How the hell does Rush have more listeners than Thom?

[white_wolf]

I don't get this at all. Rush is a lying,racist, stupid, blowhard who makes shit up as he goes, whereas Thom is intelligent,smart, humble, and open to debate. I don't get understand it one bit. Thom should be the number one talk show host in America. I'll never forget the first time I listened to his show he had someone from the Ayn Rand Institute for a debate, and ever since then I've like Thom because he allows dissent and debate, and plus he wins those debates. I know Rush is more available,but why is he? He's fucking awful.

[Richardo]

1. Government sponsorship, in part.

Armed Forces radio. :eyes: :grr:

[ejpoeta]

2. rush is more readily available that would be the main reason i imagine

[alp227]

5. yes, right wing radio is more available nationwide than left wing radio

and in some areas Thom is on tape delay, for example in Fargo, N.D. the station WDAY-AM plays Glenn Beck live in the morning and then Thom Hartmann delayed in the evening. I remember hearing G. Gordon Liddy when crossing Wyoming to South Dakota to visit Mount Rushmore but no liberal stations, and maybe I missed NPR.

[PBS Poll-435]

3. There is no terrestrial outlet for Thom in one of the biggest media markets in the country

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX


Rush is on a 50,000 watt powerhouse here.

[alp227]

9. and as he's pointed out Washington DC too, Thom does his shows from DC

same with Baltimore, and the closest it comes to left-wing radio there are NPR and some black radio stations that have the Al Sharpton show.

[Arugula Latte]

35. I thought he was still based here in Portland, Ore. (?)

[LiberalAndProud]

13. You could be talking about Omaha, too.

KFAB can be heard throughout the Great Plains, I'm sure of it.

[LiberalAndProud]

4. Does Clear Channel carry Thom?

If so, you wouldn't know it in my neck of the woods.

[catabryna]

14. Many Clear Channel stations carry Thom's program...

but, you may not know that because there are few Clear Channel stations that carry an all-progressive content. Clear Channel will carry progressive programming in some cities with high numbers of liberals because it is worth it to them money-wise... examples, San Francisco, Portland, OR, Los Angeles.

eta: I hate Clear Channel and even on the local progressive stations, they do still run some very right-wing advertising.

[Dr. Strange]

6. Because Geddy Lee is awesome.

Oh, wait, you meant the radio guy. Shit, I pulled a madinmaryland.

[TZ]

15. .

Win! :rofl:

[progressoid]

34. Winning!!

:spray:

[Shiver]

37. Regardless, Geddy Lee is awesome.

:headbang:

[madinmaryland]

41. **snort**

Heh! Working on teh west coast, I don't see this stuff until three hours later. Fucking east coast bias and their DU tape delays!!!

:rofl:

[Dr. Strange]

43. I think it's time for a Lounge thread.

*rubs hands together evilly*

[madinmaryland]

44. Heh....

I think there might be a tale of WTFery come out of this!

[CrispyQ]

7. It's too bad, too, cuz

my right wing mother heard a Thom Hartmann show once & said, "He's very reasonable."

:wow:

The PTB don't want the serfs finding common ground. Rush stirs things up. Hartmann makes you think.

[KansDem]

8. I have a theory about "listening" and "hearing."

Tea Baggers and wing nuts might "hear" Rush, but they don't really "listen" to him.

Listening requires the ability to comprehend and critical thinking skills. Hearing doesn't.

I make this distinction when I remind my son that he didn't do what I told him to do (i.e., "clean up your room"). He'll say "I heard you, Dad!" and I'll say, "Yes, but you didn't listen."

If TBs and WNs really listened to Rush, they'd know he was full of horse shit.

[Zorra]

10. The PTB puts Limbaugh on almost every AM radio station in the US

Here's why:

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” Josef Goebbels, Hitler's Propaganda Minister

[CatWoman]

25. and by the same token, some MSNBC viewers have to pay extra

in order to get that station. I know because I'm one of them.

However, fucking Fox is everywhere on basic cable!!!

[white_wolf]

27. I pay extra too.

So much for the "liberal media." It seems like there is an ocean of conservative media and few islands of liberal shows.

[Confusious]

11. drooling is easier then thinking. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. Demagogue: one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.

H.L. Mencken

[otohara]

16. More Stations With Bigger Towers

while out little liberal stations are sparse and little wattage

Driving across America - the heartland is void of liberal stations, NPR

[OhioDoink]

17. Where I live you can find Rush all over the dial.

Thom isn't even on the dial.

[maxrandb]

26. I was making the drive from San Diego to Lemoore, CA

one day, returning from a TAD assignment in San Diego back to the Naval Air Station in Lemoore.

Once I dropped down from the "Grapevine" into the valley, I could pick up Rush on 5 different AM radio stations!

Each one was a "split-hair" of a second off. I described it as being in "time-delay Hell".

I just couldn't figure it out, unless you believe that California is deep red CON-servative.

Maybe someone could explain to me how those 5 radio stations pass the "duty to local community" smell-test.

It's attrocious! On AM Radio, if I don't want to listen to Rush, I'm given the option of switching to Beck or Hannity, or Savage, or Levin, or Ingraham, or any number of idiotic wingnuts.

The sad thing is, if you look at all the cars on the road commuting home, if the people simply want a traffic or weather report, they first have to listen to some fat blowhard spew rightwing crap.

