Top Talk Radio Shows by Audience Size and Ideology

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[Asphalt]

1. Rush Limbaugh (Conservative)

14.50

2. Sean Hannity (Conservative)

11.75

3. Dr. Laura Schlessinger (Conservative)

8.50

Howard Stern (Non-ideological)

8.50

5. Michael Savage(Conservative)

7.00

6. Jim Bohannon (Moderate)

4.00

Dr. Joy Browne(Non-political)

4.00

Don Imus (Non-ideological)

4.00

George Noory (Non-political)

4.00

10. Neal Boortz (Libertarian)

2.50

Mike Gallagher(Conservative)

2.50

Clark Howard (Non-political)

2.50

13. Glenn Beck(Conservative)

2.00

Ken and Daria Dolan (Non-political)

2.00

G. Gordon Liddy(Conservative)

2.00

Doug Stephan and Nancy Skinner (Non-ideological)

2.00

17. Kim Komando(Non-political)

1.75

Bill O'Reilly (Conservative)

1.75

Jim Rome (Non-political)

1.75

20. Bob Brinker (Non-political)

1.50

Rusty Humphries(Conservative)

1.50

Michael Medved(Conservative)

1.50

Dave Ramsey (Non-political)

1.50

24. Dr. Dean Edell (Non-political)

1.25

Phil Hendrie (Non-ideological)

1.25

Laura Ingraham(Conservative)

1.25

Tom Leykis (Non-ideological)

1.25

Bruce Williams (Non-political)

1.25

[BenLurkin]

Hours on end of socially destructive blather.

[squarebarb]

Of course I like Medved so much because my field of work is cultural, and his insights as a cultural critic are brilliant.

[Sloth]

Bill O'Reilly (Conservative)

Data from any source that includes such a designation is meaningless.

[LS]

1) Looks like Sean or someone is cutting into Rush (he did have 20 mil);

2) Sorry to see Laura Ingraham so low: she was the best interviewer I've had.

3) Sorry to even see Imus on the list.

[Asphalt]

[rabidralph]

Thanks, a lot of these folks I've not heard of nor listened to. Dr. Dean Edell has a 60-second clip each morning on WMAL and he is always talking about "recent studies" or "just released" studies and he talks about them like they're facts. He did say last week that some studies were sponsored by vegan advocates and that the media failed to note the obvious bias of the study's call to stop drinking milk.

[cubreporter]

Someone said this list is two years old. Can we get an update?

[Josh in PA]

I'll argue that Kim Komando is definently the best looking out of this whole group.. That woman is gorgeous.

[inkling]

Actually, it says summer 2004, it's more like 9 months old.

The full article is nine months old, but the rankings are two years old:
"Source: Audience size figures are estimates made by Talkers magazine, based on an analysis of a national sample of markets for Spring 2003."

The bottom of this page shows a more recent poll listing Ingraham in a tie for 4th place.

[Josh in PA]

Oh God, I'm feeling ill..

[scott says]

Savage was much better when he was just a local SF show.I started listening to him in 98 when he was just on KSFO.I can only take him in small doses now--he just gets too worked up! I like him , but, totally understand why someone wouldn't like him. I enjoy Glen Beck the most, he makes me laugh!

[Dog]

Quinn and Rose didn't make the list....:-(

[Josh in PA]

Put up a Kim Komando picture in contrast to that clown Gallagher.

[dfwgator]

Bill O'Reilly (Conservative)

On what planet?

[raccoonradio]

From all the liberals on radio-info.com's News/Talk board, congratulating themselves on "another Air America station!" coming aboard, I ask them: where's Franken,
Steph Miller, Ed Schulz, etc.? Not in this top 30 that's for sure.

Leykis btw had a bit of a scandal before he went national. As Howie Carr put it, Leykis mistook his wife for a Duraflame log after an open-bar Christmas party run by
WRKO. He later attended court-ordered spousal abuse
classes. Talkin' about the issues--you--really--care--about. Stern wannabe these days, as I understand it.

[ariamne]

Howard Stern' ideology shows through frequently and he is NOT a conservative
___________________
Stern perplexed me because he seemed to have a political duality. I listened to him back in 1988 because despite his crudity, he was fairly honest and funny. He would have some liberal views and some conservative. He was adamantly disgusted by the OJ verdict and the riots in LA and said the cops should have beat Rodney King even more, for driving 80 in a residential neighborhood. He is crude and vulgar, but was against govt regulation on speech.

But when he came out against Bush, I wrote him off as neither right or left, just an idiot.

[BillCompton]

I am really surprised Boortz is so far down on the list. He is very smart, but with a personality (unlike O'Reily.) True he is kind of mean sometimes, but at least he doesn't claim to be nice. I enjoy him a lot.

I am also surprised that Hannity is so high up on the list. Orson Scott Card called him the "ever vacuous Sean Hannity." That sounds about right to me. I am surprise Stern has so many listeners. From what I can tell, he has three jokes he tells over and over. One that doesn't surprise me is Rush. Clearly the best in the business.

[advance_copy]

What?!? No Al Franken? No Jenine Garafolo? But, but, there must be a series error. the MSM said Air America was going to be hugh.

[dfwgator]

Mike Gallagher getting 2.5 million is a joke. The Dork Alarm goes off on that dweeb.

I listened to that bozo, once. Once. He was celebrating Janet Reno sending Elian back to that Island Gulag. That was the last time, I ever would listen to that dork.

[Paulus Invictus]

Savage is a savage with little credibility. Too much screaming.