Talk-radio often sets the table for the world of TV news, and no one has set more tables than Rush Limbaugh. Now, Politico’s Dylan Byers reports that Limbaugh is threatening to leave Cumulus Media when his contract expires at the end of the year, potentially taking his services to a competing syndicator.

According to the source, Limbaugh is considering the move because Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey has blamed the company’s advertising losses on Limbaugh’s controversial remarks about Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown law student. In Feb. 2012, Limbaugh referred to Fluke as “a slut” because she had called on congress to mandate insurance coverage of birth control. The subsequent controversy over those remarks resulted in a significant advertising boycott. The true extent of Limbaugh’s effect on Cumulus’s advertising revenue is not known.

It is likely a very public negotiating tactic by Limbaugh. If he truly was hurt by Cumulus’ statements, he would just leave when his contract expires, but by threatening to leave publicly, he is sending a message: “Pay up, or I go.”

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Talkers magazine, the magazine of the talk radio business, has released its annual “Heavy Hundred” list. As has become commonplace, the list is chock full of TV news personalities, particularly towards the top.

Rush Limbaugh may be number one, but Fox News’ Sean Hannity was number two, and former FNCer Glenn Beck was number four. MSNBC’s Ed Schultz came in at number six, while Current TV’s Stephanie Miller held the number 12 slot and Alan Colmes was at 16.

Other TV news personalities on the list include Andrea Tantaros (24), Don Imus (35), Mike Huckabee (46), Herman Cain (59), Geraldo Rivera (62), Tom Sullivan (65) and Al Sharpton (90).

MSNBC “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough used a discussion on the program this morning to segue into an article about the “conservative echo chamber,” and how he thinks it is hurting the Republican party.

Scarborough argues that while conservatives once had a valid complaint about how they were treated in the media, the current habit of turning to outlets with a clear conservative bent have not been helping them win elections. Rather, those outlets reinforce preexisting beliefs.

His proof? Republicans have done very poorly in elections since conservative-friendly media like Rush Limbaugh and Fox News burst onto the scene:
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Former ESPN programming executive and Dick Clark Productions CEO Mark Shapiro has emerged as one of the contenders for the top job at CNN, a source in the agent community confirmed to TVNewser. The news was first reported by the well-sourced Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times.

Shapiro was a powerful programming executive at ESPN, and helped launch what became ESPN’s top original program ”Pardon The Interruption.” He also was the man responsible for putting conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on the “NFL Countdown” pregame show. He joined Dick Clark Productions as CEO in May, 2010, and left earlier this year when the company was sold to Guggenheim Partners. Dick Clark Productions specializes in producing live event programming, like “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” The Golden Globe Awards and the American music Awards.

As Flint notes, Shapiro does not have a background in “hard news,”

However, Shapiro has strong production chops from his days at ESPN, which has its own large news division. He is seen as an innovative executive unafraid to take chances. He also is known for having sharp elbows and for being confrontational at times with talent and other executives.

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The other day on his radio show Rush Limbaugh was pointing out CNN’s ratings woes, and singled out Anderson Cooper calling him “the silver fox.”

“I swear, that guy is reported more in gossip columns to be at the gym or that bar or a restaurant than he is in the studio,” said Limbaugh. “I hear more stuff about Anderson Cooper at a bar or at a gym or at a health club than I do about what he’s doing in the studio.”

Last night, Cooper fired back, putting Limbaugh in his RidicuList. “I’ve never tried to pick a fight with this guy, I really have no interest in doing that now. But because I’m sure that Mr. Limbaugh cares about accuracy, I just want to point out to him: I have three jobs …. The idea that I’m hanging out in bars and health clubs is sadly not true.”

The Obama re-election campaign has a new 7-minute short film called simply “Forward.” The ad begins with the economic meltdown in 2008, with clips from TV news reports by CBS’s Anthony Mason, NBC’s Lester Holt, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and others.

While declaring, “Republicans were waging a campaign to tear the president down,” images of Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh flash on the screen.

“Then there was the victory no one saw coming,” says the film’s announcer, while showing clips from NBC News’s special report from Brian Williams the night Osama Bin Laden was killed, with more clips from CNN, CBS and ABC.

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today, Joe Scarborough asked, “Really? That’s it, huh? So is Fox’s slogan going to be — or Mitt Romney‘s slogan going to be ‘Balanced?’ I mean, he’s taking MSNBC’s slogan!”

“Lean forward was taken,” said Politico’s Mike Allen.

See the ad after the jump…

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There are demands for an apology from Fox News analyst Monica Crowley after she sent this Tweet Thursday just after 1pmET:

To a man?”Sandra Fluke Announces Engagement”

— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) April 26, 2012

Crowley followed up with, “I love exposing the Left’s total lack of a sense of humor.” By 2:30, the term #CrowleyJokes was a top trending topic on Twitter.

But Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown Law student who got an apology from Rush Limbaugh after he called her a “slut” on his radio show, didn’t find it funny. And she isn’t asking for an apology from Crowley. But she says Crowley does owe an apology to the LGBT community for a Tweet that was “homophobic and offensive.” (Video after the jump)

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz‘s ended his show last night talking with Fluke about it. “It’s certainly not a way I wanted my engagement be treated,” said Fluke, who got engaged to her boyfriend of 8 years. “What really bothers me about is the blatant homophobia in the statement.”

Crowley has been with Fox News on and off since the network launched. In 2004 she co-hosted a show on MSNBC called “Connected: Coast to Coast” with on Ron Reagan.

> Update: This afternoon, Crowley apologized on Twitter:

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Ed Schultz spent a little time on his MSNBC show last night talking about Talkers, the radio industry magazine and its 2012 Heavy Hundred list. Rush Limbaugh is #1 on the list, followed by FNC’s Sean Hannity and Michael Savage at #3. “Well, we all know his history and what happened here on MSNBC,” said Schultz of Savage.

“And I’m right ahead of my good friend, Laura Ingraham,” said Schultz sarcastically. Unless this is how you refer to your “good friend.”

Schultz joins Joe Madison and Thom Hartmann as the “three lefties in the top ten!”

Former Fox News host Glenn Beck is #9 on the list.

• MSNBC host Ed Schultz was named one of the “most influential” radio talk hosts in America by the leading radio trade magazine Talkers. Schultz is also the highest-ranked liberal on the list, which was topped by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage. The full list can be viewed here.

• Investigation Discovery anchor Paula Zahn is moderating a panel discussion on the Violence Against Women Act at the White House today. Vice President Biden will host the event, which will also be streamed live here starting at 11 AM.

• CBS News’ “48 Hours Mystery” is teaming up with famed crime author Ann Rule to try and shed light on a 1998 murder. The death of Ronda Reynolds was originally ruled a suicide, but there appeared to be more to the story,. Rule ended up writing a book about the case. The story airs on “48 Hours Mystery” Saturday night at 10 PM.

Earlier this week, Fox News Channel’s Bill O’Reilly dedicated his “Talking Points” segment to the issue of free speech and censorship, focusing on the recent Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke controversy:

O’Reilly has an unlikely ally here in the form of comedian Bill Maher, who wrote an op-ed in the New York Times called “Please Stop Apologizing.”

I have a better idea. Let’s have an amnesty — from the left and the right — on every made-up, fake, totally insincere, playacted hurt, insult, slight and affront. Let’s make this Sunday the National Day of No Outrage. One day a year when you will not find some tiny thing someone did or said and pretend you can barely continue functioning until they apologize.

If that doesn’t work, what about this: If you see or hear something you don’t like in the media, just go on with your life. Turn the page or flip the dial or pick up your roll of quarters and leave the booth.

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