Media Matters has announced a radio ad campaign targeting his own audience on stations which air his 3 hour radio show.
The ads use Limbaugh’s own words about student Sandra Fluke, who testified at a congressional hearing that contraception should be paid for in health plans. Limbaugh, on his radio programs, suggested Fluke wanted to be paid to have sex, which made her a “slut” and a “prostitute.” In return for the money, he said Fluke should post videos of herself having sex. Under sharp criticism, Limbaugh later apologized.
In one of the ads, listeners are asked to call the station to say "we don’t talk to women like that” in our city, the AP reports.
Here's the ad that is set to air in Milwaukee regarding my local radio station (WISN) which broadcasts Limbaughs poison:
Here's the Chicago ad:
Yowza! Airing on RW stations giving a sobering dose of reality to dittoheads through the stations they prefer is genius.
The Associated Press reports that the ad campaign will cost at least $100,000.
Ad time was purchased in Boston; Chicago; Detroit; Seattle; Milwaukee; St. Louis; Macon, Ga.; and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The cities were selected to support active local campaigns against Limbaugh or because of perceptions Limbaugh may be vulnerable in that market, said Angelo Carusone of Media Matters.
Limbaugh has lost advertisers, some simply suspending their ads, others permanently pulling their ads. The financial impact, however, may not be enough in a RW media environment where pumping out the propaganda is more important than profit. Going after his stations (his show is syndicated on more than 600 stations) and audience might be more important in the long term.
Valerie Geller, a veteran radio consultant who worked at Limbaugh's WABC flagship in New York, said it appears that advertising money coming into Limbaugh's show is slowing down. "I think it's a very big wakeup call," she said.
Whether the advertisers return is another question. Limbaugh has a daily audience estimated at between 2 million and 3 million people, according to Talkers magazine.
"I suspect some people will permanently stay away," said Tom Taylor, executive editor at Radio-Info.com. "I suspect some people will drift back to Rush. What you won't see is a press release of someone saying, 'Hey, we're back with Rush!'"
It's nice to see that the outrage isn't going away. This wasn't just a single comment or outrageous statement from Limbaugh. This was a sustained 3 day personal attack peppered by lies on a private citizen who tried to give testimony to Congress. And his "apology" was almost as offensive as his 3 day media tantrum.
You can donate to Media Matters at their site or follow their extensive coverage there.
UPDATE: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has just updated their article:
An earlier post on Thursday about an effort by Media Matters for America to run radio ads critical of commentator Rush Limbaugh said the ads would be airing on WISN-AM (Radio 1130), Limbaugh's Milwaukee home base.
But due to incorrect information from Media Matters, the ads are not running on WISN. Instead, the ads are running on other stations in the Milwaukee market, according to Jess Levin, a Media Matters spokeswoman.
Jerry Bott of WISN said the ad was not running on his station, and "is not scheduled to run."
So, at least in Milwaukee, WISN rejects the "free market" to protect Limbaugh. Of course RW media is backed by the monied interests who are more interested in propaganda than profits. However, just having those ads run in markets where Limbaugh is on the air is going to be helpful.
I have updated my title to reflect the new information.