PREMIERE NETWORKS IS FEELING THE HEAT

Premiere syndicates Fats, Hannity, Glenda and Cunningham and according to Tom Taylor of Radio-Info.com, it sent a warning message to its network:

It's not just Rush.

TRI hears that Premiere is circulating a list of 98 advertisers who want to avoid “environments likely to stir negative sentiments.” The list includes carmakers (Ford, GM, Toyota), insurance companies (Allstate, Geico, Prudential, State Farm) and restaurants (McDonald’s, Subway). As you’ll see in the note below, those “environments” go beyond the Rush Limbaugh show –

"To all Traffic Managers: The information below applies to your Premiere Radio Networks commercial inventory. More than 350 different advertisers sponsor the programs and services provided to your station on a barter basis. Like advertisers that purchase commercials on your radio station from your sales staff, our sponsors communicate specific rotations, day part preferences and advertising environments they prefer. . .They’ve specifically asked that you schedule their commercials in day parts or programs free of content that you know are deemed to be offensive or controversial (for example, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Tom Leykis, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity). Those are defined as environments likely to stir negative sentiment from a very small percentage of the listening public." That's the question, isn't it? How small is that percentage, and how long will this uproar last? And is there a long-term impact on talk radio as it's currently practiced?

UPDATE: Memeo lists others who have reported on this announcement.