The Rush Limbaugh Show
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The Rush Limbaugh Show is a nationally syndicated radio talk show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. The show has been known to garner calls from such influential, conservative politicians as Vice President Dick Cheney. The political views espoused on the show have been known to help boost voter turnouts for candidates affiliated with the Republican Party, and Limbaugh's influence has been the subject of much political controversy as a result. Ranking Democratic leaders in Congress, such as former Senator Tom Daschle from South Dakota, have on occasion blamed the Rush Limbaugh show for the partisan and intense political climate in the United States, and for well over a decade and a half some have wanted and called for a left-wing/progressive talk show on AM radio to counter Limbaugh's influence. None has had the reach or the influence of Limbaugh, however, as American talk radio remains dominated by conservative commentators and Limbaugh in particular. Air America Radio is the only major attempt to increase the number of liberal talk show hosts, featuring personalities like Jerry Springer and Al Franken, but it has met with limited success and declared bankruptcy in October 2006 (while still continuing to broadcast).
The Rush Limbaugh Show is distributed nationally by Premiere Radio Networks, a division of Clear Channel. On the air, however, Limbaugh identifies his program as part of the fictional Excellence in Broadcasting Network, or EIB Network, as well as the Limbaugh Institute for Advanced Conservative Studies. His chair is referred to as the "prestigious" "Attila the Hun Chair", and his microphone is referred to as the "Golden EIB Microphone"; as seen in publicity photos and his webcam, his microphone is actually gold-plated.
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[edit] Show airtime
The Rush Limbaugh Show airs on approximately 590 AM radio affiliate stations nationwide, including radio stations that simultaneously broadcast audio streams on the Internet. Limbaugh also hosts his own Internet streaming audio and video broadcast at http://www.rushlimbaugh.com; this broadcast is restricted to members of Limbaugh's “Rush 24/7” service. The show airs live on weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. ET. It is aired from wherever Limbaugh happens to be, either New York City or his home in Palm Beach County, Florida.
[edit] Show format
The show is usually split between call-in segments and monologues by Limbaugh. On very rare occasions, Limbaugh will have guests on his show, though Limbaugh has said that as a rule he does not have guests on his program which differentiates the show from the majority of other talk radio programs on the air.
[edit] Notable guests
In 1992, President George H. W. Bush made an appearance on Limbaugh's show.
In 2006, President George W. Bush, son of President George H.W. Bush made an appearance on Limbaugh's show.
Vice President Dick Cheney has made more than one appearance.
In 2004, President George W. Bush “called in” to a live broadcast during the week of the 2004 Republican National Convention to give a preview of his nomination acceptance speech.
Some of the other individuals who have been a guest on Limbaugh's show include Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, legal scholar Robert Bork, economist Thomas Sowell, 13th North Carolina district Congressional candidate Vernon Robinson, and television writer Joel Surnow, who took calls about events in his show, 24.
[edit] Theme song issue
Almost from the start of his program, Limbaugh used an edited and looped version of the powerful instrumental riff from The Pretenders' “My City Was Gone” as the theme to his show. This song was written by Chrissie Hynde to bemoan the effects of overdevelopment on her native Akron, Ohio. Limbaugh loved the riff, hated the message, and thought he could both attract listeners and annoy opponents by playing it.
When a landmark copyright case was decided in the 1990s, musical artists gained control over their works when performed thematically. Briefly in 1999, Limbaugh was forced to suspend playing the song while negotiating with Hynde. Hynde eventually decided to allow Limbaugh to use it, with Limbaugh paying Hynde approximately $500,000/year which she donates to the animal rights organization PETA. Hynde explained that she doesn't agree with Limbaugh but her parents are big fans.[1]
[edit] Parodies
Sometimes The Rush Limbaugh Show will air political parodies from talented voice humorist Paul Shanklin, in conjunction with a variety of political news examined on the show. These satires range from parodies of well known songs to audio skits in which the voices of politicians are imitated by Shanklin. Such contributions from Paul Shanklin have been aired on the show since 1993, before which the parody contributions were largely from Paul Silhan.
As with most commercial radio programming, The Rush Limbaugh Show has slots allotted for the local affiliates to fill with news segments, weather, and local commercials. The “Rush 24/7” live internet broadcast of the show usually fills these time slots with Shanklin's parodies.
