Here’s why Fox News is always trying to defund NPR. In 2010, Morning Edition and All Things Considered averaged 13 million and 12 million plus listeners each. In 2011 Fox and Friends have an audience of 1.09 million, while Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh’s radio shows are in decline.
Here is the NPR Fall 2010 data:
While the top rated Fox and Friends averages 1.09 million, FNC’s daytime lineup averages 1.085 million. Before anyone on the right grumbles about an apples and oranges comparison, consider that in the spring of 2010 Glenn Beck only had 9 million listeners. Rush Limbaugh, who depending on the market, had 15 million listeners, and Sean Hannity had 14 million listeners.
(I gave Fox and Friends a bit of break and used their current ratings which reflect a 13% increase over 2010).
Today, Limbaugh is now down to 10 million listeners, and Hannity is down to around 9 million. Glenn Beck’s radio ratings dipped 39% at one point. For all the talk of the strength of the right wing media, the point remains that they cater to a relatively small audience. They are loud, but they are not huge. No wonder Fox News and the right wing talkers are so desperate to defund NPR.
They don’t want anyone to find out the truth. Compared to the reach of NPR, Fox News is tiny. Only Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity can compete with NPR, and they are in grave decline. As affiliates continue to drop Glenn Beck, and the right wing talkers aren’t as popular as they used to be, is it time to ask was conservative talk radio every really as big as we thought?
First was the news that Jon Stewart’s Daily Show is more popular than every single Fox News program except Bill O’Reilly, and now this. It turns out that despite their huffing and puffing, the right wing media is just like the Tea Party, overestimated, overblown, and overrated.
Jon Stewart and NPR are bigger than Fox News and most right wing media.
HT: GottaLaff’s Amazing Tweet, but here is a link to her website.
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Phil Perspective
Jun. 5th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
Does Rush really get 10 million listeners a day? I was always confused how they counted radio listeners.
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boil
Jun. 5th, 2011 at 11:16 pm
right, arbitron ratings are scewed often. and the fact that EIB has blimpy on some markets on three stations, especially in the south…. and dont forget fox numbers at best are around 3 million a day, spongbob draws way more than that, yet we give fox more weight than they deserve. the good news is. last months ratings sweeps, fox numbers are down in all areas… cable users are also dropping like flys, as the economy tanks, cable goes first…
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Jay
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Cable does not go first. It goes last, or goes up.
When people start being unemployed, having entertainment in the house becomes more important, and at a buck or two a day cable is the best value to most people.
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zero
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:33 am
Um… have you ever been unemployed? I have. The first thing I did was cancel my cable.
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Sling
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Exactly!..I 86′d my cable,but kept my internet.
HULU carries just about all my favorite TV shows,and news feeds give up to the minute reporting.
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J.
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:49 pm
@ Boil: Wow. You just made that up and thought people wouldn’t CALL you on it? Rookie.
I think what you MAY have been TRYING to say (watch me attempt to help you save face here)is that- traditionally- people tend to use more ENTERTAINMENT in a bad economy. You may have equated that to cable television. There are other, less costly, means of entertainment though and that isn’t factored into your thinking. The internet is taking a HUGE chunk from teevision in general as people watch shows streaming online for cheaper or free. There is also the fact that BROADCAST (non-pay) television has gotten far larger in metropolitan markets. I’m in LA and I have (off the top of my head) sixteen different non-pay channels to choose from at any time. That’s only the channels broadcast solely in English, mind you. I haven’t taken the time to look at how many broadcast bilingually or in foreign languages (note I said there are BILINGUAL channels I don’t watch, not just foreign that I can’t. Wow. I killed THAT argument before you could latch on, huh?).
Might want to research before you jump on the “people spend more on item X” bandwagon. This is a different sort of bad economy. People are getting killed not just by unemployment but by items that were never considered major drains before now (think gasoline).
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Donna Rowlett
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
You are lucky to have so many choices where you live. I don’t have that option of streaming unless I pay hundreds of dollars a month and only wish I had cable TV with high speed internet.
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William
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
I’m curious about why you think Arbitron’s ratings are scewed. I used to work for a sub-contractor of Arbitron. Without going into details about their methodology, because I signed a contract saying I never would, I know for a fact that Arbitron is very rigid in terms of ensuring their survey particpants are randomly selected, and that partipants’ self-reporting of what they watch or listen to is uninfluenced by the recruiters.
Do you work for Nielsen?
