I hadn't thought of that; you raise an interesting point.
I think Rush and Jimrob tapped into the pent-up frustration of the informed conservative. They blazed the path. When others with the same thoughts (and lots of money) saw the success of the new media models, they jumped in, to their great success.
Rupert Murdock is a savy guy, and he publically told Ted Turner he was starting Fox News specifically to kick Ted's butt. I remember reading his comments.
Ted publically laughed, and scorned the effort. I remember his rebuttal.
Who's laughing now, Mr. "I'm broke" Turner? Shoulda stuck with Cutty Sark, and the racing boats.