Connect with us
Barrett News Media Summit 2024

News Radio

Radio Lost a Legend Who Saved The Industry and Kicked Cancel Culture’s Ass In The Process

Rush Limbaugh found a way to invest in the industry he loved, and in doing so, saved/created jobs within the AM radio frequencies that without Rush’s methodology, could have been wiped off the map entirely.

Chrissy Paradis

Published

on

Photo by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0.

Other shows cut off their nose to spite their own face in much of the panicked rushing around desperate to check the best box from the options listed when picturing their audience and their P1s—rather than utilizing Rush Limbaugh’s approach of making a new demographic that encompasses everything and everyone. No limited multiple choice confines and always includes the loyal audience’s best interest in mind, eliminating imposed pressures, unreasonable expectations on his audience as they tuned in from offices all over the country.

Rush chose to pave the way for a show that made room for all—inclusive to listeners of all ages, political affiliations, genders, ethnicities, and when paired with his history making midday time slot, the sky was the limit for El Rushbo.

Former President Donald Trump took the time to join Sean Hannity last night and weighed in on the kind of human being Rush was, his decision to honor Rush during his presidency and if nothing else, listening to or watching one of these exchanges would be significant to your understanding of the potential future for the broadcast industry—radio, in particular, and save yourself the time in locating Hannity speaking with Trump about his familiarity with syndicated radio and now, syndicated news talk radio, suggesting that the next stop on his tour may be pursuing a career behind the microphone.

“You would ask, ‘why are radio numbers so massive?’ I knew you knew radio, but you were surprised, there wasn’t this competitive thing going on. And I said, ‘There’s no competition. There’s nobody in his league.’” Hannity said to President Trump about the dynamic that allowed Rush to effortlessly dominate the format and daypart for three decades. 

“You’re right, I mean radio’s big stuff and he made it that way. He was the king. By the way, congratulations, I looked at some numbers and you do real well on the radio, but you’d be the first one to say that he was there first.” Trump replied.

“He was there first and he was a brilliant guy. He could do things that a lot of people couldn’t do. He could just talk for three hours, no phone calls, no anything—just talk, and everybody found it spellbinding,” Trump said about Rush Limbaugh’s presence on the airwaves.

“The loyalty of his audience was just incredible. It was staggering. Nobody had seen anything quite like it.” Trump said as the interview reached its conclusion.

“I know you said that in the months ahead that you have a lot that you want to tell us… I have a funny feeling that we’re going to hear a lot more from Donald Trump. Are my instincts correct?” Hannity closed the interview with the question that had been building.

“Well there’s a lot to talk about and our country is a great place and we’re going to make it even greater as the expression goes. And there’s a lot to talk about. But, today is all about Rush—don’t you think? And what he left behind. He’ll never be forgotten. His impact will never be forgotten.” 

Trump remained tight lipped to Hannity about the future plans and intimated the potential intersection of the contents discussed in this interview.

How do you think former President Trump would fare in a show host position? Would you listen?

It’s been troubling to see the trending hashtags paired with the passing of a radio titan and innovator, truth be told, these recycled posts on social media are laughable when considering the fact they’re admitting to being uneducated about Rush and his program in one sentence and in the next they are regurgitating the first seemingly divisive topic that their search engine could arm them with. In a way, that really highlighted a huge win that Rush managed to secure even in the face of the volatile political landscape. Needless to say, as many cited concerns they had about the kind of content associated with Rush’s program, many landed on similar points of shared contention…dating all the way back to the Clinton administration. All in all, the cancel-culture force was out in full force to ensure they could drive home what a menace to society Rush Limbaugh has been in his career—but they failed miserably because Rush has proven he cannot and will not be cancelled. Look at the facts.

