...And Randi Rhodes has officially left Air America.

We reported back on April 4 that Rhodes' show was suspended for two weeks after she called Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton "f*****g whores" at a non-profit appearance. Exactly one week later, Rhodes has quit Air America rather than apologize for her remarks.

The Huffington Post spoke to an anonymous source at Air America:

"A source at Air America, who asked to remain anonymous, said, "Many people screw up and then apologize and move on. Like Imus. Like David Shuster. Like Jay Rockefeller on McCain. Like Obama on Rezko. Like Hillary on Bosnia. Randi Rhodes refused to apologize for her obscene comments and has chosen instead to terminate her relationship with Air America."

The source also said that there is no love lost between Rhodes and her colleagues at the network. "No one is upset. She made the move but there's relief and joy."

Rhodes also slammed Air America on a recent Larry King appearance.

In the meantime, comedian/conspiracy freak/Law & Order icon Richard Belzer will be filling in.

FishbowlLA has more.

Rush Limbaugh (pictured) has an extremely successful radio show. As an engine for attracting advertisers, it's unparalleled.

Too bad a just-released report discovered more people listen to The Rush Limbaugh Show's commercials than the actual show.

A recent study by media marketing firm Coleman Insights analyzed the listening habits of Limbaugh's audience [PDF]. The study noted some interesting things. As the research firm put it:

"Rush Limbaugh's nationally syndicated radio show generates higher listener shares during commercials than during the actual show. This finding shows that the Rush Limbaugh audience has extremely high anticipation for the show and tunes in through commercials — a testament to his extremely strong brand and the loyalty of his audience. [...] The conclusion that commercials during Limbaugh's show actually have a higher share of audience than does the content is a tremendous finding for all Talk Radio, for it supports that idea that radio is a medium where listeners hear commercials."

David Hinckley of the Daily News has a different take:

"In an age when advertisers worry about being TiVo'ed off the radar screen, it's encouraging at least one audience is still tuned in."

Limbaugh himself averages 5.74 percent of the radio-listening audience while his commercials average 5.92 percent.

Yesterday, we wrote about how local Air America affilate WWRL no longer airs any Air America shows besides Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow.

But as of this morning, it looks like Rhodes is at war with Air America. To make a long story short... in a live, non-radio performance two weeks ago, Rhodes called Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton "f*****g whores."

This being 2008, footage of the event made it onto YouTube (warning: NSFW video) pretty quickly.

Two weeks after the event, Air America was forced to do some last-minute damage control. So they suspended Rhodes for two weeks. The network says:

Air America has suspended on-air host Randi Rhodes for making inappropriate statements about prominent figures, including Senator Hillary Clinton, at a recent public appearance on behalf of Air America in San Francisco which was sponsored by an Air America affiliate station.

"Air America encourages strong opinions about public affairs but does not condone such abusive, ad hominem language by our Hosts," said chair Charlie Kireker.

Now Rhodes has told the Huffington Post that Air America is "in breach of my contract and [has] damaged my hard won excellent reputation in the broadcast industry."

Our guess is that WWRL will need a new show soon, or will at least be obtaining Rhodes' broadcast from someone besides Air America.

Left-wing NY talk station AM 1600 WWRL has reordered their schedule, knocking a number of Air America programs off the air... to make way, in one case, for infomercials.

Morning show host Lionel was taken off the air entirely to make room for health-related infomercials. Air America's Clout is being moved to the overnight shift and Thom Hartmann has been dropped. Meanwhile, the Rev. Al Sharpton's syndicated show will now be aired on tape delay at 8pm.

But the big news is the hire of cult progressive radio host Ed Schultz (pictured), a populist in the Jim Hightower mode with a massive audience in the Midwest, South and Plains states. Schultz has been in New York this week doing promotion for the show.

Two Air America programs remain on WWRL: Randi Rhodes and Rachel Maddow. And the culling begins...

