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Rush Limbaugh Faltering, Air America Radio Gaining in Florida
The most recent Arbitron ratings are out for the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market and they spell bad news for Rush Limbaugh and other “conservative” talkers. The Arbitrons are by no means definitive proof of the success of a business venture, but they can be a good indicator of the general trend in the audience and market share of a radio station.
In the Spring 2005 reporting period, Rush’s station WIOD-AM has a 2.8 listener share, down a whopping 33% from his 4.2 share in the Fall of 2004. Air America Radio, on the other hand, has a 2.0 share in Spring 2005, up a grand total of 66% since the Fall of 2004. While Rush Limbaugh fans may take solace in the fact that he still maintains a narrow advantage in Florida over the upstart, liberal Air America, one must also consider that he has had a 20 year head start to build a listener base, which is traditionally slow to develop in AM talk radio.
Adding to Rush’s woes, aside from his doctor shopping criminal prosecution, which is still pending, is the fact that the Arbitron statistics are rolling averages that represent data from past ratings periods as well. Thus, for the newly formed Air America Radio to already be posting significant gains in such a short amount of time says a lot about the devotion of its ever-growing listener base. Moreover, the data included in the Spring 2005 Arbitron includes time periods where Air America Radio was off the radar, which overall should skew the data downward and makes their increase to a 2.0 share an understatement.
Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - RJ
Pray tell, how much money did Rush have to take from little kids and the senile elderly to get his show meeting payroll?
2 - billy
now lets not jump to conclusions. they havent been convicted of anything, just like KARL ROVE. I have heard more than a few people not want to rush to judgment there with regard to Rove, lets give good old AAR the benefit of the doubt.
3 - Victor Lana
I've never understood Rush's popularity (so-called as it were). I think he was just in the wrong place at the right time, or something like that. I have heard him pontificate, and truthfully he has lost credibility since his problem with drugs.
He's like the NYC monsignor who recently made a name for himself screaming about morality, but now the cleric has been caught hooking up with the rectory secretary. Rush is that same kind of hypocrite. He used to scream about people's weaknesses whilst he himself was weak (very weak) too.
No wonder Air America is doing so well.
4 - Ronald C McKito
Does anyone know how long he had this drug problem? Or is there proof he was addicted to this drug.
5 - RogerMDillion
"is there proof he was addicted to this drug."
He said he was, but then he's been known to be quite a liar.
6 - troll
hmmmm
if the link is al franken the poster.....needs a spankin'?
troll
7 - billy
rush is under criminal investigation for doctor shopping and he went to rehab and admitted on the air he has a problem and lost his hearing he took so much dope.
8 - Ronald C McKito
ahh ok thankyou for clearing that up. I was just wandering becasue I have heard talk radio D.J. saying one thing or the other and was not sure what was hype and what was not.
9 - gonzo marx
what was it, years...8 or 9 , if memory serves..
up to 30 oxycontin a day...somewhere he figured out to crush and snort the pills rather than take them orally
and that, gentle readers, is the difference between consuming a substance to kill pain, and to get high...
hey, maybe that's it..his ratings are dropping because he isn't quite as funny, since he isn't so whacked out on drugs???
a poster boy for the adage you can work when you are stoned...
Excelsior!
10 - marty thau
It sounds to me like his ego has gotten the best of him Whenever a listener calls in and differs with him he is nasty beyond reason. It appears his arrogance has finally caught up with him. Good riddance, Rush. His 15 minutes are over.
11 - Dave Nalle
Balletshooz, are you constitutionally incapable of telling the truth? Does Air America pay you to spread lies for them?
>>In the Spring 2005 reporting period, Rush’s station WIOD-AM has a 2.8 listener share, down a whopping 33% from his 4.2 share in the Fall of 2004. Air America Radio, on the other hand, has a 2.0 share in Spring 2005, up a grand total of 66% since the Fall of 2004.<<
First off, WIOD is not down in the ratings, it's up. While it had a higher share in the Fall, it's trend prior to that was in the mid 2s and it spiked in the fall and then dropped back to normal in the Winter season. In fact, in the Spring season when you claim it lost listeners to WINZ (Air America), WIOD actually gained .4 share from 2.4 to 2.8. And back in the Winter when WIOD dropped, the Air America station gained 0 share. So what you are saying is that WIOD's drop in ratings 3 months previous somehow led to WINZ's gain 3 months later at a time when WIOD also gained listeners? You're essentially comparing ratings from different time periods to m ake your comparison. Do you realize how absolutely full of BS that is?
But wait, it gets better.
You see, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale is right next to the West Palm Beach/Boca Raton market, and in fact most of the stations you can listen to in one area can also be picked up in the other. So the stations you are comparing also have ratings for the neighboring market which you did not include. In addition, there is a SECOND station (WJNO) in WPB/Boca which also carries Rush Limbaugh, adding to his overall ratings, though it is weaker and doesn't reach the Miami market. There's no second Air America affiliate.
The actual numbers from both adjoining markets for stations carrying Rush Limbaugh vs. WINZ which carries Air America are.
WPB/Boca Miami/FLT Total
W S W S W S
WINZ 1.0 .6 1.2 2.0 2.2 2.6 (Air America)
WIOD 1.6 1.8 2.4 2.8 3.0 4.4 (Rush)
WJNO 3.4 3.2 --- --- 3.4 3.2 (Rush)
Combined 6.4 7.6
So the good news for Air America is that they actually have higher overall ratings in the area. Their share is 2.6. The bad news is that it's only up .4, not the .8 you claimed it went up, because it went down in WPB/Boca while it went up in Miami.
