5.23.12 Bee-otch of the Day: Rush Limbaugh

BECOME AN AFFILIATE OF T-SHIRT HELL AND MAKE SOME MONEY! Bee-otch of the Day honors are awarded Monday through Thursday, Bee-otch of the Week is awarded Friday on Chuck69.com. DON'T FORGET TO "LIKE" BEE-OTCH OF THE DAY ON FACEBOOK! ------------------- Name: Rush Limbaugh Age: 61 Occupation: big, fat load Last Seen: West Palm Beach, FL Bee-otched For: losing more than advertisers --- 35 years ago, Dan Aykroyd made millions of people laugh every time he called Jane Curtin an "ignorant slut" during the Point/Counterpoint segment of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. However, very few people were laughing when Rush Limbaugh called a law student that same word on his show a few months ago. When El Rushbo called Sandra Fluke that lovely word after she stood up for women's rights, he started losing advertisers left and right. As a matter of fact, even in larger cities like New York and Detroit, both WABC and WJR aired public service announcements instead of commercials. Rush's syndicator, Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio Networks even told stations to lay off airing bartered ads as the company restructured its infrastructure. In all, Rush lost the likes of Sears, JCPenney, Walmart, Capital One and even the Girl Scouts to name a trifle few. It's believed that Limbaugh had lost some 200 sponsors, give or take. However, he did gain one major sponsor: AngiesList.com. No, I won't count Two If By Tea as a sponsor. Now, it's been discovered that Rush's ratings have toppled because of his misogynist rants. He's lost 27% of his key demo 25-54 listeners in New York. He's down 31% in Houston and 40% in Seattle. Although there were reports that Limbaugh's ratings actually exploded with his inappropriate comments in place, what really counts in radio these days is not ratings, but rather a little something called "profit". Cumulus Media, who owns several Rush affiliates including WABC and WJR claimed that Rush's advertiser purge cost the company millions in the first quarter of 2012. With the recent launch of Mike Huckabee's new show, some speculate that some of their stations are waiting for their contracts to expire so they can dump the show once and for all. On Monday, famed radio consultant Holland Cooke told liberal Rush competitor Ed Schultz that it's actually cheaper for radio stations to go with local programming than to air Rush. With Rush, stations have to air his ads, plus pay Clear Channel X amount of dollars to carry the show. Not to mention the fact that now, Clear Channel is ordering Rush affiliates to carry a "best of" block on the weekends, sinking more into individual station profits. For the record, only two stations dropped Rush since his 'slut' outburst: one in Hawaii and another in Massachusetts. Some may say that Rush will ride the storm out, but the damage, IMO is done. I think it's time for radio stations - especially those not owned by Clear Channel - to drop the show and to bring responsibility back to the world of broadcasting. Rush ain't cheap to air, and neither is Sean Hannity. If I purchased a Rush affiliate, I'd be dropping him quicker than a prom dress. I think people need to know that there's good, responsible radio hosts. It's time for Rush to OD on Oxy and die. I know, it's not nice to say that. But since he'll never go to jail, it's the best punishment for him. -- Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!  Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com! Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com , Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!