People
Rush Limbaugh

Radio Station WIBC Admits The 'Real' Reason They Are Dumping GOP Extremist Rush Limbaugh

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Radio Station WIBC Admits The 'Real' Reason They Are Dumping GOP Extremist Rush Limbaugh

IMAGE Rush Limbaugh, eating a cigar

Last week, I covered a story about the Conservative Radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, being dropped from the Indianapolis radio station, WIBC, after 22 years. WIBC parent Emmis Communications notified Los Angeles-based syndicator Premiere Networks that it would not extend its deal with Rush Limbaug. Many other news/opinion sites covered the story, including IBJ (Indianapolis Business Journal). Most of the stories basically said the move was simply a longterm change in direction.

Here's where the IBJ piece was a little different. Emmis' local market manager, Charlie Morgan, alluded the mega company's decision to drop Limbaugh was much more than a simple change - and they have been contemplating this move for 18 months.

While Morgan expects some WIBC listeners to be “hugely disappointed” by the change, he said losing Limbaugh could open up the station to more advertising opportunities.'There are some, primarily, national advertisers that refuse to air commercials during Limbaugh’s show,' Morgan explained. Emmis officials began notifying its advertisers of the change Monday.

And there it is, once again - bonafide proof the boycott against Rush Limbaugh and his sponsors is not only working, it's remarkably effective. It's changing the face of talk radio altogether. Right now the biggest problem with radio - is Republican hate monger, Rush Limbaugh. And the hundreds of thousands of Limbaugh boycotters couldn't be more pleased.

Advertisers can't handle the pressure and loss of customers. Most companies, other than those run by Republican Dittoheads, are avoiding Rush Limbaugh like the plague. This was not the case in 2012. That year, self-proclaimed 'El Rushbo' enjoyed sitting on the king's throne of Conservative 'hate radio' with a plethora of large lucrative sponsors. That all changed after he called an unknown college student a 'slut' and 'prostitute' while she advocated for insurance-paid birth control at a congressional hearing. Once Limbaugh's rant hit social media and went viral, huge sponsors like Ford, GM, McDonald's, Subway, Carbonite…began to pull their ads immediately after seeing the public's outrage. Yes, the good old days are long gone for Limbaugh, though his camp begs to differ and continues to make lame attempts to derail the boycott Limbaugh used to joke about. Also, his PR team is now blitzing search engines like Google with 10 or more RushLimbaugh.com stories per day - from the same show. Guess they need those page views to generate revenue because it sure isn't coming from sponsors.

Kudos, once again, to the many individuals, groups/organizations and websites involved in this successful movement. They are not mentioned enough. It's been a slow, agonizing fall for Rush Limbaugh, and it's given the protestors some pretty glorious victories and affirmations along the way. There will be more celebrations to come. Some organizations like NOW (The National Organization For Women) NARAL Pro-Choice America, and Planned Parenthood have been after Limbaugh for years. The amazing StopRush.net and #StopRush on Twitter have been relentless. Other Limbaugh relentless protestors include:

News Websites/Blogs: Media Matters, Daily Kos, Liberals Unite, UniteWomen.org, Addicting Info, Daily Kos 'Sluts', Occupy Democrats, ReverbPress, The Smoking Gun, Alternet, Unite Blue, UltraViolet, Huffington Post…

Facebook Pages: Boycott Rush Limbaugh's Sponsors To Shut Him Down, Being Liberal, Honoring Richard Myers, Pro-Choice Liberals, Miss R*EVOLutionaries, Chicks on the Left, Living Blue In Texas, Pragmatic Progressives, Everlasting GOP Stoppers, Too Informed To Vote Republican, UniteWomen.org, Worley Dervish, Lady Grey, The Beer Party, Lady Liberals, Red State Dems, Setting Women Free From Outdated Social Standard, God Bless The President Of The United States, The Ale Party, 1 Million Sluts Against Rush Limbaugh, Political Loudmouth…

Facebook 'Groups': FlushRush, Join The Fight To Flush Rush, Fight Laws Against Women, Pro-Choice Democrats, End Citizens United, ERA Action, and Stop Republican Laws Against Women…

Well Known Individuals/Celebrities:Gloria Steinem, Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Rachel Maddow, Al Franken, Stephen Colbert, Peter Gabriel, Spike Lee, Andy Borowitz, Crystal Ball, the late, great George Carlin, Ed Shultz, Sandra Fluke, Ice-T, Jane Fonda, Gloria Allred…

Individuals Equally Important: the late Daily Kos diarist Richard Myers, Wojtek Wacowski, Rick Unger, Cenk Uygur, Angelo Carusone, Karen Teegarden, Jen Senko, Matthew Desmond, Samuel Wynn Warde, Steve Marmel, Kimberley Johnson, Laurel Davis, Freya Malin, John Jorgenson, Gary Flinn, Portia A. Boulger, HRHPrissy, FlushFools, Glinda, KittyFitzgerald, LOrion, CMMorgan, CaptainMurdock, TKirkland, ProgLegs, Certinot…

The actual list is massive. More importantly, here's to the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of everyday concerned consumers who are supporting the protest by sharing boycott information on Facebook and Twitter, contacting sponsors, and signing petitions. The Limbaugh Sponsor & Clear Channel/iHeart Petition, alone has over 132,000 signatures. This is good news. This is important and exciting news. It shows the power of the people. When we use our voices (and in this case our consumer dollars) to make our message clear, we are being heard. Through grassroots online organizations and everyday concerned citizens who now can be pro-active via the internet, we are exposing hate speech, racism, homophobia, and misogyny taking place every day, not only on talk radio, but throughout the media industry. With social media we are also exposing police brutality, environmental corruption, human and civil rights violations, and this is causing America to change for the better. It's a new day. It's a great day.

To join the hundreds of thousands protesting Limbaugh's hate radio, here are some easy ways:

• Sign: Limbaugh Sponsor & Clear Channel/iHeartPetition

• Visit/Like: BoycottRush Facebook Group

• Join: The Fight To Flush Rush

• Visit: StopRush.net for an extensive list of Limbaugh Sponsors

• Twitter: #FlushRush and #StopRush

Thank you, Kossack Richard Myers. Rest in peace. We miss you dear friend. We are finishing this.

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO LESLIE SALZILLO ON WED APR 15, 2015 AT 03:43 AM PDT.

ALSO REPUBLISHED BY PRO CHOICE, MEDIA WATCH, THIS WEEK IN THE WAR ON WOMEN, AND SEXISM AND PATRIARCHY.