A new poll conducted by CBS News’ 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair magazine shows that Premiere Radio Networks host Rush Limbaugh is considered to be the nation’s most influential conservative voice. Limbaugh, who was picked by some 26% of those who responded to the survey, beat out Premiere stablemate and FOX News Channel host Glenn Beck — who received 11% of the vote — and former Vice President Dick Cheney who chalked up 10% of respondents’ votes. Also garnering 10% in the poll was former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin. The poll of 855 adults was conducted by CBS News between November 6th and 8th. That was prior to Palin’s recent media blitz for her new book, Going Rogue.

Citadel Media syndicated radio commentator and FOX News Channel host Mike Huckabee has come under fire for commuting the sentence of Maurice Clemens, the man who is a prime suspect in the murder of four police officers in Washington state. Huckabee (pictured), considered to be a front-runner in the Republican race for the White House in 2012, commuted the sentence of Clemens nearly a decade ago while serving as the governor of Arkansas. Responding to the Kansas City Star calling the situation “Huckabee’s Willie Horton moment,” Huckabee told FOX News Radio reporter Todd Starnes, “If I could’ve known nine years ago — looked into the future — would I have acted favorably on the parole board’s recommendation? Of course not. One of the things that we have to confront is that the criminal justice system is far from perfect, and in this case it failed miserably on all sides.”

ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike In The Morning will hold their annual live Big Apple broadcast from NYC’s Hard Rock Cafe on December 2nd. Held in conjunction with flagship outlet WEPN/New York, listeners will get to rub shoulders with local sports celebs and enjoy a live performance by Country artist David Nail. Proceeds will benefit the Marty Lyons Foundation which benefits kids diagnosed with terminal or life-threatening illness … BIRTHDAY SHOUT OUT: Best wishes to Doug Stephan Multimedia General Manager Bob K who is blowing out the candles on his cake today … BABY BOOM: Congratulations to ChickChat co-host Lara Dyan (pictured) who welcomed new daughter Sadie Rose to the world on November 24th. Email your best wishes to Lara HERE … If you missed our holiday weekend post “Can You Measure Social Media’s Impact?” be sure to check it out HERE.

Compass Media Networks, which recently signed a deal to syndicate The Norman Goldman Show, has bagged three charter major market affiliations for the progressive talk show including Clear Channel’s “Green 960″ KKGN/San Francisco, Vulcan Sports Media-owned WWZN/Boston and CBS Radio liberal talker KPTK/Seattle. Goldman (pictured) — a self-made businessman who was raised in New York City orphanages and worked his way through law school to become a self-described “champion for the little guy” — has been a frequent guest-host for Dial-Global syndicated talker Ed Schultz prior to launching his own daily 6-9pm (ET) radio show last month. He’s also a regular contributor to MSNBC and a blogger for The Huffington Post. “Progressive Talk radio needs a new voice,” said Compass Media CEO Peter Kosann. “Norman is compelling, relatable and hard working — something his listeners and affiliates appreciate. We believe Norman will help take progressive Talk radio to new heights!”

OK, we have to admit it was pretty hard to resist the temptation to caption this photo as “Beauty and The Beasts” but we restrained ourselves … sort of. That’s WestStar TalkRadio Network host Kim Komando standing out in a crowd of testosterone-fueled Talk radio hosts including Premiere Radio Networks’ Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, along with Westwood One host Dennis Miller. The quartet of talkers can be seen rolling down the streets and highways of St. George, Utah on the side of hometown News/Talker KDXU’s station van.

Sure, the hot buzz about the use of social media — Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc. — is undeniable. But also undeniable is the argument over just how effective social media really is, and how do you measure it? Digital Marketing Agency 360i Senior Director of Emerging Media and Innovation David Berkowitz suggests there are at least 100 ways to do just that. Among them: Buzz by time of day/daypart; mainstream media mentions; and growth rate of followers/fans/friends. You can check out Berkowitz’ “100 Ways To Measure Social Media” in a post to the website MediaPost.com HERE.

Longtime WABC/New York host, nationally syndicated personality and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa is leaving the Citadel Broadcasting News/Talker this week after being a part of the station’s lineup for most of the last two decades. Sources tell NTS MediaOnline Today that Sliwa and the station were unable to come to terms on a new deal and that the talk host will announce a new NYC radio home shortly. Meanwhile, weekender John Batchelor returns to his old 9pm-1am nightly timeslot on WABC beginning November 30th. Batchelor will be busy, as he’ll continue to host his newly syndicated weekend shows, too, which also airs on KSFO/San Francisco, WMAL/Washington and WTKK/Boston. Contacted for comment on the lineup change WABC PD Laurie Cantillo told NTS MediaOnline that Sliwa had “expressed a desire to host between 6am-7pm and we don’t have any openings at this time.” She confirmed that Sliwa will continue to host his network show from the WABC studios for the next two weeks and added, “We appreciate Curtis’ contributions to WABC and we wish him well.”

So says longtime broadcast programmer turned Internet entrepreneur Denise Oliver. Adding her two cents to this week’s story in which consultant John Parikhal said the economy isn’t the primary cause of radio’s current ills, Oliver writes in part, “In 2000 I migrated from network radio to a radio-related Internet startup. We tried to persuade cautious managers at stations reluctant to stream that if radio didn’t step up and grab this new space, others would. Alternatives like AOL Radio, Launch.com, Pandora and Rhapsody were soon established. A lot of radio’s current problems developed over many years, and there were quite a few ‘canaries in the coal mine’ who were ignored. Unfortunately, many companies that should have been investing in the future then are in a far worse position to do it now.”

That’s the opinion of Ski Anderson, an Account Exec at WKHY and WXXB/Lafayette, IN. The former five-year WLS/Chicago weekender writes, “It is imperative that programmers convince sales, management and ownership that not only the fate of the station, but the fate of the industry depends on talent development. Talent development needs to be a budget line in every programmer’s budget and in every format. Until programmers can convince the business side of radio that paying to develop talent now is the only way to win — now and in the future — nothing will change. We will be here in a year having this same pathetic discussion and nothing will have gotten done. Personally, I’m sick of it.”

Thanks to all who weighed in on this week’s cyber-discussion. Your thoughts and comments on anything you read here in NTS MediaOnline Today are always welcome HERE.

While Santa arrives in most cities around the country over the Thanksgiving Day weekend, he’s already touched down in Pittsburgh during the city’s recently held annual Santa Spectacular. That’s KDKA host Dimitri Vassilaros chatting with some fans of the ‘big guy,’ while also handing out free coffee and Farkleberry Cookies to all. All proceeds from the CBS Radio/Pittsburgh-sponsored event benefitted the Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund.