Rush has compensated by doubling down for his base, throwing them the highly-toxic red meat that keeps the hick geezers listening longer.



Time Spent Listening is usually something advertisers and stations are willing to pay for, but not so much with reichwing radio, recently. Going after women was Rush's big mistake:



But why now, surely Rush has been talking misogynistic trash for over two decades?



Rush -- and right wing talk radio -- aren't dead yet, but unless their tone (and charges) change, they're on their way out.

The Rush effect is slopping over on the rest of reich-wing radio:



There are tons of companies out there who would fall all over themselves to give Rush Limbaugh their money to advertise on his program at the national level, even if he were the most reviled man on the radio. The level of “class” in those advertisers might drop, but opportunists will attach to a scandal in a heartbeat. The trouble is, the vast majority of hometown and regional advertisers won’t. And, boycotts and protests are most effective at the local and regional level.

If a person who heard what Limbaugh said about Sandra Fluke got an emailed list of local advertisers whose commercials aired during the Limbaugh show, that person can pick up the phone and call each local or regional business on that list. They can tell them, “I will not be eating at your restaurant for as long as you advertise with that man. When you stop, I will come back. And, by the way, I am tweeting, emailing, and Facebook messaging every person I know to tell them the same thing. We’ll be listening tomorrow to see if you are still supporting him.”

Limbaugh may not care about that, but the restaurant owner sure does, even if he likes Limbaugh. If even a few people make that intention known, that owner will call the radio station and demand that his ads be pulled out of the Limbaugh show and spread elsewhere. He may even post a sign on his door expressing his support for Limbaugh, but he will eventually move his ads. In order to not lose that ad business, the station will quickly comply. Eventually, if enough advertisers bail on the program, the program gets replaced. No more Limbaugh in that town.

Limbaugh himself said it yesterday, “They’re just saying they don’t want their spots to appear in my show.” Exactly.

Limbaugh’s website says he has over 600 stations in his stable. Calls from individuals, especially people not even in the listening area, will have little effect on the decisions a station makes. But calls from the advertisers are treated like messages from God. Limbaugh may think say that those advertisers are like a few french fries. But, the local stations do not. There are people at those stations whose job it is to beat the pavement and sell ads. They work on commission. They build relationships with those advertisers. It is in their best interests to keep those advertisers informed about where their money is best spent. If there is a huge stench around a program, local and regional advertisers will abandon it. Stations will then eventually drop it, not on principle, but out of economic necessity. And thus, the listener base dwindles. They simply won’t have it to listen to unless they subscribe online. Then, the chain effect begins. The cost of regional ads drops due to a smaller listener base. So, ad sales people have to sell more commercials to recover the lost revenue. No one wants to support a sinkhole. Eventually, the show folds.

Limbaugh can put on a brave face and act like those national level advertisers are all he cares about. But, that’s disingenuous. Even if he never lost a single one, the local and regional markets can dry up around him. He will be a tree falling in a forest.

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