An NPR-Limbaugh Smackdown?

A reader writes:

You should check out NPR's report on Morning Edition this morning about Limbaugh's call for Andrew Revkin to kill himself. I found it very interesting, because it did not take the typical form for this sort of story. In the past I think the mainstream media has let itself be baited by Fox/Limbaugh/etc. wherein the Becks and Limbaughs manufacture a controversy out of thin air, and then the mainstream media report on the "controversy" and lend it legitimacy. Today's report was different. It was almost entirely a fawning profile of Revkin (and his blog), with Limbaugh's comments basically just the news hook. There was a bit of a defense of his comments at the end of the report, but it felt to me like almost an afterthought.

I found it interesting, because it may signal a new tactic in the media wars.

It was as if NPR decided that, instead of giving Limbaugh more attention, they would give the attention largely to his innocent victim. It seems sort of jujitsu--turn Limbaugh's energy against him by promoting exactly what he attacks. Rush and Morning Edition are the number one and two highest-rated radio shows, so a more active battle between those two would be fascinating, and could be a sign that the mainstream (left-leaning) press has finally realized that they should stop being so cowed by these absurd characters on the right. I have to think that NPR would have the upper hand in this battle. I doubt any of Rush's listeners were reading Revkin prior to his attack, but this NPR-listener is going to check out his blog. Well done Rush: You just gave Revkin a few thousand more readers.