My only hope is that the wingnuts overeach so far that they are crushed at the polls. Maybe then we could address the serious problem of 24/7 in-kind advertising for the GOP.

[dawg]

18. I need to check out this band "Thom"

That was my first thought on seeing this thread title.

But seriously, people like us don't have any reason to feel ashamed of our views. We want what's best for our country. We want to help the poor, especially children. We want the world to be fair - regardless of one's religion, orientation, color, foot size, favorite progressive rock band, etc.

The other side is not so generous. I think, deep down, many of them feel residual shame over the selfishness and hatefulness of the policies they support. Rush provides them with a valuable psychological service. He legitimizes their hate. He says things, out loud and on the radio, that they feel a little ashamed for believing. Somehow, hearing it on the radio from a *famous* person absolves them of the guilt they must surely feel for wanting to cut meals to poor children so their taxes can be cut (and maybe they can afford a boat).

[Thegonagle]

33. Thom Yorke! Yes, you've GOT to check it out.

[blm]

19. hahah...well, that's ONE way to get to your REAL point about opening the forum to RW debate.

Feel better now?

[white_wolf]

20. I'm not sure what you mean.

That thread was simply a question, because I've seen a few other forums have sub-sections for debate.

[blm]

21. You're sure what I mean. Your other post expressed a desire to open forum to RW opinion and debate.

Why play pretend, or act surprised when a reply notes a recurring theme in your post?

'not sure what you mean' ...heh....I doubt it. No crime there...I just doubt it.

[white_wolf]

24. No, I'm really not.

So, why don't you just tell me what you mean, unless of course you a troll, if so just go away.

[walldude]

29. You got something to say to the man... say it...

Because I saw his other post and I see this one and I can't decipher your secret code either...


So quit beating around the bush I'm dying to hear what White Wolf's secret plan is.

[Codeine]

30. Have the decency to be clear and forward or stop haranguing.

If you've got something to say then put on your big boy pants and say it.

[CreekDog]

22. Rush is not singular, they are plural

But maybe you meant the radio host.

Still kinda plural. :hide:

[lunatica]

23. rush has hundreds of stations, plus the military radio stations

Thom has a few dozen at best.

[brooklynite]

28. So, your view is that radio listeners want an open, intelligent discussion of the issues?

Apparently why you don't work in the radio industry...

[white_wolf]

31. Cleary I have too much faith in the pubic.

[alp227]

40. you mean PubLIC? (forgot an L)?

[Curmudgeoness]

46. Or maybe not. nt

[LiberalAndProud]

36. Do you work in the industry?

I remember Larry King's nighttime talk show. He always hung up on Freepers and Teabaggers. His Caravel Ice Cream story was the bomb. And he always had interesting authors on for a good interview.

Then along came Rush. And Larry's program moved to daytime (following Rush). And Larry was soon off the air. He didn't have a daytime format and there were too many Freepers and Teabaggers calling after listening to Rush. It was sad.

[Thegonagle]

32. Easy. He's on more stations, especially ones with strong, static-free, far-reaching signals.

In the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Rush is on a 100,000 watt FM signal that 3 million+ people can tune in effortlessly. And if you drive in any direction, you can pick up Rush on any number of other AM and FM stations once you lose the Twin Cities station.

Thom Hartmann is on a 1000 watt directional AM signal that originates in the SW suburbs and barely even covers the core city of St. Paul before it starts to become unlistenable due to static. If you're indoors at work in an office or warehouse, or even at home, you need a really good radio to pick it up (or you need to stream the audio online).

As far as I know, this is the only station in the state that has Thom. And it's delayed in favor of Big Eddie. (Not that it matters to me which one is live and which one is delayed--point is, we have just one progressive talk station, and dozens of more right-leaning talk stations.) You couldn't take a road trip and expect to hear progressive talk on the radio as you go. You can expect effective blanket, overlapping coverage of RW talk anywhere you might go.

[get the red out]

38. No liberal voices permitted in many parts of the US

The only way I can listen to Thom, and other liberal radio personalities is through the internet but there are a few AM stations in our area carrying nothing but right wing ignorance all day and all night. I can't imagine what the uproar would be if there came to be a liberal radio station here in Kentucky, maybe Louisville could get by with it if it were a small enough operation and you couldn't hear it outside the city. But who would dare advertise? They would become a hated company among the people who march lock-step to the Limbaugh foolishness.

Are internet listeners being counted?

[SlimJimmy]

39. I listen to him, Stephanie Miller, and Big Ed on XM. (nt)

[WilliamPitt]

42. 20 year head start.

[Imajika]

45. Rush is an entertainer, Thom is a newsman...

Big difference. The two programs, on many levels, aren't even really competitors.

Additionally, progressive talk radio just doesn't do as well for whatever reason. It seems Democrats and liberals are less drone like and don't tune in to one radio station for hours on end. Your typical right winger will often tune in to the conservative channel of his/her choice and literally leave it on all day. Radio stations, actually all networks, like that. It is why you see a less and less mixed stations/networks. If they swap liberal and conservative they lose audience. You even see that with television. Take MSNBC as an example - they used to have right and leftwing commentators but found it was better ratings to just have a line up of progressives at night. Obviously Fox is literally designed to do that from the right wing perspective.

I agree with you though, Thom is great.