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Corps like Arbitron have top be very strict as they are always up for accusations of cheating or bias. I agree
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boil
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 8:19 pm
it;s scewed by clearchannel and EIB, in the way they stack the shows in the same or near markets. and the way that arbirtron allows this to be weighted in an unfair way, same with neilson, they dont have anyway to measure radio, its a shell game
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Naomi
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 3:44 am
The audience: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_2LpLhOsc4
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Marc
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 7:28 am
As long as Fox News and the like have listeners I will take them as a threat. Viewers/Listeners vs. the ones who actually vote is another statistic that is not measured. Fox News is in decline due in part because the audience is old and dying off. Unfortunately you can’t fix stupid.
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Brian Monaghan
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Let them compete in the public domain without public funding. That is the only thing people object to. The use of tax payer money to put forth one political philosophy over another.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
I kind of agree with you, yet at the same time these people are given health insurance for life when they enlist. At least that’s my understanding. I have two friends that were in the Marines for at least two tours, one was in for almost 20 years and his wife was in less but they both have insurance for life, and both have their own insurance policies separate from being married
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Andy
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
I don’t see NPR pushing a philosophy, in fact it seems to me they try to present facts, and opinions from both sides in arguments (unlike Fox, which clearly distorts the truth, to put it mildly).
In fact one could argue that public money is well spent on providing a neutral view, since all other media is for-profit and this may not lead to neutral reporting. Markets do not always produce the best result for society. I do agree that it may be difficult to make sure they really are neutral, but from what I’ve heard they are doing fairly well.
I also do believe that ‘the right’ argues that NPR has a left-wing bias because they are moving so far to the right that the facts are no longer supporting their opinions, so any fact-based reporting will appear to have a left wing bias from this point of view.
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Seamoor
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 8:14 am
I agree, Brian. Let NPR stand on it’s own left foot without the use of public funds!
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boil
Jun. 5th, 2011 at 11:12 pm
the sad thing is, the goobers who hate NPR, probably never heard NPR. if they did, they would love the fact that NPR plays some of the best of eclectic regional music. you wont hear great bluegrass, authentic Americana music, anywhere anymore except NPR. NPR is really centrist, not leftist, but you need demons in the GOP big tent….
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DannyEastVillage
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 8:58 am
I agree. Much or most of NPR’s programming is solid gold. I haven’t listened for quite awhile since my lifestyle has changed, but I loved Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Car Talk, Fresh Air, This American Life. And I learned so much from the NYC affiliate. The morning talk shows on weekdays were fantastic. I wish my life were shaped differently so I could go back.
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Johnny Five
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 9:47 am
They have this thing called podcasts, I get most NPR shows this way since I work almost an hour from the nearest NPR affiliate.
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mobil55
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Yes, of course,
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Harold Harcourt
Jun. 5th, 2011 at 11:35 pm
“You can put bullshit in jars, label it ‘Apple Butter’, and sell it at Mr. Murdoch’s roadside stand for only so long.” – Harold Harcourt
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Judson Parker
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 2:07 am
So, the news has more listeners than a fat rambling drug addict? Good to know.
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AFM
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 8:38 am
I love NPR. Especially talk radio because people can disagree without yelling and screaming and calling each other names. The outrage of talk scream radio yells all the time and no one listens.
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Snoozepossum
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:11 am
Thank you for posting this; perceptions of how big these fruitcakes are dictates more behavior than I care for. Another way people who want to can contribute to the numbers in a major way is to donate to specific shows during NPR’s upcoming spring fundraiser. Or before that, if ya like! ;0)
They’ll gladly accept $5 amounts, and dedicated donations give them nice concrete figures to show.
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Jamison Seibert
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 11:49 am
That is great news!! Since they are doing so well, I would imagine that there is no more need for Government funding!!
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Travis
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
Well with that logic, I suppose the Government needs to cut subsidiaries to oil, pharmaceutical, and weapons manufacturers. I mean; we all pay for oil once, why do it twice via government handouts?.. Same goes for medicine, and weapons, we’ve got a couple of wars happening, I’m sure manufacturing is through the roof. Ah just one issue here.. no one on the right seems to bring this up? A bit bizarre, but I’m sure they need that government cheese with the profits they draw up each year.. so lets just trim a couple million off the public radio sector.
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Prudence Matters
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:02 am
Why can’t we agree on cutting everything you named? I guess the problem is priorities. I think NPR should be cut before medical or defense subsidies, but cut them all.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Its strange no one talks about how deeply the Bush tax cuts and corporate tax cuts have put us in the hole. Instead we talk about cutting services to people who deserve them
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Jim50
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:04 am
Ummm, when will people like you stop the LIES! There is a difference between tax breaks (letting people keep more of THEIR money) and actual subsidies (taking MY money and giving it to someone else). The first is oil, pharma, etc. The second is NPR (which, by-the-way, pays NO taxes).
