January 28, 2012

76 US universities that support global warming denial on 170 Limbaugh stations.

Universities for climate change has a list and links to universities that broadcast sports on Rush Limbaugh stations. Wow! 76 universities on 170 of his 600 stations! And that doesn't even count the other universities on non Limbaugh RW radio stations.

The site has links directly to the university main page and links to sample university mission statements that would make continued connection to right wing radio impossible if taken seriously.

Could the right wing radio monopoly survive without support from all those 'liberal' universities? Faced with the prospect of some of those universities looking for alternatives and taking advertisers with them some of them might have to offer political balance or try alternative programming.

Global warming and clean energy, the Iraq war, deregulation, the Tea Party, the debt ceiling crisis, voter suppression, health reform, elections, media - were and are all strongly impacted by the talk radio ability to create an alternate reality of lies and myths and made-to-order constituencies that sound bigger than they are. The talk radio monopoly has been attacking teachers and unions and public schools non-stop for over 20 years.

Despite this pitiful crop of GOP candidates (thanks largely to the radio) the Citizens United ruling and talk radio will still have a significant impact in all local and national elections.

Our universities are being privatized and corporatized because of state and local political developments and elections. Regent elections and who the presidents are, etc., can be significantly effected by the local RW megastation's local and national blowhards deciding who and what is or isn't acceptable.

Some stations were bought up for right wing radio monopoly precisely because they dominated their communities and part of that was the university sports connection. Now for instance, in Madison WI the big Limbaugh station does pro Governor Walker BS all day while doing U of Wisconsin Badger radio a few times a week.

Some of those connections go way back before they were turned into partisan political anti-science megaphones.

Global warming doesn't give us the time to wait for legislation or high speed internet in every car in order to fix the talk radio problem.

In general, faculty and students are too busy and reading and listening to music to care much about what's happening on that radio but the universities as a whole- students, faculty, and administration need to take responsibility for this idiocy. It is easy to dismiss if the talk radio is thought of as a joke, and that is the problem.

Students wanting reform and action could make an impact at their own universities by pointing out the hypocrisy between university mission statements and their support for talk radio. Our institutions of higher learning need to get out of the business of endorsing racism, hate, anti-science and partisan politics.

Here's an excerpt from the site and the list of universities....

Universities for climate change

76 universities that help Rush Limbaugh spread global warming denial.

Rush Limbaugh was recently named the Climate Change Misinformer of the Year by Media Matters.

Of 120 top ranked football programs, 71, or approximately 59% broadcast on Limbaugh stations. Some broadcast on more than one Limbaugh station and accounted for 170 of Limbaugh's approximately 600 stations, or 28%. 15 of last year's final 16 NCAA tournament basketball teams (except BYU) broadcast on Limbaugh stations.

The urgency of climate change makes it imperative that our institutions of higher learning take their mission statements more seriously and act now to dissociate themselves from those radio stations.

The Limbaugh stations they broadcast athletics on are licensed to operate in the public interest but instead form part of a nationally coordinated radio megaphone for global warming denial. It is used to attack educators and scientists and distort their work. It has been undoing the hard work of millions of concerned citizens for more than 20 years.

Associating with a university through its athletics program gives those radio stations and their talkers strong community standing and credibility. It is an endorsement. Those associations help attract local and national advertisers.

(continued.......)

Here's the list:

United States Air Force Academy
University of Alabama
Arizona State University
University of Arkansas
United States Army War College
Auburn University
Baylor University
Boise State University
Boston College
Bowling Green State University
Clemson University
University of Colorado–Boulder
University of Connecticut
University of Dayton
East Carolina University
University of Florida
Florida State University
California State University–Fresno
University of Georgia
Georgia Institute of Technology
University of Idaho
University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
Indiana University–Bloomington
University of Iowa
Iowa State University
University of Kansas
Kansas State University
University of Kentucky
University of Louisiana–Monroe
University of Louisville
Louisiana State University
University of Maryland–College Park
University of Memphis
University of Michigan
Michigan State University
University of Minnesota–Duluth
University of Mississippi
Mississippi State University
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska–Omaha
University of Nevada–Reno
University of New Mexico
New Mexico State University
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
University of Notre Dame
Ohio State University
University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma State University
Oral Roberts University
University of Oregon
Oregon State University
Pennsylvania State University
University of Pittsburgh
Purdue University
Seton Hall University
University of South Carolina
University of South Florida
University of Southern Mississippi
Syracuse University
Texas Christian University
Temple University
University of Tennessee
University of Texas–Austin
Texas A&M University
Texas Tech University
Troy University
University of Central Florida
University of California–Los Angeles
Utah State University
University of Virginia
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State
University
University of Washington
Washington State University
Wichita State University
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Xavier University