Rush Limbaugh Birth Control Controversy Begs Question: Does the Media Only Inflame By Reporting on Such Distasteful Remarks?

As a journalist, it’s a tough call choosing to write about sexist media figures like Rush Limbaugh, because I don’t want to draw attention to people like him. 

The comments that conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh made about Georgetown University law school student Susan Fluke are certainly uncalled for statements that deserve to be reprimanded, but the more media headlines that are written about him, the more popular he becomes. It is almost as if he is being rewarded for making atrocious remarks against women.

Limbaugh’s latest comments in which he calls Fluke a “slut,” a “prostitute,” and asks her and every other woman asking for birth control coverage to post videos of their sexual encounters online so taxpayers can receive something in return has received coverage from every major news outlet, and even President Barack Obama has weighed in. Obama thanked Fluke for “exercising her right as a citizen to speak out.” 

In response, Limbaugh mocked Obama on his radio show, exposing the “failed” efforts of Obama and Democrats stating that it was a, “failure on their decades-long abortion push. It just isn’t the winning issue for them it used to be.” Obama was right to thank Susan for her bravery, but the attention from the White House was what Limbaugh wanted. As a sexist, he certainly doesn’t deserve any of the popularity he has gained in recent days. 

On the other hand, Limbaugh has lost advertisers as a result of the phone calls, comments, and Tweets that were made against him. Sleep Number beds has pulled their ads from his program.

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