Via Media Matters, we have confirmation from the CEO of Cumulus Media Inc. that Rush Limbaugh is dragging the entire edifice of right wing radio down with him. Which was the point of all that activism, right?
As cheerful as Lew Dickey is about his CBS Sports Radio Network partnership, he’s the other way about what the Harry Potter books might call “He Who Must Not Be Named” – Rush Limbaugh. Rush is Clear Channel’s property, through Premiere Networks, but his year-ago comments about Sandra Fluke are still causing problems, says station owner and syndicator Lew Dickey. He tells this week’s call “Clearly, it’s been well documented that the talk side has been challenged. Most of that due to some of the issues that happened a year ago and so there has been residual hangover on the talk side in terms of advertisers sitting out and not placing there.” What started with Media Matters focusing on Rush widened out to talk radio in general. Dickey, owner of such big talk stations and Rush affiliates as WABC, New York (770) and WLS, Chicago (890) says “Clearly that’s had an impact not only on our network business [at Cumulus Media Networks], but it’s had an impact on some of the news talk stations that we own.” (Emphasis mine)
As I keep saying, StopRush will continue to deflate the artificially-buoyant value of the Rush Limbaugh brand. Our job gets easier every time the bloviator opens his mouth and issues forth another stupid, vile, disgusting utterance, causing another batch of volunteers to join our efforts. Cumulus had better get used to us and reconsider the value of having him on their airwaves before they get pulled under.
