The ratings show: People are tired of right wing sludge on air.

[alp227]

Wanted to follow up Garion_55's post The Rise and Fall of Talk Radio where he said "I truly believe we are nearing the end of any kind of legitimacy for AM talk."

Well guess what? To answer the question I present in my subject line here are the latest Arbitron ratings shares for NPR stations and right wing talk stations in some of the biggest media markets in the USA. While most major cities in the nation elect Democrats to city government as well as state legislature and Congress, I wonder if the same pattern exists in cities in red states i.e. Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, etc.

So let's look at the latest Arbitron PPM ratings, starting with the #1 market New York City.

Each item reads as follows: Station name, then ratings in November '13, Dec. '13, Holiday '13 (Xmas/New Years), and Jan. '14, bolded.

(#1) NYC:
WCBS-AM, all-news: 3.7, 3.3, 3.8, 4.9
WINS-AM, all-news: 3.3, 3.5, 3.3, 4.4
WNYC-FM, NPR: 2.3, 2.3, 2.3, 2.7
WABC-AM, RW talk: 3.0, 2.9, 2.5, 2.4
WOR-AM, RW talk: 1.2, 1.4, 1.4, 1.7
WNYC-AM, NPR: 0.7, 0.6, 0.6, 0.5

Note: Until 1/1/14, WABC was NY's Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity affiliate; both hosts moved to WOR. Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby have reunited for a left/right point/counterpoint show in Rush's time part on WABC, and WABC replaced Hannity with Michael Savage. WABC is also home of Mark Levin.

Also, WNYC programs its FM and AM stations differently whenever they aren't simulcasting the standard NPR fare, with the AM having more spoken/syndicated programs while the FM has music and local shows.

Salem-owned WNYM does not even show up on this ratings sheet.

(#2) Los Angeles:
KFI-AM, local talk: 3.4, 3.3, 3.1, 3.1
KNX-AM, all-news: 3.0, 3.0, 3.0, 3.1
KPCC-FM, NPR: 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.3
KCRW-FM, NPR: 1.1, 0.9, 0.9, 1.0
KABC-AM, RW talk: 0.7, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5
KEIB-AM, RW talk: N/A, 0.2, 0.1, 0.4
KRLA-AM, RW talk: 0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.4

Notes:
KFI was the City of Angels' Rush Limbaugh affiliate until January 2014 and replaced Rush with a local show. Because of this KFI has a "live & local" format from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Hosts lean right.
KEIB was a progressive talk station named KTLK before Jan. 2, 2014 and picked up Rush from KFI and Hannity from KABC. KEIB has a majority syndicated lineup except a local show 3-7 p.m.
KABC has local shows from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. except Mark Levin 6-9 p.m.
Seems that right wing talk
KRLA has a local morning show then carries Salem syndicated shows (Prager, Medved, Hewitt, etc.) the rest of the day.

(#3) Chicago:

WBBM-AM/FM, all-news: 6.0, 5.9, 5.6, 6.2 (top share in market)
WGN-AM, local talk: 3.9, 3.9, 3.6, 4.0
WLS-AM, RW talk: 2.4, 2.0, 1.7, 2.1
WBEZ-FM, NPR: 1.7, 1.6, 1.5, 1.8

Notes:
WGN has a 24/7 live & local format and carries Chicago Cubs baseball and Blackhawks hockey. Not sure about the political leanings of that station.
WLS has a mostly local lineup 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Rush from 11 to 2. Sean Hannity and Mark Levin evenings. (This station used to have Mike Malloy late nights as a local host.)
Salem-owned (Christian conservative) WIND-AM and independently owned progressive talker WCPT do not show up here. But the African-American station WVON-AM is here at a 0.3.

(#4) San Francisco:

KCBS-AM, all-news: 5.3, 5.1, 4.8, 5.3 (top share in market)
KQED-FM, NPR: 5.0, 4.9, 4.5, 5.2 (second place)
KSFO-AM, RW talk: 2.8, 2.8, 2.4, 2.2
KGO-AM, local news/talk: 2.7, 2.2, 2.1, 2.1
KKSF-AM, local talk: 2.1, 1.5, 1.2, 1.0
KNEW-AM, RW talk: 0.4, 0.4, 0.3, 0.8

Notes:
KSFO has local shows 6 to noon then Michael Savage and Mark Levin afternoons. Used to have Huckabee and Hannity before January.
KGO has mostly news weekdays as well as a local talk show and has local talk shows on weekends including a progressive host Pat Thurston.
Before January, KKSF was the Rush Limbaugh affiliate and had another right wing host after his show. Now, KKSF has a mostly local lineup and has national progressive hosts Randi Rhodes and Alan Colmes.
KNEW used to have a wide spectrum of shows before January: Glenn Beck (RW), Dave Ramsey (financial), Randi, Norman Goldman, Stephanie Miller, and Thom Hartmann. Now it's the Bay Area's Rush and Hannity affiliate and has a bunch of other syndicated RW shows.

