On its first quarter earnings call with investors, Cumulus Media CEO Lew Dickey reported a $2.4 million dollar decline in revenue associated with syndicated talk (which is a polite way of referencing fallout from the Rush Limbaugh's loss of advertisers without calling Limbaugh out by name). Dickey has reported millions in losses associated with Limbaugh in previous quarters as well.

Anticipating this report, a “source close to” Rush Limbaugh's show began making the rounds insisting that Limbaugh is not to blame for the losses, while indicating that Limbaugh is considering walking away from Cumulus, which currently carries his show on 40 of its stations.

Asked to address the Limbaugh issue during today's earnings call, Dickey flatly rejected the notion that Limbaugh is blameless, explaining: “We've had a tough go of it the last year. The facts are indisputable regarding the impact certain things have had on ad dollars.”

Indeed. As I explained yesterday, this Limbaugh source's contention doesn't stand up scrutiny:

• Cumulus isn't the only company reporting losses associated with Limbaugh
• It's being reported that the majority of national advertisers are currently boycotting Limbaugh's show
• Even Limbaugh himself recently acknowledged his advertiser troubles, blaming it on “liberal feminist” media buyers

In fact, Limbaugh has become so toxic that he's hurting other conservative talk shows. At a Talkers forum last year, Norm Pattiz, CEO of Courtside Entertainment, summed up the destructive effect Limbaugh has had on the entire industry, noting that a “tremendous chunk of advertising revenue was wiped out in terms of support for national talk radio programs.” Pattiz added that “the movement in talk radio to some degree is moving away from conservative talk radio and into other genres.”

Limbaugh has done nothing to signal to advertisers that he's not going to put them in a damaging situation, like he did to so many of his advertisers last year when he engaged in a three-day rant against Sandra Fluke. Instead, he's continued with same bigotry and recklessness that forced advertisers to walk away in the first place.

Limbaugh is just as volatile as ever. It's why he's having so much trouble filling his ad space. And, this volatility is why Rush Limbaugh remains bad for business.

Aside from Limbaugh's recklessness, the consequences his show has experienced is due in large part to scores of independent organizers, like the Flush Rush and the #StopRush community. Their participation matters and is having a tremendous effect.

Onward.