Dates: November 1, 2007 through Present
Description:
In a November 1, 2007 press release, CAIR “called on radio listeners of all faiths to contact companies that advertise on Michael Savage’s nationally-syndicated radio program to express their concerns” regarding comments he had recently made about Muslims, with the stated goal of persuading those companies to stop advertising on the Savage Nation. CAIR announced enthusiastically that many advertisers had heeded their call as of April 25, 2008:
Advertisers that have already stopped airing or refuse to air commercials on “Savage Nation” include Choice Hotels International, Sam’s Club, ITT Technical Institute, Chattem, Inc. (owners of Gold Bond, Icy Hot, and Selsun Blue), Union Bank of California, Intuit (parent company of TurboTax and QuickBooks), and GEICO Insurance, US Cellular, Sprint Nextel, Sears, Universal Orlando Resorts, AutoZone, Citrix, TrustedID, JCPenney, OfficeMax, Wal-Mart, and AT&T.
Savage pursued a copyright infringement and RICO lawsuit against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for allegedly illegally publishing quotes and audio excerpts from the syndicated talk show regarding Islam out of context, and using them for fundraising purposes while damaging the value of Savage’s copyrighted material. While the initial lawsuit filed by Savage was withdrawn, CAIR attempted to extract attorney’s fees and costs from Savage that totaled close to $200,000.00. Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court ruled in favor of Savage, denying the Islamic lobby group any attorney’s fees or costs. In doing so, she found that Savage’s claim was not frivolous as CAIR claimed.
The book Muslim Mafia documents that the campaign against Michael Savage cost CAIR $160,000, and that Executive Director Nihad Awad estimated that it cost the Savage Nation “at least $1 million in advertising revenue.” CAIR formed the non-profit group Hate Hurts America with its partners with the express purpose of opposing Savage. CAIR’s attacks against Savage remain on their website as of February 2010. The Savage Nation continues to be the 3rd largest syndicated show in the country.
Source Backups:
11/01/07 CAIR.com: “National Radio Host Goes on Anti-Muslim Tirade” (PDF 70KB)
11/16/07 CAIR.com: “Action: Ask AT&T to Drop Ads from ‘Savage Nation’” (PDF 152KB)
04/25/08 CAIR.com: “Motel 6 Refuses to Air ‘Savage Nation’ Radio Spots” (PDF 139KB)
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