I want to talk to those of you that are Rush Limbaugh fans. You are out there, right? Rush is still the king of the world and undisputed #1-rated talk-show host, I'm pretty sure, but the past few years his popularity has waned. This is not the gospel, just my own impression and I read and explore a lot of this type of thing. He still commands a lot of attention in the so-called flyover states but even there his Rushness fervor seems to have evaporated. Again, not the gospel just an impression. And past controversy confirms this.Limbaugh used to be worth listening to, (and still is, for the most part), because of the entertainment quotient in his program. I'm negating the overt rightist political leanings and GOP bastion that defines him because that's a given. Rush will always be Rush but even his most liberal critics agree, or at one point agreed that Limbaugh's program was popular because the guy was a complete broadcaster, possessed quite a brilliant vocabulary, offered funny and snarky asides, (Philthydelphia) and knew how to move the needle, as they say in broadcasting.
Or am I missing the beat now? Which brings me back the point of this article. Who listens to Limabugh? I already know about the loyal Republican minions who still view him as the GOP messiah and he continues to garner considerable clout within that base but I'm speaking of the general public. There was a time that even those people who didn't buy Limbaugh's politics and cast him aside as nothing more than a GOP talking head still listened intently because he was interesting and provocative. Matter of fact Limbaugh used to be a daily presence in the news domain, at the top of the masthead but I don't see that these days. It's not overly-dramatic nor earth-shattering but still relevant.
A few years ago Michael Zwerling, who owns KSCO Radio in Santa Cruz and whose station carries Rush was seriously considering dropping the program but relented. He agrees with my assessment that the Limbaugh portfolio is still in the heavyweight division although greatly diminished. Even with that Zwerling said renewing El Rushbo was a no-brainer.
"We've had many interesting, very lively and contentious talk shows and even run polls on the subject, 'Would KSCO be better off with Rush or without Rush?'", offered Zwerling.
"Thus far we opted to keep Rush, even with the advertiser stigma because after all is said and done, Rush Limbaugh continues to bring in the mega-audience that tends to stick around for our other programs -- he still brings in the enormous audience and enormous audiences are what enable advertising-revenue-based businesses survive and thrive."
What about you out there--and again, I'm looking for Limbaugh fans, do you still listen with urgency or has the star diminished. Is he no longer 'appointment radio? I'd like to know.
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I found him entertaining at onetime. He was different, than what was available at that time. I find his act has not changed one bit and it seems old and tired to me. I am not sure even he buys his schtick. He knows he is in the entertainment business and he is controversial for controversial sake.
ReplyDeleteI was listening to KSCO on Sat and MZ asked some young communications students if they listened to that kind of radio and they said "No." Rush is speaking to "angry old white men" and if that is your target audience knock yourself out. I don't listen to him anymore.
Sincerely, An Angry Old White Man
Weintraub has bashed angry old white men too! I wrote about it on the KGO Facebook page and he backed it up. We're the guys paying the bills, son!
DeleteThe bottom line is that Limbaugh is much smarter than his audience.
DeleteHe plays his audience like a yoyo and the sad part is he gets it and his audience doesn't!
DeleteLimbaugh is "much diminished" *and* "undisputed #1-rated"?
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean everyone else is even more diminished?
Even when losing Limbaugh is winning????
Some people have all the luck. ;-]
Rush jumped the shark when he did Monday Night Football. A bit too willing to jump into the Barnum & Bailey sized bread and circus.
ReplyDeleteI listened to him in the late 80's in college when he had an edge and pretty much nailed my profs to a tee. But things changed towards the mean yearly as he became part of the political culture itself and the MNF debacle along with the hypocrisy of his addiction to pain killers was the low point.
He's a fighter though and I think he's softened up a bit on the drug war. I remember him starting to sound funny right around 9/11/01 and just days after he put the news of his deafness out there. As a radio performer, he hasn't been the same since. For him to still be No. 1 is remarkable and I can respect his perseverance.
Rich,
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what to say anymore. You have completely lost your way.
This post might be a low for you, and that's saying something considering all the pointless sexist posts. But allow me to continue.
I'm more reader than poster, but this is too much.
Yesterday you go on Michael Savage show, or so that's what was written here. Today you're trying to post how Rush Limbaugh is losing it? Really? And this sentence right here: Limbaugh used to be worth listening to, (and still is, for the most part), because of the entertainment quotient in his program. - WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN? Used to be/Still is. And, what's your point? Rush Limbaugh blows all of these guys out of the water. It's a professional show, and has a consistent message, presentation, and delivery. All the other shows are copies of his, or worse, in the case of Savage, can't hold a candle to the consistency of it. And that's what sells.
Do you not get this?
