On Mon, 22 Jul 1996 hallam@Etna.ai.mit.edu wrote:
Limbaugh is giving up the show because it is run in syndication. Syndication is not a profitable format with the ensuing satellite blitz on the horizon.
I find your argument only moderately less convincing than the average political campaign ad.
Your opinion. It's not an argument; it's the way it is.
Given Limbaugh's propensity for telling blatant fibs I don't credit anything he says as being likely to bear any relation to the truth, particularly when it would mean admitting failure and retreat.
Again your opinion.
Syndication is highly profitable for many, if its profitable to syndicate drama with its astronomic production costs it is profitable to syndicate Rush with his astronomic weight.
Good straw man defense: Apples == Oranges. Syndication is only profitable for those shows that can make the time slots garnered with the biggest advertisers. Drama wins because it's chewing gum for the mind - just like Clinton's saturday morning broadcast and the subsequent denials issued afterwards. Zero thought television appeals to the masses, ie: Bay Watch != Script. Talk shows that attempt to stimulate active thought on reasonable premise generally do not survive long in syndication. With Limbaugh's show, it took a double hit as the markets it played to were for the most part late night. BTW, this comes from actually looking it up in past TV Guides - not mindlessly drooling over the radio - so put away the "he's lying" crap. In addition, Limbaugh, like other TV hosts, has zero control over when the show airs and which episodes get aired. To screw someone in the Nielsons, you place the show in the low rate time bracket to guarantee bottom ratings, and do re-runs. It's doesn't matter how good the show is - it won't fly. Following the shallow logic of your argument, Limbaugh is not a success because he does not broadcast on TV. That parallels the generally accepted myth (especially in academia) that one is not an expert in the field unless published.
Limbaugh is a buisnessman and a commentator. He earns a living. He will do what is necessary to leverage his marketability to make the most money.
Since you've gone to college, I'll have to explain it to you: It's called capitalism - look into it...
Its called failure and spin control. Rush has not announced a new TV show, he has closed his only TV show. He has closed after his audience declined and his contracts expired. That is the business decision of the local stations who don;t see Rush as profitable business anymore and advertisers who don't want to see their products associated with appologists for the Oaklahoma bomb.
Again, your opinion of the situation. Adverstisers are whores. That's what they get paid to do. IF they think going PC will sell more product, that's what happens. Watch and see the score of all the Clinton's business backing when Hillary is finally indicted.
You fail to acknowledge the simple fact that a segment of society that feels not only disenfranchised, but that the system is irrepairable will stoop to whatever means they feel is necessary to make their point. They don't care what other people think - just what they believe in. Discrediting is a non issue.
I know that facism has an appeal for many people but that does not mean that they are not a minority. And I am not using the words Facism as a casual insult but as an accurate description of a movement which is in large part a vehicle for racism and has already caused 200 plus murders at OKC.
Every time an extreeme idological faction of the left or the right gains power there are splinter groups from that side claiming that the failure of the policies is due to them not being compromised and insufficiently ideal. Since right wing idealogues have been dominant in the US for some time it is the right wing extreemists who are to the fore.
Right wing, left wing. It's all the same. Pigeon holes for unpopular ideas. The issue I take with this, is the constant spouting of King Bill's pronouncement of why OKC occured in the first place. We don't know WHY it took place - that's what a trial is for (if you actually believe that justice is blind and lawyers tell the truth always). We will NEVER really know - but it's damn fine political fodder to take an unconstitutional swipe at the populous with the anti-terrorist legislation. If you firmly believe the premise that Fascism was the root cause behind OKC, then you have no choice but to look to the White House and Capital Hill. ...Paul