Advertisers Drop Savage Over Hateful Remarks, USO Hints At Suit

At least four major firms have pulled advertising from Michael Savage's nationally syndicated radio show following a campaign highlighting his inflammatory rhetoric. One other company, Geico insurance, is expected to follow suit.

The campaign, launched recently by Brave New Films, generated thousands of calls urging advertisers on the Savage Nation show to sever financial ties to the widely popular (and frequently offensive) talk host.

In less than a week, four agreed to pull their ads from the show, including Union Bank of California (whose representative says they were advertisers on the Savage show by mistake and were glad to be taken off), Intuit, Chattem, ITT Technical Institute.

"We are thrilled at the amazing response of the true patriots all over the blogsphere who responded to our NOSAVAGE campaign," Robert Greenwald, head of the film company, said in a statement. "People have called and emailed and the responsible sponsors have responded by pulling their ads and asking that their ads not be on this racist and hateful show."

But group who has segments run on the show is raising eyebrows by refusing to distance itself from Savage. The USO, a non-profit that does work for U.S. armed forces, wrote Brave New Films complaining about being targeted and even hinting at a lawsuit. The organization's lawyer Tony Bisceglie says it does not pay for the USO public service announcements that air on Savage's show.

"As a tax exempt not-for-profit organization, regulated by the Attorney General's Office of the state of California and the Internal Revenue Service, your organization may not engage in making false statements to solicit public support," Bisceglie wrote to Brave New Films. "Therefore, please take the necessary steps to remove USO from your website entirely to avoid further action on our part."

Bisceglie denied that the USO is considering legal action. But John Hanson, a spokesman for the USO, said the organization could ask for its PSAs to be taken off of Savage's program, and wouldn't. "Because then who is next?" he asked. "We provide no revenue for Michael Savage. We may improve his image. But we provide no revenue for him."

The reasoning was not enough to impress officials at Brave New Films who called it a lost opportunity for the USO.

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"Considering the USO's role in the world," said Leighton Woodhouse, a spokesperson for Brave New Films, "we would have expected them to be the first to distance themselves from someone who is deliberately fanning the flames of hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims; we were sorely disappointed."

The campaign by Greenwald mirrors an earlier initiative taken on behalf of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In both cases, Savage's invective was used against him as fuel for advertisers to rescind their financial support. Highlights of the radio host's statements include:

• To "save the United States," lawmakers should institute "outright ban on Muslim immigration" and on "the construction of mosques."
• "90 percent of the people on the Nobel Committee are into child pornography and molestation, according to the latest scientific studies."
• The U.S. Senate is "more vicious and more histrionic than ever, specifically because women have been injected into" it.
• Adherents of Islam would do well to "take your religion and shove it up your behind" because "I'm sick of you."

Brave New Film's video on Savage can be viewed here:

Interestingly, while Brave New Films and CAIR have run identical campaigns against Savage, the radio host has only filed a lawsuit against CAIR. His claim: that his comments were taken out of context and illegally made available.

A call and email to Savage's radio station was not returned.

According to an account in the New York Times, Savage broadcasts his show out of three "virtual safe houses" - whose location he will not reveal - and "is licensed to carry a pistol and does so," out of fears for his life. His program reaches an estimated eight million listeners a week on nearly 400 stations.

Comments

[KateAlene]

Oops. Forgot to say that one of our local commercial stations brings in Air America--loud and strong.

[KateAlene]

For what it's worth department:

I live in a small northern New Mexican town. Threw out my TV 'bout 15 years ago. Have two NPR stations, loaded with cultural, social, community, political,etc. programs.

Listened to Savage several years ago on a commercial station. Five minutes was enough.

Then there's the net. Go to any newspaper, any website, any blog you prefer.

Radio & the net is all about choice. I'm satisfied with what the air waves and cyber space bring me.

[envilliven]

Great! Good riddance to this major league putz.
His hateful blather has been a sore spot among many radio listeners me included.

