Are you familiar with Tom Bauerle of WBEN? Well, he’s the guy pictured in the photo (we previously described this keeper as a ripped from 1987 glamour shot) and he’s Buffalo’s very own Glenn Beck. Or Rush Limbaugh. He’s more like whichever of those two guys still thinks Obama was born in Kenya. Every reasonably-sized city has a right wing shock jock and he’s ours. You may remember him from his previous hits like calling all liberals “psychotic asshats” and saying he could beat up Buffalo Pundit. Or perhaps you’re more familiar with The Beast’s investigation into his fondness for felines.
A local radio host got all screechy this week over a Buffalo News editorial lamenting right-wing hate speech and a News’ political cartoon unkind to Sarah Palin. So enraged — or just looking for a hot topic to liven his show — he urged listeners to cancel their Buffalo News subscriptions, and several dozen people did so.But here’s where it gets weird: The radio station didn’t cancel its own Buffalo News subscriptions. Our records show that 16 copies of The Buffalo News will still arrive at the office at 500 Corporate Parkway Monday through Friday, same as always. Five copies will still arrive on Saturday, and five on Sunday.
Apparently, the radio station’s managers see value in the newspaper — especially as a guide for their own news department. They are not about to practice what their morning pundit preaches. And if they were to cancel The News in protest, they probably shouldn’t look at BuffaloNews.com either, to remain consistent, of course.
Hey, we believe in free speech, too. Rants over the airwaves can provide fine, fun entertainment that’s good for business. We also are proud of the fact we provide a service for our friends in radio. We value them as customers.
In fact, The News values all its customers, even those who recently left us. Should you ever want to come back, our arms are open. The radio station that urged you to drop us seems to think The Buffalo News is worth the money.