Posted on 06/19/2009 9:20:32 PM PDT by topher
Friday June 19, 2009Several Advertisers Withdraw CBS Support in Wake of Letterman-Palin JokeBy Peter J. Smith NEW YORK, June 17, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Alaska governor Sarah Palin may have accepted late-night comedian David Letterman’s belated apology for making a rape joke about her 14 year-old daughter, but a grassroots campaign has continued to put pressure on CBS to fire the comedian. The campaign as of yesterday had generated 52,000 petitions requesting CBS fire Letterman, and it appears that two major advertisers, and a possibly a third, have chosen to withdraw support from CBS over the controversy. John Zeigler, Los Angeles radio talk show host and producer of the documentary film, Media Malpractice, had announced Thursday afternoon to the members of the FireDavidLetterman.com campaign that the restaurant chain “Olive Garden” appeared to have withdrawn its advertisements from Letterman’s “Late Show” for the rest of the year. POLITICO first reported on Thursday that it had obtained, secondhand, an e-mail that originated from Sherri Bruen, Olive Garden’s guest relations manager, citing Letterman’s “inappropriate comments” as the reason for the company’s “cancelling all its scheduled ads” with the “Late Show.” “We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” stated the e-mail. However Olive Garden later contradicted Politico’s report, clarifying to the New York Times that scheduled commercials for the Letterman show had just expired “earlier this month,” although the company spokesman would not comment as to whether they would be renewed for the rest of the year. Gwendolyn Lindsay-Jackson, a freelance television legal analyst and spokeswoman for FireDavidLetterman.com, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) in an e-mail that Embassy Suites public relations manager, Dawn Ray, has informed them that the hotel chain is pulling all its advertising from CBS.com affiliated websites. “I do indeed believe that CBS has no alternative but to respond to the pressure where it really hurts economically by targeting CBS Sponsors,” she said. “We are continuing our efforts, to demand the firing of David Letterman, and the results have been that a lucrative sponsor Embassy Suites has divested themselves as CBS sponsors.” Now it appears that Hellman’s/Best Foods is the latest company to respond, saying it will pull online advertisements from the Letterman show. Zeigler told LSN by telephone that the movement to fire David Letterman was a matter of justice and accountability. He indicated that Letterman should escape the consequences no more than did radio shock-jock Don Imus, who made a racial slur about the Rutgers women’s basketball team and was fired. “I mean, are we now setting a precedent that it is really okay for a comedian on an over-the-air, high profile show like that, in a premeditated fashion, to make a rape joke about a politician because the media does not like that politician?” Zeigler said. “To insecure people, [Palin] is a very threatening figure. This is a woman with five children,” said Zeigler. “She is very successful in her professional life, who is ardently pro-life, who kills her own food, so obviously in love with her husband and vice versa, and looks great doing all this. It is a very threatening persona to a lot of people, especially a lot of liberals.” Less than two weeks ago, Palin was traveling through New York with some members of her family, attending non-political functions. However Palin’s decision to take her 14 year-old daughter Willow to a Yankees game in New York City, became the subject of Letterman’s June 8 scripted comedy-routine, in which he stated that the Alaskan governor looked like a “slutty flight attendant,” and proceeded to laugh that Palin was distracted in the 7th evening with her daughter being “knocked up” by third-baseman Alex Rodriguez. The Palins immediately responded with outrage, calling Letterman’s humor "sexually perverted." Letterman had first refused to make a full-apology, saying the comment was not meant to be about Willow, but instead about Bristol, Palin’s 18-year-old daughter. However, Bristol had been in Alaska at the time, and media reports covering the Palins’ movements had only mentioned Willow as the daughter in attendance. Palin told Today Show host Matt Lauer about the affair, “No wonder young girls have such low self esteem when we think it's funny for a so-called comedian to make a remark like he did and think it's acceptable." The family rebuffed calls from Letterman to appear on his show. Letterman finally made a full apology, seven days after the incident. The FireDavidLetterman coalition has coordinated rallies via Facebook. The first had been held last Tuesday in New York outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, where Letterman is filmed. Another rally is scheduled to occur on Saturday in Texas. |
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I agree to a point. However, rape is no joking matter. Too many young girls have been molested by too many perverts and they carry life long scars. I have been involved in many small groups where we have shared child hood experiences and was shocked at the number of women who have been affected. Some of whom cannot stand to be hugged by a male 40 to 50 years later.
Many Freepers may be motivated by the politics of this but I need to tell you this touches a chord in me and I bet in many others that goes deeper than politics. As Palin rightly pointed out, this is a symptom of a sickness in our society that the host of a show broadcasting to millions would think and expect a joke about raping ANY woman let alone a minor would be funny. Where is the humor in rape?
This is simply the free market at work. There is more than one way for this to happen.
One way to get DL off the air is for so few people to watch that it (financially) forces the advertisers not to advertise.
An alternative way to communicate to the advertisers is what is happening now, people calling and complaining.
To insecure people, [Palin] is a very threatening figure. . . . a very threatening persona to a lot of people, especially a lot of liberals. and RINOs.
There- fixed it.
Freedom of expression has it's limits...remember the famous "screaming FIRE in the packed church?"
Well in this case, I am asking you, since when RAPE made jokes are funny?!
In his case it is not that he "offended" the people telling jokes, it is the "SUBJECT' he chose to offend, for which a lot of the audience did not agree.
In his business, there is a very fine line one has to walk and be on the "EDGE".
Me thinks he crossed it!
Palin was distracted in the 7th inning with her daughter being knocked up by third-baseman Alex Rodriguez.
If Letterman said that about me I would invited Letterman to appear in court and justify his remark, or fork over several million dollars.
If you read the article, all it says is that the Palin incident is not the reason they no longer advertise on Letterman. They say the period for their contracted ads with Letterman is done, hence no more ads. What they don’t say is if they intend to advertise with him again at some future date.
Two companies are expressing embarrassment for advertising their products on the blog of a militant homosexual activist who routinely bashes conservative Christians.
Borden Dairy and Quiznos both say they were unaware they were helping finance a blog that, during the presidential campaign, accused Alaska Governor Sarah Palin of having her first son out of wedlock and falsely claimed she forced rape victims to pay for rape kits.
Quiznos says it, too, was unaware that its banner ads appeared on the homosexual activist’s site. Quiznos spokeswoman Ellen Kramer says the restaurant “has taken steps to ensure the ad will be removed as soon as possible.” She tells OneNewsNow: “While we do advertise on thousands of sites to reach a broad base of Quiznos fans, that particular site doesn’t meet Quiznos’ site requirements, and we have asked our media-buying agency to revisit those requirements immediately.”
Other companies advertising on John Aravosis’ blog include AT&T, Capital One, and Matrix Direct Insurance.
more:http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=572562
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