Anyone know what Limbaugh's ratings really are?

[i_am_not_john_galt]

He claims 20 million. With a total US population of 292,426,829 (see http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en - way cool), that would be almost 7% of the population, or more like 15-20% of the voting population. That just seems impossibly high.

Anyone have access to Arbitrons or some other credible ratings info?

[Cannikin]

1. He WAY overblows his ratings...

No way that many people are hanging on his every word.

[i_am_not_john_galt]

2. Under the most "liberal" counting methods

you could count anyone who listens for even a few minutes during the day, or week. It still seems like an impossibly large percentage.

I used to buy radio ads (many moons ago) and the radio guys had very detailed information on who was listening when, so the information's out there.

[Warpy]

4. They're also counting

...the captive audience of people whose coworkers listen to the drug-addled puffball. Bosses also like to play it in places like convenicnce marts. That's where his numbers come from, involuntary listeners who would really rather the station be playing music.

[fleetus]

7. And possibly counting...

Every one on DU because we sometimes quote his show before we rip it shreads.

I think it's bull that he counts us just because we quote him, but oh well. It's just so tempting to listen to him when we need a way to get worked up into a frothing frensy.

[Cannikin]

15. Not everyone...

Only a few of us subject ourselves to it and report back, so that not everyone has to suffer him.

[Nomad559]

3. Rush Is 2.8

Randi Rhodes stated on her show a couple of days ago that he rated a 2.8

Her rating was 8.1

[ryharrin]

5. Yeah, I heard that.

She talks about her ratings being better than Rush's every once in a while. Don't you just love how Rush gets ahead because of the free market and because people like what he has to say better, and he has better ratings.... oh wait, no, that's not right.

[ryharrin]

6. One thing that I've heard is that the 20 million comes from

4 million per day x 5 days = 20 million. Either way, its way too damn many people listening to pull lies for three hours.

p.s.- I just swore off the GD:2004 Primary board. I forgot how great it was to see people bashing republicans instead of Dean, Clark, etc.

[i_am_not_john_galt]

9. That wouldn't fly - unless you could show that they are different people.

The figure's got to come from some kind of rating service. The idea above - that it includes people who hear it involuntarily - might lead somewhere. Do any rating services take that into account?

[Nomad559]

8. Hey ryharrin

Do you have this GIF? :evilgrin:

[proud patriot]

10. Randi Roades Beats Rush in his local market

Syndicate Randi Sydicate Randi ...

[Nomad559]

12. Syndicated

Randi has stated on her show that she Is going to be Syndicated soon.

[guitar man]

11. Involuntary listeners

I dinged up my truck a while back and had to go to some body shops to get estimates.

I stopped in at one of the larger shops in the area and walked into the office.Faux news on the television. Didn't think much of it.I filled out a prelininary form and the receptionist sent me into the shop to talk to the estimator.OxyMoron was blaring from the radio. While I was waiting for the estimator to get off the phone,I asked one of the workers if they had to listen to RW radio all the time. He just rolled his eyes and nodded his head. "God help us Hannity is on next." Said the owner would freak if the stations were changed from RW rhetoric on the radio or TV.


I just got in my truck and drove off. Later in the day,the owner of the shop called me. "Where did you go,we didn't get your estimate done,was something wrong?"

I shot back "I really didn't care for the atmosphere there" and hung up.

[ConsAreLiars]

13. Con math, of course

Who knows how he got that number. He probably popped a bunch of pills and added up his ratings for each 1/4 hour on each station on each day, or some such, and rushed to the decision that was his "total."

Arbitron makes a number of general reports available, including a FAQ:
http://www.arbitron.com/national_radio/home.htm

A quick scan suggests that the numbers are percentages of (estimated) actual radio listeners in a market listening to that station rather than another. They give an example of maybe 16% have the radio turned on, then that radio-listening total gets divided up into percentages of that "whole," such that sum of ratings of the several stations in one area or defined market total 100%. So a rating of 5.0, if 16% actually had a radio turned on, would reflect 0.8% of the population. Or something more or less like that.

(edit: for clarity???)

[Dr Fate]

14. He has his highs and his lows...

...wait a minute- are we talking about his ratings?- sorry...