MEDIA MATTERS: Limbaugh Is FINISHED: "The Damage Has Been Done"
For Rush Limbaugh, The Damage Is Done
One week after it was first reported that talk radio giant Cumulus Media might cut ties with Rush Limbaugh and pull his show from 40 of its stations nationwide, the end result of the contractual showdown remains unclear. But we do know this: The damage has been done to Limbaugh and his reputation inside the world of AM radio as an untouchable star.
By opting to publicly negotiate its contract and making it clear the broadcast company is willing to walk away from his program, Cumulus has delivered a once unthinkable blow to Limbaugh's industry prestige. (Cumulus is also threatening to drop Sean Hannity's syndicated radio show.)
Even if Limbaugh wins in the end, he loses. Even if Limbaugh manages to stay on Cumulus' enviable rosters of major market talk stations, Limbaugh comes out of the tussle tarnished and somewhat diminished.
Recall that one year after Limbaugh ignited the most severe crisis of his career by insulting law student Sandra Fluke for three days on the air, attacking her as a "slut," the talker's team announced the host was unhappy with Cumulus. Angry that its CEO had been noting in the press how many advertisers Limbaugh had lost over the Fluke firestorm (losses that continue to accumulate), an anonymous Limbaugh source told Politico the host was so angry he might walk away from Cumulus when his contract expired at the end of the year.
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Just look at what would likely happen to Limbaugh in New York City, the largest radio market in America. He's currently heard on WABC-AM, which has broadcast Limbaugh for decades and has served as his unofficial flagship station in America. But Cumulus owns the station and it's one that Limbaugh would get yanked off if the two sides can't come to an agreement. Where would Limbaugh likely end up in New York? On WOR-AM, a talk station that Clear Channel purchased last year, many observers believed, as a way to make sure Limbaugh would have a New York home if his deal ended at WABC-AM.
So what's wrong with Limbaugh moving to WOR-AM? Only the fact that the station's currently a ratings doormat, ranked 25th in that market with less than half the audience of WABC-AM. Yes, it's likely Limbaugh would improve that station's ratings if he moved over there. But at this stage in his career for Limbaugh to have to start over in the most important radio market in the country and do it on such a low-rated station? If you don't think that kind of demotion would sting, you don't understand the oversized egos that fuel talk radio in America.
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell August 7, 2013
New CDC data show that obesity rates for less fortunate kids are, for the first time in decades, falling. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell looks at the new data and what impact the First Lady's Let's Move! campaign could be having in his latest Rewrite.
Poor Children Show a Decline in Obesity Rate In Baltimore, a class of 5-year-olds at Union Baptist Harvey Johnson Head Start jump during a motion break. Union Baptist makes a point of promoting health. Students at Union Baptist get health lessons, field trips to a grocery store, healthier meals and an hour of exercise a day. August 6, 2013 After years of growing concern about obesity among children, federal researchers have found the clearest evidence yet that the epidemic may be turning a corner in young children from low-income families. The obesity rate among preschool-age children from poor families fell in 19 states and United States territories [ http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/ChildhoodObesity/index.html ] between 2008 and 2011, federal health officials said Tuesday — the first time a major government report has shown a consistent pattern of decline for low-income children after decades of rising rates. Children from poor families have had some of the nation’s highest rates of obesity. One in eight preschoolers in the United States is obese. Among low-income children, it is one in seven. The rate is much higher for blacks (one in five) and for Hispanics (one in six). [...] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/health/broad-decline-in-obesity-rate-seen-in-poor-young-children.html [ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/health/broad-decline-in-obesity-rate-seen-in-poor-young-children.html?pagewanted=all ] [with comments]
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