Conversation Scares People Who Sell Things

Industry website Radio-Info.com is reporting that at least 98 advertisers, many of them large companies, want nothing to do with any “environments likely to stir negative sentiment.”  This announcement came after the recent Rush Limbaugh controversy.  A memo posted on the site spoke on behalf  of a large group of sponsors:

They’ve specifically asked that you schedule their commercials in dayparts 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.”

Here are just a handful of the advertisers that are pulling out: Ford, GM, Toyota, Allstate, Geico, Prudential, State Farm, McDonald’s, and Subway. (source: The Daily Beast)

What does this mean for the future of talk radio? It means that any talk about issues, any talk that takes sides or any talk that disagrees with anybody at all will be deemed too risky to this group of advertisers.

Read more at the huffingtonpost.com.

    

We want to know if any of this matters to you.  Is it just business and you don’t care who sponsors who and who doesn’t?  or does it matter to you who a company chooses to do business with?

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When  sponsors stay away from controversy, are they cowards?  Or are they brave and taking a stand against “offensive” behavior?

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