The radio industry doesn't like to serve up public information about its private business. This may account for the shroud of secrecy that has existed for nine months, only to be swept away when Dial Global fell by nearly 92 percent (over 1 year), with most of the drop occurring in one day. Dial Global blamed Rush Limbaugh.

Cumulus Media is also in trouble. In May, Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey said that Limbaugh had cost the company a couple million in each of the two previous quarters. In August, Dickey alluded to ten "underperforming" stations (out of 570) that were responsible for all of the network's losses. In November, Dickey again complained about the ten stations, blaming them for the company's "material decline" in top-line revenue.