Free Republic

In the wake of uproar following conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh’s characterization of 30-year-old contraception activist and Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke last month as a “slut,” Limbaugh has seen advertisers flee and entire campaigns waged to get him off the air. But the big question remains: Just how have Limbaugh’s ratings been affected? There has been no measure of his listenership since the Fluke flap. But nonpartisan radio expert Michael Harrison told The Daily Caller that Limbaugh’s numbers likely are going no where but up — despite the anti-Limbaugh push. Harrison is founder and publisher of Talkers magazine, the...

What does it take for an award-receiving talk show host to empty a room full of radio industry leaders and supporters? Air America host and alleged comedian Al Franken managed to do just that over the weekend, with a long and rambling speech that had both liberals and conservatives, bolting from the facility.

Fresh evidence of Air America's troubles has emerged in the latest issue of Talkers Magazine, an industry trade publication, which annually tracks the popularity of nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts.

America's number one talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is being honored by Talkers magazine and the National Association of Talk Radio Hosts, which will give him their annual Freedom of Speech Award in May. "Like him or not, Rush Limbaugh has consistently made the greatest contributions to the well-being of the First Amendment," Talkers publisher Michael Harrison told the New York Daily News on Monday. Harrison described Limbaugh as "a very brave champion of the First Amendment," saying "he faces the battle without the armor of a very thick skin." Phil Boyce, program director of Limbaugh's flagship station WABC in...

Talker's Magazine's Mona Lipschitz reports in the 2003 December issue: NPR. CUT