The even better news, which your cherrypicking of data and comparison of ratings during different time periods missed, is that during this period when you claim Air America stole listeners from Limbaugh's stations they actually gained 1.2 share, THREE TIMES as many listeners as Air America gained. Because of their small ratings percentage assessments of increases usually favor Air America, but in this case AAR is up 18% while Limbaugh is up 19%, so AAR loses on both numbers and percentage of total listeners.
So, once again when we put aside your cherrypicked numbers and invalid comparisons and look at the real Arbitron ratings you're proven wrong and in fact, AAR was again outstripped by Limbaugh who showed strong gains in the area not losses.
This is exactly the same kind of misrepresentations which were pointed out in your previous posts about Air America. Are you incapable of learning from your past mistakes?
Dave
12 - Dave Nalle
BTW, if anyone has any doubts about these numbers, feel free to check the Arbitron data for youself. Make sure you check both markets and all three stations involved. Just look here.
And seriously, Balletshooz - if they're paying you to do this they ought to stop payment on the check, because you're not doing a terribly good job.
Dave
13 - Frank Fisher
I don't care for Rush's political views, but as a pain doctor, I feel some sympathy for his medical condition. Mr. Limbaugh very likely suffers from severe chronic pain. This is often best controlled with high dosages of opioid analgesic medication such as Oxycontin.
When used to control pain, addiction among patients is rare. It is unlikely that he is an addict at all, although he may even believe he is.
Frank Fisher
14 - gonzo marx
ummm Frank..he crushed, chopped , and snorted up to 30 pills a day
one does not snort to relieve pain, in fact, i thas an entirely different effect when ingested in that fashion
the "pain" excuse ended the moment he started snorting, it's just another rationalization form a junkie
i am glad he seems to be getting over the physical addiction to the substance, not something i would wish on almost any human being
now , if he would 'fess up about his past hypocrisy concerning folks with substance abuse problems, it woudl help gain some credibility and might even help him with the psychological effects of his addiction...
but seriously..as a "pain doctor"...can you truly state that anyone could gain pain management benefits from snorting 30 pills a day?
Excelsior!
15 - Al Barger
Brother Balletshooz, you are just SICK with this Air America silliness. I appreciate a good crazed obsession.
Really though, the hatin' on Rush is unbecoming, all the gratuitous mean crap about his personal chemical issues. You Rights and Freedom people are supposed to be tolerant and understanding, and all like that.
In short: PLAY NICE, DAMMIT.
16 - Dave Nalle
If he can't play nice - I can understand how irritating Limbaugh is - he could at least try to get the numbers right.
Dave
17 - TC@LeatherPenguin
Dave, Balletshooz wouldn't know how to read an Aritron book if it was written in braille and you jammed in in his blinded eyes.
This is like the third time he's tried to mount an offensive pushing Air Idiot as a success. Every time, the numbers get hashed.
In the only markets the AAR clown crew is showing success, the stations use local voices during morning drive time to give their ratings a boost.
Air Idiot's nothing more than Clear Channel's "let's plug this crap in" handiwipe for stations in their stable that are failing to make their nut.
18 - TC@LeatherPenguin
Hey, Balletshooz? Why don't you just link directly to the Arbitron numbers? Why you running them through your moonbat brethren's filter?
19 - skip
Yes, Rush is a loudmouth idiot....
And Yes, Air America and Franken are thieves ...steeling from the poor....
20 - Matthew T. Sussman
It's rather noble to continue believing in a cause, i.e. "there's a drug problem in America" while he himself struggles through one, rather than weaken his beliefs and say "drugs are OK."
Hypocrite? Aren't we all at some point? Are we all supposed to be perfect?
"Haha, Rush took painkillers!" Is that all you got? That's a pretty immature ad hominem argument. Bill Maher beat up his girlfriend, but it doesn't make me want to watch his show any less.
21 - Matthew T. Sussman
If you want a balanced partisan view at this, the same goes with Michael Moore. Both Moore and Limbaugh are song-and-dance men who have something to say. Is it right? Maybe, maybe not. But when the other side of the political spectrum stomps their feat and say "Look at what they're saying! They're spreading LIES!" then that inherently means they are listening to them.
Don't like something? Don't listen to 'em.
Sick of Paris Hilton? Stop watching her. Stop watching TV bits about her. Don't even complain about her. Just say nothing.
When people at the DNC mentioned Rush and the RNC mentioned Moore, that was so much free publicity for both.
Moral of the story: Stop your immature bitching about a winger who thinks differently than you.
Also, don't make the same post three times.
22 - bhw
Bill Maher beat up his girlfriend, but it doesn't make me want to watch his show any less.
Well, if it's true that he beat her up, it SHOULD make you want to watch his show less. Why put money in the pocket of an abuser?
Don't like something? Don't listen to 'em.
Or in this case, don't read 'em? ;-)
23 - Matthew T. Sussman
bhw, I've learned I can't judge TV/radio/newspaper personalities by their character. I'm not looking to be their friend, I just want their product. If I ignored everybody who made mistakes that not only disappoint me but probably themselves, then I'm left with watching that local access channel at 4 in the morning with all those colored stripes and monotonous tone.
And you're right about ignoring "this thread." I just want to shake some reason into these people -- author and commenters -- that bitch and bitch about entertainment that they can't stand.
Live and let die, I guess.
24 - Nancy
LOL - I voted with my shoes - or purse, or whatever - by getting rid of TV, & I refuse to listen to any radio 'talk' show: they're all just too irritating, regardless of what end of the political spectrum they're on. Much ado about nothing, as if anyone cared what their opinions were.
25 - Natalie Davis
The judge in the Bill Maher case dismissed the suit, Mr. Sussman, so you have no idea about what happened between him and his former girlfriend. Have you stopped beating your wife?
Good point about the posting the essential same post thrice.