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NBC's 'Today' show is bringing former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (l.) on board as a co-host Tuesday morning, pitting her against Katie Couric on ABC's 'Good Morning America'. (AP)

Sarah Palin a news show 'co-host'? Rivalry with Katie Couric casts her as one.

By Gloria Goodale, Staff writer / 04.02.12

As Sarah Palin prepares to go head-to-head with Katie Couric in guest appearances on the NBC and ABC morning news shows Tuesday, a few words are raising eyebrows among news watchers, namely the moniker “co-host” for Ms. Palin. 

NBC, promoting the appearance of the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate on its website, said: “Sarah Palin will co-host Tuesday. She’ll reveal a different side of her than you've seen before.”

As a ratings ploy, the gambit has already succeeded, garnering buzz about whether the twin appearances will evoke memories of the infamous Couric/Palin interview on CBS during the 2008 presidential campaign, which many saw as the key turning point in which the McCain/Palin ticket began to slide.

But does this move to slot an openly partisan political figure in the host seat cross some sort of important line for a morning show produced by the network news division?

“A host has the opportunity to steer the conversation,” Ed Arke, associate professor of communications at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., says via e-mail.

Palin is being billed as a co-host and her openly partisan views could be problematic, he says. But, the larger issue is whether a news magazine like the “Today” show will begin to mimic or mirror the personality-driven discussion shows of the 24/7 news networks, he adds.

The major networks such as NBC, CBS, and ABC, he says, “have managed to maintain a somewhat issues- or story-driven focus,” rather than hyping the personalities hosting the show. “This move by NBC could be the start of efforts to try and grab more attention for who is talking, rather than what the programs are discussing."

NBC spokeswoman Megan Kopf points out via e-mail that Palin will be a guest in the first hour, interviewed by the hosts. Palin will only move into the co-host chair during the second hour, where she will “participate in segments like “TODAY’s Professionals.’ ”

Ms. Kopf is quick to note that Palin will not be paid either for her appearance as a guest in the first hour or for her co-hosting stint in the second.

Nonetheless, says Jeff McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University in Indiana, NBC is making a big mistake by inviting Sarah Palin on the show as a co-host.

“It will likely give the show some ratings hype, but hosts are not supposed to be considered so partisan,” he says via e-mail. Bringing Palin on as an analyst or commentator and labeling her as such is fine, he adds, “but co-hosts of a news organization's morning show should be journalists.”

But Palin is already known as a partisan, says Len Shyles, a communications professor at Villanova University in Philadelphia. She has been a well-known public figure for at least five years since her national run for federal office, he points out, adding via e-mail, “does that make her arguably more honest than reporters who keep their political biases secret?”

The question, says Professor Shyles, then comes back to asking why a solid news organization such as NBC, which has been in the news business for nearly a century would put its reputation at risk “by making such a poor choice in Palin?”

The answer, he says, is to challenge “Good Morning America” and former "Today" anchor Couric, who is filling in all week for "GMA" host Robin Roberts. “NBC wants to take the wind out of the competition's sails,” he points out. And since it's only a one-day event, any justified public criticism will quickly subside.

“This story has virtually nothing to do with news,” he says, adding, “rather, it has everything to do with business.” Media watchers will be looking to compare the ratings of the two programs for the match-up between Couric and Palin, he says.

Veteran news producers have little problem with Palin’s appearance. " 'Today',  'Good Morning America' and 'CBS This Morning' all do news and entertainment without any fallout,” says former ABC and CBS producer John Goodman, via e-mail. “If George Stephanopoulos, with his Democratic Party and Bill Clinton history, can host 'Good Morning America' daily, Sarah Palin can certainly temp co-host 'Today,' ” he adds. 

Former NBC London news bureau chief Karen Curry, who is now a professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia, says she is not worried about this segment doing anything to embarrass NBC.