If within hours of his passing and minutes of official news outlets reporting the tragic news, you feel it necessary to go full-on snowflake…refusing to reply to any fact checks done by the loyal EIB audience and media, while still refusing to listen to his program…you simply won’t be able to provide an accurate or reliable account of the content or character and tone of the show. Therefore, your irrational anger is bubbling at the surface and I’d say, your argument collapsed on itself. Rush isn’t holding it against you, that’s what makes the bandwagon outrage and #restinpiss threads even more ineffectual and potentially dangerous.

While I understand the program simply cannot resonate with every single individual, there is a human being who has shared his gift, found a way to invest in the industry he loved, and in doing so, saved and created jobs within the AM radio frequencies that without Rush’s methodology, could have been wiped off the map entirely.

I believe human beings and those who share this kind of love for radio, could find a way to locate the basic human empathy and respect for patriotic excellence as tens of millions mourn the loss of a beloved husband, friend, legend and recipient of The Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The beautiful memories and messages shared about listening to Rush as a child and how it became what was the catalyst for the pursuit of success have been incredibly refreshing to see. The nasty comments are unavoidable, however there is a lot of history to consider before jumping to attack on Rush—he always prevails in the face of criticism, he will always be the first person to effectively beat and thrive amid the cancel culture society…a mentality that is even more vitriolic than ever as so many people are fixated on instant gratification that goes hand in hand with hours of attempted viral mudslinging in the direction of the proverbial wall of social media.

The cancel culture that reignited a fire for Rush Limbaugh where he fought against moral and ethical repugnance while in a battle with stage IV cancer, and Rush won. Rush Limbaugh went toe to toe and his victory over the looming threats of cancel culture are woven into his legacy—bookended by his bravery and conquering spirit. Heroes get remembered, legends never die—as both a hero and legend, Rush Limbaugh’s presence will feel palpable to many. There’s one thing that cannot be argued; Rush kicked cancel-culture’s ass and that is amazing, poetic and undoubtedly a display of the strength and moral compass inside him.

Subscribe To The BNM Rundown

The Top 8 News Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox every afternoon!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Deb

    February 18, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    Another excellent written piece! ❤️👏

  2. Deb

    February 18, 2021 at 9:01 pm

    Another excellent written piece! ❤️👏

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

News Radio

Dana Loesch: Like Ronna McDaniel, ‘I Like to Go Where the Fight Is’

“Sometimes it’s not about winning the battle, but planting the seed is the victory, right? So that’s how I look at stuff.”

Barrett News Media

Published

on

A photo of Dana Loesch
(Photo: Dana Loesch)

Former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel is no longer a contributor at NBC News after intense internal backlash. Dana Loesch believes that while McDaniel wasn’t a successful political leader, she had the right intentions with her media aspirations.

During The Dana Show, Loesch argued that she was upset about the reactions from MSNBC hosts that ultimately led to McDaniel’s departure, saying she never wanted to be in a position of supporting the former RNC chair.

“I’m mad because I feel like these people are putting me in a position where I’m defending her,” said Loesch. “And that makes me mad because I don’t want to defend her. I think that she was an incompetent RNC head.”

However, she pushed back on the idea that Ronna McDaniel made a mistake by partnering with a liberal cable outlet like MSNBC to begin with.

“People are like, ‘Well, her first mistake was going to MSNBC.’ I disagree. I like to go where the fight is,” Loesch revealed. “I was one of the first token conservative contributors at CNN back in this was like 2011, 2012, 2013. Yeah, you kind of know that most of the people hate you. But you do have a couple of allies.

“I like to go where the fight is. Because sometimes it’s not about winning the battle, but planting the seed is the victory, right? So that’s how I look at stuff. I’ve never shied away from — clearly — going into any arena, literally or anywhere else. So I don’t fault her for going to MSNBC.”

Dana Loesch concluded by positing that the money for McDaniel’s contract — reported to be $300,000 per year — was an impressive figure because most contributors are only paid around $75,000.

Subscribe To The BNM Rundown

The Top 8 News Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox every afternoon!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

News Radio

Dom Giordano: Joe Rogan Needs to Remember He’s an Entertainer And Stay Away From ‘Dangerous’ Topics

Giordano called Rogan a “major, major figure who I think is insane in what he’s saying here and doesn’t have a thumbnail knowledge of anything.”

