Campaign against Hate Speech on the Radio in West Michigan and Beyond
Posted: January 28th, 2008 | Author: jeff |AlterNet.org posted a story today about a campaign to get advertisers to pull their financial support for the syndicated radio talk show host Michael Savage. The campaign was initiated to focus particularly on Savage’s anti-Islam states on air. Here is a sample of some of his statements:
* 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.”
According to AlertNet, several advertisers have already pulled their support such as Union Bank of California, Intuit, Chattem, and ITT Technical Institute. The campaign was begun by Brave New Films, which created a webpage called No Savage. The site contains a short video with excerpts from some of Savage’s on air comments, more text examples of his racist comments and contact information for some of the other advertisers that people can contact to encourage them to pull their ads from his show.
The Michael Savage show airs locally in West Michigan on the Clear Channel owned WOOD radio 1300 AM from 6-9pm weekdays. The description of the show on the WOOD radio website says Savage is “An open-minded individualist” who “fits no stereotype.” The description also claims that Savage coined the term “Compassionate Conservative:”
“The word Compassion means with feeling, and that’s the magnetic attraction Michael Savage has proven he has by pulling top numbers in one of America’s biggest trend-setting markets. Give your audience a chance to hear why for the past two years Talkers Magazine named Savage as one of America’s top talk radio hosts. He knows how to explore issues, entertain, stimulate, and promote in ways that boost the ratings and profits of every station lucky enough to carry him.”
Not surprising, what WOOD highlights is how Savage can “boost the ratings and profits” of those stations, which choose to air him.
The Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) is encouraging people to contact advertisers that are targeted by the No Savage Campaign. GRIID is also asking people to contact WOOD radio to demand that they no longer run the Michael Savage Show, since it promotes racism and violence through hate speech. Send a pre-written letter to station manager Tim Feagan demanding that the station stop airing Savage.
Here’s a video highlighting some of Savage’s comments and the campagin against him:
UPDATE: Michael Savage is still on the air in Grand Rapids as of January 31, 2009.
Related Posts:
- Shock Jocks: Hate Speech & Talk Radio
- Local radio & hate speech? in Grand Rapids?
- Michael Savage Barred from Entering U.K. over “Hate Speech”
- Controversial Radio Host Michael Savage Still on the Air in Grand Rapids
- New Radio Station Offers Independent Media for West Michigan
Tags: grand rapids, media, michigan, organizing, radio
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More racism from Michael Savage:
Savage: “Bring in 10 million more from Africa. … They can’t reason, but bring them in with a machete in their head”
http://mediamatters.org/items/200801310003
The last thing we need in the world is to have him spew hatred into the world. For all Christians out there how can you honestly believe that Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself can condone a person who says that all Muslins are evil, etc. We, in west Michigan, need to stop hate and not encourage it by listening to and supporting a hate monger such as Savage is. West Michigan is not a place for Savage. All of our ancestors came to America to escape hate and because of this we should never support someone such as Savage. Also the WM Christian public needs to know that his first wife was pregnant twice and had 2 abortions and he worked for Timothy O’Leary promoting drugs when he was younger.
He even changed his name. He was born Michael Weiner of Jewish Russian parents but changed it to appeal to the Republican Christian side.
I would like to add to the above that I have started a group on facebook called
“Michael Savage’s talkshow needs to go to a political grave” that I would appreciate if you all would go to and sign up for and support. We need to stop the hatred here in West Michigan and the World.
It’s too bad you take anyone’s free-thinking and label it hate speech. You liberals talk all the time about being open-minded, but it is obvious you’re all just being hypocrites. Do YOU ever try and look at all the angles? Yes, I’ll admit Savage is somewhat biased, but I only say somewhat because after looking at both sides of the coin, I see his views as being better. But you’ll just label it hate speech. Doesn’t matter whether it’s Ms. California standing up for her moral upbringing, or Savage who actually has a spine and can tell the truth like it is. When they say history repeats itself, they are completely right: what happened to the Greeks, British, Egyptians, and ESPECIALLY the Romans will almost inevitably happen to us if people of your narrow-minded following lead the country.
Nobody’s mad that Savage is biased. Those of us who blog here at Media Mouse are obviously pretty biased–towards justice for all people and the planet (as opposed to folks like Savage). The problem is that Savage crosses the line from typical conservative drivel into outright hate speech, like the quote from Media Matters above. It’s a thin line, to be sure, but it’s clear which side Savage falls on, which is why we at Media Mouse support his removal.
And if civilization does fall because people like us stood up against hatemongers like Savage, we’ll be sure to cover it here at MM.
Savage rocks. There’s no hate. If you think that then you’re an intellectual coward.
@jay:
Your comments are the same kind of junk that rightwing–and to a lesser extent leftwing–talk radio promote. Simple arguments, denial, and insults. How can I argue with the claim “Savage rocks”? I certainly don’t think that he “rocks”–and indeed I find much of what he has to say to be completely objectionable–but you will just accuse me of being “an intellectual coward.”
However, in the interest of nulifying the claim that there is no hate, I urge people to check out Media Matters’ archive of transcripts from Savage’s program:
http://mediamatters.org/search/tag/michael_savage
A simple review of that page shows that his show features an almost daily dose of hateful comments.
I’m not Michael obviously, nor do I agree with “everything he says, But, your site is BS, how can you tell me that it was a hate speech, why don’t you all show and play the rest of the “Speech”, out of context I can make “I Love you” sound like a hate speech. Especially if I reverse it and make something up like: oh you love me, , well that means you don’t love anyone else,” ya see, it’s all BS, you should spenmd your time and money else where, on more important things like exposing the REAL Evil of our Country. WOW, you guy’s scare me, The man, has many other good messages on his radio show that shouldn’t be CenSored, you all are taking his and my COnstutional Rights away when you try to ban Good Folks like this, YOU SPEAK LIES YOU LAME ASSES, JUST WAIT UNTILL YOUR COUNTRY IS TAKEN OVER IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER, THEN TRY TO BAN OR CENSOR SOMEONE, YOU IDIOTS, YOU ARE WASTING YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND MONEY IN THE WRONG PLACE…
my goodness you make me sick man… you’re killing me, “His Removal”, are you kidding me??? what a joke, you make it sound as if they are gonna kill the dude in a mob film… You are wasting your time and money, and most of all your intelligence, can you honestly say that “NOTHING” He says is beneficial as information to the world.? The point is, is that he DOES have many good opinions and his way of explaining is PASSIONATE and that is what we need now days, it’s BALLS, not a bunch of sissies hiding behind a Computer screen trying to take another man down, you cowards disgust me.
Wow! This thread is a haven for nut jobs! The New World Order? Patriarchal jokes? Jeez… welcome to 2009 and the right’s desperate attempts to regain power.