[edit] George Soros ads
Voiced by Johnny Donovan, these are mock commercials that parody left wing 527 groups like Moveon.org by launching absurd and humorous attacks against conservatives already targeted by such organizations. They are almost always ended by “Paid for by George Soros and crazy friends of Nancy Pelosi.” A few of them have the ending "Paid for by George Soros and longshoremen that walk like Hillary Clinton." The most recent of this is a "Public Service Announcement" mocking conservative voters who plan to stay home during the 2006 midterm elections, and ends by saying "Paid for by George Soros. If I had known this would work, I wouldn't have wasted my money on Sheehan."
[edit] Environmentalist wacko picks
Limbaugh will occasionally perform a comedic bit called “environmentalist wacko picks” on his last show prior to the weekend during the NFL season. He predicts the outcome of upcoming football games based on how an environmentalist wacko would assess the teams' mascots. The mascot that is the least offensive to an environmentalist wacko is the projected winner. For example, the Philadelphia Eagles would always be favored over the New York Jets, the Denver Broncos would always be favored over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Carolina Panthers would always be favored over the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears would always be favored over the Kansas City Chiefs.
[edit] Program staff
- "Bo" Snerdly
- The official "program observer." His real name is James Golden, and his exact duties with the program are unclear. From comments Limbaugh has made on the air, it would seem he assists with research as part of preparation for the show and is in the control booth as the show is being broadcast. He co-hosted a Sunday night talk show, James and Joel, on WABC-AM with Joel Santisteban from 1992 to 1998. He is also the former call screener for The Rush Limbaugh Show. Snerdley is pseudonym Limbaugh invented for his call screeners in general, and several have been called so over the years, both male and female. During a show in 2004, Rush was not at the microphone for the last segment of the second hour (it was only about ten seconds), and Snerdly came on instead: "This is Bo Snerdly, Rush will be right back on the EIB network". It was one of the very rare times his voice has been heard on the program.
- Koko
- The Rush 24/7 Internet site webmaster. This is a nickname, given by Limbaugh when Koko put a gorilla suit on for a gag on Limbaugh's TV show.
- Brian
- EIB network broadcast engineer.
- Dawn
- Transcribes caller comments onto a computer screen to aid Limbaugh, who hears via a cochlear implant and therefore can sometimes have difficulties clearly understanding callers
- Haldeman R. “Kit” Carson
- “Chief of staff”. Also known as “H.R.”, he is based in New York, making him the only program staff member not based in West Palm Beach.
- Altamont
- Apparently new to the EIB Network, his duties consist of call screening and board operations, and serving as backup when the others are out or unavailable.
- Johnny Donovan
- Program announcer. He sometimes voices some of Paul Shanklin's parodies.
[edit] Stand-ins for Limbaugh
Every so often, Limbaugh is absent from his show, whether for various personal reasons or because of extended trips. For instance, in early 2005, Limbaugh took a week-long trip to Afghanistan to report on postwar conditions; he's also participated in various celebrity pro-am golf events, especially when he represents his parent company, Clear Channel. On those occasions, Limbaugh allows “EIB certified talkshow hosts” to fill in for him. Typically, these hosts are well-known conservatives, and since Clear Channel acquired the program, they have usually been Clear Channel radio hosts. Some of the hosts that have been used in the past include:
- Mark Belling
- Host of The Mark Belling Late Afternoon show, a radio show on WISN in Milwaukee.
- Mike Rosen
- Host of a radio show on KOA in Denver during the University of Colorado at Boulder controversey with former professor Ward Churchill.
- Matt Drudge
- Editor of the Drudge Report and host of his own Sunday night Clear Channel talk program. He hosted only a few times during the drug controversy.
- Roger Hedgecock
- Former mayor of San Diego, California, and a talk radio host in that market's Clear Channel station. He is currently the most used stand-in, and possibly the most popular.
- Paul W. Smith
- Talk show host from WJR in Detroit, Michigan. He first substituted as host of the show on December 13, 2005.
- Tony Snow
- Current White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush. He sometimes guest hosted during the 90s.
- Tom Sullivan
- A Wachovia Securities financial advisor in the Sacramento area, he hosts a financial program on KFBK in Sacramento, California, the first station to carry Limbaugh's show.
- Mark Steyn
- A Canadian journalist, columnist, and film and theatre critic.
- Dr. Walter E. Williams
- Economics professor, strong proponent of laissez-faire capitalism, and former chair of the Economics Department at George Mason University in Virginia.
On certain holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, when Limbaugh is absent and no substitute is available, a “Best of” show will air.
[edit] Callers
According to Limbaugh, the purpose of the talk show caller is, “to make the host look good.” Usually, the callers are used to introduce a topic which Limbaugh had decided before the show started was newsworthy.
