In 1996, Savage applied to become the Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. The University instead selected award-winning journalist Orville Schell for the post. Savage sued the University, contending that he had been discriminated against because he was a conservative.[1] Savage later dropped the lawsuit.[2]
While Savage had a program on MSNBC, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) urged the show's sponsors to stop advertising on the show. Savage did not sue GLAAD, but Talk Radio Network Inc. (TRN), which syndicated his radio show, did sue the owners of three small noncommercial websites that had criticized Savage and endorsed the call for advertisers to withdraw their support for the show: http://www.savagestupidity.com, http://www.michaelsavagesucks.com, and http://www.takebackthemedia.com/. The suit alleged that the defendants had caused Savage financial damage by interfering with his relationship with advertisers, had used material from "The Michael Savage Show" without permission, and had spread "false and malicious" information about Savage.[3] The suit was brought in Illinois, the location of Culligan, a company that stopped advertising with TRN.[4] Public Citizen undertook the legal defense of the owners of savagestupidity.com.[5] Savage also contended before the National Arbitration Forum that the "savagestupidity.com" and "michaelsavagesucks.com" domain names were "confusingly similar" to his own "michaelsavage.com", and that he should be given those domain names.[6] Several months after filing the lawsuit, TRN withdrew it without obtaining any concessions from the defendants.[7] The National Arbitration Forum ruled against Savage's claim.[8]
In 2007, Savage sued the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for its use on its website of excerpts from his show. The suit charged CAIR with copyright infringement and alleged that CAIR's "repackaging" of Savage's comments was "deliberately designed to obscure the specific message conveyed by Michael Savage". The excerpts included Savage's characterization of the Qur'an as "a throwback document" and a "book of hate". CAIR called the suit "bizarre, sloppy and baseless".[9] A copy of the complaint can be found here: http://www.savage-productions.com/Savage_CAIR_suit.html
- ^ Gilson, David (Mar. 5, 2003). "Michael Savage's long, strange trip". Salon.com. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
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Fost, Dan (February 6, 2003), "Savage Talk", San Francisco Chronicle, pp. E-1
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Lydersen, Kari (June 9, 2003). "The Ignoble Savage". AlterNet. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ "Action against critics is 'harassing,' and 'meaningless,' attorney says". Southern Voice. Jun. 27, 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Talk Radio Network Drops Suit That Aimed to Shut Down Web Sites Critical of Right-Wing Radio Host". December 17, 2003.
- ^ Lydersen, Kari (June 9, 2003). "The Ignoble Savage". AlterNet. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Thompson, Mark (2004-09-15). "Overzealous Lawyers Beware: Today's Sites Are Fighting Back". Online Journalism Review. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Leavitt, Thomas (December 17, 2003). "SavageStupidity.com Hails Victory in 'Savage' Lawsuit". Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ Curtis, Kim (December 3, 2007). "Radio host Michael Savage sues Islamic organization over ads". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
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