Don’t Even Try to Replace the Irreplaceable. Retire the Golden Mic.

 

A lot of keyboards are busy today either celebrating the life and career of the estimable Rush Limbaugh or are celebrating his death. You know, the usual blue-checkmark accounts on Twitter engaging in the exercise. I will spend little time on the latter. I do not wish to show any respect to the secular cretins among us who celebrate anyone’s death.

We all remember “firsts” in our lives. Certain political memories, among others (this is a family blog) stick with us forever, such as the JFK assassination. The days that Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan were shot. And for those living in Washington, DC back in 1982, the Air Florida Flight 90 crash on the 14th Street Bridge. Hours later, on the same day, DC’s once-vaunted Metro system experienced their first-even subway crash at the beginning of the afternoon rush hour. Lenny Skutnick’s life-saving heroics in the Potomac River that cold winter morning still lives on in my memory. Trump’s surprise election night victory four years ago is clearly another.

I also remember the first time I tuned into Rush Limbaugh on the radio. It was in late April 1989, and I’d just started a new job. I had long been fascinated with news/talk radio, which had no personalities in those days. Just lots of open line time for average folks to opine on certain issues. I would listen for hours to WRC AM980 radio in DC during the early ’80s.

But on that April day, 1989, while setting up my puny office radio one morning, I stumbled onto this radio talker who was different, on a small AM station in DC, WNET. I think it was AM950. This guy was different. Thoughtful, insightful. He talks like I think, I remember. I bet some of you said the same thing. I called a few friends to ask if they were following him (few were then, but that changed). Thus launched a new genre of terrestrial radio. Rush Limbaugh not only created the modern talk radio industry, he saved AM radio, which had been in serious decline for many years. His show spread like wildfire across the United States. He took first place for the largest audience in radio and rarely if ever, looked back.

He built a special relationship with his audience. It was more than a show. It was a conversation, even an audio classroom. One-sided, to be sure, but Rush had the additional advantage of being something of an original thinker with a terrific network of other original thinkers and well-placed sources with whom he obviously talked – and carefully protected – during his entire career. Not bad for a guy who’d been fired from a Major League Baseball PR job (Kansas City Royals, if memory serves). He taught me a lot about Rio Linda, California. He brilliantly used humor to mock Democratic politicians. I remember tuning in the day after the November 1994 election as Republicans won control of the US House for the first time in 40 years when he opened his show with the late James Brown’s “I Feel Good.” He did that a few more times on celebratory days.

I also vividly remember the time he broadcast and admitted that he couldn’t hear himself talk. He’d lost his hearing. He walked us through his experience of obtaining cochlear implants, which you can see in the photo. He did much the same with his lung cancer diagnosis. He never sought sympathy; he just wanted to share his journey.

Rush’s empire would expand briefly into two top-selling books, an evening television program, and even a line of “stained glass” neckties that more than a few US Senators sported on occasion (I had one, too). He launched a newsletter. He built quite the empire.

Others quickly followed at different times of the day. Rush largely owned the 12-3 Eastern time slot. Interestingly, others could also prove successful during the same midday slot, perhaps not as well, but still. Think of Dennis Prager of the Salem Radio Network. He has done quite well, with a different style and approach. Speaking of classrooms, he has built the wildly successful “Prager University,” a brilliant series of five-minute instructional and historical videos. If I were homeschooling a child during this pandemic, that child would be spending a lot of time with those videos.

I always found it interesting that Rush was slow to do what others did, like creating a website. He never really converted his show into a podcast, or a series of podcasts, as many other radio talkers do, such as Hugh Hewitt and his “Hughniverse.” Rush always fell back on his pride and joy, the midday slot on terrestrial radio. And it worked for him. He never returned to television or wrote another book (other than a book or two geared to children) after I Told You So.

The key to his success? He never took his core audience for granted. Even when on the attack, he never lost his sense of humor and never failed to leave his listeners without hope. They were his family, extended or otherwise. You will see him referred to as their “radio dad.” His reach and influence were unmatched.

Terrestrial radio has begun to face challenges again, thanks to the advent of “on-demand” podcasting. Like many of you, I actually don’t listen to the radio in real-time much anymore, including SiriusXM. I prefer subscribing to a few podcasts that I can call upon demand via my iPhone and whatever blue tooth headsets or speakers are on hand. Most of the radio apps, like Pandora, now feature podcasts. I also subscribe to more podcasts than I can keep up with. Hewitt’s show is one. My friend, Chris Stigall, who appears on early morning terrestrial radio in both Philadelphia (AM990) and Kansas City also has a separate and wonderful podcast on which he occasionally invites me to appear, is another. I’m a fan of Marc Thiessen’s and Danielle Pletka’s “What the Hell is Going On” podcast from the American Enterprise Institute. Dan Bongino, Ben Shapiro, and others have built estimable and successful enterprises with loyal audiences. Another friend at Philadelphia’s WPHT, Rich Zeoli, converts most of his terrific and often humorous segments into podcasts. There are others too numerous to mention here. And that’s just within the conservative political genre. There are so many more. The iTunes podcast store is huge.

Rush started it all.

