|
Edited on Thu Oct-02-03 04:22 AM by IMRadioactive
To say I've been waiting for this day for 15 years is an understatement. This story begins in August, 1988, I was a Talk Radio host...a supposed "up and comer"...I had incredible ratings at my station and worked my way to afteroons on a big 50,000 "blowtorch"...an old station that had just switched from music to talk.
I thought this was my big break to be the next Larry King (he WAS the King at that time) and I really enjoyed the give and take of a good political discussion...playing devil's advocate and using the airwaves as a large town forum each afternoon. And I know listeners enjoyed it, too...I definitely know the advertisers did.
When I arrived at this big station, I met the "consultant" who was going to re-shaping this greying old AM station into something "exciting". His concept was to create a talk radio similar to Top 40...make it fast, hot and loud. You find controversy and then rile up the callers. "Nobody wants to listen to someone who agrees with what you said, you need to take them a step further". If that meant creating a controversy that didn't exist or exagerate an issue and stir things up. OK, I thought, even though that wasn't my style or concept, I'd adapt, and this was a multi-million dollar consultant telling me this.
Part of the "make-over" of the station was being one of the first affiliates for the new Rush Limbaugh show, being syndicated by Westwood One (BTW EIB is a fabrication...there is no such network). I got an introduction to Rush by the consultant who said he had just been brought in from Sacramento and was "something else". He sure was. I could tell within the first listen, this guy was definitely doing a lot of shtick and showbiz...and then I listened closer and could't believe the venom behind the shtick. This was during the '88 campaign and his attacks on Dukakis, Kennedy, Democratic Congress and Feminist groups were just getting rolling. Actually, I didn't hear anything I considered racist in his ramblings, that came later.
Rush's show was slated before mine...sandwiched between a housewife's show and news. At first there was little response to Rush, but soon, the station started getting calls...mostly negative, but the consultant told the station manager this was natural for the first few months, but things would change. In the meantime, I got the "butt end" of those who were getting pissed at what Rush was saying. For a bit I tried to give listeners an hour following Rush to refute what he was saying or defend it (the refute was always 3 or 4 to 1 ovef the defends). Management, and especially the consultant didn't like it. And to my glee, I was drawing good numbers in at my new station in my new time slot. I won the time period (no big deal when your station is 10 times that of your competitors), but with a sharp increase over a year earlier...I thought things would work out.
At a staff meeting the station's Program Director approached me (we never hit it off) and said they wanted to give the new Midday shows a boost and would I interview Rush on my program. You can tell how old this is since Rush wouldn't dare pop on an afffiliate unfiltered...and I'm probably the reason why. I agreed to having Rush on and could't wait to pop a few of his questions back at him.
I was able to chat with Rush for nearly 2 hours that afternoon...on and off the air (we had at least 20 minutes of commercials and another 10 of news, so we chatted radio biz and so on). Personally, anyone whose met Rush can tell you he's very charming, humorous and far from some evil monster. In fact, I asked him in our off air exchange how he got into this gig...and he was honest and said how he saw that when he pissed off liberals the phones would light up...first with anti-callers and then with supporters. Rush was right.
On the air that day, I asked Rush direct "Is it the role of a Radio Talk Show host to support or even further a political agenda?" Rush said, "Of course No!". (Insert laughter here). In fact he was very defensive that afternoon as several of my callers took advantage and grilled him about his comments and at that time his "empherical sayings" (I forgot how many he said he accumulated) and his "brain on loan from god" charge...those didn't go over well with the generally socially conservative audience...but those fine folks got swept away...as Rush and the consultant predicted.
Yes, I have a tape of that interview (including our off air segements). Over the years I've been asked, begged and offered $$$ for a copy of the tape and I have refused to make a duplicate. I knew a day like this was coming and that the Kharma train would someday make a stop on his head.
Shortly after that Rush interview I got into big problems with station management...especially the consultant and it ended up in a court battle (that I won) but led me out of playing Talk Radio and a year-long living hell as I wasn't able to get a job in radio. Fortunately things are a whole lot better now...except doesn't quite look that way for old Rush.
Many don't understand that the Hated Radio that floods your local stations are there only since they are cheap and draw what remains of a dwindling radio audience...especially during the day. I know I'm not alone that many of us listen to NPR and local public radio for news and talk...stations that don't show up in the ratings thus millions of us are not even counted.
Expect Rush, if this drug thing pans out, to do the mea culpa (Jimmy Swaggart style) and then vanish for a couple months to a drug rehab or some resort and then see him "rehabilitated" ala North, Liddy and now Bennett. Sadly this will endear him even further with his fellow hive-dwellers.
Oh, to end this story on a good note. A couple years ago I ran into that consultant again. He was no longer working with a radio station and was asking ME for a job. Ah, isn't Kharma wonderful?
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