Taking it further, it seems the overall message of this post, assuming there is one, is about Rush's smaller audience, or demise. Tell me, what host hasn't had to deal with this? What host has better numbers today than 5 or 10 or 15 years ago, and is still around? Stern? Limbaugh? Hannity? Rhodes? Who is this person?
Just last week you were posting about Savage's dominance in the markets, but you couldn't honestly address the fact that while he is in fact wiping up Hannity, who is now at the weaker stations, he isn't in fact beating Hannity's numbers at his former stations. That's not winning at all. That's Cumulus losing. Is WOR doing better with Hannity now than it was without him? Is WABC doing better with Savage than it was Hannity? Aren't these the measures?
You have a really hard time telling the true story, and you lack either the guts, know how, or desire to do so.
In reading the comments of others, it seems on more occasions than not you delete comments. Hopefully you don't delete this one, which one of my first. At this point nothing would surprise me.
When you started this thing there was somewhat of a purpose, so it seemed. When KGO fell you found a mark, and it was enjoyable. Cumulus is a fine target. Yet you seem to forget they're the target when discussing Savage. You only seem to recall it when you're discussing Owens.
You need to straighten things out, sir. Or you can count me as one less reader.
> This post might be a low for you
DeleteJust started reading him this morning, did you?
(At least he's never written about the size of Rush's man-boobs.)
Time to rename him: "DR. POISON". For his ability to poison the minds of those underlings who have nothing better to do.
ReplyDeleteI never really had a chance to get into his show. That tends to happen in the liberal bay area. That being said, with the changing state of Bay Area radio, perhaps conservative radio will be showcased more and on a larger stage. The era of hippy white boomers who hated themselves and their country for being white and subsequently set the nation back with 30 years of their failed policies and melting pot mentality seems to be coming to an end. Let's just hope it's not too late to save this once great country.
ReplyDeleteWe were in Berkeley just this morning, noticing that. We saw lots of recycled hippie types trying to re-live their youth but the kids definitely do NOT look that way.
DeleteWe may be coming into a very button down, pragmatic sort of time. That's happened before. We called it the late forties.
Rush is nothing more than a big, fat, bloviating windbag. He's gotten a lot of mileage out of ripping the Dems over the years, but his act is very stale, not at all entertaining, and not credible. He may be a talented talk show host, but anyone who believes the tripe that comes out of this apologist's mouth is deluding themselves. He's as out of touch with what's going on as are most 'conservatives' today. The GOP unfortunately bought into the right-wing extreme view point, and now they're now paying the price. The majority of American voters aren't being fooled anymore by the nonsense foisted by Limbaugh and the GOP, as thankfully the tide has been receding in recent years for the America-firsters and bigots in this country.
ReplyDeleteWhat windbag is worth almost half a billion dollars. Like it or not, that's how we measure success in this country for the most part.
DeleteI'd place the Dalai Lama above Limbaugh, and he's not measured in dollars.
DeleteIdiots measure things in dollars. They're concerned who has the nicer car. And idiots listen to Rush. So yes, Conservative talk listeners measure success in dollars only, and among the idiots, Rush is king.
To the enlightened, not so much.
Teachers are heroes to me. As are the police. As are firefighters. And many others. They're not rich.
Rush is nothing more than a big, fat, bloviating windbag.
DeleteSo how is he different than Rich Lieberman?
Your angry, emotional, insulting, and irrational post makes me laugh now, but I'll be laughing even harder in November.
DeleteRush has gravitas. he is uniquely himself in fashioning his broadcasting style and has become the model of a talk show host. the copy cats are legion, both conservative and liberal weather deliberate or unconscious. they want to be like Rush but don't have the creativity to blaze an entirely new trail. those on the conservative side of the left-right paradigm love him and 'liberals' hate him. this is the key to moving the needle. if Rush were a leftist, think how liberals would love him and the right wingers would hate him!
ReplyDeletethis is why talkers want to be like Rush in the same way that basketball players want to be like Michael Jordan. exception to the rule? Michael Savage who is attempting to blaze his own unique trail and not be just another follower. AND have you noticed how certain hosts are now trying to imitate Savage? maybe he is the post-Rush paradigm setter.
I figured out what "EIB" means: Excrement In Broadcasting.
ReplyDeleteAre you in about fifth grade?
