Top Radio Host Shifts Blame as Advertiser, Radio Network Drop Show

Michael Savage points finger at critics, falsely recasts inflammatory remarks about autism

** For Audio/Transcript of the remarks, CLICK HERE **

Washington, DC - With an advertiser pulling sponsorship and a radio network dropping his program, conservative talk-radio host Michael Savage yesterday sought to recast controversial comments he made last week in which he said autism is "[a] fraud, a hoax" and that most children with autism are just "brat[s]" who haven't "been told to cut the act out."

Responding to the uproar caused by his comments, Savage said, "I stand by my words," and he lashed out at Media Matters for America, the progressive media watchdog that on Thursday first noted Savage's controversial remarks. Despite using words such as "dummy," "idiot," "brat," "moron," and "fool" to refer to children with autism, Savage said he was misquoted and taken out of context.

"Michael Savage is desperately trying to dig himself out of a hole by qualifying his original comments," said J. Jioni Palmer, a spokesman for Media Matters. "The reality is he didn't use any qualifiers when taking his mean-spirited swipe at children with autism and their families."

Savage's comments on his nationally syndicated radio program have been roundly denounced by a host of organizations seeking to raise awareness and promote sensitivity regarding the needs of those with autism. During the same program, Savage said children in "the minority community" were told to say they had asthma as part of a "money racket" to get "extra welfare" benefits.

In response to Savage's remarks, the insurance company AFLAC announced it will no longer sponsor Savage's program, while the seven-station Super Talk Mississippi radio network has decided to drop Savage's program from its lineup.

"Savage can try to obfuscate matters all he wants, but the fact remains -- his words are his words, and they were clearly directed at children with autism," Palmer said. "Instead of trying to shift blame, he ought to do what's right and apologize to the millions of autistic children, their families, and others he insulted."

Talk Radio Network, which syndicates The Savage Nation, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.

Background:

Savage falsely recasts autism remarks to claim he was "take[n] out of context"

http://mediamatters.org/items/200807220003

Michael Savage recast July 16 comments he made about autism in order to claim that he was "take[n] out of context." Savage falsely suggested that his comments distinguished between "the truly autistic" and those he described on July 21 as "the misdiagnosed, the falsely diagnosed, and the outright fakers in the autism field."

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