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:05 am
NPR is a not for profit entity created for the American people. Millions upon millions listen to it
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obtuseengels
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Thank you! Vivian schiller claimed npr could survive defunding. these numbers show she’s on to something. get off the nipple and survive on your own.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:10 pm
NPR is a not for profit entity. Its American radio for americans paid for by Americans
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Jeremy
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 2:21 pm
I don’t want to pay for NPR.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 4:21 pm
I dont want to pay for the roads in your state
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owens2024
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
I get that NPR and Jon Stewart are bigger than FoxNews and Rush, but so what? Does this mean that Fox and other conservative media want to ‘take them out’? I doubt it. It isn’t as if the people at Fox think that NPR listeners will suddenly take a liking to Fox if NPR didn’t exist. The existence of NPR doesn’t hurt Fox, I would argue that NPR, MSNBC, the Daily Show, etc … help Fox by giving them an enemy. The Fox model requires an “us vs. them’ mentality and “liberal media’ is the ‘them’. Even better if the so-called ‘liberal media’ is bigger, everyone roots for David vs. Goliath. Fox’s enemy is Fox. Fox has tied themselves to a particular political persuasion and so it rides the waves of the political winds. If it loses adverts when the ‘Tea Party’ falls out of public favor then it has only itself to blame. It either has to try and de-couple from the right, or wait it out.
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Erick
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Not to mention, the fact that every liberal I know defends funding NPR. If there was no left wing agenda at play on NPR, the left would not defend it. The truth is that it is very difficult for left wing broadcasts to be nationally syndicated on AM/FM because of a lack of listeners. Where Air America has failed, syndicators like Salem radio succeed.
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drklassen
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 9:48 pm
Bzzzzzt. We like NPR because it gives in-depth analysis, not punditry. If you think it has a liberal bias, well, then I guess Colbert is right…
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ray chaterdee
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
I love NPR. For many years now, I’ve felt like I was in the minority. The programming is not only informative, it is challenging and insiring. The programming is unlike anything else available in the USA and, in many cases, the world. I support NPR (and PBS) financially and I support keeping it a publicly funded enterprise. But, if it ever is forced to go private, I would increase my financial support 10X, 100X if that is what it would take to keep control of NPR out of the hands of other commercial broadcasters, especially News Corp (Fox News). I am glad to hear that there are at least a few million others who may feel the same.
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Chuck Partington
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
I’ve only heard positive things about NPR and the funding thereof. IF NPR were as valuable and treasured across the country, then why does it need to be funded? Why can’t it stand on its own in the marketplace of ideas through advertising like the rest of commercial radio? Seems to me that if listenership levels were truly THAT high, then they wouldn’t need a crutch to prop them up.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Its American public radio
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Dave
Jun. 6th, 2011 at 3:38 pm
The fact that they don’t have to pander for advertising dollars or ratings points is what makes it a beautiful thing. NPR & PBS are examples of non-commercial broadcasting.
I’m not a big fan of toll roads either…
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Kevin
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 2:00 am
Incorrect, because that message would be contradictory to their core values. As far as FOX is concerned it is impossible for government to do good.
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Karla Lomiglio
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 9:03 am
since they are so popular, they should be fine when their funding is cut then, great to know
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Steve
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
The fact is FOX News saturated a niche market, over inundated the crowd that listened to Limbaugh and Hannity with all blabbering all the time, then Hannity becomes so incredibly obsessed with President Obama that nobody wants to listen anymore. Beck was a breath of fresh air when he first started but he soon made the mistake most political news entertainers make, they start using their stage for pushing their religion, philosophies and/or paranoia theories to try and influence people to vote certain ways. Even the left is not immune to it as Air America went down mostly because you can only listen to so much “Bush is a jerk” everyday before you tone it out like people are doing to Hannity and Rush now. Plus watching Glenn Beck slowly go insane opened a lot of eyes that Hannity and Rush are cracked as well.
The fact is, almost all news radio and tv bores most of us anymore. There is so much arguing, posturing, yelling and fearmongering that it’s not worth wasting a second of life on. Especially when I can get 4 times as much news information on the web in the same amount of time it takes Hannity to talk about how great his 50XGreat America Panel is & toss his Nerf football like a 4 year old.
In short, we’re just tuning out the loudmouths these days and much happier for it.
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Maria
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I want NPR defunded because it’s a waste of taxpayer money. I don’t see how any relation to FOX is relevant. I’m not forced to pay for FOX. I am forced to pay for NPR.
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Jeremy
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Don’t use logic on this message board.
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DCSnark
Jun. 16th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
I want a refund for the $3 BILLION dollars spent on the F-35 Second Engine. I want a refund for the other $3 Billion spent on the USMC EFV. Don’t talk to me about waste while you ignore the Department of Defense due to your rampant ignorance. Blame it on the Democratic congress? Yeah BS, learn about the budgeting process.
Billions a year not Millions.
