Olbermann and Limbaugh

(fm the BC thread "No, leave it on")

Salt Lick is perfectly entitled to find Rush crude or offensive. Personally I do not enjoy Bill O'Reilly and I do like Rush. There are two sides to these broadcasters. Only secondarily are they political operatives and information purveyors. Primarily they are entertainers. The best of them, as I feel Rush is, are very forthright about this. In fairness O'Reilly has stated this himself. As professionals they work as hard as Jay Leno does. They craft a message and do their research to hold an audience. The evidence is that Olbermann is bad at this and Rush is good at it. If a reference to Mary Jo Kopechne is offensive and crosses line then that is probably not Rush's intent. It is his intent to approach the line to engage his audience. While Olbermann might make the same argument in his case there is more evidence that he is acting out of personal animus even when it is against the best interests of his employer. The worst thing I hear on Rush is the advertising. It is depressingly down market most of the time. Some huckster decrying his "Itty Bitty" structured settlement and pitching a costly cash payout makes my skin crawl. It would be better to me if tobacco and liquor ads were allowed back on the air.


BTW, I was trained by a Boatswain's Mate Master Chief who had turned Old Ironsides around twice. Here is to you BMCM Gross wherever you are. When I was commissioned he did get a real silver dollar.