

Now I know why Sean Hannity has been so hateful on Fox News all week. He's been caught in the maelstrom along with his buddies Glenn Beck, Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest.

Via The Daily Beast:

Premiere Networks, which distributes Limbaugh as well as a host of other right-wing talkers, sent an email out to its affiliates early Friday listing 98 large corporations that have requested their ads appear only on “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).”

It turns out brands aren't really very excited about being associated with bullies smearing private citizens. The list of brands insisting on this is pretty impressive. Ford, Toyota, GM, McDonalds and Subway, to name a few.

All of which leaves Rushbo and Company with a dilemma. After all, their bread and butter is controversy and hate. If these major national advertisers don't want their ads associated with hate, the haters may become loss leaders for their local affiliates. Wouldn't that be too bad?

This is all the product of the outcry against Rushbo's three-day tirade against Sandra Fluke, which caused the netroots to rise up and reach out to the advertisers keeping him on the air. Despite the fact that Rush has scrubbed his website of the transcripts and offending content, he can't escape accountability for this.

More from the Daily Beast article:

Valerie Geller, an industry insider and author of Beyond Powerful Radio, confirmed the trend. “I have talked with several reps who report that they're having conversations with their clients, who are asking not to be associated with specifically polarizing controversial hosts, particularly if those hosts are ‘mean-spirited.’ While most products and services offered on these shows have strong competitors, and enjoy purchasing the exposure that many of these shows and hosts can offer, they do not wish to be ‘tarred’ with the brush of anger, or endure customer anger, or, worse, product boycotts.”

Power to the people.