In earlier years the show frequently aired callers who disagreed with Limbaugh's points of view. When it came time to cut end the call, Limbaugh would play his “caller abortion” sound effect: the sound of a vacuum cleaner together with a woman screaming. Later, caller abortions were dropped as a device.
Subsequently, opposing callers became harder to find and Limbaugh would attempt to recruit them over the air, saying “Anyone who disagrees, call and you'll go to the front of the queue.” Due to the broad reach of his program, he gets callers from all points in the political spectrum, but the majority of his callers are his supporters, nicknamed “dittoheads”.
One famous opposing caller to the show was nicknamed “Rita X”. During the administration of the first President Bush, she declaimed on numerous conspiracy theories, including claims that Bush and his administration were going to use a fleet of UFOs to destroy England and commit genocide on African Americans.[2]
On Fridays, Limbaugh relaxes the screening of callers and calls it “Open Line Friday”. On other days of the week, Limbaugh's screeners restrict callers to those discussing topics that Limbaugh has been talking about that day. The criteria are reduced down to “make it sound interesting to the call screener”.
One caller to “Open Line Friday” who drew a lot of attention was a teen by the name of Justin, who called in on December 23, 2005. A Conservative child growing up in a Democratic household, Justin sought advice on how to handle the friction between him and his parents. This call drew a lot of attention from Freepers and was a relatively long call, taking up the majority of the program's third hour.
Limbaugh occasionally grants complimentary Rush 24/7 subscriptions (and sometimes merchandise) to callers who (in his judgement) provide particularly insightful commentary, or otherwise impress him.
[edit] Jargon
Rush Limbaugh uses his own on-air jargon, some of which he invented and some of which he merely popularized.
[edit] Show history
This section details only events which were primarily about the show and not about Limbaugh himself; of course, because Limbaugh and his show are so intertwined, it can be difficult to separate the two. Please see Rush Limbaugh for events in Limbaugh's life which may have impacted the show.
[edit] Radio syndication
In 1984 Rush Limbaugh started as a regular talk show host on AM radio station KFBK in Sacramento, California, after several years of employment with the Kansas City Royals and in the music radio business. Based on his work in Sacramento, Limbaugh was signed to a contract by EFM Media Management. Limbaugh became syndicated on August 1, 1988 through EFM and his show was drawing five million listeners after two years of syndication.[3]
In 1997, Limbaugh's radio syndicator, privately held EFM Media, was acquired by Jacor Communication, a publicly traded company.[4] Later that year, Jacor merged with Premiere Radio Networks.[5] In 1999, Jacor merged with Clear Channel Communications.[6] Currently, Clear Channel Communications through its Premiere Radio Networks subsidiary is the syndicator for Limbaugh's radio show.
[edit] Allegations of advertising abuse
Limbaugh attracted widespread support and attention in 1998 when he complained that some radio stations were shortening his programs by cutting out his dramatic pauses to make room for more commercials.
[edit] Armed Forces Radio controversy
On May 26, 2004, the article “Rush's Forced Conscripts” appeared on the online news and opinion magazine Salon.com. The article discussed the controversy surrounding the fact that American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS), (which describes itself as “[providing] stateside radio and television programming, 'a touch of home', to U.S. service men and women, DoD civilians, and their families serving outside the continental United States”), carries the first hour of Limbaugh's show. Melvin Russell, director of AFRTS, defended Limbaugh's presence, by pointing to Limbaugh's high ratings in the US: “We look at the most popular shows broadcast here in the United States and try to mirror that. [Limbaugh] is the No. 1 talk show host in the States; there's no question about that. Because of that we provide him on our service.” In addition, AFRTS produced a ballot of radio and television shows asking troops worldwide, "Who do you want that we don't at present carry?" The Rush Limbaugh Show was not listed on the ballot, but won the vote as a write-in by the troops. A later poll by Lund Media Research found that a majority of soldiers preferred that talk show programs be replaced by Hip Hop and Rap stations, bringing into question the future of content such as the Rush Limbaugh Show on AFRTS.[1]
Critics have pointed out that other programs, such as the eight-million listener per week Howard Stern show, are absent from AFRTS. Other claims—for example, that there is no political counterbalance to Limbaugh on AFRTS—have been rebutted by Byron York, a columnist for the predominantly conservative National Review: “American military men and women abroad have access, for example, to the talk show of liberal host Diane Rehm … Jim Hightower and CBS News anchorman Dan Rather.” Another political counterbalance to Limbaugh is Harry Shearer, who emphasizes his presence on AFRTS at the end of every episode of his satirical Le Show.
