There’s an old saying that “Any ink is good ink.” But when it comes to radio talk show host Michael Savage, there’s almost no ink.
Savage is America’s third largest talker based on number of affiliates and listeners. Top dog Rush Limbaugh has “about 600 affiliates.” Sean Hannity has “over 500.” And Michael Savage reportedly has 400. Yet the difference in press coverage received by the three talk titans is startling.
We searched Google News for the year 2008. “Rush Limbaugh” and was mentioned 68,400 times. Sean Hannity was mentioned 18,600 times. But Michael Savage scored only 5,910 mentions. Obviously, Limbaugh is the king daddy and in another league compared to everyone else. But how do you explain the vast difference between the coverage of Hannity and Savage? Savage has 80% as many affiliates as Hannity, but received but gets only 31% of the press coverage. And, by the way, he is a man that has published over 20 books.
To double check our theory, we also searched Google News for the last month. The finally tally was Limbaugh 9,398 mentions, Hannity 621 mentions, and Savage a mere 137 mentions. That number puts him far closer to overwhelmingly unpopular and unsuccessful talk show hosts like Stephanie Miller (73 mentions) and Ed Schultz (44 mentions) than to peers Limbaugh and Hannity. Yet Savage has far more affiliates and a far larger audience than either of the liberal hosts.
Yes, Savage is combative. Abrasive. Harsh. Acerbic. Outspoken. But he has a large, loyal audience and there’s no logical reason for him to be ignored by the liberal and conservative press.
Here’s to you, Michael. For what it’s worth, you’re not being ignored by IHateTheMedia.com.
This post was last modified on April 7, 2009
View Comments (21)
I Love Mike Savage. I listen to him every night. Shame on Limbaugh, Hannity & Levin for not suppoting Michael during his Banned From Britain problem!
Babs...Hannity plays the game by the book, Beck uses savages playbook...which i do not mind at least it is a good playbook.....
They wont back their competition....because to them thats all this is about.....Hannity especially....
I know Hannitys response to everything before he even says it....thats what I like about Savage...he doesn't use the REP. Playbook....Thank God because that playbook is a little outdated
I love Michael Savage, he is real, he has passion, he says what I wish I could say if I had a mic. It's disgraceful how Sean and Beck have not backed him.
I think part of that comes from the fact that Dr. Savage could care less about what Hannity, Beck, even the great Rushbo, think about him or what he has to say.
As far as I know he does not play golf nor is he a Hamptons kind of guy. What I do know is he likes to visit military bases and talk to our troops. He has been on aircraft carriers to honor some of the bravest pilots known to man and the people that support those pilots. I would not care if Michael Savage was loonier than Boy George for that one reason. He supports our men and women in uniform and is proud to do so.
Many of the men and women that support those awesome pilots also have to be quite brave to do their jobs. The deck of a carrier is an unbelievably coordinated and choreographed balancing act, and people get killed when things go wrong. I join Mr. WhiskeyRiver here in saluting all of our troops.
Its been almost 4 months since ihatethemedia talked about savage...Did the government get to you guys now also?????
Where do the morons who say things like "X makes conservatives look crazy" come from?
My God... do you honesty believe that there will ever be a point that the God-hating, Jew-hating, Christian-hating, America-hating Leftist will ever NOT view any Conservative as crazy?
And as a Conservative, you should not be motivated about how things "look" You have no control over the insane thinking process of Leftists. You will never "look" acceptable to them.
Worry , instead, if some thing is TRUE. Or Just.
IS
not "look"... not "feel"
Savage DOES make the conservatives who support him look crazy.
This is the man who said ALL disabled kids are just faking it to get federal money (he included Down's Syndrome, CP, missing limbs, etc.) in that rant. He also made nasty remarks that all women over age 25 are dominatrixes and this:
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"Half the women look like post-op transvestites to begin with, trying to look like they're gay or keeping up with the mores of the society. You ever see what they look like? They thin themselves down, they're on some kind of diet pill. The lipstick looks like it was applied by, what's her name, Joan Rivers when she was high. They all have a mouth on them, and the guy is, like, pushed into the background."
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He once claimed women were too dumb to vote; he said the U.S. should nuke the “red devils” in China; and he claimed autism was a “made up disease”. He also claimed that no women or minority firefighters died in the 9/11 massacre.
Savage also filed against any media, including YouTube, that linked to his anti-Muslim rants. He lost that suit.
I listen to him mostly to see what the real crazies might come up with next.
Name the date the show you are talking about aired. I listen to the Savage Nation almost every night and I have never, ever heard him put down anyone with a real disability. Especially children.
However, he will rant about teachers, doctors or other "professionals", who claim this child or that child has mental or health problems when nothing could be further from the truth. Schools get extra funding for "disabled" children to it stands to reason that schools will try to label more kids as having some kind of disability. ADHD and autism are two of the favorites to use because it is so hard to prove the "professional" wrong. That is why he rages on against the parents of these children, they are too stupid to understand what is going on and, in fact, are helping the skrewel system screw up their kids.
Rock on Dr. Savage! Keep telling it like it is!
I listen to Mr. Savage all the time. I nearly always agree with him, and I also agree with his "in your face" style. He speaks the truth, and if he has to get in your face to get you to listen, he'll do it. My only beef is when he goes off on his religious rants. You don't need to thump your bible to lay waste to liberal ideology. Common sense will beat liberalism every time. And he has lots of that. See y'all later, I gotta go drink a RockStar.
What Michael says is NOT hate speech. He tells you the facts, and then trys to make sense of why people do things. He gets anrgy because of all the madness around us. I would too. Yes he yells and gets angry, but so what. I know tons of people that if you bring up politics they get more hotheaded than he does. He is a smart man and I love his straight talk. Some people just don't want to hear it and thus call him crazy. Liberals hate him without listening to his show, and know nothing about him. At first I thought he might just be another talk show hatemonger, but I came to find out he is the is just angry at the way our government and people are running things around here. I agree with most of what he says anyway.
If you want angry, hateful, screaming, all you have to do is try to talk sense to a liberal. They are the most hate-filled people alive.
MICHAEL TELLS IT LIKE IT IS ,SO IF U GUYS CAN'T STAND THE TRUTH GET OFF THE PLANET AND JOIN THE REST OF THE SHEEP,I PERSONALLY AM A SHEPARD PERSON MYSELF, WAY TO GO MIKEEEEEEEEEEE!
I've listened to Mr. Savage and on the contrary, Michael, he does not preach hate. Does he get angry at the injustices? Yes. Does he get loud? hell yes.
He calls it as he sees it. and guess what, it is refreshing. Truly psychological nudity.
Dr. Savage reminds me sometimes of Mark Levin when he gets on a rant. Maybe that's why I like him.
I don't believe he preaches hatred at all. Getting angry and teaching hatred are two different things.
While I like Rush, both he and Hannity -- despite what they say -- are more republican than conservative, in my opinion. I like the independence of Savage. And as for Hannity, he is just not bright enough to listen to. Rush is brilliant, Hannity is not.