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Brian
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:37 pm
Some of us just want NPR defunded because nothing in the Constitution authorizes government funding for NPR. You
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Oh screw that, you had never heard of the constitution before the tea party. Move along. Lots of things arnt in the constitution, that doesnt mean we have to live in the 1800′s
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Brian
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
You want to listen to it, fine. You can fund it yourself. It is not my responsibility to provide you with radio to listen to.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Sorry, there are millions that dont agree with you
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Jim50
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:09 am
Then let THEM pay for it.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:10 am
Ah I get it, your not American. My apologies
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oyou812
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
It’s not NPR or the CBT that Conservatives hate. In fact most of the silent (because they have to work for a living) majority like opposing points of view so they can make informed choices.
What we hate is the fact that we have to pay $ for any part of it. It’s like getting a lecture from the twenty something living in your basement.
If NPR is so valuable let them go out, get a job, and pay their own way instead of living off of mommy and daddy tax-payers credit cards!
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Sarah Jones
Jun. 7th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Since when is reality an opposing point of view? That’s sad. Almost as sad as your inaccurate assumption that only conservatives work, when in reality, the rest of us blue states fund welfare red states. You might want to knock down the condescension by a few notches. You haven’t earned it.
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johnnyamerica
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 2:26 am
This story made the conservative Drudge Report for its laughable content. Liberals sure are big dreamers. Come back to reality. The left has many boogie men that they need in order to feel good about themselves.
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Sarah Jones
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 2:40 am
It’s usually a good idea to be specific about your criticisms, but in your case, we’ll just assume that you have a problem with facts and that’s why you don’t like NPR. At least, that’s what everyone else sent over from Drudge had to say. Anything new?
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Daddy Jones
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:32 am
The funny thing is that you don’t even realize that you are being spoon-fed from a foreign national named George Soros. Do you people also realize that the figures and ratings given in the article are from “NPR Audience Insight & Research”? I’m sure they are unbiased. No one cares, they can talk about their own ratings all day, but the fact of the matter is that advertisers would never go there because nothing would ever be heard and thus increase sales.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Ah yes the Soros thing. Uh huh.
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Daddy Jones
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Why don’t you enlighten us on the subject or “thing”; I’m interested in knowing what his money is doing in “public” radio.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
the constant blaming of George Soros for everything that occurs. That is the thing. And it’s really quite hilarious.
His money is and public radio because it is a public service provided for all Americans. Just like my money is in the roads that he drives on
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Sarah Jones
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 11:57 am
“Daddy Jones” – You’re not my daddy. My daddy is brilliant.
My daddy is also well spoken and polite and he doesn’t believe in boogeymen because he’s a real man. He can also use his mind to argue based on facts instead of relying on tin foil conspiracy theories.
Why are you so afraid of George Soros?
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Dennis
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
I like the idea of putting a check-off box on tax returns like is done for the presidential election funding.
Do you want $2 of your taxes to go to the public funding of presidential elections? Yes, No?
Would you allow up to $7 of your taxes to go to NPR, PBS, etc? Yes, No?
Would you allow up to $7 of your taxes to provide reproductive healthcare (including abortion) for poor people?
etc, etc
Just like the election fund, the total amount of taxes would not change, but the upper limit of the budget for each would be set by the number of people checking that item (so if 100, 000 million taxpayers check off NPR, up to $700,000 can be budgeted. (I used $7 since one billion $ is about $7 per taxpayer.
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Patrick M
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 6:57 pm
As a conservative/libertarin hybrid- I enjoy NPR. Most of the programming is spot on. There are a few shows, certainly not the top tier programming, that is obnoxiously left-leaning. But for the most part, the stereotype that is portrayed about public radio is not true.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 7:43 pm
If people dont hear what they want to hear then radio is left or right leaning I think.
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James McPherson
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
Being that the NPR shows are doing better serves as better
proof that they don’t need any funding and could survive and
indeed thrive in a commercial market and sell advertising for
funding just as any commercial station would.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Jun. 8th, 2011 at 7:41 pm
Kind of ruins the national public radio thing. Instead of being neutral it would then have to act as if it was owned and not be neutral. Its Americas radio.
If you think about it, what we spend on NPR is pretty much absolutely nothing. The only reason the conservatives want it gone is becuase it smokes Fox and actually tells the truth
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Dennis
Jun. 9th, 2011 at 1:43 am
Like education commercial channels like Discovery & TLC? Whose programming content seems dominated by lowest-common-denominator programs like Monster Garage & whatever?
Compare that with NPR & PBS where content is not compromised with commercial concern? (Although often it seems increasingly compromised for political concerns, out of fear of upsetting conservatives. My local PBS affiliate partners with the local FOX affiliate on news reporting.)
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