Howard Stern is Still The King of All Talk Radio Host Searches (August 7, 2004)

Howard's searches have been consistent all year but after his recent press conference vowing to fight the FCC and announcing he is not off to satellite radio his popularity again doubled. Howard is winning his radio jihad. Earlier this year, Clear-Channel-owned radio stations pulled Stern off the air in six markets, citing charges of indecency.

Howard Stern is always a Web draw but with this fresh attitude to fight back and keep his show in the political eye-of-the-storm, he is calling his strategy his Radio Jihad. A onetime supporter of President Bush, Stern has voiced his discontent with accusations of censorship, mishandling of Iraq, stem-cell research and gay marriage. Stern alleges that it is not the 'indecent' content of his show that got the ire up with Clear Channel, but rather his bashing of Bush on a regular basis. Stern has said the he will do whatever he can to ensure that President Bush is not re-elected.

1. Howard Stern (1)
2. Rush Limbaugh (3)
3. Bob & Tom Show (-)
4. Art Bell (8)
5. Sean Hannity (13)
6. Michael Savage (-)
7. Tom Joyner (2)
8. Dr. Laura (10)
9. Mancow (12)
10. Al Franken (-)
11. Paul Harvey (11)
12. Tom Leykis (-)
13. Bill O'Reilly (6)
14. Larry King (14)
15. Clark Howard (7)
16. Opie and Anthony (9)
17. Glen Beck (-)
18. Coast To Coast AM- George Noory (4)
19. Jim Rome (19)
20. Lionel (-)

The radio host showing the fastest rise in popularity is well known conservative radio host Michael Savage. Searches for Michael Savage outpaced all other rivals, with search activity growing more than 900 percent over 2003, when Savage didn't even come close to making the top 20. However we first wrote about Michael Savage in March 2003 as one to watch because his searches had tripled and he was getting about half as many searches as the dean of conservative talkers Rush Limbaugh.

The San Francisco-based Savage has been the top-rated personality in the Bay Area for years before he launched his nationally syndicated radio show. His book Savage Nation spent 18 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and topped out at number one the NYTs nonfiction bestseller list. Up until last summer, Savage also had a weekend television show on MSNBC until they fired him for anti-gay comments. Savage searches surged over the past few months, specifically after he allowed the beheading videos of Nick Berg and Paul Johnson to be shown on his Web site, fueling pro-war sentiment with his listeners.

Meanwhile, Sean Hannity experienced the biggest gain in online popularity over last year, jumping from number 13 in 2003, to number five this year.

Ironically, although they are now off the air, searches for Opie and Anthony also spiked 250 percent this year. In a NY Post interview the exiled radio bad-boys said they've been well-paid but despondent since cops busted their sex-in-the-riskiest-places contest inside St. Patrick's Cathedral two years ago. Fans of the show are rabid on-line speculating about their hopeful return. And they only have to wait a few more months because Opie & Anthony have talked about a comeback with the two satellite radio companies when the non-compete portion of their WNEW-FM contract expires in October 2004.

Also making the lists for the first time ever are Tom Leykis and Al Franken. We speculated last summer that Leykis was destined for our list as the controversial Los Angeles-based radio host has made a big deal out of revealing the woman's name of Kobe Bryant's accuser on his show, and that has people searching for his program. Leykis hasn't made our Top 20 Radio Hosts list since 2001.

Another surprising newcomer to this year's list is Lionel, who spent years in local talk radio in New York and short stints on cable television, and has hosted his own nationally-syndicated radio since 2000. Lionel's form of radio is topical, quirky, dynamic and funny. A storyteller and a member of the literati, he engages his listeners daily with his offbeat takes on the day's top issues.

Although Bill O'Reilly, Dr. Laura, Larry King, Clark Howard and Paul Harvey all made this year's list, search activity for each is down over last year. O'Reilly generated 20 percent less searches in 2004; Dr. Laura dipped by 14 percent; Larry King dropped by 28 percent; Clark Howard dropped 30 percent; and Paul Harvey generated 50 percent less searches than last year.

Dropping out of the top 20 this year are Don Imus, Click and Clack, Laura Ingraham, Don and Mike, Neal Boortz and Dr. Drew and Adam Corolla, whose search activity all dipped over the past year.

Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Terra Networks, S.A., Lycos, Inc. or their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Bonus List: Most Searched Former Child Stars
Former Child Stars most requested by Lycos users for the first half of 2004:

1. The Olsen Twins
2. Alyssa Milano
3. Shannen Doherty
4. Jonathan Brandis (deceased)
5. Raven Symone
6. Jaimee Foxworth
7. Elizabeth Berkley
8. Sarah Jessica Parker
9. Jodie Sweetin
10. Candace Cameron

Bummer. I was hoping at least two of the girls from "The Facts of Life" would make this list.