(Frank Mottek, Crys Quimby, Frank Mottek, Bill Polish, Dick Helton, Bob McCormick, Larry Magid, Valerie Cook, Paul Young, Frank Kramer, Wally George,
Shotgun Tom Kelly, Ed Crook, Dave Hull, Mike Sakellarides, Mark Wallengren, David Williams, Keith Schwartz, Stella Prado, Christine Martindale and Riki Rachtman)

“Randi Rhodes is the Most Talented Person in Radio Today. Period.”
– Stephanie Miller

(April 23, 2014) Stephanie Miller (l) spent some time the other morning lamenting the impact of Rush Limbaugh’s decline in ratings, along with the cancellation of progressive host Randi Rhodes and her show once syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. “With Rush coming in 37th in Los Angeles, what has happened is that he is being moved to all those crappy signals we were on, but Progressive radio did work,” said Stephanie. Stephanie explained that the fallout of Rush Limbaugh’s weakening ratings affects all of talk radio, but progressive shows take a greater hit. “We always started with a lot less stations than Rush had.” As far as Randi Rhodes, Stephanie said, “I love her. She’s my friend but on top of that I think she’s the most talented person in radio today. Period.” Stephanie read from a transcript of the Ed Schultz show on the day that radio consultant Holland Cooke was a guest. Cooke explained that Rush created a business model which capitalized on free speech, allowing the conservative talk host to say whatever he wanted. The irony is a persistent online movement also used free speech to destroy Rush’s program.

“The StopRush movement has resulted in hundreds of blue-chip national advertisers basically not only to wander away from Rush Limbaugh and some of the ‘other righties,’ but they’ve abandoned the Talk radio format entirely. The conversation really picked up on February 29, 2012, Leap Year Day which was Day 1 of this three-day Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke faux pas,” said Holland. “And, if we were studying the history of Talk radio, you stick a pin in the timeline there because at that moment, a very well organized and relentless advertiser boycott effort which remains underway today rendered that business inviable.”

Cooke continued: “Hundreds of blue-chip national advertisers basically have not only wandered away from Rush Limbaugh and some of the other righties, they’ve abandoned the format entirely. They are afraid to be heard on a news talk station because this man’s use of his free speech triggered the opposing viewpoint exercising THEIR right to free speech.”

Within the past few months, Rush changed stations in both New York and Los Angeles. After years on talk powerhouse WABC, the Rush Limbaugh program moved to WOR. Locally, Clear Channel  dropped progressive talk on KTLK – which left Stephanie without a L.A. station – and rebranded the station as KEIB (“The Patriot AM 1150”), an all-conservative lineup with Rush as the format’s anchor. Cooke pointed out the initial results have not been favorable.

Cooke wrote and Stephanie read: “So Rush was told to go sit at the kid’s table and the irony in this is that for years the radio righties have been cackling about progressive radio’s failure to attain their level of listenership while the radio lefties had to go sit at the kid’s table. Well now he’s there. And we just got the first round of monthly radio ratings. And it is stunning to say this when we think that Rush Limbaugh himself led this whole talk radio revolution back in 1990. But today Rush Limbaugh is on the Number 22 station in New York. He is on the number 37 station in Los Angeles. In New York, four of the stations that are beating his station are not even English language stations.” 

 “The Rush Limbaugh station in New York is getting beat by a station that plays Classical music. In Los Angeles where you might expect it, there are 11 non-English speaking stations beating Rush Limbaugh. So the short answer is talk radio as we know it, the crazy uncle righty politically monologue-based ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’ genre is mathematically in trouble.”

Cooke continued: “Rush Limbaugh is on a great big station in Chicago. It is number 19 in the ratings and he didn’t move there. Same in Dallas. He is on the same great big station he always has been so they don’t have to go find him. And that station is now number 21 in the ratings. The station that Sean Hannity vacated for in Dallas is number 29 in the ratings. Obviously this is gonna shake out some more. The Rush Limbaugh station hasn’t changed in Philadelphia. They’re number 17 in the ratings.”

Stephanie returned to the subject of Randi Rhodes. “For there not to be a place in radio for Randi Rhodes is criminal. What a waste of talent. But it’s all about the economics of Talk radio, time slots, and advertising. With Randi losing her job is like guy in the foxhole just got shot next to me.”

She thinks the scary part of the decline of Rush is, “they are taking all of us down with him. Thanks Rush. Nicely done, sir.”

Overheard.

• “George Lopez is asleep on a carpet in a casino right now. He’s 53 years old.” (Ralph Garman, KROQ)

• "Why did the insomniac man get thrown in jail? Because he resisted arrest." (Dude, character on Gary Bryan Show, K-EARTH)

• "What a piece of crap Starlight Express was." (Bill Handel, KFI)

• "When I came to ESPN ten years ago, I replaced a very popular host, Tony Kornheiser." (Colin Cowherd, KSPN)

Two LARPs on TV. KLAC middayer Jay Mohr appeared on Keith Olbermann’s show this week to discuss the dangerous situation involving a Mexican drug cartel and Dodgers Outfielder Yasiel Puig. Mohr also talked about the Houston Astros farm system and the plan that GM Jeff Luhnow devised and proposed to Astros season ticket holders, and former NFL Quarterback Jared "The Hefty Lefty" Lorenzen's funny response to the new NCAA snacks rule. To watch clips from the appearance, click the artwork.

Hear Ache. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will again take center stage on KNX with the quarterly call-in program, Ask the Mayor, airing live next Wednesday from 10 – 11 a.m. Ask the Mayor is hosted by news anchor Tom Haule and chief investigative reporter Charles Feldman. Listeners have the opportunity to pose questions directly to Mayor Garcetti … Some 18,000 men have played major league baseball since 1876, according to MY/fm morning man Valentine. “Only 26 of them have hit 500 homeruns. Angels Albert Pujols is now one of them.” If he hit 499 last night he was going to have his wife and five kids join him in New York this weekend to witness the historic occasion. He hit a second homerun last night to accomplish 500. “Wouldn’t you think he might have taken it easy after 499, maybe bunt?” asked Valentine.

Funnie. If George Lopez was going to check for green cards, he said he would start with Circus du Soleil. “Those Asian acrobats can fit in a little ass box. You open a Happy Meal and 12 dudes jump out,” said George.

Email Wednesday

We GET Email …

** Mychal Thompson Has the Wry Stuff

“Mychal Thompson is great. I love listening to him. He is good with Mark Willard on ESPNLA NOW.” – Christopher A. Bury, Pasadena

** Jean Shepherd vs Dick Whittington

“Re: Chuck Southcott’s letter about Jean Shepherd and Sweet Dick Whittington. I had never heard Shep or read/saw A Christmas Story, so I researched his radio shows and recognized his voice from Disneyland's old Carousel of Progress.

While he was undeniably a good storyteller, it seemed as if he smoked too much, and he wasn’t as funny as I would have hoped. Compare that to Whittington, who remains my radio hero. He was laugh-out-loud hilarious with literate imagery and a master at bringing out the best in his guests. I suppose you like who you came up with, and I feel fortunate to have been exposed to Whittington and Garrison Keillor, another great radio wit.” – Dawna Kaufmann