SUMMARY: Dr. Laura says ratings for her radio show prove that her popularity is still growing, but GLBT activists doubt her data.
Dr. Laura Schlessinger's claim of a recent hike in her radio audience is either misinformation or evidence that the decline in listeners last year was more significant than many people realized, say GLBT media watchdogs.
Schlessinger, who has been widely criticized for comments calling gays deviant and disordered, addressed a group of religious broadcasters in Las Vegas this week. "Even with the brouhaha, my audience is up 15 percent in the last ratings period, thank you," she told them, according to a Reuters report. She said her daily radio program reaches about 18 million listeners in the United States.
John Aravosis, one of the founders of StopDrLaura.com, a Web site launched last year to help organize the effort against Schlessinger, claims her figures don't add up. "Either she is in error, or the show took an even bigger hit late last year than we knew," he said. As recently as September 5, 2000, Schlessinger was claiming a radio audience of 18 to 20 million in a New York Post interview. Those numbers were supported by numerous media reports from early that year up to that point.
According to the numbers Aravosis has seen in the past year, 18 million is a possible 10 percent decrease in audience. "As someone who Dr. Laura has described as a biological error," he said, "I've been saying for a long time that the doctor doesn't have her facts straight."
Late in March, Paramount Studios announced that production had ceased on Schlessinger's television show after only seven months due to dismal ratings and a lack of advertiser support. They pointed to the protests organized by Aravosis' organization and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
Cathy Renna, spokesperson for GLAAD, said her organization has also been unable to find anything to back up Schlessinger's claim. "Her radio network even said her show had lost $30 million in advertising revenue," she said.
GLAAD is even more interested in Schlessinger's recent calls for political activism by her listeners. Her promotion of Internet filters, anti-abortion laws and anti-gay rights legislation, Renna said, "bears out what GLAAD has been saying all along. She uses her platform to further her agenda -- now she's being more open about it."
Copyright © 1995-1999 PlanetOut Corporation. All Copyright & Trademark Rights Reserved.
Help | About PlanetOut | Ad Info | Privacy Statement | Tell us what you think - Send us feedback!