Delete"Mega audience on KSCO?" Keeping Rush was only for market clearance on 10,000 watts and certainly not for "other" KSCO programs. Rush is still tops, but he is cleverly marketed by Premier Networks and KSCO is no different in that plan. "You want to keep Rush, then, you have to have not one, but two replays nightly of George Norry and Coast to Coast, or we will take Rush down the street." There are no numbers for KSCO in the Monterey, San Jose, Salinas "diary" market(s). None. Below a 1 share and the audience is all 65+. Premier would like younger liisteners, as would MZ, but Rush is only on not to please conservatives, but to please MZ's mom, Kay, who is a big fan. KSCO listeners have long admitted publically, on air, that Rush is not their cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteAd agencies who get and subscribe to the book will be able to explain it, but guard those numbers out of being fined by Neilsen, now owner of Arbitron. The last I saw, KSCO had less than a 1 share and didn't show in San Jose at all. You will find no national advertising on KSCO / KOMY for that very reason.. Why do you suppose there is hardly any local direct advertising, as opposed to national direct (agency) for Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc? Sorry, but as Rush has slipped a lot and is off message with a bad brand of hate speech, his numbers don't lead for national or local advertising on a station like KSCO. Even KKSF has problems in selling him today -- and Clear Channel OWNS Rush and Hannity. KSCO does best with brokered shows and the likes of the Karioke Show. MZ is looking for a Monterey County sales rep right now. Good luck.
Rush isn't a dumb guy. I'm sure he knows his star is fading and may even have an exit strategy all worked out.
ReplyDeleteConservatism is changing. Exit the Tea Party, enter Rand Paul. I'm sure you heard about a few thousand kids turning out to see him in Berkeley recently. So, you're asking yourself...Rand Paul? In BERKELEY? Seriously? Yeah...and it's all about the privacy issue. Those kids don't trust the big boys and given what we've seen happen over the last decade they damn well shouldn't.
Yet it's the conservatives--here and abroad--who used 911 as an excuse to start snooping at everything, and if you objected you hated this country and were unpatriotic. Remember them days, with GW standing at the head of it and telling us "Yur either fur us or agaynst us!" Yes, spineless Democrats voted in solidarity with them--all but literally a couple. They're the only couple I reelected, personally. Looks like the "libtards" were right. Again.
DeleteAnd they turn to Paul Rand to see them out of this mess? That's like going to Hitler to stem the aggression in Europe in 1939.
Exit strategy??? The guy is worth about half a billion dollars. The only strategy he needs is to know where he's going to lay down his corpulent ass after he retires.
DeleteI'll be honest, I don't listen to much radio at all. When I do it's usually the Bone or a Giants game when I'm in the car. I used to listen to Rush all the time. I'm a conservative and I tend to agree with him on issues. However, I've found the program to be repetitious and boring lately. He seems to be on repeat. I don't need to be told over and over what I already know and I don't need it done in a boring way. Thankfully I can listen to yesterdays Alex Jones show on my commute.
ReplyDeleteI haven't listened to Limbaugh in probably 20 years. His topics were interesting for a while but his delivery, cadence, volume level---not sure what, drove me away.
ReplyDeleteAlthough my politics lean conservative, I have never really been a fan of Rush Limbaugh. He never has guests, he focuses too much on national politics, he tends to stay away from cultural issues, and he never veers from Republican talking points. And I never really found him to be as funny as people say he is.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever actually listen to Rush? Much of his criticism is directed AT the GOP, especially the Republican establishment in Washington, the essential lack of difference there is between them and the Democrats, the crony capitalism, the unwillingness, or inability, of the Republicans to fight back that the Democrats always display, etcetera, etcetera.
Delete> Philthydelphia
ReplyDeleteOh, such a Limbaughism. I was born there and they've been calling it that since the 1950s at least. Hardly new with him.
Who listens to Rush? Old, bitter, poorly-educated, change-fearing white males who laugh at his mysogenistic, racist humor while they smoke Marlboros, eat Cheetoes and clean their guns, until the gun discharges and shoots them. Then Rush's fan base goes down by one more dittohead and the world becomes a better place.
It's Philthadelphia, and he invented that right after he invented the microphone.
DeleteIt's about as fresh as Savage saying "you give me 15 minutes and I'll give you..." whatever it is he says. It's so unoriginal it's embarrassing. Everyone in NYC must roll their eyes to hear someone steal 1010 WINS Tag Line, "You give us 22 Minutes, We'll give you the World." Maybe some consultant told him he shares audience, so now he's trying to steal their ideas.
Both of them, Old and in the Way.
I like Rush, always have. I follow or listen to him more during campaign and election seasons. Many listeners are that way. I don't fit into the presumed demographics. I'm a black man who belongs to the Tea Party. I see Rand Paul's Libertarian View as something worth considering and incorporating into the Tea Party Wing. There's room for Rand, even though I differ with his ideas on military preparedness. I'm glad Rush is still doing his work. It's remarkable that he can with his hearing disability. That still impresses and mystifies me. Every time I think I have problems with arthritis, I think of Rush overcoming and thriving in spite of it all. I'm pleased as punch that Rush has two Children's Books on the NYT Best Seller List. Teach Your Children Well, said Mr. Nash.
