Posted on 05/30/2016 12:46:50 PM PDT by EveningStar
Earlier this year, as that unmistakable bass line of the Pretenders’ My City Was Gone faded into the background, Rush Limbaugh opened his daily three-hour broadcast with characteristic bombast. “[According to the] latest research data,” he intoned, “the audience is expanding at near geometric proportions, as people seek guidance, answers, explanations, information, and an answer to the basic question, ‘What the hell is happening out there?’" ...
And yet, there are signs that all is not well in the Limbaugh radio empire. Because even as his influence is sky high and his dominance at the top of talk radio remains unchallenged, as a business proposition, Limbaugh’s show is on shaky ground. In recent years, Limbaugh has been dropped by several of his long-time affiliates, including some very powerful ones: He’s gone from WABC in New York, WRKO in Boston and KFI in Los Angeles, for example, and has in many cases been moved onto smaller stations with much weaker signals that cover smaller areas.
Why? Because four years after Limbaugh called Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” on air, spurring a major boycott movement, reams of advertisers still won’t touch him. He suffers from what talk radio consultant Holland Cooke calls a “scarlet letter among national brand advertisers.” And for someone who has said that “confiscatory ad rates” are a key pillar of his business, that spells trouble. (Limbaugh ignored multiple interview requests.)
Limbaugh’s extremely lucrative eight-year contract—estimated to be worth roughly $38 million a year—is up this summer ...
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Then the one who made the last prediction can say, "There, you see."
I will believe it when I see it, provided he remains interested. There are lots of people that would like to be Number One on the radio. I even listen to Dennis Prager from time to time when Limbaugh is onto something I don't find interesting. It's pretty rare for that to happen two days in a row or even twice in your given week.
I hope Limbaugh stays interested until I check out.
Rush is clueless as to why Trump is so popular. He is still fighting the Conservative vs liberal battle which is yesterdays struggle which is also clouding his vision. The new struggle is nationalism vs globalism which has pits his “core” convictions against most of the American right. He needs to go. He is a classic 1% er.
It’s interesting to see Limbaugh 24 years ago, in this lengthy interview and Q&A.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BSkjXYmaEA
His style was a better fit for sparring in the more conservative political millieu of the early-mid 90s.
He hasn’t adapted... he has made about 20 tweets in the past two years. Compare this to Ann Coulter, Milo Yiannopolous, or Donald J. Trump for that matter.
A bunch of us.I listen to Herman Cain and the kimmer.
I think elRushbo will take it to 30 years then hand off to someone else. Rush has been my lunch buddy for a long, long time and I wish him only the best when that time comes.
Yes they both have yuge portraits of them selfs at their homes
Not really.
Rush's deal is with Clear Channel.If they sell off a bunch of stations and acquire others it's only natural that he goes to the new one's even if they have no signal or no audience. That's radio.It doesn't happen very often but it can and did happen to Rush on a handful of the 600 stations he is on.
Clear Channel(cheap channel) has always been the asshole/armpitt of companies to work for. Once you have been clearchanneled as I was you never forget it.
It probably cost some ad money and some numbers but with that many affiliates he still has 13 million listeners and hes still #1 right there with Hannity.
Politico has a habit of coming down on conservative pretty hard and this article was anything but unbiased.
Recently, Limbaugh has had a problem in that he was always expected to be above the fray of other talk show hosts and remain fair,balanced and objective.
He stopped being fair and objective in early March shilling for Ted Cruz and has only come around over the past few weeks as Trump has become the clear winner.
Even now he told a caller the other day he would still not openly state his support for Trump even though he has stopped blasting him on the air for the most part.
Reasons vary.
And remain the big question. Why did he break listener confidences?
Was it Mark Levin and his brother who were openly riding the cruz SUV? Was it jealousy knowing that he could do what Trump was attempting and do it much better or is it something much more sinister? We may never know.
If you follow the money you ask yourself who or whom is he beholden to(that we may or may not know about) and is he following their lead or even orders?
Hard to tell why he changed being the leader he had been for 25 years.Will his wishy washy effort for Trump result in lost revenue and fewer listeners? Hard to tell.Some here on FR claim they will never listen to him or some have already stopped.
Others like myself listen to him in a much more questionable manner studying every word for bias. It's a new day on the EIB net.
You are right. I think politico overplayed the Sandra Fluke end of the Limbaugh story which is to be expected since they are pretty left wing.
A lot of advertising is sold by NYC ad agencies.These guys know where to go if they want product to be sold and they have not stopped going to Limbaugh’s show.
Steve Deace does three hours. He and his crew are always interesting.
Good post. Rush could easily retire.With investments you gotta figure he’s worth a pile and doesn’t have worry about selling EIB1.ANd, if you have ever done three hours on the air try it sometime.If you do it right you will be mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the show.Also hes basically deaf. So factor that in as well.
“However, I do not recall he expressing outrage over the invasion of this country.”
You need to listen more frequently, then. He spent MONTHS early last year agonizing over why the GOPe was so hell-bent on Amnesty. Finally, he figured it out. It was something he always preached, which is FOLLOW THE MONEY. It wasn’t that the GOPe loved Amnesty all that much, it was that they loved the money brought in from the big donors (i.e., people who don’t give a crap who gets elected, as long as it’s good for their businesses).
Before that, he fought TOOTH-AND-NAIL against Rubio’s Gang of Eight sellout of the country.
Rush taught us listeners who was really pulling the strings (i.e., the big money people mentioned above) and how they much preferred staying in the shadows (a little John McCain lingo), and WE RESPONDED by launching Trump.
Without Rush, Trump would now be back to building high rises, and Amnesty would (or very soon will) be the law of the land.
He’s done more for this country than just about any Republican leader, although Fluck, gushing over Rubio, and trying to give life support to Cruz were screw-ups.
“rush and othere were getting PAID to support cruz. Limbaugh lost all cred.”
Second posting here saying that...it would explain a lot, but do you have any evidence of it?
It wasn't so much that it was Cruz that he was supporting it was the fact that he betrayed our trust in him by supporting anyone at all.
We had always depended on him to remain fair and balanced and completely objective until a candidate was nominated. Then and only then would he support them against the communist left. He betrayed all that. That why many were pissed.
While that’s possible its not likely on Rush’s part.I doubt he would sell out that cheap. It would take mega-millions for him to be bought by any candidate and it don’t think he works that way anyhow.
I got sick and tired of many of these shows doing nothing but hawking their new, better than anything, rip-off consumables. Whether it be repackaged Snapple ice tea or Chinese water purifiers made from lead by the leading scientist in overseas space travel!
That and the over the top, self promotion in order to make them feel better about themselves. We understand you are certainly the smartest human to have lived. You have rubbed elbows with many people actually making changes in the world and you let us know this daily. The fact that you and Marconi have actually conquered the world by beaming your voice to various receivers throughout the world.... Well. The United States.
It got old quick.
Go back and read some of the Rush threads from the last three months and then tell me I’m wrong.
I can go back to the last 10 years of the demise of Rush threads that will prove you wrong........give it up.
He should not have apologized for calling Fluke a slut. And I think he knows how pissed his audience is about the Rubio/Cruz pimping.
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