(Image via KFGO)

Sure, the Democratic race is in full swing and the presidential election is only seven months away, but thanks to Sirius XM radio, you can vote on something truly important, president of XM Baseball — and annoy your friends at the same time.

Bobblehead dolls of Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Red Sox slugger David Ortiz are competing at XMBaseball.com for the position of president by offering you the opportunity to send fake messages. We're a little unclear about how this all ties together, but making a player's head bobble by running your mouse over it is fun.

Of course, when we sent a message, the site couldn't pronounce our name and "roommate" wasn't an option for relationship. Whatever, Ortiz wouldn't make a very good president anyway.

Continuing our ESPN coverage, the Disney-owned sports mediaplex just inked a deal with Verizon to simulcast ESPN Radio over Verizon mobile devices.

Starting this weekend, ESPN Radio content will be available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Mobile TV service. The Connecticut-based network has made, among others, Mike and Mike in the Morning, SportsNation and GameNight cell phone-friendly. ESPN already had a previously inked deal with Verizon to broadcast video content on an "ESPN Mobile TV" channel.

According to ESPN SVP of digital production John Zehr, "with updated sports news, expert commentary and exclusive interviews, ESPN Radio on V CAST Mobile TV is a perfect way for sports fans to stay connected."

Translation: Disney just found one more way to make mucho, mucho money.

Rush Limbaugh's Operation Chaos, his bold attempt to get Republicans to cross over to affect the Democrat primary, has had questionable success. It is probably impossible to accurately gage what effect Limbaugh's stealth campaign has had in Texas and Ohio, or what effect it will have, if any, in the upcoming Pennsylvania Democratic primary.

Today Limbaugh noted on his popular radio show that his campaign is at a decisive do-or-die moment. ''Operation chaos is facing its darkest challenge,'' Limbaugh said today. ''... If Obama can reach across the aisle ... he might be able to put an end to Operation Chaos ... If Obama can convince her -- her being Hillary -- then he might well convince the rest of us.''

continued...

One of the advantages that SIRIUS has over terrestrial radio is the ability to tailor its programming -- and devote whole channels -- to real-time events. In advance of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to New York City from April 15-20, SIRIUS Satellite Radio is launching the Papal Archives Channel, devoted to comprehensive programming of Papal history as well as live coverage. From the press release:

''The Papal Archives Channel will air Monday, April 14 through Sunday, April 20 exclusively on SIRIUS channel 119, showcasing rare archival recordings of Masses and speeches from historic Papal Visits -- which will include Pope John Paul II's visits to the U.S. in 1979, 1987 and 1995 and Pope Paul VI's visit to the U.S. in 1965. SIRIUS listeners will also hear the earliest known audio of a Pope's voice, an extremely rare recording of Pope Leo XIII, the Holy Father from 1878-1903, singing Ave Maria at the Vatican circa 1902.''

The Papal Archives Channel is a production of SIRIUS' The Catholic Channel, SIRIUS 159, which is a collaboration between the satellite radio station and the Archdiocese of New York.

(image via thepopeblog)

This morning Howard Stern spent the opening 15 minutes of his show talking about the Sirius-XM merger. Tim Sabean, the program director for the Howard Stern Sirius channels, was the first person to call him after the decision was announced. Although Stern was generally happy over the decision, he cautioned listeners that the FCC has yet to approve the decision. From Marksfriggin:

''Howard took another call from a guy who asked how long they think the FCC will take to make a decision. Howard said he figured that it would have been done by now. They're just taking their time and taking too long. Howard said that the only good thing is that they can't claim that this was rushed through and they made a decision too fast. He said that they spent less time on the Warren Commission than they did on this merger thing. Howard said that this is a good first step so he's happy about that.''

(image via amazon)

It's official, the feds have given XM & Sirius the official greenlight to proceed with merger talks.

Both XM & Sirius shares rose in the minutes following the announcement.

More to come...