Can Conservative Talk Radio Survive Without Rush Limbaugh?

The Washington Post published an article Tuesday in which reporter Paul Fahrl implied that when Rush Limbaugh dies, conservative talk radio dies with him.

Granted, Fahrl wasn’t quite that bold in his wording lest there be repercussions from Limbaugh’s fiercely loyal audience, but the reporter’s sentiment was clear.

Washington Post: “Rush Limbaugh is ailing. And so is the conservative talk-radio industry.”

“Faced with an aging and shrinking audience, competition from newer technologies, and financial problems for the biggest station owners, talk radio is in decline — both as a business and a political force,” Fahrl wrote in his piece.

As WIBC Program Director David Wood told Tony Katz Wednesday morning, Fahrl’s comments – opinion disguised as reporting – are a vast generalization of the challenges the industry is facing.

“It’s true that some talk stations – primarily AM – haven’t done anything to position themselves to be successful post-Limbaugh, but that’s not representative of the industry on the whole,” said Woods. “If you look at WIBC, WLW in Cincinnati, and a host of others, they’re doing quite well.”

Woods noted that WIBC, which no longer carries Rush Limbaugh, is actually enjoying greater ratings success than it was two years prior.

“And the ratings two years ago were higher than they were two years before that,” explained Wood. “So we’re doing just fine.”

Wood isn’t exaggerating. WIBC consistently ranked as the #1 or #2 radio station in the Indianapolis market last year. And while some talk stations continue to rely upon syndicated programming to fill the majority of their dayparts, WIBC is live and local from 6 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday.

Under Wood’s direction, WIBC dropped the Rush Limbaugh show in 2015 as the station began to target a younger demographic. It was a potentially career-ending gamble that ultimately paid off big.

“WIBC’s ratings are the highest that they’ve been in 15-20 years,” said Wood. “And the decision to drop the show from our lineup was not political, it was a business decision.”

He continued: “Rush Limbaugh’s show attracts an older demographic, and for WIBC, the target demographics that advertisers are trying to reach are 25-54 years of age and 35-64.”

In fact, from Wood’s perspective, the greatest challenge facing talk radio stations in America is not dwindling ratings nor competition from satellite and podcasters such as libertarian Joe Rogan, but the coordinated attack on talk radio’s lifeblood: advertisers.

“I definitely think there are going to be more organized efforts to put the stranglehold on talk radio by attacking their source of revenue,” said Wood.

Click the link below to hear Tony Katz’s full interview with WIBC Programming Director David Wood.

https://omny.fm/shows/tony-katz-and-the-morning-news/is-conservative-radio-dying