[Doubtom43]

Why did Weiner change his name? Because he's just like so many other jews who feel they can't make it if the public knows their ethnicity.

Personally, I believe that Savage is just a con man who tried the liberal route and found that it was too tame to make the big bucks and so decided to appeal to the worst in human nature. Anything for a buck.

[BeerHolder]

Now you know why Geico used cavemen to advertise with. They had to communicate to the Michale Savage crowd.

[BeerHolder]

Ever notice that the most chickenshit people are the ones who bark the loudest. People like Michael Savage are scared shitless of everything. That's why all the hate speech. These chickenshits are also the last ones to sign up to go fight a war and the first to want to send someone else's kids.

This idiot better carry a gun and keep hiding like Bin Laden does. That's how you know he's yellow.

[gcalknet]

I repeat: Liberals believe conservatives are evil; conservatives just believe liberals are not bright, even though you are filled with hatred and vitriol.

[StillAmused]

Weiner's (his name is WEINER, not "Savage", and he burned out years ago as a failed, unnoticed liberal) fears are probably well-founded. Imagine a broadcaster so completely odious, so thoroughly despicable, that he has to broadcast from a series of 'safe houses'... kinda like bin Laden.

Then, there are his demented fans...

[certainot]

one of the biggest political blunders of the last twenty years was progressives ignoring the uncontested repetition of the talk radio monopoly. it is and has been the single most effective tool at rove's disposal. we need a new Fairness Doctrine ASAP. savage may be sick but he is a small part of the problem and the bogus 'market forces' argument that the limbaughs have been selling doesn't work.
check these out:
ABC and the rise of Rush Limbaugh huppi.com/­kangaroo/L­-libmedia.­htm and:
consortium­news.com/2­005/012805­.html
i didn't know rush's original parent co ABC radio was bought up by CIA connected Capital Cities (remember Bill Casey) who then subsidized him everywhere. talk about propaganda operations.
the fairness doctrine didn't mandate equal time, only the the opportunity to reply to the lies. for many years it kept the radio airwaves from being bought up and used for soviet style propaganda. then reagan killed it.
in the last 20 years our public airwaves have been monopolized in an organized coordinated propaganda operation that played a major part in selling and now is keeping us from fixing this bush disaster.
the TR monopoly works very well in keeping competition down- like in any monopoly situation. a local advertiser on the local limbaugh station who i spoke with advertises there only because it is the biggest station in the state and reaches the whole state. they bought up all the big stations and still would rather take losses than let the progressives have a chance. in most parts of the country limbaugh and crew are competing against a few religious stations, maybe a sports station, maybe top 40 western, and a top 40 rock. in large part they've got a captive audience- working and driving folks trying to keep up with current events before going home to fight for the remote. and they've been sold down the river. limbaugh and crew have been wrong about everything major and if they had a choice on the same station progressives would get their fair share of advertising.

[BlueStateDave]

I can't understand why you all get your shorts in such a wad about this guy. Who listens to this idiot other than brain damaged bigots like himself? Don't waste your time on this fool.

[bomfog]

http://www.thetruthaboutrockstar.com/

For your boycotting pleasure.

[novowel4me]

He's just a "Silly Savage".

[KOisGod]

Savage is such a self loather, because of his loveless father. You know the type, Brooklyn, "get otta heareee" type. So, why does Savage hate so much. He lives in Marin, just over the Golden Gate from from "San Fransico" like he referes to that city by the bay.

Leave already Savage, go live in Alabama where you'll be surrounded by fellow haters, and can sail your boat on the Redneck Riviera, swat bugs for 9 months of the year, and eat okra pizza and drink 'ol dixie beer, ya pus filled wind bag.

[TrevorAlan]

Important to point out here that Savage has a partial ownership in ROCKSTAR energy drink, so if you find this petty Hitler as noxious as I do you'll stay away from that too.

Just get a cup of coffee and put in some extra sugar.

[antiparanoid]

He changed his name from Weiner because he's really a Dildo.