# I Pit Split\_p\_j **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 7, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620 "2021-05-07T22:08:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 37
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/722 "2024-07-12T17:59:11Z")
You are very wrong. How many people need to tell you this? Rush Limbaugh was very well known already by 1993. Stop being so stubborn and concede the point already. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/723 "2024-07-12T17:59:12Z")
From [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-listened-to_radio_programs) [already posted](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/704) link > At his **peak in the 1990s** , _The Rush Limbaugh Show_ was drawing as many as 20 million listeners a week. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/724 "2024-07-12T18:05:27Z")
If this isn’t trolling, it sure passes for it. ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/725 "2024-07-12T18:09:06Z")
What point? I’m 52 and I never heard of Limbaugh in '93, but everyone knew of Stern. 10 years later way more people heard of Limbaugh but in '93? He may have had 20 million on am radio, but outside of that conservative am bubble no one knew about him until after 9/11. Thats when he got huge. I relate it to YouTube stars now. Some have millions of subscribers on that platform but are not in the general populations mind. So they may be huge on that platform but not really huge in the grand scheme of things. Limbaugh became huge after 9/11 then eveyone was hearing about him regardless of media platform. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/726 "2024-07-12T18:21:00Z")
Your head must have been just as far up your ass in 1993 as it is now. I’m starting to rethink the trolling accusation. You might actually be this stupid. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/727 "2024-07-12T18:22:19Z")
> [@split\_p\_j](#): > > So they may be huge on that platform but not really huge in the grand scheme of things. Limbaugh became huge after 9/11 then eveyone was hearing about him regardless of media platform. OK, you won’t listen to others, so CITE please? ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/728 "2024-07-12T18:22:30Z")
> [@split\_p\_j](#): > > What point? I’m 52 and I never heard of Limbaugh in '93, but everyone knew of Stern. 10 years later way more people heard of Limbaugh but in '93? According to Wikipedia: After his abrupt firing, Stern moved to WXRK where he remained for 20 years until December 2005. During this time, _The Howard Stern Show_ was syndicated to 60 [radio markets](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_market) and gained an audience of 20 million listeners at its peak. 20 million people is Stern’s high-water mark. Which he achieved But for Limbaugh it’s “niche am radio crowd”? You’re just making things up. But if we’re just taking random datapoints as facts, I was a teenager through most of the 90s. I had never heard of Howard Stern until the movie Private Parts came out. I absolutely knew who Rush was as I paid a small amount of attention to the political discourse of the time. And as others have said, my perception is that Limbaugh’s significance was on the decline by the time Bush was elected. The Clinton Administration represented peak cultural relevance for Limbaugh. And the numbers seem to bear that out. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/729 "2024-07-12T18:24:10Z")
> [@split\_p\_j](#): > > What point? I’m 52 and I never heard of Limbaugh in '93, but everyone knew of Stern. You may not have become aware of Limaugh until you emerged in 2001 from whatever rock you were living under but that doesn’t apply to the rest of the population. > [@split\_p\_j](#): > > I relate it to YouTube stars now. Some have millions of subscribers on that platform but are not in the general populations mind. Apples and oranges. Cumulative counts of people clicking on a link at their convenience over an indefinitate period of time is a far cry from tuning into a weekly radio program, which nearly 10% of the US population did for Limbaugh in the 90’s ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/730 "2024-07-12T18:29:51Z")
The book Private Parts came out in 1993, I bought it then and still own it. Huge to me is the zeitgeist, no one was buying or would buy a book about Limbaugh in '93, let alone watching a movie about him 4 years later, 20 million so-called listeners or not. Stern was huge then, Limbaugh was not. Most people had never heard of Limbaugh during this time. His fame comes post 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/731 "2024-07-12T18:32:54Z")
> [@split\_p\_j](#): > > no one was buying or would buy a book about Limbaugh in '93 Do you just want to just keep lobbing softballs at us all day? From [here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh) again > Limbaugh also wrote seven books; his first two, _The Way Things Ought to Be_ (1992) and _See, I Told You So_ (1993), made [_The New York Times_ Best Seller list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_York_Times_Best_Seller_list). ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/732 "2024-07-12T18:35:24Z")
> **[Birch Barlow](https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Birch_Barlow)** > > Birchibald "Birch" T. Barlow is a right-wing conservative talk show host on the radio station KBBL. He also has a show on Fox News. On air (and presumably personally), he is a radical conservative, highlighted by his book, "Only Turkeys Have Left... ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/733 "2024-07-12T18:37:18Z")
His books were not in the popular culture then, so not huge. But I will concede some people bought them. But I’ve also already conceded that he was known and had a following, so what are we really talking about here? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/734 "2024-07-12T18:40:28Z")
It’s really a True Scotsman fallacy. Sure both Stern and Limbaugh had huge, similar audience numbers and wrote best sellers in the 90s, but the latter doesn’t really count because of reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/735 "2024-07-12T18:41:09Z")
> [@split\_p\_j](#): > > The book Private Parts came out in 1993, I bought it then and still own it. Huge to me is the zeitgeist, no one was buying or would buy a book about Limbaugh in '93, let alone watching a movie about him 4 years later, Counterpoint: > **[MAD Magazine, No. 327, May 1994, Rush Limbaugh Private Parts, a Best-Seller...](https://www.amazon.com/Magazine-Limbaugh-Private-Parts-Best-Seller/dp/B001PZR5HU)** > > MAD Magazine, No. 327, May 1994, Rush Limbaugh Private Parts, a Best-Seller We'd \[Staff\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. MAD Magazine, No. 327, May 1994, Rush Limbaugh Private Parts, a Best-Seller We'd ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/736 "2024-07-12T18:43:53Z")
I would think it’s even worse, clicking a link actually takes some effort, some decision must be made. I remember most people back then just tuning their radio to one station and leaving the dial there. From your logic for all we know most of the 20 million were just people tuning into local news and leaving the dial on that channel when Limbaugh came on. Then Neilson was like what radio station do you listen to? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/737 "2024-07-12T18:44:08Z")
What we are talking is that you personal recollections aside, all of the evidence points to Limbaugh being at his peak in popularity in the 90’s. That many of your statements have been proved to be factually incorrect, and that you have provided no evidence to the contrary, other just repeating the same incorrect statements. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/738 "2024-07-12T18:46:21Z")
Even way back in the 90s, more people listened to radio in the car than at home. Car listeners tended to have 3-6 radio stations they jumped between. No doubt one was their favorite, but what you said is again wrong. > [@split\_p\_j](#): > > Then Neilson was like what radio station do you listen to? CITE? Because I know this is wrong. Even then they wanted to know what time you listened to what stations. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/739 "2024-07-12T18:48:37Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Even then they wanted to know what time you listened to what stations. IIUC more than that, they sent you a diary to log everything you listened to and/or watched. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/740 "2024-07-12T18:52:25Z")
Correct, that is how it worked. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620/741 "2024-07-12T18:54:29Z")
People would lie and say they were listening to Limbaugh, even though they had never heard of him. Either that or split\_pj is a big fat liar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-split-p-j/941620.md?page=38)