A few week back, I used one of my main skills-----writing mean spirited screeds-----to help the campaign against Glenn Beck's show. An organization (ColorOfChange.org) provided me with addresses, and I sent off my missives detailing how Beck was a loathsome, fear-mongering huckster whom they could not possibly wish to be associated with their products. After receiving a huge volume of such letters and e-mails, Beck lost about half his advertisers.
Of course that left half.
Then, just last week I got phone numbers for five of the communication departments of companies still advertising on Beck's show. I placed five calls and left recorded messages explaining why their companies could not possibly want to be associated with a such a phony "news" show, and how Beck maliciously made outrageous claims about the President, and invented "facts" to suit his fancy. I pointed out that Beck's credibility depended on advertisers being willing to back him; too many viewers falsely assume that he must be telling the truth, or they would not have put him on TV.
Only in one case did I get through to an actual person. Interestingly, the fellow who took my message lives in New Delhi, India. It seems Target outsources their customer service. He seemed very interested though in American efforts to dislodge such corruption from the media.
Apparently the phone blitz has paid off! Glenn has lost 19 more advertisers. I think that is almost all of them.
If he is kicked off the air, no doubt he will grouse about free speech; but he can say whatever he wants. He cannot, however, insist that people pay him to speak when they don't like what he says.
Of course, I do have qualms about this line of attack and reasoning. After all, Bill Maher was kicked off the air because advertisers were afraid to be associated with his impolitic remarks. But the people who complained about his show were idiots!
1 comment:
Wonderful!
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