The irony is that he probably right now has the biggest audience hes had in years, and the double irony of all this is sponsors that are fleeing, theyre missing out on the best advertising buy in radio, Harrison told TheDC in an interview, explaining that Limbaugh incites passion on all fronts.
Limbaughs fans, said Harrison, will galvanize around him, not abandon him. Many of his detractors are listening because they feel vindicated, he explained, and still others are tuning in to hear what the fuss is about.
[T]he whole thing is so full of irony, and so full of misinformation that its almost laughable, he said.
Harrison, who touts his support for all broadcasting progressive, conservative, and everything in between said that while many advertisers have left Limbaughs program, those attacking him are unknowingly inflating the number of defectors since they do not understand how radio advertising works, specifically no-buy dictates from radio networks.
First of all, certainly a lot of advertisers have canceled because theyre frightened to be in a place thats dangerous or controversial. They dont want their product attached to controversy too much, he said. While some controversy can be good for advertising, Harrison added, too much can be a turn-off for potential ad clients.
According to Harrison, the no-buy list is just an advertising strategy not a boycott of any specific program.
It has nothing to do with fleeing, boycotting [or] censoring, he said. Its just that certain advertisers have certain shows on a list that they dont want to be on because they dont want to be on controversial programming, and this has gone on for years.
Theres nothing new about this, Harrison cautioned, and whats happening now is Im starting to see a number of the sponsors that have been on this list for many, many years, suddenly being touted by the forces that are trying to bring Limbaugh down. Theyre sort of putting their names out there as if theyre piling on to this list of advertisers that are fleeing. And thats where this thing has become very murky.
Talk radio has always dealt with the no-buy list, and its not that its a repudiation against talk radio. Its just that not every advertiser is for every kind of show. And for every advertiser that doesnt want to be in controversy, there are advertisers who do.
The 45-year radio veteran added that it is likely that some of the advertisers that legitimately chose to leave Limbaugh will return.
I think that some of them are truly outraged to know whats going on and dont like Rush Limbaugh and dont want to be there, he said. I think some of them love being there but feel like, maybe we should just, you know, duck for cover for a while and when the smoke clears, when the dust settles, well come back. Harrison noted that while people get angry when he says nice or supportive things about Limbaugh, hes only interested in promoting broadcasting both liberal and conservative.
The fact is, theres a whole other perspective on this and its called broadcasting. Its an industry, its a business, and you know, these guys are not politicians. One of the craziest questions I get asked all the time is, do you think Rush is losing his influence as a political force in this country? and I say, I dont know, who cares? What does it matter? I mean, thats not what hes paid to do. Hes an entertainer.
A spokesman for Premiere Radio Networks, Limbaughs syndicator, told TheDC that Arbitrons Portable People Meter ratings data for March wont be in until April, and their nationwide ratings wont be available until the fall. Arbitron is the leading consumer research company that delivers broadcast radio ratings.
Limbaugh has apologized for his comments about Sandra Fluke.