RK ARCHIVE - ANALYSIS & DOCUMENTATION: PEW stats on Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly & the Media!

Please see below what Rush Limbaugh is boasting about on his website now how that "Rush Limbaugh Audience Among Most Knowledgeable and Educated in All of American Media."+é-á Right below Rush Limbaugh's article is the PEW Research Center link and article that Limbaugh quotes from which documents his claims!

I hope that this will be a wake up call to all Democrats and even to moderate Republicans about how powerful of a media force and influence over people that Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and that Neocon "talk radio" are now!+é-á Just look for yourself at how heavily that the RNC depends on them:

If too many Democratic candidates cannot connect their messages to the voters and if they lose their races to Bush rubber stamp GOP candidates, this media problem will be a big reason why it happened and why Democrats may not take back power in at least one branch of Congress in 2006 despite the very low poll numbers of Bush and the GOP controlled Congress and with how bad that things are now in Iraq!

Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and this very powerful Neocon "talk radio" media prevent many Democrats from connecting their messages to the voters by acting as apologists for the GOP's problems, by encouraging single issue voting by pushing wedge issues and telling people to give the GOP a free pass on their problems over a particular wedge issue, by talking constantly about non-news items such as the Natalee Holloway and Duke Rape Cases along with a few isolated judges and professors who do and say some stupid things, painting and defining Democrats and even moderate Republicans who do not play ball with the Neocon GOP leadership however they choose to by quoting a few isolated and out of the mainstream examples while giving their own members (such as Ann Coulter) a free pass on their problems, and by using fear tactics and questioning people's patriotism if they do not vote for GOP Bush rubber stamp candidates!

This is one of the main reasons why John Kerry lost in 2004 to Bush who was a lousy candidate and is one of the main things that is keeping Bush and GOP rubber stamp candidate's heads above water now politically despite their low poll numbers when they should be sinking as fast as a heavy anchor.+é-á If it is not Rush Limbaugh and this very powerful Neocon media that are keeping Bush and his GOP rubber stamp candidates in the race now, then please tell me what else is doing it?

When will Democratic leaders and even moderate Republican leaders realize what is happening, get up off of their butts, and finally do something about this in an organized way by setting up some kind of a serious and credible rapid response system to deal with this media issue?+é-á Why do they continually take the crap that Rush Limbaugh and people like him constantly dish out and almost never fight back when they are influencing so many impressionable people which can turn elections?

While this extreme right wing media fire can probably never be totally put out due to how powerful that it is, it can be contained if something serious is done.+é-á That is because while the extremist Neocons in the GOP may be the current majority of the Republican Party, they are still the minority of the country because there are more Democrats and moderate Republicans than there are GOP Neocon extremists!

Democrats and even Moderate Republicans who ignore this important media issue do so at their own peril and at the risk of extremist GOP Neocons staying in power and ruling this country the way that it is now (which means more war, more lack of serious diplomacy, and more arrogance toward the rest of the world) for a long time to come unless something is done to seriously and credibly deal with this!

Please forward this on for all people to see and be aware of so that we can connect our message with more voters in the 2006 elections and hopefully win back power in at least one branch of Congress!

This is also cross posted with full illustrations of what Rush Limbaugh documents:

http://www.securinga...
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program:

An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda which will help our local candidates to win their races!

Rush Limbaugh Audience Among Most
Knowledgeable and Educated in All of American Media
July 31, 2006

RUSH: I just got this, and I'm not able to study it and really make a whole lot of sense out of it. It's a Pew survey on who watches television and what the partisan political split of various TV show audiences is and all. You get down to what the Pew -- P-e-w -- survey of this stuff, you get down to one section, who's got the smartest, who has the most knowledgeable audience, and on television -- just listen to what this says. "On television, The O'Reilly Factor, has the most knowledgeable audience, 27% of the audience are college grads, which matches the national average," but, but:

Only three audiences in the Pew survey scored higher on high knowledge than O'Reilly at his Factor TV show. Regular readers of The New Yorker and the Atlantic, regular Rush Limbaugh listeners, and regular Weekly Standard and New Republic readers. I don't know if there's anybody above that. I don't have that, because radio and this stuff is not part of the survey, at least from the website that I'm reading this from. But I have always known it. I have always known that you people are among the most knowledgeable, engaged, informed, and educated people listening to any media in the country today. I think I found documented evidence of it here from Pew, but it's just a little aside in a story about television audiences.

