Limbaugh signs through 2016.. $400 M deal.....

[Bigmack]

Source: Drudge

In what is being described as an unprecedented radio contract, Limbaugh will keep his syndicated show on-the-air and e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e through 2016 with CLEAR CHANNEL and PREMIERE RADIO.

Already host of the most lucrative hours since radio's inception, Limbaugh's total package is valued north of $400 million, according to media insiders.

The NEW YORK TIMES will claim this weekend that Limbaugh, marking 20 years this summer as a national host, has secured a 9-figure signing bonus for the new deal, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE.

Read more: http://www.drudgereport.com/

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Nothing to say.... nothing at all.

[Waya]

1. What a waste of money..............

[JeanGrey]

5. Oh, it's not a waste of money - Limbaugh brings HUGE

revenues. That is why they are paying him the big bucks.

[mitchum]

18. But I have never understood why the big $$$$ advertsers....

auto companies, McDonald's, tech companies, etc... don't advertise on his show...if he really does draw that many listeners. Instead, it's hair restoration aids, impotence cures, Ruth Crist Steakhouse.
I think the truth is that he's just a loss leader who catapults the propaganda.

[joeglow3]

20. I think in radio

you see a LOT higher number of local commercial breaks (as opposed to national radio breaks). I think the real money comes in from sheer number of syndicated stations.

[JeanGrey]

21. They wouldn't pay him that kind of money if he wasn't

pulling it in.

[Bigmack]

48. Sure they would....

if they were being subsidized by Scaife or Murdock or any of the rightwingnut moneybags.

[deutsey]

11. What a waste of a human being. n/t

[Amonester]

2. (puking) it's almost as big as ExxonMOBil's CEO retirement plan...

wish they'll all go bankrupt

[SpiralHawk]

3. Grossly overpaid draft-dodging republicon chickenhawk propagandist

Ptooey...

Limbaugh's experience is a beacon to young republicon chickenhawks everywhere -- proving to them that if you use an Ass Pimple to dodge the draft, as Limbaugh did, talk loudly, and hold your hand out, republicon fat cats will drop Mega CashMoneyBucks into your paw to get you to spout messages of hate and division in support of phony, so-called 'conservative' ideas that are essentially radical and opposed to everything good, noble, and American.

Ptoooey.

[fasttense]

4. How appropriate for a drug addict to be named Rush. n/t

[paparush]

16. My name is Rush, and the first word's out of everyone's mouth when I first meet them are-

"Oh, like Rush Limbaugh"

Me: "Um...nooooooo"

((insert awkward silence here))

[izquierdista]

6. What a wonderful thought!

Limbaugh signs. All he does is sit behind the microphone, doing his show in American Sign Language! :rofl:

That would be a wonderful silence. And since I don't understand ASL, even with my eyes open, his show would become tolerable.

[johnlal]

7. He must have lost his hearing again. n/t

[nxylas]

8. What's the median age of his listeners?

Are they all ancient, like O'Reilly's viewers. If so, he's likely to lose a lot of them through, ahem, natural wasteage by 2016, and I don't see the Obama generation lining up to replace them. I think whoever offered Limpballs that contract is going to have buyer's remorse by the end of it.

[ChazII]

12. Good point.

When he first started out some businesses even had Rush rooms. Do they even exist anymore? His advertisers will regret this move,

[JeanGrey]

22. Are you kidding? Baby Boomers are retiring in droves

and there will be MILIONS of them. They won't be anywhere near gone by 2016!!

[classysassy]

33. IQ

I would like to know the average IQ of his listeners(mega morons))

[nxylas]

38. The sad thing is, I know some intelligent people who listen to his show

IQ tests only show how good you are at solving puzzles. A high IQ is no guarantor of the ability to think for yourself without the need for an authoritarian father figure to tell you what your opinions are.

[DrFever]

58. Rush listener here. for the record, my I.Q. is 148.

Just for reference, Einstein was at 160.

[comtec]

59. so why do you listen

and how much of it do you actually believe?
if you are a true believer, what the hell are you doing here!?

[pattmarty]

9. "What a country"

[deutsey]

10. Perhaps the long arc of the universe doesn't bend toward justice after all.

:evilfrown:

[miles 2 go]

13. Damn, I knew gas was high but

that's crazy.

