FM Types

Cindy Sheehan is the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. Last week she was camping near Bush’s vacation hom in Crawford, Texas to protest the war.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said this about Cindy Sheehan and her supporters, August 15, 2005:

What’s she got? A hundred stragglers have showed up down there, a hundred peaceniks, a hundred long-haired, maggot-infested, dope-smoking FM types, essentially, are down there joining her.

Does Rush Limbaugh hate people who listen to FM radio, since he’s on AM in most markets?

Doesn’t he listen to FM himself when he’s travelling?

It’s bizarre that Rush Limbaugh would try to fan hatred against people who listen to FM. He’s made remarks agaisnt FM listeners previously, as well.

See also “Rush Limbaugh’s Idea of a Joke.”

Corporations SLAPP Critics, To Try To Get Them To Shut Up

From Molly Ivins:

SLAPP suits (for “strategic lawsuits against public participation”) are a serious menace to free speech. The latest example is a real prize: The Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, has already spent $10 million defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Isuzu Motors Ltd. because, eight years earlier, Consumer Reports rated the Isuzu Trooper “not acceptable” for safety reasons. And the case has not yet reached trial.

And that is the real menace of SLAPP suits. It’s not that corporations win them, but that they cost critics so much money that the critics are silenced — and so is everyone else who even thinks about raising some question about a corporate product or practice.

Isuzu claims that CU’s reports are “not scientific or credible,” but the company’s internal memos state that the “lawsuit is a PR tool” and “when attacked, CU will probably shut up.”

Minnesota Radio Ratings

Are Minnesotans getting tired of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity?

In the Twin Cities:

Conservative-talk icon Rush Limbaugh’s show has lost 43 percent of its audience among 25- to 54-year-olds in the past year. Sean Hannity’s show is down a whopping 63 percent. The shift is serious enough that “we’re weighing where these shows fit for us in the future,” according to Todd Fisher, general manager at KSTP (1500 AM), which carries both syndicated programs.

…The ratings shift hasn’t affected partisan radio stations such as WWTC (1280 AM), known as the Patriot, or KTNF (950 AM), home to Air America programming, including Al Franken’s weekday show. Both have maintained relatively stable, if small, audience shares of about 1 to 1.5 percent.

Franken is an exception, however. Locally, the Minnesota native has increased his audience share to 2.4 percent of listeners ages 25 to 54, compared with 1.3 last year.

“The Patriot” is a rightwing radio station with hosts including Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage.

“Air America Minnesota” is a progressive radio station, with hosts including Al Franken and Ed Schultz.