Barrett News Media

Published

on

A photo of Dom Giordano
(Photo: 1210 WPHT)

Popular podcaster Joe Rogan has never been afraid to wade into controversial topics or interview less-than-desirable guests on his podcast. 1210 WPHT host Dom Giordano believes it might be time for him to start.

In a recent podcast episode, Rogan claimed he believed Israel’s treatment of citizens in Gaza since the October 7th terrorist attacks from Hamas has bordered on genocide. He sat idly by as a guest equated the situation to that of the Allied Forces bombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II, which killed an estimated 25,000 people.

Rogan claimed the message would be “We’re basically saying genocide is ok as long as we’re doing it.”

After hearing those comments, Dom Giordano admonished Rogan.

“Look, I get Joe Rogan’s prominence, but this is a dangerous area. The guy throwing Dresden — and a lot of listeners might remember that the firebombing of Dresden — the allies took it out. They did. I forget how many people were killed. World War II was not pretty. That, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, but it was exactly the moral thing to do,” said Giordano. “That’s exactly what needed to be done. So we’re not committing genocide here and then blaming the other side.”

Giordano called Rogan a “major, major figure who I think is insane in what he’s saying here and doesn’t have a thumbnail knowledge of anything…he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about here.”

Subscribe To The BNM Rundown

The Top 8 News Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox every afternoon!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

News Radio

Buck Sexton: NBC News Paying Contract of Ronna McDaniel is Nothing Compared to Megyn Kelly

“$600,000 for them is a rounding error. The amount of money these corporate news outlets can put toward stupid decision making — in both of those cases firing talent — is remarkable in and of itself.”

Barrett News Media

Published

on

A photo of Buck Sexton and the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show logo
(Photo: Premiere Networks)

NBC News severed its ties to former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel after intense internal backlash. Radio host Buck Sexton says paying out her contract will be a simple one for the network, especially after what it paid to Megyn Kelly.

In 2018, Kelly insinuated it was ok for people to wear blackface as long as they were impersonating a black character. The subsequent backlash led to her departure from NBC News, with the outlet paying her the rest of her contract.

A similar situation unfolded with Ronna McDaniel, who has signed a reported two-year, $600,000 contract with the network to serve as a political analyst after resigning from her role with the Republican National Committee earlier this month.

After her hiring, many at MSNBC and inside the NBC News organization pushed back against the idea of hiring someone who had been intensely critical of the mainstream media, and also touted lies about the validity of the 2020 Presidential election until joining the network as a contributor.

NBC News Chairman Cesar Conde revealed it was his decision to end the relationship with Ronna McDaniel.

“I want to personally apologize to our team members who felt we let them down. While this was a collective recommendation by some members of our leadership team, I approved it and take full responsibility for it,” he wrote in an internal memo to staffers.

After the news of McDaniel’s departure became official, The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show began the show with the topic, leading Sexton to argue this isn’t the first time NBC News has been in this position.

“They did it. They actually fired the former RNC chair. I think she did one interview. The reports are they’re gonna pay her $300,000 for both of the years of her contract. For NBC, that’s nothing. Remember, NBC had to pay out Megyn Kelly’s contract a while ago at like $70 million or something,” said Buck Sexton. “$600,000 for them is a rounding error. The amount of money these corporate news outlets can put toward stupid decision making — in both of those cases firing talent — is remarkable in and of itself.”

At the time of her exit from NBC News, it was reported Megyn Kelly would receive $30 million from the outlet.

Co-host Clay Travis argued that while listeners of the show may not be big fans of McDaniel, people should be concerned about the treatment of Trump supporters. “They aren’t interested in talking to half the country,” he posited.

Subscribe To The BNM Rundown

The Top 8 News Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox every afternoon!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Advertisement
Advertisement

Upcoming Events

BNM Writers

Copyright © 2024 Barrett Media.