But let’s be clear: Yes, Rush is irreplaceable. His time slot will be filled by one of many talented broadcasters across the airwaves, probably more than one. The EIB “Golden Microphone” should be retired. Would you want to be constantly compared to Rush, every day? Not me. But the industry will continue to evolve, and no one is likely to emerge – nor can – the way Rush did to the pinnacle of his profession. He is our “Old Major,” to borrow from Animal Farm. Others have been picking up his mantle for years and will continue. We move on, but whether you be on The Right or The Left, you should take a moment to honor and respect the person, grudgingly if you must, who launched an industry that has truly influenced America, if not the world, in remarkable ways.

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There are 14 comments.

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  1. Mark Camp Member
    Mark Camp
    @MarkCamp

    Kelly,

    This was a fine piece of writing and a very apt memorial to a great man. Thx.

    Camper

    • #1
  2. Poindexter Inactive
    Poindexter
    @Poindexter

    Great post.

    Ol’ Rush…he did alright.

    • #2
  3. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Kelly D Johnston: Rio Linda, California.

    For those of you in Rio Linda.

    💞

    • #3
  4. The Scarecrow Thatcher
    The Scarecrow
    @TheScarecrow

    Good piece, thank you.

    Rush was the best of what he did, and that’s what he wanted to be. Mission accomplished.

    But along the way, he both generated and brought together a huge following of like-minded fans, interested in his take on politics and our American culture, its beauty and its promise. Its promise, ironically, given all his detractors, to actually make the world a demostrably better place.

    Everybody dies. Rush today, you and me someday soon. While we still have time, what are we going to do? To best honor this man, and all he did, and did for us, we should take up his banner and march forth with courage and confidence, and steer America back to her foundation: liberty for all, personal responsibility, the rights of the individual over the collective, with malice toward none, and charity for all.

    He did his part, and brilliantly. He has earned his rest, and his next adventure. Now it’s our turn to take up his mantle and go see what we can make from his lead and inspiration.

    • #4
  5. RushBabe49 Thatcher
    RushBabe49
    @RushBabe49

    Limbaugh’s Army!  Fighting the Left’s War on America!

    From my personal blog, Calling-all-RushBabes:

    https://rushbabe49.com/2021/02/17/grief-my-hero-is-gone/

    • #5
  6. namlliT noD Member
    namlliT noD
    @DonTillman

    Kelly D Johnston: But let’s be clear. Yes, Rush is irreplaceable. His time slot will be filled by one of many talented broadcasters across the airwaves, probably more than one. The EIB “Golden Microphone” should be retired.

    Indeed, Rush is irreplaceable.  No question there.

    But as a giant in radio, he would want others to stand on his shoulders. 

    • #6
  7. Kelly D Johnston Inactive
    Kelly D Johnston
    @SoupGuy

    namlliT noD (View Comment):

    Kelly D Johnston: But let’s be clear. Yes, Rush is irreplaceable. His time slot will be filled by one of many talented broadcasters across the airwaves, probably more than one. The EIB “Golden Microphone” should be retired.

    Indeed, Rush is irreplaceable. No question there.

    But as a giant in radio, he would want others to stand on his shoulders.

    And I think he would agree that many already are. And he was proud of their success, even contributing to it where he could. 

    • #7
  8. Stad Coolidge
    Stad
    @Stad

    We lost a giant . . .

    • #8
  9. The Cynthonian Inactive
    The Cynthonian
    @TheCynthonian

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    Limbaugh’s Army! Fighting the Left’s War on America!

    From my personal blog, Calling-all-RushBabes:

    https://rushbabe49.com/2021/02/17/grief-my-hero-is-gone/

    What a lovely tribute, @rushbabe49.  We knew the day would come, but it’s still hard to believe.   Keep the faith, my friend!

    • #9
  10. carcat74 Member
    carcat74
    @carcat74

    That golden microphone should go in the Museum. Did you notice the EIB cufflinks in the cartoon?

    • #10
  11. Eugene Kriegsmann Member
    Eugene Kriegsmann
    @EugeneKriegsmann

    I would not say that I was a fan. I listened to Rush when I was driving mostly. I liked him, enjoyed his humor, but sometimes felt like he was a bit over the top. When he reported his cancer diagnosis I was saddened. I had lost an old friend a bit earlier, and knew the course of the disease. Even though I only listened to Rush occasionally, I was glad that he was around to kick the left in their collective groin. He was, certainly, a force of nature, a truly remarkable man. I will miss him. Like Andrew Breitbart, the loss of Rush will be a deep unhealing wound in the conservative movement.

    • #11
  12. Tennessee Patriot Member
    Tennessee Patriot
    @TennesseePatriot

    Remember “Rush Rooms”? Lunch spots and diners that would advertise you could hear Rush while you ate lunch? 

    I have listened much less to him over the years, but always especially enjoy it when Mark Steyn is a guest host. I have an unlikely hope that he will take over the microphone.

    • #12
  13. Eugene Kriegsmann Member
    Eugene Kriegsmann
    @EugeneKriegsmann

    RushBabe49 (View Comment):

    Limbaugh’s Army! Fighting the Left’s War on America!

    From my personal blog, Calling-all-RushBabes:

    https://rushbabe49.com/2021/02/17/grief-my-hero-is-gone/

    That is a truly wonderful tribute to a great man who you obviously loved. 

    • #13
  14. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Thanks Kelly.  I agree.  He is irreplaceable.  I don’t know what we’re going to do without him.  

    • #14
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