“These morning shows do all sorts of things that are not strictly news,” she says. “Now if they replace Brian Williams with Sarah Palin, then I might start to panic.” 

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Keith Olbermann poses at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. On Friday, Current TV dismissed Olbermann from its talk-show lineup after less than a year. (Mark J. Terrill/AP/File)

Acid-tongued broadcaster Keith Olbermann gets the boot from Al Gore's Current TV

By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer / 03.31.12

Once again, Keith Olbermann is looking for a job. It’s the second time in little more than a year that the oft-volatile and bombastic left-wing cable news broadcaster has left his post under tumultuous circumstances, this time from Current TV, the network cofounded by former Vice President Al Gore.

Olbermann joined Current TV as “chief news officer” and host of his show “Countdown,” reportedly with a five-year, $50 million contract.

But soon there developed hitches in the show and tension with network management, according to various reports.

During the primary election season he declined to host certain hours of election coverage and has missed a number of regular broadcasts, as well as complaining about technical problems he said undermined his show.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann suspended: two big rules of journalism he broke

In a statement, Gore and Current TV cofounder Joel Hyatt said the network was "founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it."

In a statement posted online, Olbermann countered that "the claims against me implied in Current's statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently."

He said he had been attempting "for more than a year" to resolve his differences with Gore and Hyatt internally, "while I've not been publicizing my complaints." Instead of "investing in a quality news program," he said, his bosses "thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract."

He called his decision to join Current "a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one."

Before joining Current TV, Olbermann spent eight years at MSNBC, where he remained a controversial figure.

He feuded loudly with conservative Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, who he frequently awarded his “"Worst Person in the World" label. The New York Times called it “perhaps the fiercest media feud of the decade.”

On occasion, Olbermann apologized for statements he acknowledged were “over the top” – most infamously his description of then US Senate candidate Scott Brown as "an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, Tea Bagging supporter of violence against women, and against politicians with whom he disagrees.”

Even comedian Jon Stewart, who rarely holds back himself, found it startling – "the harshest description of anyone I've ever heard uttered on MSNBC.”

Just before the 2010 mid-term elections, Olbermann was suspended without pay for several days when MSNBC executives learned that he had donated $2,400 each to three Democratic candidates for Congress.

“Keith Olbermann is a gifted thinker, an amazing talent and a powerful communicator,” Mr. Gore said when announcing Olbermann’s move to Current last year. “In a world where there are fewer and fewer opportunities to hear truly distinct, unfettered voices on television, we are delighted to provide Keith with the independent platform and freedom that Current can, and does uniquely offer.”

Olbermann’s strident voice may remain unfettered, but for now at least he no longer has the independent platform to stir up and entertain his left-leaning fandom.

He’s being replaced by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, also an alumnus of MSNBC. Spitzer’s show is called “Viewpoint.”

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann suspended: two big rules of journalism he broke

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In this photo provided by NBC, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks with Jay Leno during his appearance on The Tonight Show in Burbank, Calif., Tuesday. Romney cracked Tuesday night that he'd pick Leno rival David Letterman as his vice president, talked at length about health policy and said he'd be happy to have a rival of his own, Rick Santorum, serve in a Romney administration. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC/AP)

Mitt Romney to Jay Leno: Rick Santorum can be my press secretary

By Linda Feldmann, Staff writer / 03.28.12

Mitt Romney says he’s ready to have Rick Santorum serve in a Romney administration – as his press secretary.

The likely Republican nominee was kidding, of course, as he spoke Tuesday night with Jay Leno. It was Mr. Romney’s first appearance of the campaign season on “The Tonight Show.”

Leno tried to draw Romney out on what he’s looking for in a running mate, but the former Massachusetts governor said he didn’t have a list. Leno was incredulous. “It would be presumptuous,” Romney said.

Romney then tried his hand at a little humor, suggesting he’d sideline Leno’s biggest competitor by giving him a new job. “I’ll tell you what, I can do you a favor with this,” Romney said. “I’ll choose David Letterman. He could help us both out.”

