Rushbo's Numbers "Double" Out Of Thin Air...

[KharmaTrain]

There have been claims over recent days that since Rushbo became the head of the rushpublican party, his radio ratings had doubled. This was cited in Whorie Kurtz's fluff piece over the past weekend and now we know how Whorie came up with this figure...hope spoke with an "expert"...Michael Harrison of Talkers Magazine...

Media matters has the details...

http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200903070002?show=1

UPDATE: In his Friday piece, Kurtz quoted Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers magazine, who suggested Limbaugh's ratings had doubled recently. In today's Post article, here's how Harrison explains coming to that conclusion:

"It's what we're hearing, based on the e-mails, the calls, all the buzz this controversy is generating. We put a little bit of our interpretation on it, added it all up, and that puts you in the ballpark."

So there you have it...a failed talk show host who puts out an insider magazine that he tries to peddle to other talk show hosts (mostly right wingers) pulls the numbers out of his orifice and it's considered fact. Your corporate media at work.

Even Kurtz's Washington Post adds light to this ruse...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/06/AR2009030603435.html?hpid=topnews

Arbitron, the radio industry's dominant audience-measurement company, has never publicly released a national estimate for Limbaugh, and it says, in effect, that the job is too complicated, expensive and time-consuming to bother with.

The difficulty comes from the vast patchwork that is Limbaugh's radio empire. His three-hour daily program is carried on more than 600 domestic stations, but these stations don't all carry the show at the same time or even for the same duration. Most air all three hours of Limbaugh's broadcast each weekday, but some carry only two hours. Arbitron has never attempted to aggregate all of this audience data for this many stations and times. "There is no economic motivation for any objective third party to do that kind of analysis," says Thom Mocarsky, an Arbitron spokesman.

<snip>

The ratings service can say with some precision how large Limbaugh's audience is in a particular city and at a particular time. In the Washington region, for example, Limbaugh's program -- carried from noon to 3 p.m. on WMAL (630 AM) -- attracted an average of 167,700 unique listeners per week during January. Limbaugh has never been a huge draw in Washington; his show ranked 14th overall during January, far behind ratings leaders WTOP-FM (567,500 weekly listeners), soft-rock station WASH-FM (526,300) and Top-40 station WIHT-FM (349,300).

Premiere Radio Networks, Limbaugh's national syndicator, estimated last year that 3.59 million people were in Limbaugh's audience during an average quarter-hour of his program, based on a review of Arbitron's piecemeal data about hundreds of stations.

<snip>

So...even by Rushbo's own syndicator...they estimate he drew 3 1/2 million NOT 15 or 20 or 30 to his show...and this isn't qualified by which demographic or even if its a cumulative number of more specific. Since Kurtz is a beltway icon, his disinformation now becomes part of the talking head lexicon...spread far and wide with no need to substantiate...and Rushbo knows it, cause the real data is a tightly held company secret by Arbitron and there are or never have been any national totals on his show or any one elses...just bits and pieces from stations that are clumped together...then throw a lot of numbers around and see which one sticks.

Discuss...

[lpbk2713]

1. I believe you used the word "thin" with the only possible connotation ...

there could possibly be when talking about OxyRush. :eyes:

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. The only thing "double" is his waist size and his weight.

[hedgehog]

3. Thin air? Well, he does broadcast through the ether....

[UTUSN]

4. A caller asked LIMBOsevic about it today & he replied that NOBODY KNOWS

that the ratings come in every three months, and that they are the result of ratings-recordskeepers (jotting what they listen to, as in the Nielsen families for t.v.).


Posters who constantly allege that those of us who spy on the wingnuts "are HELPING THEIR RATINGS", please take note. I am not an Arbitron jotter.

[KharmaTrain]

5. It's Aruging A Negative...

Diary recall is what this "jotting" is called and depends on someone remembering what show they listened to, which station it was on and for how long they tuned in. This system was set up 70 years ago when radio was filled with soap operas. They have introduced a "people-meter" system that takes a direct measurement from your radio, but the system is still getting established.

I'm just tired of the corporate media overblowing Rushbo's ego with numbers based either on bullshit or manipulation.

Cheers...

[spanone]

6. his numbers are as inflated as his ego and waistline

[zbdent]

7. he should have to offer proof ...

the Righties lie all about how the "left can't make it on the radio" when, in head-to-head competition, while many lefty programs are beating the nationally syndicated programs ...

and the ReRushlicans forget that Rush went through many years of failure (back when the "Fairness Doctrine" worked to his benefit) before some rich a**hole decided to ignore ratings and push the modern-day Goebbels upon the country ...

[KharmaTrain]

9. It's All About Access...

Rushbo is so powerful because a handful of companies own a majority of the stations he's on. His syndicator, Premier, is owned by Clear Channel who owns over 1,000 stations. This replaced hundreds of local owners and voices. Fairness and the Fairness Doctrine had nothing to do with this...deregulation did.

[DainBramaged]

8. I read this weekend somewhere that his TOTAL listenership could be about 13.5 million

throughout the course of a day, but that his AVERAGE hourly listenership is only about 1.5 million at any one hour.

I can't find the link right now (still at work).


Oh and the idea behind it was that MOST people who listen CAN'T listen between 12-3 because they are at work. And since we Liberals are out of work (and not the Repuke masters) and we don't listen, his overall numbers that are being floated are bullshit.

[KharmaTrain]

10. Even His Own Syndicator Estimates only 3.5 Million

The rest are pulled out of someone's ass. The number you saw was cumulative...which means the number of people who may have stumbled onto a station airing his show. That doesn't mean they stuck around long. It also doesn't specify who these people are...age, sex, location. Just numebsr that "sound right" or "feel good".

This is a case of statistics lie and liars use statistics. From one who used to play with these things, anyone with the proper access can find numbers that say up is down. Since you can't see the actual numbers, there's no way for it to be refuted.

Cheers...