LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Savage's talk show left the airwaves Thursday after the conservative host won a legal battle with his longtime employer, although his attorney said discussions with new networks are already under way.
Savage posted a message on his website Thursday evening under the headline "Free at Last!" that said he was free to work with any station or network from now on. He said he "will not be heard on the radio for some time."
His attorney Daniel Horowitz said Savage left Talk Radio Network after obtaining a favorable ruling in arbitration Thursday afternoon.
More than 8 million people listen to Savage's show each week, placing him behind only Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity in ratings, according to the magazine Talkers. The immediate effect that his abrupt departure would have on companies that advertise on his show was unclear.
An email sent to Oregon-based Talk Radio Network was not immediately returned. Savage's bio and name already have been removed from the company's website.
Horowitz says Savage has been fighting the network for two years to get out a contract that was 10 years old and prevented the host from switching employers. Horowitz said the agreement lacked protections afforded to artists and entertainers under California law, and tied Savage to Talk Radio Network indefinitely.
Horowitz said Savage spent more than $900,000 fighting his case but was awarded more than $1 million in arbitration. The agreement also calls for Savage to be able to obtain all archived tapes of his show.
Savage, who broadcast from San Francisco, was heard on nearly 400 stations and has gained notoriety for offending immigrants and minorities, calling the Muslim holy book, the Quran, a "book of hate" and being banned in 2009 from traveling to England for allegedly fostering extremism or hatred. After that decision, the host appealed to one of the targets of his barbs, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for help.
Michael Savage (not his real name, of course) is, at best, an acquired taste. Although he has an occasional insight, most of his program is just his sarcastic and cynical rambling. I can't even imagine the demographics of his audience - a misanthropic population to be sure.
I honestly thought he was getting totally bored with the program the last few times I tuned in, and expected him to hang up his spikes in the near future.
Nobody can fill the airwaves with anything worthwhile for 15 hours a week.
Good riddance. He sounds like an insane, incorrectly-medicated third-grade dropout with delusions of godhood. michael savage is half a step above the Westboro Baptist Church.
I will assume its not one we would assume and this I assume its MSNBC.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
Well, Guin and Dale certainly qualify for prizes, but since you guessed it after the answer was already announced, I'm afraid you don't even qualify for a copy of the home version of our game....
Damn! And just a few weeks ago I finally tossed my Wollensak T1500 after I couldn't find a replacement for the 12AB5 vacuum tube. Ah, just as well, the azimuth of the head was misadjusted and both tracks were playing back slightly out of phase.
I'm afraid the mellifluous tones of Michael Savage will just have to remain a fond memory. What an extraordinary broadcaster.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