RUSH: I had some time to dig deep into this Pew survey for People and the Press, and it starts out here by saying, "News audiences vary widely in age, education, and how much they know about what's going on in the nation and the world." Then there's a ranking here of various television programs. At any rate: "Judged by their answers to three knowledge questions, the most informed audiences belong to the political magazines, Rush Limbaugh's radio show, The O'Reilly Factor, news magazines, and online news sources. Close behind are the regular audiences for NPR and The Daily Show."

It doesn't look good for the major broadcast networks. At any rate, education, age, and knowledge. College grads, this program number two, at 37%. The average age of the audience of this program, 51, and the high knowledge score is 48, and it's number two. This program, number two in all of American media in education and knowledge. It is preceded only by the Weekly Standard and New Republic readers, 38% college grads, 38 is the average age. The libs are dragging us down a little bit. Eh, the libs may be dragging down the Weekly Standard a bit.

*Note: Links to content outside RushLimbaugh.com usually become inactive over time.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Online Papers Modestly Boost Newspaper Readership
Maturing Internet News Audience Broader Than Deep

Navigate this report
Overview
Section 1: Watching, Reading and Listening to the News
Section 2: The Challenge for Newspapers
Section 3: Attitudes Toward the News
Section 4: Audience Segments
Section 5: Media Credibility
Section 6: Other Findings
Detailed Demographic Tables
Topline Questionnaire

Majorities of Americans say they follow local news (57%) and national news (55%) most of the time, not just when important events occur. But the opposite is true for international news +é-Ą just 39% say they follow overseas news most of the time, compared with 58% who follow it only when something important happens.

That represents a significant shift from 2004, when 52% said they followed international news most of the time. However, the current measure is consistent with findings from earlier news consumption surveys.

The spike in regular attention to foreign news in April 2004 came during a particularly tumultuous period in Iraq. Since then, interest in news from Iraq has fallen, as has the percentage saying they regularly track overseas news.

Notably, interest in foreign news has declined most among many of the same demographic and political groups that showed the biggest increases two years ago. The percentage of women saying they follow international news most of the time rose from 32% in 2002 to 51% in 2004; since then, it has fallen to 34%, which has led to a reopening of the gender gap on this measure.

Similarly, educational differences in the regular audience for international news have re-emerged. Half of college graduates say they follow overseas events most of the time, compared with a third of those with a high school education or less. And while regular interest in foreign news increased more among Republicans than Democrats or independents between 2002 and 2004, it also has fallen much more among Republicans since then.

Several news outlets stand out for their success in attracting news consumers who follow international news most of the time, and not just when something important happens. The websites of major national newspapers such as USA Today.com, New York Times.com, and the Wall Street Journal online have especially large numbers of regular foreign news consumers. More than three-quarters (77%) of those regularly visiting such sites say they follow international news most of the time regardless of whether something important is happening.

Other internet audiences disproportionately drawn to foreign news include those of network TV news sites such as CNN.com, ABCNews.com, and MSNBC.com (70%), as well as those who regularly visit websites such as Google News, AOL News, and Yahoo News (67%).

Among television news sources, C-SPAN (71%), Sunday morning interview programs (69%), the O'Reilly Factor (70%), and the NewsHour (68%) have especially large numbers of international news consumers. In the print media, political magazines such as the Weekly Standard and the New Republic (72%) and literary magazines such as The Atlantic, Harpers, and The New Yorker (68%) stand out for their high proportion of foreign news consumers. But so too do business magazines such as Fortune and Forbes (67%).

The overall pattern of public news interest has remained fairly steady over the years, although there have been recent declines in interest in both news about international affairs and news about political figures and events in Washington, DC. Fully half of Americans say they track weather news very closely, by far the highest percentage for any subject listed.