Haha. Then Leno threw out a serious list, and requested a one-word response for each.   

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: “Indomitable.”

Leno didn’t sound convinced. Romney tried again: “Man of strong will, great strength.”

“A man of girth?” Leno suggested.

Romney didn’t take the bait. “If you attack Chris Christie, you’re going to get more than you bargain for,” he said.

Leno gave up.

“I’ll try for smaller words next time,” Romney joked.  

Next up, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. The audience applauded.

Romney: “The American dream.”

Paul Ryan, House Budget chairman: “Creative.”

Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina: “Energetic.”

Donald Trump: “Huge.”

Rick Santorum:  “Press secretary.”

Ouch. As the likely runner-up in the GOP nomination race, former Senator Santorum’s name has come up as a possible running mate for Romney. Just a few days ago, Santorum called Romney the “worst Republican” to run against President Obama (on the health-care issue), then later said “of course” he would consider being Romney’s running mate if asked.

Romney cut him some slack, saying he understands what it’s like to run for office and be “on” all the time.

“Rick Santorum’s a good guy, he’s running a good campaign,” Romney said. “We have some differences in background and differences on some issues, but basically a good guy. I’m happy with him saying he’d like to be part of an administration with me, nothing wrong with that.”

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Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas speaks at the University of Missouri, last week, in Columbia, Mo. Ron Paul is tired of Etch A Sketch 'games' apparently and a new political ad shows it. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

New Ron Paul ad slams Etch A Sketch 'games.' Does he have a point? (+video)

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / 03.23.12

Ron Paul is tired of Etch A Sketches, apparently, and he’s not going to take it anymore. The Texas libertarian has a new ad that slams the media/political world’s sudden obsession with red shakable toys.

The ad opens with the now-ubiquitous CNN clip of Eric Fehrnstrom, a Mitt Romney aide, saying of a general-election campaign, “Everything changes. It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart it all over again.”

Then it moves through cuts of Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich holding up actual Etch A Sketches, interspersed with media Etch A Sketch mentions. “We’re talking about big things here, folks!” says Mr. Santorum, while waving the fine Ohio Art product in the air.

Then the ad turns sober. “$15 trillion in debt” flashes across the screen, followed by “12 million Americans unemployed.”

At the end, “Tired of the games?” comes up, just before, in even bigger letters, “Ron Paul.”

The overall effect is to repeat the original charge – that Mr. Romney’s positions are erasable – while simultaneously belittling the political focus on playthings and framing Representative Paul as the responsible adult in the GOP hopeful room. Clever! We’ve said it before: Paul may be losing, but he’s got the best ad people in the race.

So, is Paul right that this whole Etch A Sketch fixation is silly? Well, we’ll note that from the first, we’ve said the whole thing is overblown and is likely to have little effect on either the primaries or general election.

Some commentary has gone further, noting that political science has found little evidence that gaffes, as defined by the media, have any effect on political races at all. The whole affair should make people rethink “the ‘freak show’ aspect of the political press” rather than Romney’s candidacy, writes Brendan Nyhan in a stinging piece for Columbia Journalism Review.

That said, Paul isn’t the only Romney rival to pivot off Sketch-gate for his own political purposes. The Gingrich campaign has even launched a website, SketchyRomney.com, with a virtual Etch A Sketch that viewers can shake to see Romney's positions.

The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, has produced several ads already with an Etch A Sketch theme. So even if the red toy meme doesn’t really change voter minds, it looks sure to provide material for idea-starved campaign professionals for days to come.

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In this January 2009 file photo, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh talks with guests in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (Ron Edmonds/AP/File)

New anti-Rush Limbaugh ad campaign: Waste of money or coup de grace? (+video)

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / 03.22.12

Rush Limbaugh’s foes are striking back at his talk show empire beginning Thursday via anti-Limbaugh ads scheduled to run in eight cities. The liberal watchdog group Media Matters says it will spend at least $100,000 on the effort, which highlights Mr. Limbaugh’s attack on Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke as a “slut” in an attempt to get local stations to drop his show.

