URGE MSNBC TO RETHINK TV SHOW FOR ANTI-GAY 'SAVAGE'
For eight years, Michael Savage has used his San Francisco-based radio talk show as a platform to spew hateful, defamatory rhetoric targeting women, people of color, immigrants and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. On February 12, MSNBC announced it had offered Savage his own weekly cable television talk show, to begin mid-March.
On the radio and in his writings, Savage launches venomous attacks at every class of people, with the exception of straight white men. In October 2002, he said that the United States "is being taken over by the freaks, the cripples, the perverts and the mental defectives."
On the subject of immigrants, "You open the door to them, and the next thing you know, they are defecating on your country and breeding out of control."
In his book "Savage Nation," Savage writes that, "The degenerates on the left who want to sell Americans on the idea that homosexuality, bisexuality, transexuality, even sex with animals is normal are using porn as a way to indoctrinate the sheeple [sic]." Sections of his book are titled "How to Pick up Liberal Women" and "'She-ocracy': The Radicals United for Ladies' Evil." On page 48, he references MSNBC as "More Snotty Nonsense By Creeps." He even goes so far as to call the NAACP Legal Defense Fund an "anti-white pressure group." Below are additional quotes from his book. A collection of more complete excerpts are available at:
<http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=3258>
On LGBT Issues in Education: "Look what the unisex movement of the late sixties and early seventies brought us. Picture your kid. With a wave, he hops on the bus, lunch pail in hand. He's off to kindergarten. When he gets there, he sits in a circle and sings 'Old MacDonald had a farm' [sic]. Then, with much excitement, he waits for the teacher to speak. And speak she does. She applauds homosexual perversion. You say that couldn'ât happen? Well, you're wrong."
On women leaders and the LGBT community: "Today in America, we have a 'she-ocracy' where a minority of feminist zealots rule the culture...Together, they have both feminized and homosexualized much of America to point where the nation has become passive, receptive and masochistic. In the new 'she-ocracy,' the overt target for every piece of legislation seems to be the white, heterosexual, taxpaying, working male. Recent hate-crime legislation, of course, was a payoff to the homosexual lobby pushed through Congress by those in the she-ocracy with deep ties to the House and Senate."
On comparing the West to the Middle-East: "These thieves in dirty nightshirts have created nothing in a thousand years. Just check the tags on your clothing. Ever see a label, 'Made in Iran' or 'Made in Taliban'? Of course not. They cut throats and blow things up."
Criticizing the media's attention on the Catholic church: "Why do we not see anything about, for example, the murderous mullahs, who preach hatred and teach children to kill? Why don't we hear about that? Because the radicals would like nothing more than to see the church steeples disappear and turn them into abortion clinics."
Additionally, MSNBC abruptly released Phil Donahue this week, one of the few talk show hosts who fairly and responsibly covered gay issues, and hired former House Minority Leader Dick Armey, who consistently opposed equal rights for GLBT people while in office. Armey caused a media firestorm in 1995 when he called openly gay senator Barney Frank (D-MA) "Barney Fag" at a radio press conference.
"These programming changes by MSNBC call into question their commitment to journalistic integrity -- are they willing to give blatant bigotry a national platform in a desperate bid to improve ratings?" said Cathy Renna, GLAAD's news media director. "We are also troubled by MSNBC's response when we approached them with our concerns. Despite being presented with evidence of Savage's mean-spirited and divisive ramblings, MSNBC officials have urged us simply to 'watch the show' and claims that it should not be 'associated with' comments made by Savage up until now. We are shocked by their lack of understanding and their apparent willingness to bottom feed in an attempt to improve their bottom line."
GLAAD urges the community to let MSNBC know that these programming changes threaten the journalistic credibility and integrity of the network. GLAAD is working with a host of other organizations who are also troubled by these developments, including Parents & Friends of Lesbians And Gays (P-FLAG), Asian Pacific Islanders for Human Rights (APIHR), Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD), American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, LLEGî, the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Latina/o Organization, the National Organization for Women and others.
TAKE ACTION NOW
Write to MSNBC president and general manager Erik Sorenson and NBC News president Neil Shapiro. Encourage them to reconsider their decision to put Michael Savage on the air. Explain that Savage's bigoted, inflammatory attacks should not be associated with a network that values the integrity of its news brand.
To write a letter to MSNBC using GLAAD.org's new online Take Action Center, visit: http://www.glaad.org/action/alerts_detail.php?id=3257
You may also mail traditional letters to:
Neal Shapiro President, NBC News 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112-0002
Erik Sorenson President and General Manager, MSNBC 1 MSNBC Plaza Secaucus, NJ 07094-3500
********************************************* FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Collection of excerpts from "Savage Nation" by Michael Savage http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=3258
Electronic Media Online - February 25, 2003 "MSNBC draws protests over conservative host" http://www.emonline.com/news/web022503.html
San Francisco Chronicle - Feb. 6, 2003 "SAVAGE TALK: A former herbalist has remade himself into the vitriol-spewing king of the Bay Area's afternoon drive time" By Dan Fost http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/06/DD165846.DTL
San Francisco Bay Guardian - Sept. 20, 2000 "Savage family values" By Daniel Zoll http://www.sfbg.com/News/34/51/51dissb.html
********************************************* GLAAD CONTACT:
Cathy Renna News Media Director (646) 871-8008 (917) 239-0783 - cell renna at glaad.org