El Rushbo

Rush Limbaugh

What can you say about that man?

Controversy and success. Also an article from the New York Times Magazine.

Not necessarily in that order. Hate him with all you have, but you cannot deny that he is quite possibly the most successful broadcaster of all time. No matter how you measure it.

Money and contracts? He just signed a new contract with Clear Channel owned Premiere Radio Networks for an estimated $38 million a year for 10 years and, a $100 million signing bonus. That comes out to close to $500 million. Howard Stern got a $500 million contract from Sirius Satellite Radio but, that contract was his whole budget for his show, expenses and staff salaries.


Audience? Estimates have his weekly audience somewhere between 14 million and 20 million listeners. He is heard on almost 600 stations.

Influence? George Bush I invited him to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom. Ronald Reagan called him "the number one voice for conservatism in our country." Newt Gingrich called him a national precinct captain and anointed him an honorary representative in 1994. Rush's listeners call themselves "dittoheads." Anybody else who does conservative political talk radio? They are, in some way, emulating Limbaugh. Rush is also credited for saving AM radio.

As an aspiring radio professional, of course I am jealous of his success. But, let us not forget how he has achieved success. First and foremost, Limbaugh is an entertainer. There are millions of people, mostly middle-aged to elderly, white, conservative, elite men who like to beat their chest every midday. Limbaugh is the president of his own personal fraternity.

Limbaugh is great for radio and horrible for the political process. His listeners, while often intelligent and educated, are not receiving the full story of any issue Limbaugh discusses. They are hurt because, even if you will not be persuaded, your argument becomes stronger when you can understand the other side of the story. Limbaugh dispenses half-truths, false claims, and incomplete facts.

I think Limbaugh knows what he is doing. It is a combination of satire and pandering. Howard does satire and fart jokes. Jim Rome does sports. At the top of every hour on news talk radio there is about 5 minutes of hard news. What Rush does is entertainment, not information.

Of course, great broadcasters, while entertainers, are great persuaders. You can persuade people to vote, volunteer, play pranks, or whatever you choose.

Bottom Line? The problem is not the content from Rush Limbaugh. The problem is how people react. Its entertainment, not information.

Rabbit