Talk-show fans still tune in big-time at Rush hour

NY Daily News ^ | October 11th 2007 | DAVID HINCKLEY

[rface]

Rush Limbaugh remains the most listened-to talk show host in America, according to a semi-annual estimate in the trade magazine Talkers, with at least 13.5 million people tuning him in at some point during the average week.

Sean Hannity is a close second with at least 12.5 million. Then there's a drop to Michael Savage and Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who Talkers says each have at least 8 million listeners a week.

Limbaugh and Hannity are heard locally on WABC (770 AM), Savage on WOR (710 AM) and Schlessinger on WWDJ (970 AM).

Talkers says its figures are based on station reports, Arbitron "and other sources." and are not precise ratings data.

The top 12 for spring 2007:

1. Limbaugh, at least 13.5 million

2. Hannity, 12.5 million

3. Savage & Schlessinger, 8 million

4. Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, 5 million

5. Neal Boortz, Mark Levin, Dave Ramsey, 4 million

6. Mike Gallagher, Michael Medved, 3.75 million

7. Jim Bohannon, Clark Howard, Bill O'Reilly, Ed Schultz, Doug Stephan, 3.25 million

8. Bill Bennett, Jerry Doyle, George Noory, 3 million

9. Rusty Humphries, Kim Komando, Lars Larsen, Jim Rome, 2.25 million

10. Bob Brinker, Dr. Joy Browne, Tom Leykis, Mancow, 1.75 million

11. Alan Colmes, Thom Hartmann, Hugh Hewitt, Lionel, G. Gordon Liddy, Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, 1.5 million

12. Dr. Dean Edell, Bill Handel, Opie & Anthony, Michael Reagan, 1 million.

[TaMoDee]

See #11 —— Randi Rhodes among others.

[goodnesswins]

When Glenn Beck met WITH a GROUP of radio hosts with President Bush.....he referred to the meeting, as if it was JUST BETWEEN HIM and the President......made me a little skeptical of him.

[Savage Beast]

"Limbaugh has long been thought to have a weekly 'cume' of about 20 million listeners."

Well...a little more like it but still unbelievably low...!

By the way, who is Ed Schultz?

(Ever heard of anybody who doesn't know who Rush Limbaugh is???)

[maine-iac7]

1. Limbaugh, at least 13.5 million

2. Hannity, 12.5 million

3. Savage & Schlessinger, 8 million

4. Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, 5 million

All together :

Alan Colmes, Thom Hartmann, Hugh Hewitt, Lionel, G. Gordon Liddy, Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, 1.5 million

Any wonder why the socialists are adamant about getting Rush et al off the air?

We need to be sure we keep the socialists out of the WH - or Rush is liable to be a victim of Arkanicide -

IT takes a lot of fortitude and downright super patriotism to do battle as Rush does, day after day, with the minions of evil...

[Marie2]

My new fave is Dennis Miller. I wish he was a Christian (I wish the same for dear Rush), and I wish he was pro-life. But he is respectful of such positions and is very funny and creative.

[maine-iac7]

In addition:

Has anyone done a definitive study on why listeners to conservative versus liberal shows is so lopsided?

Could it be that, without all the voter fraud, this country just may not be as evenly divided as we are led to believe??? (The figures on how many of us believe in God - 86% - should be a clue as well)

? Same as the inflated figures for the percentage of homosexuals?

Time for a candidate that will not worry about the gay or other lib issue voters - for every one of them they would alienate, they would gain 2+ on the other side.

[JZelle]

Hence the libs’ push for the fairness doctrine.

[MrB]

very well could be an indicator of voter fraud

An even bigger indicator of voter fraud is how hard the Dems fight any sort of voter ID requirement.

[cowtowney]

Rusty Humphries...much better looking than the a-ver-age host, yeh! Rusty Humphries...listening to him may make you a millionaire, yeh!

You gotta give it to him. He’s got a great sense of humor.

[jpl]

Has anyone done a definitive study on why listeners to conservative versus liberal shows is so lopsided?

I don't know if anyone has done this definitive study, but in my opinion, the most obvious answer is because television and the newspapers are so heavily dominated by the left, radio is the only medium where our opinions ever really get a fair airing. Limbaugh came in at a time when the vacuum was so large, it was begging to be filled by someone, and boy did he big time.

I remember saying at the time Air America was starting that it was doomed to fail, because the market for liberal opinion was already pretty well saturated in the media. Even on the radio, NPR had already been around quite a while to appeal to the mainstream left. Air America is designed to appeal to the ulra far-left MoveOn.org George Soros crowd who doesn't feel that NPR is liberal enough. And that crowd is a pretty small slice of America, and virtually nonexistent outside of San Francisco and the Boston to DC Beltway corridor.

[Ben Hecks]

JimRob mentioned the problem last evening. See post 706

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1906660/posts?q=1&;page=701

[fish hawk]

That would be Randi Rhodes. She is down in number 11

[fish hawk]

That would be Randi Rhodes. She is down in number 11

[ml/nj]

I think you need to reread the first sentence of the article.

BTW, SFAIK, Rush has about 5 million at any point in time.

ML/NJ

[seekthetruth]

I bet the membership in Rush’s 24/7 webcam is up. I am an old listener but a new webcam member. How do they figure in all of the folks who listen on line, not radio? Or maybe those folks are not counted?

[Tanniker Smith]

Gotta agree with you there. I can listen to PLJ lunch time or on weekends, but I can’t stand Rocky Allen. I even show them do their show down at the NJPAC in Holmdel (before it was named after a bank) and I went inside and watched the empty stage instead and waited for the show.

[Tanniker Smith]

Moreover, the people who want there to be an ultra-left answer to Rush aren't the people who would listen to such a thing anyway. They just want it there so that the "dummies" out there will be able to find it because after all, they are only listening to Rush, or Sean, or Bill, because that's the only thing on the radio to listen to. If these "dummies" find a left-leaning station they'll listen to that instead. Or so they think.

P. Diddy (for example) isn't listening to talk radio. Rosie O'Donnel isn't listening to talk radio. If they aren't listening to talk because they prefer music (or mindless trash passing itself off as music), why would they tune into talk just because it's left-wing talk.

[RadioCirca1970]

“Rush Limbaugh remains the most listened-to talk show host in America, according to a semi-annual estimate in the trade magazine Talkers, with at least 13.5 million people tuning him in at some point during the average week.”

I re-read it, and there it is. It says at least 13.5mil,which implies a floor of 13.5 million. My statement remains the same, 20 million is a cumulative number. Call Premiere/CC sales, and ask them what their cumulative listener numbers are weekly, its 20 million. Rush has been saying that for years. BTW Hannity has 12.5 like I have a 3rd foot. His numbers are more like 10.5

12.5 is pure Phil Boyce/WABC propaganda... So in addition to hacking Rush’s act, Sean is only a million behind—even though he is on over 150 fewer stations? Puhleez. BTW you are correct, it is 5mil at any given time—my bad. As I recall you are a pretty good talk radio caller. At least you are better than John in Crofton, MD!

[Coldwater Creek]

Free Republic is dragging for me as well. I have a brand new computer, and I just thought it was my BellSouth/ATT DSL.

[Coldwater Creek]

Free Republic is dragging for me as well. I have a brand new computer, and I just thought it was my BellSouth/ATT DSL.