(Image source: Media Matters ) 

 

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

 

A clash of titans. The conservative talk titans.

HLN : “Rush Limbaugh will get some competition in his time slot. Former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee...”

KTTV : “Mike Huckabee is planning a radio show that will compete in the same time period as Rush Limbaugh...”

Huckabee launched a new radio show Monday on some 200 stations. It airs at the exact same time as Rush Limbaugh. And media watchers can’t help but note the timing.

Earlier this year Limbaugh snagged headlines nationwide — when he called a Georgetown law student a “slut” and a “prostitute.”

Fluke testified in front of Congress on behalf of contraception coverage under President Obama’s health care overhaul law.

LIMBAUGH, VIA ABC : “...she essentially says that she must be paid to have sex. What does that make her? it makes her a slut right? It makes her a prostitute.”


Limbaugh's comments prompted a boycott of his advertisers — some reports have the number of advertisers who dropped from Limbaugh’s show near 100.


For his part — Limbaugh called those reports “misinformation.”

Either way — now that listeners have a conservative alternative during the same time slot — some say Limbaugh should prepare himself for some stiff competition.


In fact — the editorial board of the New Jersey Star-Ledger tells its listeners — time to tune out Limbaugh — and tune IN Huckabee.

“[Limbaugh has] made a career of nasty talk ... No doubt Limbaugh will keep his fringe fans, who prefer his rants to the intellectual gymnastics of a real policy debate. But for everyone else, there's Huckabee.”

The motto of Huckabee’s new show? “More conversation, less confrontation.” And the host himself told reporters he plans to treat every guest on his show “with respect.” Still — Forbes’ TJ Walker points out — Huckabee isn’t the first conservative to make a foray into Limbaugh’s territory.

“None have succeeded. … I doubt Rush will lose most of his audience, but Huckabee will build enough of his own audience to be a significant political and financial player on the talk radio landscape.”

Huckabee’s first guest was GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney. On Monday — neither Limbaugh nor Huckabee mentioned the other on their respective shows.