Ass-hole radio ratings way, way down.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_866022.html

I have a lot of theories about what happened to talk radio, but there is one thing that certainly did happen: The established snarky hosts went from cranky, amusing, insult hurlers to ass-hole fear-mongerers--this right about the time Obama started to become a viable presidential candidate.

Rush, love him or hate him, used to be funny. He didn't take himself too seriously. Now he spends his days letting the world know that "Libs" are ruining the American way of life.

Sean Hannity used to at least spar with Alan Combes, but after the election went solo and now dedicates each and every show--radio and television--to denouncing every single thing Obama does.

Less-well-known Mark Levine was down right wacky once, best known for asking female callers what they were wearing. Now, he spews hate without humor, and with unmatched vitriol. His monologues also end in a crescendo of him screaming until he's hoarse. Of course, Obama is him primary target.

I don't know why these guys went from entertainers to shitheads, but their ratings are now falling...fast (see the article.)

Here's my hope: These dicks are marginalized, and some genuinely thoughtful conversations begin to take place.

I actually agree with most basic right-wing tenets, but I cannot find a single media outlet that presents these ideas, or has conversations about them, in a tone that is anything less than entirely hateful.

Maybe now that the president has proven himself a citizen, and now that Fox News has found itself in the unenviable position of backing Paul Ryan's kill-Medicare plan, the county is ready for some real, meaningful conversations?

I could just be kidding myself.

You're kidding yourself.

;)


I think it is a good sign their ratings are dropping. But I don't hold out too much hope things will improve in the discourse arena.

I think one of the things to really hurt Rush was when the economy imploded and he claimed it was all media hype and as proof of this, he announced that he'd just signed a $40 million contract. No doubt a lot of the people who listened to him and had just lost their job were pissed off by this.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Tuckerfan

I think one of the things to really hurt Rush was when the economy imploded and he claimed it was all media hype and as proof of this, he announced that he'd just signed a $40 million contract. No doubt a lot of the people who listened to him and had just lost their job were pissed off by this.

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Rush is surprsingly callous about how rich he is. Recently heard him talking about how he makes about $14,000 a show. Good for him.

Radio pretty much sucks all the way around these days. I used to love a particular talk station here because they had all local talent, which meant a local slant. Now, they're mostly syndicated shows, and they all sound alike and are mostly unpleasant. Bleah.