"The Savage Nation"hits #1 on N.Y.Times list (1 Viewer)

[Alex-C]

Savage claimed on show yesterday that he thought it was off the air, he was responding to personal attacks and he made personal attacks back at the crank caller. He basically (and quite suprisingly to me) was in major damage control mode. I would have expected Mike to come out swinging and make no apologies whatsoever.

You could hear in his voice he was tired (and he admitted several times to it), but I can only wonder if he went balistic during the day. As soon as the show started, I could tell something was different in his voice. Of course, 10 mins in he was railing against all of his usual targets.

 

[Karl_Luph]

I'm not a big fan of MSNBC so it doesn't surprise me that they let him go. I was surprised that he even wanted to be on their channel, knowing their track record of losers. Anyway, I admire the man for his stance on borders, language, and culture.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Savage claimed on show yesterday that he thought it was off the air, he was responding to personal attacks and he made personal attacks back at the crank caller. He basically (and quite suprisingly to me) was in major damage control mode. I would have expected Mike to come out swinging and make no apologies whatsoever

Even losing his San Francisco carrier didn't hurt him that much because that's not where his audience is. But getting fired by MSNBC was the first major blow to him, because it was the first time he's actually been directly spanked for his actions. If he thought it was off-air, then he hasn't been paying attention the last 8-whatever years he's been doing his show. If he's actively taking calls, he's on the air.And if you're suprised he even wanted to be on MSNBC, people like him want attention, that's one of the reasons they are so inflammatory on purpose, and a TV show gets you so much more attention than a radio show.

As for a "personal attack". I've seen the clip from the show from the beginning of the call in question to the end of it. The guy just plugged Don & Mike, and the next thing you know Savage is going off on him.

The difference between Savage and Howard Stern is simple. Mainstream America loves Howard Stern no matter how many FCC fines he gets, and frankly sponsoring his show is not going to encourage many consumer boycotts. However enough people disagree with Savage's stances, and enough of them go against internal advertising guidelines of said major sponsors that his show is going to be very hard to support in a few years. Give it a listen and count the number of national ads on the broadcast. You'll come out with a number close to 0. Eventually people will get sick of covering his butt and he'll get booted off his syndicate. All those zeros that Stern brings in from big high-paying national sponsors make him imminently more defensible to any broadcasting corporation.

 

[Steve_AS]

He kept praising himself and talking about how popular his show is, and said that he'll soon have a TV show too, that will be "unlike anything ever done in the history of cable television". Somehow I doubt it.

Last time I heard this sort of talk , it was from another relentlessly self-promoting blowhard...I think his name was Howard Stern. King of All Media, promised to run his competition (Saturday Night Live) off the air, remember?

Michael Savage is just the latest in a line of cynical 'truth telling' loudmouths making money off the insecurities and petty grudges of his fans.

*Dan* Savage is a much funnier read.

http://www.thestranger.com/current/savage.html

 

[Ricardo C]

Stern's an obnoxious prick, but he (at least the few times I've watched his show) will mock anything and anyone with equal intensity. Savage is nothing more than a bigot with a microphone.

 

[Holadem]

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[Ricardo C]

Hey hey hey, condemning Savage's homophobia doesn't cross the line into political discussion. Stop gloating

 

[Philip Hamm]

Mainstream America loves Howard Stern

Most of America doesn't listen or care about Howard any more. He's early 90s, the past. He stopped being funny at least 5 years ago, I used to listen to him on DC/101.

I was listening to Don & Mike on the way home yesterday and they played the tape. I love hearing a self-important prick like Savage melt down, and the fact that the caller was plugging Don & Mike (who are often legitimately funny) makes it even more sweet.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

He thought he was off the air?

That has to be the lamest excuse I've ever heard. "I'm a hateful bigot, but only in private, so it's OK." :rolleyes

 

[Chris_Morris]

And if you're suprised he even wanted to be on MSNBC, people like him want attention,

Jeff, I think the surprise was that he chose to be on MSNBC,not so much that he wanted a show. MSNBC is not known for high ratings, or good shows. I would have thought he would try to get on Fox News. What kind of ratings does MSNBC expect a show to get at 5pm on Saturday? :rolleyes


Chris

 

[Hunter P]

You can't really compare Stern and Savage since Savage's show is mostly political in nature and Stern generally avoids political topics. I view Savage as more a poor man's Rush.

His "I thought I was off the air" excuse is pretty lame. I've never seen his show but how could the host not know he's on. He's the one that should announce commercial breaks for the TV viewer. Did he think that he was taking off air phone calls for shits and giggles?

I happened to be driving yesterday and caught about 10mins of his radio show. He said something about his firing as another example of how we are getting closer to a Communist state. He uses Leftist and Marxist interchangibly. Of course the Liberals/Commies are out to get him but he's going to still continue spouting the truth. The ego he displayed was amazing in the mere 10 mins I heard. And I thought I had an ego.

 

[Hunter P]

Another thing he railed about was the fact that Dusty Baker made some racially charged comments and he's not getting fired. He cried about the double standard.

So what is it you want Savage? A commie state where everyone is treated equally or a state where people are treated indivually?

Of course Dusty was not fired. He's got the Cubs winning! Duh! If Savage's show was able to make a blip on the ratings then maybe he would have only gotten suspended and reprimanded. But his only a small fish in a small pond (MSNBC and AM radio).

 

[Hunter P]

Looks like the crank caller is a fellow Sacramentain. We are so proud.

Here is a story about the guy from our local paper. I heard that the comment that set off Savage was that the caller asked for Don and Mike to take over his show for a day so that he can go to the dentist because his teeth are so bad. Savage flew off the handle and spewed a bunch of gay comments.

BTW, Don and Mike are currently giving him crap on the radio because his real name is Michael Weiner. Sophomoric humor, yes, but that is why I listen to B&M.

 

[Joseph Young]

Weiner apologized today for his comments and apologized to his 'many listeners in the gay community' (LOL), citing that he thought he was off the air when he made the comments. Does this sound like a man who 'tells it like it is?" :rolleyes

Ricardo_c, thank you for the breath of sanity. For a moment I thought I had drifted into bizarro world, where his opinions actually hold weight.

Anyone really interested in Weiner's life, do some research on his stint with the beat poets back in the 60's. The man has come a long way since swimming nude with Alan Ginsburg.

 

[JasenP]

Without saying much else, I want to be counted as a detractor.

I just bit my tongue so much, I almost went clean through.