(#5) Dallas:

KERA-FM, NPR: 2.7, 2.8, 2.8, 2.9
WBAP-AM, RW talk: 2.9, 2.7, 2.5, 2.6
KRLD-AM, all-news*: 2.1, 1.8, 2.0, 1.8
KSKY-AM, RW talk: 0.5, 0.4, 0.4, 0.5
KLIF-AM, RW talk: 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.4

Notes:
*KRLD has just plain news all day till 8 then the non-political Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard shows 8 to midnight and an overnight local talk show.
WBAP has local shows 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (replacing Michael Savage's third hour that may not always be live), and 8 p.m. to midnight. Outside these hours, BAP has Rush, Savage, and Levin.
KLIF has local shows in the morning and afternoon drives and elsewhere Laura Ingraham and Dennis Miller in between.
KSKY is a Salem station, thus its shows have a more religious conservative bent than WBAP or KLIF.

(#6) Houston:

KTRH-AM, RW talk: 4.2, 4.0, 3.7, 4.5
KUHF-FM, NPR: 3.0, 2.7, 2.4, 2.2
KROI-FM, all-news: 0.7, 0.9, 0.7, 1.0
KPRC-AM, RW talk: 0.4, 0.5, 0.4, 0.4

Notes:
KTRH is the Houston home of Rush, Hannity, and Levin.
KPRC has Glenn Beck and other 3rd-rate syndicated trash and some local shows including a non-political tech & rec show.

(#7) Washington, DC:

WTOP-FM, all-news: 9.3, 7.5, 7.5, 9.2 (#1 in market!)
WAMU-FM, NPR: 8.3, 7.7, 6.2, 7.6 (#2)
WMAL-AM/FM, RW talk: 4.0, 3.6, 3.3, 4.3
WNEW-FM, all-news: 0.9, 0.8, 0.8, 0.8

Notes:
WMAL is home of Rush, Savage, and Levin in DC.
DC also has two right wing stations that don't even show up here: independent WTNT and Salem's WWRC (both AM).

(#8) Philadelphia:

KYW-AM, all-news: 5.6, 5.1, 5.6, 7.6
WHYY-FM, NPR: 2.3, 2.7, 2.3, 2.6
WPHT-AM, RW talk: 1.4, 2.0, 1.6, 2.1

Notes:
Salem-owned WNTP doesn't show up in the ratings book.
WKXW-FM gets a 1.1 rating in Jan. 2014 in Philadelphia, but that station is "NJ 101.5" a live & local station based in Trenton whose signal covers most of Central Jersey including Princeton University, the capital region, and Brunswick. The share must be because of listeners on the Jersey side of the Philadelphia area. So not counting that.
WPHT has mostly local shows as well as Rush and Hannity. Believe it or not, Dick Morris (a man of failed predictions like Romney winning in a landslide) actually is a host on that station.

(#9) Atlanta:

WSB-AM/WSBB-FM, RW talk: 8.1, 7.5, 6.2, 7.1 (#2 in market)
WABE-FM, NPR: 3.1, 3.3, 3.0, 3.2
WYAY-FM, all-news: 1.5, 1.5, 1.2, 1.5
WGKA-AM, RW talk: 0.2, 0.3, 0.2, 0.3
WGST-AM, RW talk: 0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.1 (bottom of the pile)

Notes:
WSB is Herman Cain's flagship, the Atlanta affiliate of Rush and Hannity, and has the vile misogynist Erick Erickson.
WGKA is a Salem station.
WGST is home of Glenn Beck, Andrea Tantaros, and Dave Ramsey.
WYAY used to be an oldies station but flipped to all-news in 2012. Is that the only just plain news/traffic/weather station in the Southeast?

(#10) Boston:

WBZ-AM, all-news: 5.5, 5.6, 6.0, 5.9
WBUR-FM, NPR: 4.2, 3.9, 3.2, 4.2
WGBH-FM, NPR: 2.7, 2.6, 2.4, 3.0
WRKO-AM, RW talk: 2.7, 2.9, 2.3, 2.2

Notes:
WRKO is the Boston home of Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin. Jeff Kuhner (crazy fundie Washington Times columnist) is the morning drive host; Howie Carr afternoons.

Conclusion:

The local NPR station gets higher ratings than the Limbaugh station in: Boston, Dallas, DC, LA, NYC, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. And generic news stations like KCBS and KYW beat Limbaugh talk stations in: Boston, Chicago, DC, LA, NYC, Philadelphia, and SF.

But wait. Since I only surveyed the Top 10 markets, what about even right-leaning markets? Let's try #11 Miami:

WLRN-FM, NPR: 2.8, 2.6, 2.4, 2.7
WIOD-AM, RW talk: 1.7, 1.4, 1.2, 1.3

Notes: WIOD is Miami's home for Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity. In fact, ex-CNN anchor Rick Sanchez has a local show there now.

