Conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) - Rush Limbaugh, who calls himself the man the mainstream media "love to hate," would have created a stir last week – if the media had actually taken notice. 

Arbitron’s “Portable People Meter” (PPM) ratings for August show that Limbaugh experienced record ratings in a number of major American radio markets. 

According to broadcasting industry analyst Brian Maloney, Limbaugh had “blockbuster success” in some key cities, including Los Angeles -- home to the number one radio station in the country.

“There’s no question that the raging debate over Obamacare has many more listeners turning to Rush for answers and support – and everything they’ve turned to Rush for, for so many years, but in far greater numbers than ever before,” Maloney, who publishes the blog, “The Radio Equalizer,” told CNSNews.com.
 
In Los Angeles, where news-talk station KFI-AM dethroned Top 40 powerhouse KIIS-FM as the top station,  Limbaugh’s ratings share went from 5.9 to 6.9 – a full point increase – with a weekly cumulative (“cume”) audience of 635,700 listeners. 

Yet stories about the Arbitron ratings in The Los Angeles Times and other major newspapers either omitted or downplayed mention of Limbaugh’s success or his role in helping the ratings of affiliates like KFI, according to Maloney. 

“Rush is the driving force, he’s the engine behind the gains, and yet they ignored it,” Maloney told CNSNews.com. “He’s first place, from 9 a.m. to noon, out of more than 40 stations in L.A. That’s huge.”

Other cities showed monster numbers -- In St Louis, Limbaugh gained a 0.8 share, up from 9.1 last month, logging 204,400 weekly listeners.

In liberal Seattle, Limbaugh went from 9.3 in July to 10.1 in August on KTTH. In Chicago, the number three media market – and President Obama’s hometown -- Limbaugh took second place overall on WLS, increasing from 5.0 to 5.3, with 319,700 tuning in. 

Even in San Francisco, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) hometown, Limbaugh's ratings on KSFO, a leading station, went from 4.9 to 5.6 – makig his show number two in the market.