A twitter post by Thinkprogress states that "many of the ads on Rush Limbaugh's show today are free public service ads from AdCouncil."
Krystall Ball, MSNBC contributor, is also tweeting that "overwhelming majority of ads on Limbaugh's show today are free public service announcements."
MediaMatters reports today that at least 45 advertisers have "dropped their ads from Rush Limbaugh's radio show in the wake of his misogynistic attacks on Sandra Fluke." ThinkProgress has the count of advertisers dumping Rush at 43.
Whatever the count of ad drops, the only online report I've seen about public service ads is MediaMatters also lists March 7 advertisers for hour 1 today on Rush, and most are Ad Council:
HOUR 1, COMMERCIAL BREAK 1
[ABC News update]
• New York City Office of Emergency Management, and the Ad Council [Note: The Ad Council distributes public service announcements "to the media who donate free time and space to our campaigns which ensures our messages reach the American public."]
• The American Heart Association, and the Ad Council
• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council
• Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Ad Council
• Feeding America, and the Ad Council
• Cintas
As noted,
The Ad Council distributes public service announcements "to the media who donate free time and space to our campaigns which ensures our messages reach the American public."]
In other Rush related news, EqualityMatters reports that
"Right-Wing Media Now Attacking Fluke For Non-Controversial Review Of LGBT Employment Discrimination."
After spending most of the past week defending Rush Limbaugh’s misogynistic attacks on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, right-wing media outlets are now attacking Fluke for a 2011 paper she co-edited for The Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law (the full essay is behind a paywall) that described discrimination in employer coverage of transgender medical care.
ThinkProgress has video of Rush sexist attacks against Sandra Fluke at
70:
Rush says "everything is cool" because "losing advertisers was an everyday, uninteresting part of doing business" that he does not "even notice it." Sure, then why did he feel the need to clarify his advertiser situation?
Not sure what is happening with these public service announcements, but does not sound good, and that is good news.
Update:
First advertising agency dumps Rush: "The list of advertisers pulling their spots from Rush Limbaugh’s radio program continues to grow, and today the first advertising agency announced that they would be pulling all of their clients’ ads from the show. PageOne Advertising, LLC based in Youngstown, Ohio announced today that it would no longer place clients’ spots on Limbaugh’s program."
Los Angeles Times report indicates advertisers fleeing rush not inconsequential:
Limbaugh told his audience Wednesday that any defections had been inconsequential. He said some new advertisers already had signed on, following his commentaries on Fluke last week. “Everything is fine on the business side. Everything's cool,” he said. “There is not a thing to worry about. What you're seeing on television about this program and sponsors and advertisers is just incorrect.”
Angelo Carusone, campaign director for Media Matters, suggested that a review of Limbaugh’s website or radio show suggested otherwise. He said that a position on the Limbaugh homepage long occupied by the computer security firm Carbonite had been left blank. And Carusone forwarded his group's log of sponsor time during Limbaugh's show Wednesday as it aired on WABC in New York, showing that many spots were occupied by free public-service ads.
Limbaugh’s words repeated by female Democratic candidates in new fundraising appeals:
Sen. Claire McCaskill was so disturbed by Rush Limbaugh’s description of a law school student as a “slut” and “prostitute” that she decided to repeat his rhetoric, featuring it in a fundraising appeal sent to thousands of supporters around the country. The tactic has paid off nicely for the Democrat’s re-election campaign.
McCaskill is one of several female Democratic candidates facing competitive races who are seeking to capitalize on the conservative radio host’s comments to fuel their quests for the U.S. Senate or House. Their message: You can help fight Limbaugh — and, by extension, Republicans or tea party activists — by financing candidates who will stand up for women’s rights.
Limbaugh’s AWOL Sponsors Open Way for United Negro College Fund:
The boycott against talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh has some unexpected beneficiaries: non-profits getting more ad time on his show.
The United Negro College Fund, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the American Heart Association are among the organizations that had ads air yesterday during Limbaugh’s program, the biggest U.S. talk show, on WABC-AM in New York.
Of the 69 commercial spots on the three-hour show, more than half were public-service announcements, according to data collected by Media Matters for America, a Washington-based non- profit whose mission is to fight “conservative misinformation.” Its research found none on March 1, the day after Limbaugh made his controversial comments about law student Sandra Fluke.
“Those are free,” said Angelo Carusone, campaign director for Media Matters, which has fanned Limbaugh opposition. “It’s a sign the boycott is working.”
3:54 PM PT: