Rush Limbaugh |
America’s most popular talk radio giant, heard weekly by nearly 20 million listeners on 600 radio stations nationwide, is celebrating 20 years of “The Rush Limbaugh Show.”
Since its beginning Aug. 1, 1988, “The Rush Limbaugh Show” has become the highest-ranked talk radio show in the U.S., breathing life into AM radio and the political talk format.
WND Editor Joseph Farah collaborated with Limbaugh on his 1994 No. 1 best-selling book, “See, I Told You So!” and persuaded him to write a daily front-page column for the Sacramento Union. He credits Limbaugh with re-energizing political debate in the U.S.
“He carries the legacy of Ronald Reagan – a true believer in free enterprise, individual rights and personal responsibility who loves to talk about the power of those virtues with a smile on his face,” Farah said.
Limbaugh has featured prominent and high-ranking guests on his popular show including: Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, late White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, late NBC News host Tim Russert, Sylvester Stallone and the late Charlton Heston.
Rush’s life in radio
“Jeff Christie” with unidentified child, KQV photo |
Limbaugh, born Jan. 12, 1951, to a well-known family in Cape Girardeau, Mo., is the grandson of the late Rush Hudson Limbaugh, American ambassador to India during President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration. His family members include a Ronald Reagan-appointed federal judge, a George W. Bush-appointed U.S. District Court judge and brother David Limbaugh, author, WND columnist and lawyer.
The king of talk radio began his broadcasting career as a disc jockey called “Rusty Sharpe” for KGMO, a station located in Cape Girardeau, while he was still in high school. Limbaugh spent one year at Southeastern Missouri State University and left college to work as a disc jockey on WIXZ 1360 in McKeesport, Pa. He worked as “Jeff Christie” in 1972 joining Pittsburgh’s KQV 14. Later, while working in Kansas City, Limbaugh used his real name.
His career took flight in 1984 when Sacramento’s KFBK 1530 hired Limbaugh. The station scheduled him to replace talk show host Morton Downey Jr., and Limbaugh’s ratings soared.
The Federal Communications Commission’s 1987 repeal of the Fairness Doctrine – a policy forcing stations to give away free air time opponents of any controversial opinions that were broadcast – lifted restrictions against free political speech and cleared the way for Limbaugh.
His style became so popular, ABC Radio Network hired Limbaugh Aug. 1, 1988, and began a successful 20-year history of Premiere Radio Networks’ syndication from New York. Two decades later, Limbaugh’s show can be heard in every major U.S. market.
‘I love being a conservative’
Limbaugh supports capital punishment, opposes abortion, criticizes “arrogance and condescension of members of Congress” and scoffs at global warming propaganda. On his show in 2007, he proclaimed of climate change: “This is a hoax. It’s junk science. It’s being portrayed as something to make you scared to death we’re all going to die.”
In his 1993 book, “The Way Things Ought to Be,” Limbaugh called abortion “the modern-day holocaust.”
In a 2005 commentary piece in the Wall Street Journal, Limbaugh wrote of his conservative ideology:
America’s king of talk |
I love being a conservative. We conservatives are proud of our philosophy. Unlike our liberal friends, who are constantly looking for new words to conceal their true beliefs and are in a perpetual state of reinvention, we conservatives are unapologetic about our ideals.
We are confident in our principles and energetic about openly advancing them. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, faith, a color-blind society and national security.
We support school choice, enterprise zones, tax cuts, welfare reform, faith-based initiatives, political speech, homeowner rights and the war on terrorism.
And at our core we embrace and celebrate the most magnificent governing document ever ratified by any nation – the U.S. Constitution. Along with the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes our God-given natural right to be free, it is the foundation on which our government is built and has enabled us to flourish as a people.
We conservatives are never stronger than when we are advancing our principles.
Limbaugh is also a strong advocate of healthy families. In “The Way Things Ought To Be,” he wrote, “I believe that strong, wholesome family values are at the very core of a productive, prosperous, and peaceful society.”
At least 8 more years with the ‘Doctor of Democracy’
Every weekday, three hours a day, Limbaugh provides Americans with authoritative opinions on a variety of social issues, often entertaining his listeners with unique humor and sarcasm. His impact on the nation has been immeasurable, as Limbaugh is said to be responsible for talk radio’s enormous popularity today.
Farah said it is impossible to overstate the importance of Rush Limbaugh’s contribution to the healthy increase in political debate the nation has experienced.
“How important is Rush Limbaugh on the national media landscape?” he asked. “Consider the distinct possibility that the AM radio band would have gone the way of the buggy whip without him. Consider that there were about 75 radio talk show hosts – local and national – in the entire country when he started in national syndication in 1987. Today there are more than 3,500. Consider that in 20 years, no one else has been able to rival his immense success in attracting an audience. Consider his book publishing successes. Consider his newsletter success. Consider his website success. Consider his success in television.
“No one in the media has a Midas touch like Rush Limbaugh – not even Oprah,” Farah continued. “Rush Limbaugh has energized and invigorated the national political debate like no one since Ronald Reagan. Let’s face it, there wouldn’t even be an Air America if there weren’t a Rush Limbaugh.”
On July 2, the talk-radio king signed a $400 million contract to remain on the air until 2016. The agreement with Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio Networks of Los Angeles is the second largest deal ever negotiated with a radio personality.
After 20 years in national syndication, America’s king of radio continues to be the most popular talk personality. He has received awards for “Syndicated Radio Personality of the Year” in 1992, 1995, 2000 and 2005 from the National Association of Broadcasters. In 1993, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and in 1998, into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
“This is exactly where I want to be, doing what I was born to do, with an amazing audience and phenomenal support from affiliate stations and sponsors,” Limbaugh said in a statement. “I’m having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have.”
Note: WorldNetDaily is currently featuring several days of commentary tributes from popular columnists to the talk-radio king, commemorating the 20th anniversary of his national radio program Aug. 1.
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