Hosts swapping formats provide rare insight

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee made the media rounds this week to explain why he'd granted clemency to the criminal who then went on to murder four police officers last month.

Huckabee took a break from all the interviews to deliver the keynote speech at Radio Ink's "Forecast '10" broadcast industry event.

Huckabee said that he "cringes" when he hears talk that Congress is considering a return of the Fairness Doctrine, adding, "I know that broadcasters across America are trying to make sure that the public understands that freedom of speech and freedom of choice would be dramatically limited if the Fairness Doctrine were implemented again."

Lucky talk-radio fans in Los Angeles, meanwhile, got to spend an evening with Larry Elder, Michael Medved, Dennis Miller and Dennis Prager this week.

They were assembled for a sold-out "town hall" event sponsored by KRLA radio to discuss the issues of the day (FREE video).

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh's interview on William Shatner's TV talk show was a pleasant surprise and a must-see for Rush fans. The two men enjoyed a low-key, amiable chat that included many personal revelations from the talk-radio king. Stay tuned as Rush proudly reveals the childhood Christmas gift that nurtured his future career choice (FREE video).

Rush Limbaugh is "Media's $1 Billion Man," according to one Wall Street analyst, who works out Limbaugh's take-home pay from his radio show alone to $136,986 a day!

On Tuesday, Rush compared Obama's approval ratings to Bill Clinton's and wondered "what if the climate is getting cooler?"

Throughout the week, Limbaugh has been critical of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's handling of the Obamacare debate. So much so that, according to The Hill, "aides to McConnell called Limbaugh's show to explain their tactics, but the conservative pundit did not seem to buy it."

On Wednesday Limbaugh declared, "The Senate Republican leadership strategy here was flawed because it allowed the Democrats to take the offensive, buy time to work out a deal. I know a disaster when I see it. And I know that it's gotta be stopped, and whatever parliamentary steps are available to people ... should have been taken."

Glenn Beck

Barbara Walters dubbed Glenn Beck one of her annual "Most Fascinating People" this year. Beck had a great answer to Walters' favorite question – "If you were a tree, what tree would you be?" (Video below):

Appearing on Bill O'Reilly's show to promote the special, Walters teased O'Reilly, "You're so jealous [of Glenn Beck]" (FREE video).

She added, "Two years ago, we didn't know who this guy was. Has a terrible childhood, mother commits suicide, he's a drunk, he's on drugs, pulls himself together ... and is now, in spite of your jealousy, one of the biggest voices on television in a time period not as good as yours, Bill."

Beck's critics are trying to make a big deal out of his endorsements for his sponsor Goldline. The Fox News Channel promises to look into it, according to a report at Talkers Magazine, but Beck's fans are dismissing the "controversy" as just the latest in an unsuccessful series of attempts to kick Beck off the airwaves.

This week, Glenn Beck's "Christmas Sweater" simulcast took place in movie theaters across the country (FREE video clip).

Given Beck's overwhelming success this year, it came as a surprise when ticket sales for those simulcasts were much lower than expected.

Sean Hannity

Talkers magazine has named Sean Hannity the recipient of the 2010 Sharon L. Harrison Memorial Award for Talk Radio Humanitarian of the Year in honor of his work promoting the Freedom Concert series. Hannity's Freedom Concerts have raised more than $10 million to provide scholarships for "children of U.S. service members who have been killed or 100% permanently disabled in an operational mission or training accident."

Hannity's website is also getting a much-needed makeover. It now features lengthy summaries of each day's show that really pique your interest. Plus Hannity's on Twitter now (@seanhannity)!

Laura Ingraham

Another host whose all-important website has a terrific new look is Laura Ingraham. For the next week, she'll be holding a very special fundraising auction on her web page. To benefit The Wounded Warrior Project and Fisher House, Laura Ingraham is auctioning off the red jacket that Sarah Palin wore on the cover of her book "Going Rogue." Palin joined Ingraham on the air to kick off the launch (FREE audio).

Mark Levin

On March 5, Mark Levin will deliver a lecture at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library in Simi Valley, Calif. He'll also be signing copies of his mega-selling book "Liberty and Tyranny."

Levin took up the cause of a Medal of Honor winner who'd been told to take down his American flag by his homeowners' association. Thanks to Levin's efforts, even the White House weighed in on the issue, and midweek, the association relented. Levin shared the veteran's stirring Medal of Honor citation on the air (FREE audio).

Hugh Hewitt

On Wednesday, Hewitt spoke to his "favorite Senator," Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., "who's been fighting the good fight against Obamacare for as long as they've been pushing it."

Kyl called Obamacare "the most dangerous domestic thing that has occurred … in my 20-some years here in the U.S. Congress. I will do everything I can to defeat it, as will all of my colleagues."

Later in the week, Mark Steyn joined Hugh to talk about Obama's Nobel speech, Climategate and the Queen Mother, who apparently never got over being kissed on the lips by Jimmy Carter.

Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager talked about "The Key to Happiness and Goodness" as part of the latest "class" in his Prager University, the ever-growing online series that distills lots of wisdom into brief, educational and enlightening videos (FREE video).

On Thursday, Prager asked listeners, "Does your house belong to you and your spouse or does it belong to your kids? If there are toys everywhere and there is little or no 'adults only' space, then the answer is the latter."

Prager explained why this isn't a good situation for couples or their children.

Dennis Miller

Miller's impressive roster of guests this week included John Stossel, Michael Medved and Bill Bennett. The undisputed highlight was his bracing two-part talk with "switched-on cat" Lord Christopher Monckton, one of the leading critics of the great "global warming" scam. No wonder Al Gore won't debate this man (two FREE audio clips, here and here).

On the left side of the dial

The lowlight on the left side of the dial this week had to be Ed Schultz's bizarre characterization of Tiger Woods as a "victim." Schultz also advised Woods to preemptively shred all his lucrative endorsement contracts before his sponsors could fire him.

Schultz has always been a liberal Rush Limbaugh wannabe; this glimpse into his lack of business savvy helps show why he never made it to that level.