During the September 20 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, discussing a newly released audio tape reported to be from Osama bin Laden in which he calls for Pakistanis to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf, Rush Limbaugh asserted: "Well, we've got another tape from -- I get these guys confused -- Usama bin Laden. Another tape says he's going to invade Pakistan and declare war on Pakistan and Musharraf, which, ladies and gentlemen, puts him on the same page with a Democrat presidential candidate -- that would be Barack 'Uss-Obama.' "
Big media's assertion that they are simply giving the people what they want by airing personalities like Rush is getting a bit stale. Ignoring their responsibility to the public interest through the relentless pursuit of profit does nothing to serve democracy. While our local media titans have every financial incentive to inundate the airwaves with Rush-style hate mongering, they have no financial incentive whatsoever to consider the long term impact that this inundation will have on the health of our democracy. Thank goodness for WXIT.
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