The percentage who say they follow news about international affairs (17%) is now at its lowest point since 2000 (14%). Similarly, the percentage tracking political news very closely has fallen from 24% two years ago to 17%. The current measure is even a bit below the 21% recorded in 2002, the most recent midterm election.

Men and women not only go to different places for news, but the topics they follow are often different as well. Men dominate the audience not only for sports news but also for news about science and technology, business and finance, and international affairs. More men than women are also found among those who closely follow news events and people in Washington, DC, as well as among those who say they pay close attention to news about local government.

But women greatly outnumber men among those who closely follow news about religion, health, and entertainment. They are also disproportionately represented among those paying close attention to community news and to news about culture and the arts. Men and women are about equally likely to be found among the audiences for crime, weather, and consumer news. The upshot of these differences is that men are significantly more likely to be regular consumers of "hard news" +é-Ą 32% vs. 22% for women. This orientation is reflected in their choices among different kinds of news media and in preferences among specific sources.

Men are significantly more likely than women to regularly turn to the internet, to radio news, talk radio, and to newspapers. By contrast, women are substantially more likely to regularly watch morning network news shows, and are somewhat more likely to turn to television news in a variety of forms.

Looking at specific news outlets and sources, men significantly outnumber women in the regular audiences for business magazines, political magazines such as The Weekly Standard and New Republic, Rush Limbaugh's radio program, and also the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. For each of these, men constitute more than 60% of the audience. Men are also significantly more numerous (at 58%) among the regular viewers of CNBC and C-SPAN and among daily internet news consumers. They are also disproportionately represented in the audience for talk radio, for literary and political magazines such as the Atlantic and New Yorker, and for late night television.

By contrast, women constitute a much larger share of the audience for religious radio (66% of the regular audience), the morning network television news shows (64%), and for the MSNBC cable channel. They also outnumber men among the regular audiences for TV news magazine shows such as Dateline and 60 Minutes, and for Larry King Live.

News audiences vary widely in age, education, and how much they know about what's going on in the nation and the world. Most regular consumers of news are better informed, better educated, and older than the average American. But the audiences for some news sources stand out in this respect.

Judged by their answers to three news knowledge questions2, the most informed audiences belong to the political magazines, Rush Limbaugh's radio show, the O'Reilly Factor, news magazines, and online news sources. Close behind are the regular audiences for NPR and the Daily Show.

Audiences with the highest educational achievement, by far, are the literary magazines and online news outlets. Readers of news magazines, political magazines and business magazines, listeners of Rush Limbaugh and NPR, and viewers of the Daily Show, and C-SPAN also are much more likely than the average person to have a college degree.

Some of these attentive and educated audiences also are older than average. The oldest audiences belong to the NewsHour (60% age 50 or older), the O'Reilly Factor (58%), Larry King Live (56%), network nightly news (54%), and Sunday morning talk shows (52%). The youngest audience +é-Ą though also one of the most knowledgeable +é-Ą belongs to the Daily Show, where just 23% are age 50 or older and 33% are under age 30.

After growing modestly between 2000 and 2004, the attentive audience for political, international, and business news +é-Ą commonly referred to as "hard news" +é-Ą is somewhat smaller in 2006. Currently, 27% of the public follows each of four kinds of stories, including news about political figures and events in Washington, international affairs, business and finance, and local government. Two years ago, this hard news audience accounted for 31% of the public. The decline was greater among Republicans (now 29%, down from 38% in 2004) than among other groups. Republicans and Democrats (28%) now exhibit similar enthusiasm for hard news.

The hard news audience is better educated and older than the average, though even among people with four year college degrees, fewer than a majority (39%) fall into this category. More men than women (32% vs. 22%) are hard news enthusiasts. There is no significant racial difference on this measure.

2The three questions asked respondents which party has a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (Republicans); the name of the current U.S. Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice); the name of the current president of Russia (Vladimir Putin). See Section VI, "Other Findings," for further analysis of the public's knowledge of these items.

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
1615 L Street, NW+é-á+é-á+é-áSuite 700+é-á+é-á+é-áWashington, DC 20036
p 202.419.4350+é-á+é-á+é-áf 202.419.4399+é-á+é-á+é-áe info@people-press.org

The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is one of six projects that make up the The Pew Research Center. The Center is supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Comments

Media statistics reported on Drudge: (Mitch Dworkin - 8/1/2006 9:06:50 AM)

http://www.drudgerep...

