Excellence in Broadcasting? Rush Limbaugh and Image Repair in the Sandra Fluke Controversy

Abstract

Rush Limbaugh is one of American radio's most successful performers, but that success has always come with controversy. In 2012, Limbaugh's comments about college student Sandra Fluke caused a public outcry and dozens of advertisers to suspend or end their participation on his daily program. This research, employing Benoit's image repair theory, examined how Limbaugh tried to deal with the fallout from his comments. The study found Limbaugh employed multiple strategies, including denial (shifting blame), evading responsibility (good intentions, provocation), reducing offensiveness (minimization, attacking one's accusers, transcendence) and mortification.