From: dnadams@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dean Adams)
Subject: Re: What about Paul?
Organization: Utopia Planitia Starfleet Yards, Mars
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 14:20:11 GMT


knauer@pegasus.cs.uiuc.edu (Rob Knauerhase) writes:
>marks@neuro.usc.edu (Mark Seidenberg) writes:
 >>Limbaugh's ratings are about the same as Arsenio's but should decline
 >>now that the election is over.
I doubt his tv show will last even as long as Morton Downey's.

 >This is a popular misconception.
Hardly.  

 >However, I expect that his show will remain popular ...
Depends on what one consider's "popular".  He certainly is NO WHERE near 
as popular as Dave, Jay, or even old Arse-nio!  This ruch guy is just a 
big nobody.  I had never even heard of him until fairly recently, and 
most people probably don't know who he is.  I heard one claim that he had
around 10 million radio listeners, BUT he is on "hundreds" of stations.
Howard Stern gets a similar number of daily listeners these days, but HE 
is only on TEN stations!!  I think that says something about just how
"popular" your rush is.  BTW, the ONLY reason he is on all those stations
is because they can carry him totally for FREE.

 >at the very least in a watchdog capacity throughout the Clinton admin
Ha!  That jerk is no "watchdog".  

 >his show presents a conservative slant on _current events_ 
Exactly...  That is why he ultimately can't be very popular,
(outside his core group of right-wing loonies that is :)

 >Limbaugh himself claims to be #3 in ratings among "late night" shows,
 >behind _The Tonight Show_ and _Nightline_ 
His "claims" are totally meaningless...  Besides, TS and NL are rated
by a *totally* different system than syndicated shows.  I have also 
NEVER seen that guy listed anywhere among the top-rated syndies.

 >radio #1 in ratings for any time slot (surprisingly, surpassing Larry King).
That is not saying much..<heh>  ANYBODY could beat Larry King, he always 
has pathetic ratings... both on TV and radio.

 >> If Dave went to 11:30 Rush would have to crawl back under his rock,
He'll have to crawl back anyway, regardless of Dave's influence.
That guy is so boring and narrow-minded, he even makes Morton Downey
and Geraldo look interesting...

 >>but I can't say I would like Dave as much at 11:30.
WHY on earth not??  WHAT would be the difference??  It's just an HOUR!
I usually watch Dave "live" at  ** 9:30 **, and it is the SAME show!

 >I think people in this group vastly overrate Dave's popularity.
No way!  He is absolutely the best and most popular "talk show" host.
Just about everyone in the industry would agree that Dave is by far the 
most original and innovative one in the whole bunch.

 >I like Letterman as much as the next guy and moreso than most, 
 >but I know far more people (even college-aged people) who can't stand him.
Must be that awful "rush" crowd, eh?  :->

 >To assume that he would do more than slightly lower the ratings of 
 >Leno's _Tonight Show_, _Nightline_, or Rush Limbaugh is fairly laughable;

HA!  That is TOTALLY "laughable".  To even mention that nobody "rush" guy 
in that same sentence with Dave is pure nonsense, and to say DAVE'S ratings 
would be "lower" than that jerk is absoluteluy RIDICULOUS.  That guy is a
big fat NOTHING compared to Dave...

 >all three of the above appeal to a MUCH broader selection of 
 >people than Dave does.
Are you KIDDING??  That ruch may be "broad", but compared to Dave he is a 
ZERO.  Most people don't even know who he is!!  Dave "guest hosted" LONG
before Jay, and unlike assenio he has had a successful show for TEN+ years.

 >It is for this reason that I hope Dave remains at 12:30 where his
 >audience is fairly secure.  
His audience will just get that much BIGGER at 11:30.  (obviously)

 >If he moved to 11:30, he'd have to dramatically alter his style 
 >to appeal to a very different audience,

NO, he clearly would NOT.  "dramatically altering the style" is 
the LAST thing anyone would ever dream of suggesting for him!

I'm sure will just have a new burst of originality and vigor.  Just think
of all the bits he has done based on the facilities goings on at NBC!
Over at CBS there will now be an endless list of "new" things for him
to do, plus almost certainly a much bigger budget to do them with!

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