limbaugh losing to liberal talk, hannity scavenges the carcass

The right is always pronouncing Air America and liberal talk radio dead, even though it's growing like the well baby it is.

There's more good news to fuel our customary sunny liberal outlook.

The Raw Story.com got an advance peek at Miami talk radio trends that show Big Eddie Schultz (1090AM, m-f, 12-3p) whacking Rush Limbaugh in the large, supposedly conservative, southern-fried, metropolitan market in the Big Bobo's own back yard.

In particular, The Ed Schultz show actually passed Limbaugh among the 25-54 age range in the nation's twelfth largest radio market. Schultz scored a 3.4 rating to Limbaugh's 3.2, climbing 1.1 ratings points from the winter figures.

Al Franken, whose Air America program runs head-on with Rush in the noon to 3 p.m. slot, also made strides, posting 2.1 ratings among 25-64, up from 1.5 in the winter.

BlatherWatch likes what we hear in Ed Schultz.

In a feckful, personal piece about her secret love affair with talk radio, essayist, fiction writer and much-admired former Stranger Editor Emily White wrote last month "Schultz talks like he's sitting in a bar about to order his third beer." We grokked that Big Ed wasn't exactly Emily's cup of, er...tea.

But we say Schultz's beery demeanor and that he's nearly irony-free is why he may be the liberal's great white hope for talk radio.

He's a plain-talking, ex-pro-football player; an unapologetic hunter and fisherman from Fargo. He's no girlie man, like we are--but he's just as liberal--plus he's likable, smart and has a good grasp of what's what. What's really important about him is that he can talk progressive in a commonsensical way to which red state folks--men in particular--will listen.

We don't need more preachers to our sardonic choir, we need spokesblabberers who can help us bring back the blue collars, the farmers, the salty earthpeople who used to share our vision (read: vote Democratic).

Aside from Schultz's talents, and upward trending, Limbaugh still has other problems--such as the recent progress in the prosecution of his pill-popping drug abuse case, which you'd think wouldn't sit well with his religious right-wing fans, reportedly legion. (Now we know about the "head" part of "Ditto-head.") His latest divorce (no. 3) which reportedly involved a third party, the glamorous CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, and his using the word, 'blowjob' on his show has lost him Christian listeners as well. He's been seeing an internist about his uncontrollable flatulence but not before being disincluded from Washington and Palm Beach political and social events. Airtight underwear has not gained him the re-acceptance he was hoping for.

Sean Hannity, they say, is pulling ahead of Limbaugh in many markets-- seeing that is for us like watching a rat eating a slug--who do you root for?

Meanwhile back in the Seattle market, the big sweat is on for the Spring Book numbers, due out at the end of July. 

We'll be trying to answer the burning questions.

--Will the national downtrend for newstalk radio continue? 

--How bad will it be for KIRO?  (Do the numbers make any difference to them anyway?)

--How far down will KTTH go before something drastic is done to programming or operations?

--Whither KPTK? Is the political activists' dream of having local liberal talk hosts, just another promise broken by a company too timid to venture outside the safety of syndicated talk? 

Comments

[Scrilla]

blatheringMike:

Just a heads up, my source at a certain office in Maryland says talk radio is up in Seattle. Many many non metro diaries mailed and returned. Fewer Seattle diaries means great news for one or two stations. Also, get some Syrah and Brie w/champignons standing by as comfort food: yur gonna hate seeing who had a great book.
You're right though: local, local, local.

[blathering michael]

Thanks Scrilla, I'm big enough to eat crow, especially if there's a decent Syrah...

[Duane]

To be "pithy", Bill O'Reilly style, KTPK will NEVER achieve ratings without any local angle and seriously, I doubt even that will cause them to draw larger numbers. Whiny, bitchy, always complaining hosts get very tiresome. AirAmerica has mastered the "bitchslap". Ask Big Eddie Schultz about the importance of POSITIVE coaching styles to get results. Lenny Wilkens was a prime example of positive coaching producting a championship Seattle SuperSonics team. Time will certainly tell.

[Albert]

I agree Duane, I want to hear facts, not whining.

[umo]

The Spring ratings are out and KIRO-AM is still the highest rated news/talk radio station in Seattle. Limbaugh is still the undisputed heavyweight champ of all talk radio.

[sparky]

Ed is a lazy host who is constantly uninformed about issues his callers bring up. His answer is to say " Heyyyyy thanks for coming where America comes to talk!" and hangs up and takes the next caller. That he beats Rush-boy in some markets is nothing for the left to be proud of...
One caller from Spokane called to talk about Mayor Jim and since Ed had not heard about it, he accused the caller of making it up and hung up on him....
On a much brighter note. KPTK is going to run trial shows of other independent hosts such as Stephanie Miller and Thom Hartmann. I will be casting my vote for Thom and writing to the station to encourage them to take him. A rerun of Thom is better than a rerun of Jerry anyday!

[Jim]

Oh my God! You people are hysterical. I've never seen such a case of rampant paranoia! You assert so much of this hatred, these lies, and then you go on to say that it comes from conservatives. Are your heads stuck so far up your own bums that the smells of feces clouds common sense and decency? Wow "Let me go into Rush Limbaugh's transcripts and see if I can't pull out a word or two so that I can call him a racist again..." Have you nothing better to do? Why don't you go out and do something about the state of things instead sitting back, ringing your hands, and hiding your envy of the LEADERS or the real media by attempting to slander them (with the SAME BS) day-in, day-out. Bloody hell! If you people are Americans, I fear the future. Aw, go find something else to bitch and moan about...

[coiler]

This is 2 years old, Rush is a proven drug addict and a professional 'poofter' as well, please move on to current conservo-nazis who will be facing jail soon...

[sparky]

Jim--those feces clouds you smell are coming from Rush...Lynn Cheney tossed him out of her Limo because he thought it was cute to poot...

[tanker]

I can't believe this website exsist but than again liberals tend to be misfits, are you not aware air america filed for bankruptcy last year? I'm not surprised as their ideas and liberal hate they push were bankrupt from the start. Why worry about whats on the radio you don't like anyway? Are you a masocist? tanker

[Duffman]

Huh? I don't know, must be someone from the Bush administration acting on new found intellegence!