SMRs and AMRs

Saturday, April 14, 2007

It's not just Imus

From Media Matters

Summary:

On April 11, NBC News announced that it was dropping MSNBC's simulcast of Imus in the Morning in the wake of the controversy that erupted over host Don Imus' reference to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." The following day, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves announced that CBS -- which owns both the radio station that broadcast Imus' program and Westwood One, which syndicated the program -- has fired Imus and would cease broadcasting his radio show. But as Media Matters for America has extensively documented, bigotry and hate speech targeting, among other characteristics, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and ethnicity continue to permeate the airwaves through personalities such as Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Michael Smerconish, and John Gibson.

Glenn Beck

* On the March 21 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, The Glenn Beck Program, Beck called Rosie O'Donnell, co-host of ABC's The View, a "fat witch," claimed that O'Donnell has "blubber ... just pouring out of her eyes," and asked, "Do you know how many oil lamps we could keep burning just on Rosie O'Donnell fat?" On the March 23 edition of his radio show, Beck said, "I'm a little ashamed" for calling O'Donnell "a fat witch" -- then added, "But she's so fat."
* On the March 15 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Beck said: "Hillary Clinton cannot be elected president because ... there's something about her vocal range." He went on to say, "There's something about her voice that just drives me -- it's not what she says, it's how she says it," adding, "She is like the stereotypical -- excuse the expression, but this is the way to -- she's the stereotypical bitch, you know what I mean?" Beck subsequently qualified his statement: "I never said that Hillary Clinton was a bitch. I said she sounded like one."

(Continued here.)

2 Comments:

Blogger Minnesota Central said...

Did you see Al Franken on Larry King the other night? King asked about Imus and in Franken's response he called out Beck and Limbaugh.

KING: Is it forgivable? Should CBS let him stay on?
FRANKEN: You know, it’s — it’s their choice. I think — I think NBC made the right decision. I think cable news is cable news. And he has that position.
I have heard a lot of talk radio — now, I will give you an example. CNN has Glenn Beck on. Glenn Beck asked my congressman, Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, you know, I just want to ask you, how do I know that you’re not working with the enemy?
And he said that — I think he said it on CNN. But he certainly is — he’s on CNN. I don’t know why that wasn’t grounds for CNN thinking, well, maybe Glenn Beck shouldn’t be on. I mean, how dare he say that to a congressman who has just been elected?
And I hear this kind of thing a lot of time. I monitored a lot of right-wing radio when I was doing my show and before it. And I’ve heard Rush Limbaugh say things that are worse than this.
And so, I don’t know.


Poor Franken … he wanted to talk about issues that affect our country and all King was concerned about was 1 fired radio personality. The only reason I turned on the King was to hear Franken discuss the issues, but King wasted time staying to his tabloid-script.

4:16 PM  
Blogger Patrick Dempsey said...

I didn't see Franken on Larry King, but Franken comments are patently hypocritical since on his radio program and other post-SNL formats he has told insenstive jokes and comments about Catholics, gays, Afghan women, slavery and even saying about President Clinton would 'I'd rather have Ken Starr f*** me in the a**' at a White House dinner in 1998. As Lavender Magazine put it:

Franken, on the other hand, is a polarizing, demeaning candidate who only would continue Minnesota’s reputation as a sour, cynical state unable to produce focused, serious leadership at a time when it is needed most.

Franken's over-the-top, garden-variety hate speech crosses the line. just as Imus' comments did. I would love to hear Franken's stance on the issues, too, but he just can't help refrain from personal attacks on people he doesn't like (read Republicans and conservative). It has been going on for 20 years with Franken and it isn't going to stop while on the stump or if he even wins office.

On the flip side, Air America hosts such as Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz (as well as Nick Coleman in both print and on air) take personal shots at their adversaries whether it's Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, et al. So, this piece that singles out only conservative talk radio is clearly biased. Ed Schultz even claimed last week on his program that Rudy Giuliani would not have won re-election if not for 9/11. Uh, Ed, know your history, good buddy! Giuliani was in the final two months of his second term when Islamic terrorists hijacked US airliners that fateful day. He was not up for re-election in 2001.

If Franken wants to talk about the issues, he needs to do it in Minnesota - not on Larry King. Larry King isn't interested in Franken's position on the issues - only Franken's position on the hot-button issue of the day. And that's too bad really. HOpefully, Franken will avoid King in the future. I don't even know how much of a Minnesota audience King reaches, but I bet Franken can find a more efficient forum ot reach voters than Larry King Live.

11:04 PM  

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