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| Photo Courtesy of: http://www.inquisitr.com/200801/rush-limbaugh-apologizes-to-sarah-fluke-for-calling-her-a-slut/ |
Rush
Limbaugh: radio talk show host, conservative, politically outspoken. Most
recently, many have began associating Limbaugh as being anti-women’s rights (particularly in regards to birth control). By
this point, most of us have heard about the disparaging remarks by Mr. Limbaugh about Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke. When I first heard
Limbaugh’s comments, I remember feeling angry, shocked and frustrated. Who is
he to question the character of women throughout America (particularly Ms.
Fluke’s) who use prescription birth control? After all, he is not a woman.
After my feelings of anger and
resentment had subsided to a manageable level, I immediately went into my
public relations mentality. I began thinking about how (and if) Limbaugh could
recover from this situation – or, shall I say, crisis? His words received
intense backlash and criticisms from many. Advertisers and musicians began
pulling their ads and songs from Mr. Limbaugh’s show, communicating that they do
not support his perspective on a woman’s right to obtain prescription birth
control. What would be the next step that Limbaugh would take?
That next step turned out to be an
apology for the comments he made on his show. Mr. Limbaugh explained that he
stooped to a level that was below his standards as a conservative, stating, “I
acted too much like the leftists who despise me. I descended to their level,
using names and exaggerations to describe Sandra Fluke. It’s what we have come
to know and expect from them, but it’s way beneath me.”
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| Photo courtesy of: http://blisstree.com/live/why-rush-limbaugh-and-sandra-fluke-matter-for-your-health-993/ |
From a public relations viewpoint,
this apology falls short of what should have been delivered. It’s a start, but
there are still things left unsaid. Instead of explaining that this is the type
of action one would expect from the “leftists,” Limbaugh should have left them
out of his apology completely. Own up to your actions, instead of shining the
light onto a different group of individuals other than yourself. Mr. Limbaugh
should have simply stated he was wrong, and not placed any attention on the
(expected) actions of others.
His apology did not include a
personal apology to Sandra Fluke. While Limbaugh did express his sincere
apologies for using those words to personally attack Ms. Fluke, he did not
reach out to her in any other means than that. Calling Ms. Fluke on the
telephone to personally apologize for his words would have taken the sincerity
of the apology a step further. After all, it was she that the comments were
directed towards. She is the number one audience in this crisis.
It will be interesting to see how
Mr. Limbaugh’s reputation and radio show will recover from this crisis.
Personally, the apology fell short of what it should have (and could have)
been. If I were Sandra Fluke, I would want Mr. Limbaugh to personally apologize
to me, express his disappointment in his words to me, and show that he has
learned something from his actions. I guess only time will tell if he has
learned or not.
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