ReplyDeleteHe revolutionized talk radio. At his peak, he was utterly brilliant and truly very funny. He was a gentleman to work with when we hired him to do weekly commentaries on a Sacramento tv. station. He wasn't so great on TV, but it didn't matter. I say this while disagreeing with much of his shtick. However the wannabes, and there are legions of them, have never come close to his mastery of the medium.
ReplyDeleteI used to listen to him everyday back in the 80's when I lived back East on Talkradio 77 WABC. The show was enjoyable then but now not so much. I have to try to dig up some old airchecks of the all New York hour before he went to the network at noon. New Yorkers chewed him up and spit him out. It was a far cry from the comfort zone he has now where phone calls are highly screened. I wonder if he still uses the phone call plants provided by Premiere Radio Networks? In general I hate talk show hosts who have become mouth pieces for any party. It's boring and predictable and I really don't care how much money the show makes. I wish someone could bring back 1990's Neil Rogers from the grave and show people how a talk show is done... (If you don't know who he is Google or Youtube Neil Rogers WIOD/WQAM
ReplyDeleteI stopped listening to Rush when he became too liberal.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, folks....
I only listen now when something huge is happening, or I'll click on his website to see his headlines. I listened faithfully from high school till the late '90s; now the thrill is gone.
Rush looks like he ate the shark.
ReplyDeleteI was a religious Rush listener through all of the '90's. Lost some respect for him over the Oxycontin thing and the luster of the show seemed to fade after that. Nowadays I'm a big fan of Glenn Beck and Michael Medved. But Rush literally saved the AM dial in the late 80's and early 90's. I'd love to hear some of the airchecks from the mid 90's when the show was at its peak of both popularity and creativity. The "updates", the Paul Shanklin parodies, "America Held Hostage".........great memories of my youth!
ReplyDeleteAnd seriously.........Rush hasn't been truly "fat" since at least the late '90's. That insult is sooooooooo 20 years ago. Get with the times.
Rushbo, not looking too svelte, on March 12, 2012:
Deletehttp://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/f0/8a/f08a1aa7e245231662f0b38af953dc3c.jpg?itok=lkD0Li7r
I believe 2012 comes after 1999.
Rich, Rush is the best. Entertainment wise and political insight.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it isn't that Rush isn't as influential, but that a lot of his listening base isn't influential anymore. Throw in the general decline of talk radio, alternatives on Fox News and the Internet, he's just not The Guy any more. There are several.
ReplyDeleteAs I said above, things are starting to change. Go to Berkeley, sit in a sushi bar for awhile and watch the kids. They sure don't look to me like they're nuts. They look like people with bills to pay and things to accomplish.
ReplyDeleteI'm telling you, something's happening out there.
I'm a fiscal conservative and somewhere in the middle in terms of human rights. I've always voted for Republican Presidents, for better or worse.
ReplyDeleteRush is blah because he argues one side of the coin, and after 20 minutes it becomes boring. He needs a show with a lefty where they can go at it; THAT'S entertaining. He did that one segment and it was fantastic. I called his show and told him that and he said "They're afraid of me ha ha ha"
Also, I know he has apologized for it, but I'll never listen to him again for laughing at gay men dying of AIDS. He's a closeted gay person IMO and he's not at peace with that. You'd think after his 13th seven-month marriage, he'd get tired of the charade.
I wonder how many of the commenters here have actually listened to Rush. For many years I thought he must be awful. I had never heard his program itself, only excerpts here and there, dropped in out of context on other shows trying to make him look bad. Everything I read about him was very misleading, but I didn't know that then. I was convinced he was a ridiculous fool and a bigot. Then I finally heard his show for the first time only about ten years ago, and I thought, "THIS is Rush Limbaugh?! He's nothing like I expected!" He was funny, intelligent, insightful, and fascinating to listen to, even about positions I didn't quite agree with. I still remember how on that day he spent nearly an entire half hour with ONE caller, and it was a brilliant discussion. I listen to him to this day whenever my own schedule permits. There is something essentially, beautifully American about Rush, like him or not. And to all the haters commenting here, you are caught up in nothing but cliches and mean spirited insults, signifying nothing but your own ignorance and closed mindedness. Disagree with his opinions if you like, but not giving him his due only makes YOU look like a bigot.
ReplyDeleteMr Limbaugh's far-right attacks on the Pope and the young woman college student who was simply advocating for access to affordable contraceptives for young women in America, both of those off-base rhetorical outbursts have hurt Limbaugh among some listeners. It is very easy for offended listeners to find a list of the show's advertisers, and use that to change their purchasing habits as a tool to show their displeasure. No need to phone in and complain any more. They just vote with their wallets. When advertisers worry about being associated with a show for fear it will adversely affect their sales, that's a problem. Even for the likes of someone with a successful run like Mr Limbaugh.
ReplyDelete