One of the ads urges listeners to call and tell Limbaugh’s affiliates that “we don’t talk to women like that” in our city, according to the Associated Press.

Hmmm. Is this campaign a waste of money – or the coup de grace for a career teetering on the edge?

First, we’ll note that the ads are the latest salvo in an escalating war between Limbaugh and Media Matters itself. The liberal group has been instrumental in organizing an advertiser boycott of Limbaugh on social media, providing lists of target firms and contact phone numbers.

In a March 20 opinion piece in Politico, Media Matters founder David Brock asserted that the sponsor exodus has “disintegrated” Limbaugh’s business model. Well over 100 companies have taken steps to make sure they aren’t associated with Limbaugh’s show, Mr. Brock wrote.

Limbaugh’s harsh attack on Fluke was unprecedented even for him, according to Brock.

“It is for that reason that Media Matters, along with numerous other groups, have begun to educate advertisers about the damage their financial support of Limbaugh’s program can do to their brands,” wrote Brock.

As a practical matter, Media Matters’ increasingly visible attacks on Limbaugh have allowed the talk show host to reframe the controversy to a certain point. Instead of his harsh words against a young, female private citizen, the issue Limbaugh takes on now is the attempt by a group that’s taken money from liberal icon George Soros to force him off-air. It’s a battleground on which Limbaugh appears to feel more comfortable.

“Media Matters and the Democrat National Committee and the Democrat Party are exposing themselves,” Limbaugh said on his show Wednesday. “This is an unintended consequence. They’re exposing that their Astroturf campaigns are not grassroots at all.... They are totally professionally created and executed Democrat Party opposition research-type attacks. And they have nothing to do with consumers.”

Second, demanding that Limbaugh wholeheartedly apologize is one thing. Demanding that he stop speaking is another. Liberal comedian Bill Maher has noted on his Twitter feed that he dislikes advertiser boycotts – perhaps due to his own controversial comments – and he is not alone. An opinion piece earlier this month from feminist icons Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Robin Morgan pushing for the FCC to kick Rush off US airwaves drew negative comments from many quarters. The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf warned of a political escalation that could result in “attempts by the left and right to use speech codes as a cudgel against opponents”.

Third, the increasing heat of the presidential campaign will affect the anti-Limbaugh cause to some degree, perhaps further allowing the talk show host to divert attention from his particular anti-Fluke diatribe.

You’ll note that Limbaugh himself links Media Matters and the Democratic Party together in the same breath. Meanwhile, Media Matters criticizes not just Limbaugh, but what the group terms his “conservative cheerleaders” among GOP-leaning pundits.

The further the controversy drifts from the harm done to a particular person, the more likely the chances that Limbaugh emerges from the controversy financially intact. Will his influence diminish, given advertisers’ newfound wariness of controversial speech? That might be the real question going forward.

Meanwhile, the more time Rush spends talking about Media Matters, the less he spends attacking President Obama. It’s possible that will be a main effect, inadvertent or otherwise, of the anti-Rush ad campaign.

“We have to wonder how all of this is actually plain ol’ politics. We’re heading toward the presidential election and Rush’s focus has been taken off his usual ball, onto his own crisis,” writes Carl Marcucci of the media trade publication RBR-TVBR.com on Thursday.

Republican presidential candidate, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas greets supporters after a rally at the University of Missouri, last week, in Columbia, Mo. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

Is Ron Paul a martial arts master? Jay Leno clip shows his moves. (+video)

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / 03.21.12

Ron Paul is not really a martial arts master. True, Congressman Paul is dedicated to getting in his exercise, even on the campaign trail: He walks or bikes almost every day. As he told Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" Tuesday, “that helps relax my brain a little bit."

