Late last week, the liberal website Media Matters posted a list of 51 sponsors who have purportedly withdrawn their advertising from Rush Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio show because of his remarks about Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke. But a new memo from Clear Channel's Premier Networks, which distributes Limbaugh's show, suggests that those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. Premier is reportedly informing its stations that 98 major advertisers — including carmakers, insurance companies, and fast-food chains — want off not just Limbaugh's show but also those of other "offensive or controversial" talkers like Mark Levin, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity. Is it possible that Limbaugh's latest intemperate rant will "kill" the right-wing talk radio genre he helped pioneer?
Rush contagion could prove lethal: Premier's "bombshell announcement" signals a real threat to "the entire political shock-jock genre," says John Avlon in The Daily Beast. Right-wing talk radio has been losing young listeners and women for years, already troubling sponsors; now that Limbaugh's alienated the coveted demographic of women age 24-55, you've got the "perfect storm." As Rush knows, radio is a business, and "when big money starts shifting, it is a sign of a deeper tide" turning.
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