In reaction to broadcast of Savage’s autism attacks, PAI Board confronts his employer & advertisers about hate speech

Since July 16 when radio host Michael Savage first broadcast his assertions that children with autism were “brats” who just needed more parental discipline, autism advocacy groups and disability rights organizations across the country have been conducting a campaign to convince his employer, Talk Radio Network (TRN), radio stations and advertisers to withdraw their support for the Savage Nation program.

Prompted by members who are parents of children with autism and other developmental disabilities, the PAI Board wrote a letter to TRN’s chief executive officer requesting Savage’s dismissal, as well as a letter congratulating Aflac, the first major advertiser to withdraw support from the program, with a copy to all other Savage Nation advertisers, asking them to follow suit.

When they realized the extent of the outrage, both Savage and his employer (www.savagenation.com) posted claims that his comments had been taken out of context, but a review by a media monitoring agency of previous Savage commentary shows (www.mediamatters.org) that his use of hate speech toward people with disabilities is long-established.

Demonstrations in New York and San Francisco

On July 27, demonstrations were held in Wall Street and in front of KNEW in San Francisco, Savage’s flagship station. The San Francisco noon rally drew around 150 supporters, including those representing Autism United, the National Autism Association, the Autism Foundation, PAI and many parents and children from local schools.

Featured speakers were Alice Lai-Bitker, Alameda County Supervisor; Evelyn Ain, president of Autism United, based in New York; Craig Johnson, a New York State Congressman from Long Island; and Edward Gelenter, a 6 year old student from San Rafael, who explained he was not a “brat” and concluded with a song. The rally was covered by ABC, CBS and several radio stations and newspapers.