[VWolf]

31. LOL That's DUZY-worthy!

[LeftinOH]

14. Talk radio is to 21st century media what the SUV is the US auto industry...moribund, but

immediately profitable.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

15. Hatemongering is very lucrative, apparently.

[madrchsod]

17. that`s a lot of steel buildings......

[mitchum]

19. That will pay for a lot of sex with teenage boys

[Buenaventura]

29. And a considerable amount of Oxycontin, I'm lookin' forward

to the meltdown! :)

[ThePowerofWill]

23. I don't see it.

I live in redneck land, and can't even name a single person i know who listens to Rush.

[MullenBank]

61. Holy Fucking Allah Dude

If you are not a college puke then I apologize in advance.

WTF is redneck land? Is it anything like N Word land? Are rural working class whites- you know, the ones that drive trucks and nails and go to church regularly the last group that can be safely pissed on by college pukes? Safely from your keyboard at any rate.

I live in redneck land-- at least I think thats what you would call it although about two thirds of the necks where I live and work are purple- brown when sun burnt. And yes it is such a chore to find good pad thai/ hummus/ dim sum/ micro brew.

OTOH the castratti class constitute a low percentage of the general population, 'round here, anyway.

[Xenotime]

24. WE NEED THE FAIRNESS DOCTRINE NOW!!!!! This is fucked up.

[Indydem]

25. Yes, we should silence Limbaugh! No more free speech on the airwaves!

Same rules apply to AAR and any liberal radio programs.

Assinine idea. We need MORE free speech, more liberal voices. You can't get that through government regulation of free speech.

[FiveGoodMen]

37. Didn't the Fairness Doctrine work the first time around?

Weren't things better before the bully with the most financial backing could inundate the listeners with non-stop hate and disinformation?

[Indydem]

40. "Worked?"

What exactly is your definition of "work?" Limbaugh was still on the air before the fairness doctrine was repealed. He was just "offset" by some weak ass DINO that fulfilled the doctrine.

Reinstating will just chase Rush, Beck, Savage, and O'lielly to satellite radio where there is no government oversight. AM radio stations that carry mixed talk and format will go out of business and conservatives will simply pay the $10 a month to listen to limbaugh.

We don't "win" with the fairnesss doctrine. They will just move to a new format; unless you want to sanitize satellite radio and the internet too.

[FiveGoodMen]

42. Hmmm.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh

1980s

In 1984, Limbaugh returned to radio as a talk show host at KFBK in Sacramento, California, where he replaced Morton Downey, Jr.<5> The repeal of the Fairness Doctrine—which had required that stations provide free air time for responses to any controversial opinions that were broadcast—by the FCC in 1987 meant stations could broadcast editorial commentary without having to present opposing views. Daniel Henninger wrote, in a Wall Street Journal editorial, "Ronald Reagan tore down this wall (the Fairness Doctrine) in 1987...and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the East Germany of liberal media domination." <10>

On August 1, 1988, after achieving success in Sacramento and drawing the attention of a former president of ABC Radio, Edward F. McLaughlin, Limbaugh moved to New York City and began his national radio show. His show debuted just weeks after the Democratic National Convention, and just weeks before the Republican National Convention. The then current U.S. Vice-President, George H.W. Bush, would become the Republican Standard Bearer, and the then current Massachusetts Governor, Michael Dukakis, would become the Democratic Candidate for President. Rush Limbaugh's radio home in New York City was the talk-format station WABC-AM, 770 AM, and continues to this day as his flagship station.<5>

[outofthebox]

26. That would not be the liberal thing to do. We need more freedom, not less.

That door has double action hinges, the best thing to do is leave it closed. Otherwise, it could swing the other way and smack you in the nose.

[Thothmes]

27. Bravo

[Oregone]

32. Freedom of Speech + Free Market = Corporate Tyranny & Monopoly of Ideas

I'm not sure why you aren't getting that point yet. Hurray to freedom. Let's funnel our money and buy Fred Phelps a show.

[Indydem]

39. Your equation is seriously flawed...

It assumes the public will only listen to conservative talk radio.

The equation should read:

Freedom of Speech + Free Market = Free Exchange of the consumer's desired ideas.

