Remember the 'Flush Rush' boycott attempted by David Brock and Media Matters which called for advertisers to drop their sponsorships of Rush Limbaugh's radio show? How did that work out in the long run? According to liberal radio talk host Thom Hartmann on CNN's Reliable Sources yesterday it completely backfired because it ended up hurting liberal shows:
David Brock and Media Matters were leading the boycott Limbaugh crusade, which did presumably some damage to the Limbaugh show. I can tell you it did a lot of damage to progressive talk radio, because a lot of advertisers right across the board said just pull me out of all talk radio.
Oops!
As to the long run effect of such boycotts, Talkers Magazine editor Michael Harrison said talk radio is now doing just fine:
It hurt all of talk radio because it made sponsors wary of being in anything controversial, but there has been almost a complete recovery and the future is very bright.
The most surprising thing about the interview was the high professional praise that Hartmann gave to Rush Limbaugh
He's a brilliant and talented guy. He does radio really, really well.
Uh-oh, Thom. Your praise of Rush might cause blood vessels to burst in David Brock and many of your liberal listeners.
