Justin_stacy
07/07/03, 05:26 PM
MSNBC Fires Host
Mon Jul 7, 6:34 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters TV to My Yahoo!
By Ben Berkowitz
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable news channel MSNBC on Monday fired Michael Savage after the controversial talk show host wished AIDS (news - web sites) on a caller whom he dismissed as "one of the sodomites."
Reuters Photo
Savage had been under fire from gay rights groups since February when the network announced it had hired the conservative commentator to host a TV version of his popular talk radio show.
Saturday's episode of "The Savage Nation," his 15th since the program's debut in March, featured Savage discussing air travel with callers.
One caller began discussing his experiences, and after an unintelligible part of the call, Savage asked him "So are you one of those sodomists?"
When the caller said, "Yes I am," Savage, reclining in a chair with his arms folded and wearing dark sunglasses, responded, "Oh, you're one of the sodomites! You should only get AIDS and die, you pig!" in a clip of the show hosted on the Web site of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
An MSNBC representative was not immediately available to comment, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed that the show had been canceled.
GLAAD, which from the start campaigned against MSNBC's hiring of Savage, cheered the cancellation.
"Michael Savage's latest rant made the clearest possible case for why this kind of behavior has no place on any reputable news network," GLAAD spokeswoman Cathy Renna said in a statement.
In addition to his radio and TV show, Savage founded the Paul Revere Society, which advocates closing the U.S. borders, eliminating bilingual education and ending affirmative action programs.
A message left at a number listed for the Paul Revere Society in the northern California city of Mill Valley was not immediately returned.
Savage, who according to his biography on a network Web site holds a doctorate in epidemiology and nutrition science, hosted his unabashedly conservative show from the well-known liberal bastion of San Francisco.
A network source said the show had averaged 347,000 viewers through its first 14 airings, not including three weekends when the show was preempted by news coverage. It had aired Saturdays at 5 p.m. ET.
Savage was hired around the time the network canceled liberal talk-show host Phil Donahue, who in turn reportedly accused MSNBC of trying to "outfox Fox," a reference to Fox News Channel, often characterized as being conservative.
MSNBC is a partnership of the NBC unit of General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp.
Mon Jul 7, 6:34 PM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters TV to My Yahoo!
By Ben Berkowitz
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable news channel MSNBC on Monday fired Michael Savage after the controversial talk show host wished AIDS (news - web sites) on a caller whom he dismissed as "one of the sodomites."
Reuters Photo
Savage had been under fire from gay rights groups since February when the network announced it had hired the conservative commentator to host a TV version of his popular talk radio show.
Saturday's episode of "The Savage Nation," his 15th since the program's debut in March, featured Savage discussing air travel with callers.
One caller began discussing his experiences, and after an unintelligible part of the call, Savage asked him "So are you one of those sodomists?"
When the caller said, "Yes I am," Savage, reclining in a chair with his arms folded and wearing dark sunglasses, responded, "Oh, you're one of the sodomites! You should only get AIDS and die, you pig!" in a clip of the show hosted on the Web site of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
An MSNBC representative was not immediately available to comment, but a source familiar with the matter confirmed that the show had been canceled.
GLAAD, which from the start campaigned against MSNBC's hiring of Savage, cheered the cancellation.
"Michael Savage's latest rant made the clearest possible case for why this kind of behavior has no place on any reputable news network," GLAAD spokeswoman Cathy Renna said in a statement.
In addition to his radio and TV show, Savage founded the Paul Revere Society, which advocates closing the U.S. borders, eliminating bilingual education and ending affirmative action programs.
A message left at a number listed for the Paul Revere Society in the northern California city of Mill Valley was not immediately returned.
Savage, who according to his biography on a network Web site holds a doctorate in epidemiology and nutrition science, hosted his unabashedly conservative show from the well-known liberal bastion of San Francisco.
A network source said the show had averaged 347,000 viewers through its first 14 airings, not including three weekends when the show was preempted by news coverage. It had aired Saturdays at 5 p.m. ET.
Savage was hired around the time the network canceled liberal talk-show host Phil Donahue, who in turn reportedly accused MSNBC of trying to "outfox Fox," a reference to Fox News Channel, often characterized as being conservative.
MSNBC is a partnership of the NBC unit of General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp.