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Rush Limbaugh profile in NYT magazine

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by SockPuppet, Jul 2, 2008.

  1. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    Not to mention that 4-8 years of pure red meat is on tap for the load. Why should he work?
     
  2. jgmacg

    jgmacg Guest

    So was Father Coughlin.
     
  3. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    . . . the closest modern parallel. And Coughlin's run was not indefinite, to put it mildly.
     
  4. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Some interesting takeaways from a decent (and subtle) profile.

    *The rejection of higher education. The trinity of current conservative thought - Limbaugh, Hannity and Rove - loathed college. What do you make of that? Compare it to O'Reilly, who went back to Harvard, no less, in the middle of his life. And before everyone here gets snide, don't act like you didn't learn more in one month on the job than you did in four years of j-classes.

    *That moment where Limbaugh chose to keep at his craft instead of becoming a potato chip salesman. Had he taken that second path, where would he be? Would he have kids? Still have a first marriage? Where would America be?

    *The repeated use of the word "conservative" as juxtaposed to Limbaugh's behavior and quotes. What, really, is "conservative" about the man?

    * I was very happy to see Limbaugh bring up the ads, because his show is chock full of them. At least he admits where his success lies. Interesting that his shows actually owns five minutes of time per hour…<i>just for ads</i>! The article is incorrect in claiming Limbaugh talks for three hours…it's much closer to an hour and 45 minutes. That's how stuffed his show is with ads.

    This is the real dirty secret of talk radio - I'm not even sure how dirty it is, really. Ratings are nothing compared to ads. I've often speculated that Cowherd, as an example, must be a wizard out in the affiliate field at drumming up ad support, because his show is a miserable cur that would get wiped by any number of hosts…if they worked for ESPN.
     
  5. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    Oh come on, a man of conviction. Men of conviction don't (admittedly!) spend 15 years of their national radio career courting affection where it won't be found. Limbaugh frankly admitted he was a man chasing after empty treasures; that's part of why he had a drug addiction. With the cars and the house, I'd say it's still happening.

    He's a man of opinion, yes.

    Conviction? I tend to judge that by one's actions, not their words.
     
  6. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    He's something . . .

    Married three times . . . 2 1/2 years . . . 7 years . . . 10 1/2 years.

    No kids.
     
  7. Pastor

    Pastor Active Member

    As to "not backing down"... well, I have never seen him debate anyone. He routinely cuts off callers and will never go on another program that will challenge him.

    So, I guess, when you say that he "never backs down" you mean that he never really stood up to begin with.
     
  8. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Damn the gays for destroying sanctity of marriage!
     
  9. tonysoprano

    tonysoprano Member

    Wait, why should he go on someone else's show when liberals don't come on his? What's the point for either side? Heck, at least it's an even playing field. Second, by backing down, I meant whenever he stomps on toes and ruffles the feathers of the esteemed P.C. police, you don't see him issuing some apology just cause Pelosi, Reid, Sharpton, et. al are offended. That is conviction. Again, don't veer off track here and go on some rant about WHAT he believes. I mean, I can't stand Jeremiah Wright, Bill Clinton, Barbra Streisand or Tim Robbins (and many others), but I admire them for at least not apologizing for what they think.
     
  10. Calvin Hobbes

    Calvin Hobbes Member



    Actually, I have heard him routinely instruct his screeners to move "liberal" callers to the front of the line, and then give them time to explain their positions.

    Now, if you consider disagreeing with those callers and explaining why to be "cutting them off," then yes, he cuts them off.

    I'm not a routine listener, but I will say this: I've never heard Limbaugh cut off callers or hang up on them the way some hosts do.
     
  11. Birdscribe

    Birdscribe Active Member

    This is a circular argument.

    If he's so correct in his beliefs; if he has such conviction in his "ideas", then he should have no problem defending them in the marketplace of ideas.

    That said (and mixing threads for a moment), it was a wise business decision for Premiere to ink him to another mongo contract. The guy is a cowardly, drug-addled bully -- and the Father Coughlin analogies are dead-on nails; I've been saying that for years -- but he pulls a number and has an audience.

    This is a great point... and one reason that outside of the all-news station here in LA, why I don't listen to terrestrial radio anymore.

    I used to listen to John&Ken on KFI here in LA. But with all the commercials, the show was disjointed and frankly, unlistenable. Right when they'd get going on an interesting topic... BANG, off to 8 minutes of commercials.
     
  12. tonysoprano

    tonysoprano Member

    Bird - I agree, it is circular. But fact is - His core audience wants to hear what he has to say, then express their views, and he makes a killing off attracting those people.

    I was actually surprised - I really enjoyed the article. And I liked the fact that it didn't paint this perfect image, either. He's a flawed human just like the rest of us, and there's lots more about him I learned for the first time. Often polarizing figures like this make for really good stories.
     
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