What about #17 San Diego, which recently elected a Republican mayor after Democrat Bob Filner went down in flames in a sex scandal? Filner was the first Democrat to be SD mayor since the early '90s.

KPBS-FM, NPR: 5.0, 5.1, 5.1, 5.0...and is the #4 ranked station in the area!
KFMB-AM, RW talk: 3.7, 3.0, 2.5, 3.2
KOGO-AM, RW talk: 2.4, 2.2, 1.8, 2.0

Notes: KFMB is Roger Hedgecock's flagship and also has Hannity, Beck, and Levin. KOGO has a mostly local daytime lineup, the exception being Rush.

Or #38 Nashville?

WPLN-FM, NPR: 3.8, 3.7, 3.8, 3.4
WWTN-FM, RW talk: 4.1, 3.4, 2.8, 2.8
WLAC-AM, RW talk: 2.4, 2.1, 1.4, 1.9

#25 Pittsburgh?

January 2014:
All-news KDKA-AM 7.6,
WESA-FM NPR 2.3,
WPGB-FM RW talk/Limbaugh: 2.1

[Dawson Leery]

1. k/r

[KoKo]

2. Recommend!

:kick:

[Boomerproud]

3. Not soon enough.

The damage has been done.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. I ONLY tune in to KOGO when we have a distaster

but only because they are THE DESIGNATED disaster station. Otherwise, sludge. KPBS, well, they can be special too.

[alp227]

12. San Diego's former progtalk now sports station KLSD 1360 also has emergency info,

according to this page by the city of Oceanside.

[Little_Wing]

5. K&R

Great work!

[Revanchist]

6. I really don't listen to local stations since I've gotten a vehicle with satellite radio

I wonder how much that has affected the ratings of some of these stations, if any? For the most part I'll listen to the POTUS channel instead of one that has a distinct right or left wing bias, they seem to focus on the story instead of attacking or defending the reason behind the story.

[Jenoch]

8. Safellite radio in general has not had

a huge impact on radio listening. As of last year there were about 25-1/2 million subscribers. Then add in anybody else in the same car.

[Revanchist]

10. Thanks,, I was curious but not enough to try to dig up data on my tablet. EOM.

[grasswire]

7. excellent work

Thanks.

[Jenoch]

9. Most of the Salem owned stations are low power AM stations

The reason they don't even show up in the surveys is because they mostly do not subscribe to the ratings service. If they don't pay, they do not get to know.

[alp227]

11. same with Air America. the funny thing is, right wingers say

"people don't want to hear left wing POV's" to explain why Air America failed. yet Salem stations either get below 1.0 shares or don't want to reveal their ratings, and right wingers LOOOOVE Salem.

[Jenoch]

13. You're right. The Salem station in the

Twin Cities where I live gets about a 1.0 share or a little less. The locally owned progressive station, which used to be Air America, gets about the same number of listeners. I don't listen to the Salem station too much (almost not at all) but the progressive station seems to have both loyal listeners and loyal local advertisers. I know the owner (I used to be in broadcasting) and I don't think she is getting wealthy from her radio station, (she was wealthy when she bought it, I hope she still is) but they've been around for almost ten years.

[madinmaryland]

14. I see no reference to "LW-Talk". Why is that?

You have RW-Corp News Stations, RW-Corp supported Public Radio, but no Progressive Radio listed.

That is just fucking sad.

[alp227]

15. I did.

I.E. KNEW in SF, KEIB/KTLK in LA. They both went conservative on new year's day.

In LA, Pacifica's KPFK got a 0.2 share in January. Didn't notice that.

I just did not see very many progressive stations on the Arbitrons. Because most non-commercial community stations like KPFA where i live usually do not pay to be listed.

[Jenoch]

18. There is a large public radio

group in Minnesota that is generally left of center and NPR is generally considered in the same category.

[gerogie2]

16. Why would any one tune in?

It is the same topics every day. Bash Obama, Bash Liberals, Bash Welfare and bash illegal aliens. Who in their right mind tunes into a radio show where the only thing that occurs is a man in a empty room talking to himself about how bad the liberals are?

[alp227]

20. Such talk gets them horny. They want validation of their bass ackwards bigotry. nt

[Ex Lurker]

17. Nobody under 40 listens to talk radio

and nobody under 30 listens to radio of any kind.

[alp227]

19. hey i'm under 30 and i listen to NPR, sports, and music on the radio most of the time!

I still use the clock alarm radio I've had since age 11 (that was in '02) and now use the Tunein app as well to listen to stations around the world. As for talk radio I don't listen to Thom Hartmann live that often anymore but watch clips of his radio show on YouTube.