But that kung fu clip in which Paul destroys an opponent with vintage arm blocks and 360-degree flip kick to the face? Mr. Leno’s staff made that up, and showed it on air during Paul’s appearance. It is very funny, in a David Carradine-meets-the-2012-campaign kind of way – even Paul laughed. Maybe it will show up in one of his famously combative commercials.

Paul has rejected Secret Service protection, by the way. That was the genesis of the kung fu mashup – Leno was purportedly showing why Paul didn’t need other people to provide him protection.

That said, he does have a code name picked out. Romney is “Javelin," named either after a spear or a strange-looking American Motors auto.

But Paul? “Bulldog,” the GOP hopeful said, to applause from the crowd.

“I’d go after the Fed and all that big spending,” he said, by way of explanation.

We’d like to make this observation about Paul’s appearance on the mainstream late-night show. Once again, he lived up to funnyman Jon Stewart’s observation of his effect on the race: He’s the candidate of uncomfortable silences.

The audience seemed full of Paul supporters, who cheered when talked about a brokered convention, and even gave shout-outs when he hit Rick Santorum as a fake conservative. (Mr. Santorum's code name is "Petrus," the rock.)  

But Leno got Paul into a long (by late-night standards) discussion on the issue of abortion, in which Paul went into depth about why he’s pro-life.

The audience was dead silent. Many young, educated voters back Paul because he is antiwar and favors drug legalization. This seemed an aspect of their candidate with which they were unfamiliar.

At the end, the audience cheered again, when Paul said, “the solution will have to deal with the morality of the people, not just piling on more laws.” But the whole thing seemed a sudden glance into the flintiness of some of the Texas libertarian’s personal beliefs.

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First lady Michelle Obama is greeted by Minnesota military and family members as she arrives at the Minnesota Air National Guard base, home of the 133rd Airlift Wing, Friday, in St. Paul, Minnesota. On Monday, Michelle Obama is scheduled to appear on CBS's 'Late Night with David Letterman.' (Genevieve Ross/AP)

Michelle Obama on 'Letterman' tonight. Can she get Dave to work out? (+video)

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / 03.19.12

Michelle Obama is scheduled to appear on CBS’s "Late Night with David Letterman" on Monday. Will the first lady challenge the veteran funnyman to a push-up contest?

We ask because in February Mrs. Obama appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and got involved in some friendly exercise one-upmanship. Ms. DeGeneres goaded her into a push-up contest, and the pair went at it right on the set, side by side. DeGeneres collapsed at about 20, while the famously fit first lady went right on up to 25.

“I just stopped,” said Obama.

DeGeneres graciously refrained from pointing out that her guest had been dropping only about halfway toward the floor on each push-up.

“I thought it wouldn’t be good to show up the first lady so I stopped. I thought it would look bad if I beat her,” said DeGeneres.

Or, if there aren’t push-ups, perhaps there will be a sack race. A few days after her Ellen appearance, Mrs. Obama went mano-a-mano with talk-show host Jimmy Fallon in a whole host of pretend-contests at the White House. They had a tug-of-war, sack raced, and so forth. Yes, the first lady emerged triumphant.

Well, it’s possible that Michelle Obama will get Dave Letterman out from behind his desk and into a pickup basketball game, or a jumping jacks contest, or perhaps some friendly fencing. But it’s more likely that she’ll just try to get him to eat something healthy. That’s what she did in January on Jay Leno’s "The Tonight Show." Let’s face it, neither Letterman nor Leno looks as if he's in great shape.

Plus, it’s almost the first anniversary of Michelle Obama’s Joining Forces initiative to help out hard-pressed military families. We’re pretty sure Letterman will give her a forum to at least mention that.

That’s why politicians (yes, a first lady is a political representative in her own right) flock to talk shows and other nontraditional broadcast venues now, after all. It’s a way to get their message out to a mass audience without that pesky insistent questioning that Washington reporters always feel they have to engage in.

