is to give the people what they want - him on a deathbed.
Always good to know that the hillbilly heroin junky can manipulate his legion of listeners without feeling one bit of remorse for duping them.
EXTRA
In nearly 24 Hours since Rush was supposedly in critical condition, it's amazing how the media does seem to avoid doing any real reporting on his condition. AP wire report just quotes his substitute host.
ABC didn't even care enough to have a reporter do a stand up in front of the hospital and settled for a quote off Rush's website
http://abcnews.go.com/...
CBS sent a camera guy over for about 15 seconds worth of b roll
http://www.youtube.com/...
and everytime I tuned into Fox News, they were too focused on Obama being weak on fighting terror. They had a guy in Nigeria reporting live.
a man claims a boy is in a balloon and the networks camp out on his yard for a week. Rush supposedly has a heart attack and the major media relies on a local news report, the guy's website and his radio show.