On June 14, 2004, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced an amendment to the 2004 Defense Authorization bill that called for AFRTS to fulfill its stated goal of providing political balance in its news and public affairs programming. The amendment passed unanimously in the Senate. Limbaugh responded by calling the move “censorship”. On his June 17 radio show, he commented that: “This is a United States senator [Tom Harkin] amending the Defense appropriations bill with the intent being to get this program—only one hour of which is carried on Armed Forces Radio—stripped from that network.” The amendment never became law. As of 2005, the first hour of Limbaugh's show is still on AFRTS. Rush Limbaugh visited US forces in Afghanistan in 2005.
This treatment of The Rush Limbaugh Show proved to set a precedent for Congressional debate on AFRTS content. The Ed Schultz show, a liberal talk radio show with over one million listeners a week, was originally scheduled to be broadcast on AFRTS on October 17, 2005. It was subsequently pulled, with some alleging political motivation, which was later debated in Congress. A few weeks after this debate, AFRTS added Schultz to the line-up along with other talk show hosts: Al Franken and Sean Hannity.
[edit] Adopt-a-soldier program
On November 8, 2005, a caller to the program, who claimed to be a former National Guardsman who had been stationed in Egypt in 2003, suggested that Limbaugh start an “Adopt-a-Soldier” program. The concept was that people could buy a year's subscription to the Rush 24/7 premium website and send it to an overseas soldier.[7]
Two days later, Limbaugh announced that, starting on November 14, 2005, he would have an operational “Adopt-a-Soldier” program. U.S. military personnel “anywhere in the world” with a valid military address could register to receive a donated combination subscription to both the Rush 24/7 premium website and the Limbaugh Letter. Each listener could “adopt” as many soldiers as they wish, each of which would get a subscription. The donor pays the discounted price of $49.95. Limbaugh also claimed that he was matching each "adopt-a-soldier" subscription.[8]
Later in the same program, Limbaugh exhorted liberals to join the “Adopt-a-Soldier” program:
- I've got an idea for you liberals. Liberals are always out there saying you “support the troops.” Well, then adopt a soldier! Join the Adopt-a-Soldier program at RushLimbaugh.com if you're a lib and you want to say you support the troops. This is a great way to prove it.[8]
This program has led to some minor controversy, as it has been pointed out that it would cost Limbaugh comparatively little to give soldiers a free subscription, and even less to give them a password to his premium website. Detractors have accused Limbaugh of profiteering from listeners' generosity toward U.S. soldiers, saying that money spent on the subscriptions could be better used to give the troops additional equipment or provide aid to their families.[9]
On November 21, Limbaugh (who had just returned from a week-long vacation) devoted an entire segment of his show to counter the claims that he was profiteering on the Adopt-a-soldier program. He announced that he would match each donor subscription one-for-one. He said that one of the reasons for the donation program was to enable the soldiers to get the full show, since only the first hour was played on AFRTS, and he reminded people of the AFRTS controversy. He also said that one of the reasons for having donations was that, if Limbaugh donated the subscriptions directly, it just shows the soldiers that Limbaugh supports the troops, but the Adopt-a-soldier program allows the American people to show their support for the troops. Additionally, it would help the American people get in contact with the troops, which would also help troop morale.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Really Randoms: Chrissie Hynde, Ricky Martin, Jimmy Page. Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone (1999). Retrieved on August 26, 2005.
- ^ The Triumphant Return of Rita X (subscription only). Rush 24/7. Premier Radio Networks (2002). Retrieved on December 10, 2005.
- ^ Grossberger, Lewis. "The Rush Hours", New York Times, 16 December 1990.
- ^ "Jacor buys `Rush' syndicator", Cincinnati Business Courier, March 18, 1997.
- ^ Jacor Communications, Inc. (June 12, 1997). Jacor Completes Acquisition of Premiere Radio Networks, Inc.. Press release.
- ^ "Clear Channel Deal Backed, With Sales Set", New York Times, 1999-04-27, pp. C11.
- ^ Rush 24/7 Adopt-A-Soldier? (subscription only). Rush 24/4. Premier Radio Networks (2005). Retrieved on 2005.
- ^ a b Rush 24/7 Adopt-A-Soldier (subscription only). Rush 24/4. Premier Radio Networks (2005). Retrieved on 2005.
- ^ Rush Limbaugh's Adopt a Solider Program and Exploitation. RushLimbaughOnline.com (2005). Retrieved on 2005.