Then-White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had an interesting colloquy about this at a White House briefing in October 2010. President Obama had just appeared on "The Daily Show," where host Jon Stewart called him “dude,” and some reporters wondered if the nation’s chief executive might be smarting due to this less-than-reverential reference.

“Let me say, if the president took offense at somebody calling him ‘dude,' given the names that are hurled around this town, I hazard to guess he’d rarely leave the top floor of the residence,” said Mr. Gibbs, to press room laughter.

Gibbs went on to explain that the White House was looking for ways to get its message out in nontraditional ways, to audiences who might not get their news from traditional sources.

Putting Mr. Obama on Jay Leno’s show in 2010, for instance, was “one of the easiest decisions we ever made,” said Gibbs. The program has an audience of about 9 million, many of whom probably don’t scour the Web hourly for political news and gossip.

“I think it’s an interesting and an important place to reach people and to talk to them about what’s going on in this country,” said Gibbs, in words that would probably be seconded today by his successor, Jay Carney, and indeed, by the press secretaries of most all the GOP presidential contenders.

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This August 2008 file photo shows 2008 GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain as he introduces his daughter, Meghan McCain, at a campaign stop in Washington, Pa. (Keith Srakocic/AP)

Meghan McCain: Is she the anti-Palin (+video)?

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / 03.16.12

Is Meghan McCain still a Republican? We ask this because the daughter of Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, lately has been expressing opinions that many on the right might judge to be heresy.

For instance, in an interview with Playboy released Friday online, she has little good to say about the 2012 race for the Republican nomination.

“It’s just been so lame – so many debates, so much blather, so much oversaturation,” said Ms. McCain, who’s a contributor to MSNBC and a Daily Beast columnist.

“Where’s the electricity?” she added in her chat. “You’d think someone would rise up and tap the frustration and energy of the Occupy movement or the tea party, but it just hasn’t happened yet.”

Second, she’s been pretty hard on conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh – specifically, about his calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut.” Like many liberals, she’s appalled about slapping such derogatory terms on women who take stands on public issues. She’d be happy if El Rushbo became an ex-talk show host.

“I hope at some point our culture will evolve past letting destructive men like Rush Limbaugh have a platform,” she wrote on her blog earlier this month.

Then there’s immigration. She’s definitely in the crowd that thinks the GOP mainstream seems too anti-Hispanic. She supports the DREAM Act, which among other things would open a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who go to college or serve in the military.

And did we mention she’s in favor of gay rights and is a big fan of gonzo journalist and all-around wild man Hunter Thompson, who wrote a book about the 1972 presidential election called “Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail ’72”?

“I read 'Fear and Loathing: on the Campaign Trail' in high school and loved his take on politics. I love the way he wrote with such disregard for authority and the status quo,” said McCain in the Playboy interview, which also touched on aspects of her dating life we won’t repeat here.

Well, here’s our take on this GOP apostasy: What we have here is a woman who’s her father’s daughter. She’s a maverick who takes the trail she wants, so to speak. She considers herself a Republican who is doing what she thinks the party as a whole needs to do – reach out to younger voters and independents who don’t care about wedge social issues.

Plus, it’s not like she dislikes all the current candidates. She’s a Romney backer (we’ll ignore that she stole Romney yard signs in 2008, as she admitted in her memoirs). She bonded with Michele Bachmann over the fact that neither of them went to their high school proms. She loves New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie.

“The Republicans need someone to excite younger people, independents, Hispanic voters, and the disenfranchised. I think if Chris Christie is the vice presidential nominee, we can change the weather and have a very good chance of beating Obama,” McCain told Playboy.

No, McCain may not be so much a Democrat as the anti-Palin. As she makes clear in her memoir “Dirty Sexy Politics,” she’s not a big fan of her dad’s ex-running mate. She considered Sarah Palin a wooden, dogmatic drag on Senator McCain’s electoral chances.