RUSH LIMBAUGH REMAINS TOP TALKER NYC...
SPRING BOOK [APR-JUNE 2006]
TOTAL LISTENERS 12+
AVG. QUARTER HOUR

LIMBAUGH 144,100
HANNITY 113,500
CURTIS/KUBY 109,500
GAMBLING 104,700
IMUS 93,800
JOY BROWNE 76,200
MARK LEVIN 74,200
OPIE/ANTHONY 74,000
O'REILLY 64,900
SAVAGE 64,300
AL FRANKEN 47,300
LIONEL 38,400
RANDI RHODES 38,200
BATCHELOR 36,900

http://www.drudgerep...

NYC, JAN-MAR, 2006 RADIO AUDIENCE AVG QTR HOUR, 12+ LISTENERS:

NYC, JAN-MAR, 2006
RADIO AUDIENCE AVG QTR HOUR
12+ LISTENERS

LIMBAUGH 141,700
HANNITY 118,200
GAMBLING 108,400
CURTIS/KUBY 101,500
IMUS 94,100
LEVIN 80,700
JOY BROWNE 69,500
O'REILLY 64,200
SAVAGE 62,900
BATCHELOR 43,300
INGRAHAM 37,500
FRANKEN 35,600
RANDI RHODES 27,900
LIONEL 27,100

Newsbusters.org is on top of this with MANY people posting comments: (Mitch Dworkin - 8/1/2006 9:08:36 AM)

http://newsbusters.o...

Rush Limbaugh Listeners Top Chart for 'High Knowledge'

Posted by Greg Sheffield on July 31, 2006 - 18:30.

Which party controls the U.S. House? Who is the current Secretary of State? Who is the president of Russia?

If you know all three questions, you could be a Rush Limbaugh listener. According to a new study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, Rush Limbaugh listeners place second in the category of "high knowledge." This is above the pretentious New Yorker, the almost as pretentious NPR, news magazines like Time, the "News Hour with Jim Lehrer," and cable news outlets.

Doesn't "acting" smart count for something? It only does in New York socials and in "An Inconvenient Truth."

Weekly Standard/New Republic: 50%
Rush Limbaugh: 48%
New Yorker/Atlantic: 44%
OĂ˘âŹâ˘Reilly Factor: 42%
News magazines 41%
Online news (daily): 41%
NPR: 39%
Daily Show: 38%
Sunday AM talk: 36%
Talk radio: 36%
Business magazines: 33%
NewsHour: 32%
CNN: 31%
Daily newspaper: 30%
Nightly network news: 30%
Larry King Live: 30%
Fox News Channel: 28%
TV news magazines: 27%
Community newspapers: 27%
Letterman/Leno: 26%
C-SPAN: 25%
Local TV news: 24%

Greg Sheffield's blog | login or register to post comments
Categories: Government & Press | Rush Limbaugh

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

CT Says:
July 31, 2006 - 18:40 DITTO!

login or register to post comments ĂÂť
donsales Says:
July 31, 2006 - 19:02
Ditto THAT....good buddy!
Over and out....10/4.....
Nowhere to Run....Nowhere To Hide.....

login or register to post comments ĂÂť
bigtimer Says:
July 31, 2006 - 19:09
Whoa...C-Span made the ratings...too funny since it has been trending leftward more and more with their coverage.
Glad I listen to Rush when I can,ĂÂ and have been for a very long time.
"the truth cannot be delivered with novocaine" Ann Coulter

login or register to post comments ĂÂť
kathleenirish Says:
July 31, 2006 - 19:14 ĂÂ ĂÂ Makes sense to me.ĂÂ We learn a lot from listening to his show.ĂÂ Rush has consistently been proven right time and time again.ĂÂ How's the MSM doing with their 'predictions', huh?ĂÂ I can only listen a couple of times a week, but every second is worth it, especially when we are poisoned by the liberal, "drive-by media.ĂÂ

MANY MORE COMMENTS...