Last week, Media Matters for America documented that JC Penney was one of several companies that recently advertised on Rush Limbaugh's hate-filled radio show, despite having been included on a 2006 list of advertisers that reportedly requested that none of their ads be broadcast during Air America programs.
According to a tip from a Media Matters reader, JC Penney is now stating that its “company policy is to run no advertising on any programming that is political or religious in nature - and that includes the Rush Limbaugh show.”
Media Matters has the audio of a JC Penney ad that aired on New York's WABC-AM at the beginning of Limbaugh's May 29 show at 12:06 p.m. ET.
Here's the text of the email JC Penney reportedly sent:
Thank you for contacting us online.
Our company policy is to run no advertising on any programming that is political or religious in nature - and that includes the Rush Limbaugh show. We have a record of supporting candidates ? Democrat and Republican -- that have an interest in issues that are important to the retail industry.
We welcome comments and suggestions from our customers that call matters to our attention and enable us to address each issue. Customer concerns are always forwarded to the proper areas responsible for the issue. Your comments are a great help toward increasing satisfaction of all JCPenney customers.
As a company servicing half of America's families for over 100 years, our customers have come to know JCPenney as their trusted retail partner.
At JCPenney, what matters to you, matters to us. Customers like you are our most valuable resource for creating the optimal shopping experience.
Thank you for taking the time to share your input. We look forward to
serving you in the future.
JCP.com Customer Service
Every Day Matters
On Monday, we posted the text of a similar email apparently sent by Home Depot asserting that Home Depot doesn't “support the Rush Limbaugh radio show.” Media Matters posted audio of a Home Depot ad that did, in fact, air during Limbaugh's show.