Nor does Meghan McCain like Ms. Palin’s daughter Bristol. That’s a turnabout: Bristol Palin has herself hit the McCain daughter as someone with too many cellphones, handlers for hair and makeup, and a vast array of Louis Vuitton luggage.

McCain told Playboy this was a “total lie.”

“I have, like, one Louis Vuitton purse,” she said. “[Bristol Palin] is just young and confused and was thrust into all this. The media aren’t kind to her. But once someone signs up for ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ it’s hard to sympathize.”

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Actress Jane Fonda arrives at the The Weinstein Company after party following the 69th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. Fonda wrote an opinion article with Gloria Steinem calling for the FCC to take Rush Limbaugh off the air. (Gus Ruelas/REUTERS/File)

Rush Limbaugh: Jane Fonda wants him kicked off air. Should FCC listen?

By Peter Grier, Staff writer / 03.12.12

Should the Federal Communications Commission kick Rush Limbaugh off the airwaves because of his harsh speech? That’s what Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda, and Robin Morgan are calling for in an opinion piece published today by CNN.

Ms. Steinem, Ms. Fonda, and Ms. Morgan are a trio of famous feminist activists, of course. Steinem is cofounder of “Ms. Magazine,” among other things. Fonda was, well, Jane Fonda – do we really need to say more? Morgan was a “Ms.” editor. Together the three are partners in the nonprofit Women’s Media Center.

Their argument is that Mr. Limbaugh’s use of the words “slut” and “prostitute” to describe Georgetown University Law student Sandra Fluke is par for Rush’s rhetorical course. He uses words like that all the time, they say.

“He promotes language that deliberately dehumanizes his targets,” they say.

If pressure on sponsors does not cause Clean Channel Communications to drop Limbaugh’s show, then the FCC should step in, Steinem, Morgan, and Fonda argue. Radio stations are supposed to use their licenses “in the public interest.” If enough listeners complain about Limbaugh, then the stations that carry him could be denied license renewal, according to the three women.

“It’s time for the public to take back our broadcast resources,” they write.

Well, we have this to say about that: You can think that Limbaugh’s words were vile, yet realize that this FCC strategy is unlikely to work, and could be dangerous.

First, it’s logistically difficult, since it would require an activist dump-Rush movement to remain focused on this strategy for years. The nation’s radio stations indeed have entered a cycle of license renewal applications, according to the FCC. But the last won’t come up for a re-do until 2014.

Will Limbaugh still seem like such a big target in two years? OK, given his tendency to utter anything that pops into his mouth maybe he will, but given the speed of the modern news cycle, we’re not sure.

Second, do we really want the US government to use its power to enforce speech codes? Yes, the First Amendment is not absolute, but if liberals go after Limbaugh in this manner, conservatives won’t just sit there, inactive. Plenty of folks on the right will are mad about Bill Maher’s words about Sarah Palin, and talk show host Ed Schultz’s language, and so forth. First they come for Rush Limbaugh, and then they come for Rachel Maddow.

“The US has been well served by legal and social norms that stop the government from targeting, punishing, or censoring political speech based on the perceived offensiveness of its content. Weakening that norm would result in attempts by the left and right to use speech codes as a cudgel against opponents,” writes Conor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic today in a piece that does a good job of summarizing objections to such an attempt.

Third, rightly or wrongly, Steinem, Morgan, and Fonda are jointly a red flag to many on the right. If they continue to attack Limbaugh, even conservatives who don’t like his methods will defend him. The Women’s Media Center might be better served to let less high-profile activists take the lead in this fight if they really want it to succeed.

“No longer is it good enough to disagree with conservatives. They must be fired from their jobs, separated from their advertisers, booted from the airwaves, buried under a prehistoric rock,” writes W. James Antle III, associate editor of the conservative American Spectator, today in a piece titled “The Hush Rush Syndrome.”