Editor's note: This column is one in a series of WND tributes this week to Rush Limbaugh by our columnists in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his national radio program Aug. 1.
I had no idea, back in the late '80s, that those rumors about some flame-thrower talk-show host in Sacramento would have such an impact on my life.
His name? Rush Limbaugh.
At the time, I was working in San Francisco TV news and talk radio and had done the same in Los Angeles. The goal then, especially in radio, was to avoid avowedly political issues and overt controversy.
It was worse for women because the idea of a female talk host was rooted in the area of self-help and "women's" advice programs.
Been there; done that; and it bored me beyond tears.
Political controversy was to be avoided. One program director actually called me during a show to tell me to stop talking about the Vietnam War because it was too controversial!
But what was going on with this new guy?
Keep in mind, San Francisco is a major national media market; It was, and is, a very liberal area. The buzz was about Rush Limbaugh and his "outrageous" programs in Sacramento. That's the state capital and definitely not a whirling center of media controversy!
It's home to a contradictory mix of people. On one side, are notoriously liberal politicians, bureaucrats and university academics. On the other, are the "real" people living and working in the area whom the elite regard as "valley rednecks."
But change was in the wind. Rush Limbaugh said things not heard on radio. He talked culture and politics and history. He used words like patriotism and loyalty and common sense and principles and individual liberties and national pride and more! He said he loved this country and honored our military.
On top of that, he wasn't afraid of controversial issues. He talked about what he disagreed with and why. He called politicians and the media to task. He put news and information in perspective, and context was important.
Critics fumed when he talked of femi-nazis and hated his sound effects – toilet flushing for abortion news and the chain saw for environmental news. The liberals hated it. The radio audience – the people – loved it!
They'd never heard such honesty on radio, especially when done by mixing serious content with a wicked sense of humor and sarcasm.
You might not like what you heard, but you couldn't get angry with the messenger – a guy with a particularly non-show biz name: Rush Limbaugh! Ratings soared.
The attitude of management at that time revealed their caution was palpable and their dilemma clear. They may have hated this guy's politics but they loved his rating success. High ratings enable high ad rates and profits, and that's good for business. Whatever else radio and TV are – they're businesses.
Being smart enough to put politics aside as Limbaugh's popularity grew, the program moved to New York and then to national syndication in 1987.
The rest is history: 600 stations nationwide, more than 20 million weekly listeners. He's been doing his program for 20 years. He's written best-sellers, had a successful TV show, been honored by peers with awards and financially by his syndicators – his July 2 $400-million contract keeps him on the air until 2016.
But his loyal listeners made it all possible.
I wonder if Rush ever envisioned the day he'd be known just by his first name. That stratosphere is usually for music stars, but Rush beats them all, with a daily audience they can only dream about.
Rush Limbaugh's impact is far more than ratings and money. He came along when this country had lost its sense of "community." The days of the whole country sharing a single TV program – think Elvis or the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show – were gone. Because of the explosion of media – TV, cable, satellite, Internet and more – there was no unifying information source.
Add to that the liberal media bias which infuses every news outlet and you have a country with a burgeoning population that was increasingly isolated and ignorant. For conservatives, it was a wasteland; they were clearly marginalized.
Rush changed that. He said what people thought. He let them know they weren't alone in those beliefs.
It happened to me. Rush said what I believed and knew to be true, but because of years of working in media I'd learned to keep my mouth shut. No one ever knew my politics. With the success of Limbaugh, the doors opened for conservatives to play formative roles on the air. It also showed that there are women conservatives in the audiences and that allowed for women talk hosts. I did it and haven't looked back!
Management saw it was a smart move. Look at KSFO in liberal San Francisco – in the "heart of the beast." Would a conservative station be successful there? You bet it would, and is, and Rush is part of the success.
Imagine, hidden conservatives in the liberal Bay Area. Who knew?
When I began my conservative KSFO talk show, a woman acquaintance in local media called me at home to talk, and talk – and talk. Finally, I asked if there was something particular she was calling about.
Her response stunned me.
She asked me why I was "ruining my career" by going to work for a conservative radio station.
How wrong she was – just like those who said Rush wouldn't succeed because he was politically, socially and culturally conservative and because he thought well of our country and what we stand for and isn't afraid to say so.
He's become the mainstay of talk radio and is a regular part of the lives of millions.
Rush Limbaugh has enabled them to stand up for their beliefs and not be cowed into submission by political correctness, diversity and anti-Americanism. He's made it possible for conservatives to have a voice in the future of our country.
I don't know if Rush ever realized what he was creating when he first sat behind that microphone in Sacramento, but he single handedly changed the face of American political thought and citizen activism.
Thank you, Rush Limbaugh, for enabling my political courage and for reinforcing the foundations of our freedom.
Happy anniversary.