Posted on 03/06/2015 11:00:39 AM PST by Bratch
Talk radio veteran Darryl Parks is a harsh critic of how the format continues to lose touch with most of the radio audience who aren’t white male baby boomers. In a new post this week he takes aim at Rush Limbaugh, describing the leading conservative talk host’s “fall into oblivion.”
Parks notes that Limbaugh’s program is sinking in the ratings in New York and Los Angeles and has been shuttled off to lower ranked stations. Now it’s rumored– as first reported by Robert Feder–that his Chicago affiliate is preparing to dump ol’ Rushbo, too. A spokeswoman for WLS-AM owner Culumus Media has denied that rumor, though Parks says, “three different Cumulus executives have told me on different occasions they wish they could get rid of Limbaugh’s show and they can’t sell it.”
What’s best about Parks’ tough love missives for talk radio are the behind-the-scenes details he drops about how the business really works. It’s common knowledge that the Limbaugh show is produced by Premiere Networks, which is conveniently owned by iHeartMedia, giving it easy access to hundreds of stations. But Parks fills out the story, revealing that along with requiring stations to carry Rush, “the local stations have to pay a ‘rights fee’ in addition to the barter commercial inventory they broadcast from the network. There was no negotiation whether to broadcast the show or what fee was to be paid.” Barter inventory are the commercials included by in the show that stations air without compensation.
As a result, he says this non-negotiable requirement to carry and pay for the program, “forced local stations to lay-off other talk hosts, producers and gut news departments. Talented people left the radio business and the death spiral for talk radio began. It began years ago.”
I knew about the barter obligation, but I didn’t know that even iHeart’s own stations had to tithe, too. But I guess the heavily indebted company has to find some way to keep writing checks to fulfill Limbaugh’s $400 million contract.
It’s important to point out that Parks identifies as a Republican, lamenting how talk radio has missed the boat on reaching younger generations. He says he tried to warn Clear Channel execs of the impending fall, but his advice fell on deaf ears.
Me, I see this as just more evidence as to how the commercial radio business is a victim of its own greed, myopia, and mismanagement, typified most clearly in the way iHeart doubles-down on Limbaugh at the expense of anything that remotely resembles fresh programming. Radio isn’t dying, but their AM talk audience, and hosts, are.
This article amounts to “What have you done for AM radio this year, Rush?” (It’s March.)
A rather transparent effort to help him to retire soon.
1. Doubt this is accurate
2. Where is this author’s analysis of MSNBC, Air America, etc.?
Pretty much don't need to read much more. One can very easily infer that this is a hit piece.
Oh, and I'm a white male Gen-Xer, and I love Rush!
Parks? Never heard of this scumbag.
Nothing lasts forever. I don’t think Mr. Limbaugh is in any danger of starving to death, being that he’s a self-made multi-billionaire.
20 million listeners by crummy AM radio... versus CNN's usual 1-2 million peak hour viewers via hi-def cable TV (a much more popular medium). I think "oblivion" is a bit far-fetched.
The left has been prophesying Rush’s decline for years.
Without Limbaugh AM radio would have died 25 years ago.
This is satire, correct?
The entire medium is becoming obsolete.
It’s important to point out that Parks identifies as a Republican
What he identifies as and what he is are two different
things.
More adgitprop from the people that brought us
Barak Obama.
How many have switched to his streaming or podcasting services?
Haven’t had time to listen recently but when I did I found it too aggravating to listen to him on the radio. With the podcasts I could fast forward 3 minutes whenever he started talking about identity theft, hard drive failures, hot water, etc.
I still listen as much as I can. Which is about 90% of the time.
I listen a lot on the internet channels on my phone.
Greed is what drove me from talk radio, the final touch was when they all started working in infomercials.
The minutes of information to the level of ads, drove me away.
Before Rush, there was no conservative voice in the media.
He owned the market. Today there are several conservative shows competing for the audience he once owned. Nothing wrong with that.
The left just hates the idea no one wants to listen to them (in the numbers that choose Rush)
Am ad revenues are down due to the recession. As the Presidential race opens up Rush will become curiously popular.
I doubt that they will dump his show.
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