From Vanity Fair: Average age of radio dittoheads - 67.

[edbermac]

Except that this power ought to be ending. It ought to all be on the wane. It is not just the Obama victory and the magnitude of his approval ratings. It is not just that the gravity of the economic crisis, with historic unemployment rates, means it’s a lot harder to get people excited about Reagan-and-Rush-esque hands-off government.

It is, rather, a crueler demographic point. The dirty little secret of conservative talk radio is that the average age of listeners is 67 and rising, according to Sinton—the Fox News audience, likewise, is in its mid-60s: “What sort of continuing power do you have as your audience strokes out?”

You can begin to make plausibly large statements about the end of—or at least a crisis in—conservative media. “There are fewer advertisers, fewer listeners, shrinking networks, shallower penetration,” says Sinton. “A lowering tide lowers all ships.”

What’s more, it’s the Internet that is the fast-growing and arguably more powerful political medium—and it is the province of the young and liberal. The only sensible market view of conservative talk is that it will contract and be reduced, in the coming years, to a much more rarefied format.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/05/rush-limbaugh200905?currentPage=1



:rofl:

[WCGreen]

1. And that's....

The rest of the story...

[PLR_Writer]

2. This is totally true

...

[Warpy]

3. Angry old white men with no jobs, nothing to do, and

wives who are stressed by having them constantly underfoot, yep, that sounds like the demographic most likely to be convinced that they are victims and black women in the inner city are the perpetrators.

Face it, conservative cant is now old and establishment. It's stuffy and stodgy and the claim to being cutting edge, which never stood up to any close scrutiny in the first place, is becoming laughable.

The leaders are now old and unattractive. Even the cadre of bottle blonde bimbettes are showing their age. Even their best enablers, the televangelists crossing the line between church and state, are all aging and starting to kick off.

I won't mourn the passing of conservatism. In fact, I'll cheer and dance on its grave. I've been waiting my whole adult life for it to die.

[CatholicEdHead]

6. A form will always be around

and eventually be up to date with the current level of technology. Of course, new forms will come along for the young, hip and liberal members of society to use.

[bunkerbuster1]

9. Worse, really--angry old white men who are retired from jobs, and dependent on SS...

by and large, that's Rush's audience. They like to think of themselves as "self-made" but they're as dependent on the Gubmint teat as anyone these days. If you were to take away their Social Security they'd be up shit creek without a paddle.

[nichomachus]

10. You've got it

I know two old ladies who howl about "socialists" all day long. Every so often I ask them whether they send their Social Security checks back and turn down Medicare. That just sets them off on another rant. That's all they have. Without Social Security and Medicare they'd be living under a bridge.

[LeftinOH]

4. yes... "shallower penetration" is an apt description.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

5. Interesting

The average Rush caller sounds in their 30's or 40's, but they could be plants anyway.

[MindPilot]

7. You never hear an "average" caller.

Call screening is something of a black art and you can bet Rush's enormous ass that he hires the very best.

I'll give Rush one thing, he is a pro and damn good at radio, so there is absolutely nothing gets on the air that would crack the facade of the show.

[Ikonoklast]

8. Demographics are against them, and they know it.

They are actually past apogee, and are on a rapidly accelerating downward slope from which there is no turning back.

[timtom]

11. Why...why I'M 67

or will be in October.

Guess I'm on the wrong board. So long everyone. Come visit me from time to time at Free...wherever that place is.