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WLS to drop Rush

K.M. Richards said:
I thought his show was very entertaining for its first few years. It was only when the usual political tensions between the Republicans and the Democrats extended to the White House during the Clinton administration that Rush began to take himself seriously and proceeded over time to become a caricature of himself.

Now, the act has worn thin and he simply sounds like an angry old man.
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Bingo! He's either an angry old man, or he's grasping at straws with the thought that being increasingly outrageous will translate into reversing his ratings and revenue slide. 25 years ago as I traveled around the country in my work, Rush was a regular part of my routine. I'd listen to him wherever I was in the car between appointments. But, at least to my ears, he became increasingly strident and "full of himself". And I agree, "its not just Rush". I think talk radio in general and political talk in particular has had a fatigue factor that's finally having a negative impact on the genre. In the case of political talk, I think the fatigue factor is excacerbated by the gridlock and rancor in Washington.

I can't say that I'm happy about any of this. Being politically independent, I used to think that having public platforms for both the liberal and conservative points of view would prove to be a good thing. But instead of civil and thoughtful debate (too boring, apparently), it degenerated into character assasination, name-calling, lies, and outright hate from both sides. If people are sick of it, no wonder. But I also agree that Rush and the other political talkers do have a hardcore following, so I personally don't look for political talk to disappear enirely.

But the one aspect of the decline of political talk I would welcome is the lessening of the amount of venom on the public airwaves.
 
Dennis Miller will be ending his show in a few weeks. He is heard on WIND the same time Rush is heard on WLS. Obviously,WLS is moving in a different direction with Steve Dahl,and soon Jonathan Brandmeier. Rush's show doesn't fit what WLS is doing lately. Wonder if Rush will be heard on WIND in the near future? Sean is over there. The perfect lineup on WLS would be Brandmeier, Garry Meier and Steve Dahl. Will it happen? It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
 
benale said:
Wonder if Rush will be heard on WIND in the near future?
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A national spot airing on WLS is worth more than that same spot airing on WIND. Premiere knows this, having a show on each of the stations. I expect they'd keep it on WLS even if it airs at a different time.
 
Ravens said:
And again, people have been saying this for 20 years. Has he EVER done well in those very big, very blue cities?
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Certainly the stations Limbaugh airs on were doing better back in the the day. WLS was a top 5 station 10 years ago. WABC was too.

But I'm also quite sure that the problems faced by these stations is deeper than any one show.
 
LARadioRewind said:
Hey, when do I get my chance at hosting a talk show?

As BigA noted, Cumulus was quick to deny Robert Feder's speculation that WLS was planning to drop Limbaugh's program. John Dickey, a Cumulus vice president, told NTS Media Online, "Rush Limbaugh will be on WLS until Rush tells us he doesn’t want to be on WLS." I guess now we have to determine if Rush has said such a thing. My guess is "no."
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Maybe the WLS signal strength is an issue. Up in Milwaukee we get Rush on a one hour delay. Sometimes I'd like to hear him "live" but we can't get WLS up here. No problem with WGN or WBBM, though.
 
That's interesting. Just in the one static location that you need to use at that time of day?

If you are driving around are you telling me WLS AM does not come in anywhere in Milwaukee?

The coverage maps make it look like they should have a listenable signal.
 
umfan said:
Cumulus' changes, the 'housecleaning' you refer to seem to have the opposite impact on ratings for other stations they own and have applied this approach.
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The stations were plummeting with existing talent. So what should they do? Give them all raises?
 
Ultimajock said:
...if you can't pick up WLS in Milwaukee, you must have the crappiest radio on the planet...
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Or be in a location where there's a lot of ambient noise or something else to block the signal. It's true that WLS' transmitter location is about 25 miles south-southeast of the other Chicago "big sticks". But, for the most part, WLS is listenable in Milwaukee with a decent radio.
 
Ultimajock said:
...if you can't pick up WLS in Milwaukee, you must have the crappiest radio on the planet...
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It's fairly well established that a signal in the vicinity of 10 mV/m is required in dense urban areas to achieve a listenable signal in homes and in work locations. The 5 mV/m signal from WLS barely indents Lake County, so it is understandable that many if not most people in the noisier areas of Milwaukee would not be able to hear the station or hear it clearly if thy can get it.
 
I've been inside several steel buildings where 25 mV/m was BARELY enough to hear a station, and to listen to a station well without noise, you needed 100 mV/m. A small loop helps. Sometimes a metal picture frame helps. But if there are any electronic noisemakers nearby, it can still be unpleasant. As much as I don't believe 250 watt translators are the answer, they often do come in better than 50000 watt low dial position stations in the same setting in a large steel building, if they are within a few miles.
 
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gr8oldies said:
What am I missing? Brandmeier will air 10am-1pm Eastern, which, except for the last hour, would fit nicely in WLS's 9-11am slot. No relocation of Rush necessary unless WLS has different plans for 11-2 Central

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I got the impression from reading the trades that WLS was expected to clear/originate all three of Brandmeier's hours. Unless his third hour is for affiliates only (meaning advertisers in that hour do not get a clearance in Chicago), that overlapping hour is the problem.

This would be a lot easier to second-guess if Cumulus wasn't so damned flaky in the way they run their stations ...
 
Savage's 3rd hour does not air on WABC, WMAL and others; no surprise if the 3rd hour of Brandmeier isn't carried in Chicago. Me thinks our friends on the left are doing some wishful thinking
K.M. Richards said:
I got the impression from reading the trades that WLS was expected to clear/originate all three of Brandmeier's hours. Unless his third hour is for affiliates only (meaning advertisers in that hour do not get a clearance in Chicago), that overlapping hour is the problem.

This would be a lot easier to second-guess if Cumulus wasn't so damned flaky in the way they run their stations ...
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I wonder if this comment at LARadio.com today will sound as amusing to Chicagoans as it does to us here in Los Angeles:

"If Rush does move to WIND, the call letters and what he generates will have strong convergence!" – Michael Heiss
 
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