Since liberals have started frequenting the advertisers of AAR, they have grown, and thus supported the AAR system more. Thus those who advertise and the advertising body both grow. Unless of course you think AAR is corporate tyranny too.

[Oregone]

41. The supply will be provided to produce the most profits, as well as create/sustain an environment...

...that such profits will continue (regardless of TRUTH and REALITY). Most importantly, the Profits being talked about are more than mere media advertising revenue, being that many of the rich are invested in both media and the military industrial complex. They will control the message/news/commentary, rather than what we consider traditionally to be the "market demand", such that all aspect of their portfolio will be supported (defense, wall street, mortgage investments). The media will and has been tailored to ensure the populace continues to support right-wing ideology that is digging us into this hopeless trench. This is a loosing equation for how to run a properly informed and thinking society--the highest bidder with the most interest shouldn't be able to control what the most people consider 'reality' (such as, 'housing prices will ALWAYS go up', 'now is a great time to invest in the market', 'we need to attack x because they are a danger'). Mass media is becoming a valuable tool of the upper class to continue to increase their wealth gap (with the help of the lower classes), and we are reaching a critical level currently.

That aside,

If you think that the government should do nothing more to ensure that the demand of the market is met (as if thats even really at stake), you may sometimes want to consider what makes up the traditional market (and the highs and lows that societies can reach). Weve seen pictures of hundreds of men, women, and children celebrating around the hanging bodies of black people. Have we not learned the depths of human depravity? If 90% of people were calling for the deaths of Muslims, should we allow a media message dangerously tailored to appeal to those masses? Is there not a responsibility to preserve human order, as well as present fact and reality? Does the "Freedom of Speech" trump all other unenumerated freedoms in a society (including pursuit of happiness, safety, life)?

We throw these ideas around that some men wrote about 200 years so dogmatically. They could never forsee the reality that we live in today, and the new problems that occur. I wonder how people who tout freedom of {whatever} as the ultimate ideal reconcile the fact that less "free" nations seem to be much happier, progressive, and healthier than we are today. What, than I ask, is really important in life?

[fascisthunter]

55. Ownership of the Radio Airwaves + Propaganda Do NOT = Free Speech

It would be free, if we truly had a market so other voices were PERMITTED on the air.

[LeftHander]

28. If people want to buy a house next to river....

I'm just sayin'....

[GCP]

30. And he'll take that as an affirmation of his talent

And how much better he is than the poor people he looks down on.
There is no fairness in the world.

[DS1]

34. Hell, I'd sell out for 1/10th that much money

[skoalyman]

43. I know I would heck for maybe a week or two you could live nicely

on that much money:evilfrown:

[Endangered Specie]

35. The way he talks, I would have figued he gets paid by the word.

[Twitch14]

57. Not word, must be $1 per lie n/t

[MinM]

36. WOW -- Water Carriers are getting much better compensation...

these days. :sarcasm:

[Tommy_Carcetti]

44. Yet he'll be on the radio claiming that he is "just like us"

and still arguing for the economic policies that only benefit people like him.

And sadly, people will buy into it and not question him.

[skoalyman]

46. your right just adds a bigger wedge to the income gap

:radio:

[Oeditpus Rex]

45. How much of that is from the RNC?

[Magleetis]

47. Spewing hate and lies

sure pays well. Says something about our culture doesn't it?

[NashVegas]

49. May As Well Release Michael Vick From Leavenworth, Then

Cause I'm sure he helped bring in a good amount of cash to Atlanta's coffers.

[classysassy]

50. Stop bitching

and stop listening,tune out that evil bastard.

[KansDem]

51. Well, perhaps now we know where some of those missing billions in Iraq went to...

$400,000,000 will buy a lot of Oxycotin, Viagra, and airline tickets to the Dominican Republic.

[Deja Q]

52. Well, now he can afford Oxycontin without needing to cheat in order to get it.

:shrug:

[libodem]

53. Yuck

That's sick. Gross! Disgusting! Flabbergasting!

[fascisthunter]

54. It Would Be Justice if the Man Were Sued for All Of It

that would be justice...

[Canuckistanian]

56. Does that include a Drug Plan?

Because, DAMN those drugs can be expensive.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

60. Giving atheists everywhere a chance to say "I told you so"

...