WEBVTT - Neil Boortz and Sean Hannity Remember When 0:00:00.000 --> 0:00:02.400 Alright, news round up in Information Oval at hour. Here's 0:00:02.440 --> 0:00:04.640 a toll free telephone number if you want to be 0:00:04.640 --> 0:00:06.120 a part of the program. It say eight hundred and 0:00:06.160 --> 0:00:08.959 ninety four to one, Sean if you want to join us. So, 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:12.399 we had Matt Towery joining us in Washington, d C. 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:15.440 Yesterday and by the way, we have part two of 0:00:15.440 --> 0:00:16.640 my interview with JD. 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:17.120 Vance. 0:00:17.480 --> 0:00:20.200 We've gotten so much, so much feedback on it. Linda, 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:22.240 did you see all the social media pick up on it? 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:23.040 It was massive? 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:27.040 Oh yeah, people were very excited about that segment and 0:00:27.280 --> 0:00:27.960 Pam Bondi. 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:32.519 We also had and I spend time with RFK Junior 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:35.800 and doctor Oz and they'll join us tonight. 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:38.360 Really really productive day. 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:41.080 I did other things that I can't talk about yet, 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:45.640 and as soon as I can, I will and important things. 0:00:45.720 --> 0:00:48.040 And I'm actually headed back to d C. I have 0:00:48.080 --> 0:00:52.320 another trip planned for reasons that I can't disclose either. Boy, 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:55.840 I'm really sharing a lot with the audience today. But anyway, 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.600 So we had our friend Matt Towery in studio and 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.920 I I was a local radio host in Huntsville, Alabama, 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:06.039 and I got a call one day from Eric Sidell, 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:09.679 better known as Slugo on this program. Still friends with 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:11.880 him to this day, still friends with the owner of 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:15.480 the radio station at the time when I worked in Huntsville. 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:17.679 As a matter of fact, I'm friends with everybody I've 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:21.200 ever worked for. It's crazy and anyway, and I go 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:24.479 to Atlanta. I auditioned for two days and I realized 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:30.080 why I am auditioning because the star radio host in 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:34.000 the market at the time for somewhat thirty years was 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.800 a guy by the name of Neil Bortz, and he 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:42.319 had jump ship from Sidell station, the news Monster we 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:45.800 called it back in the day, to what he referred 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:49.320 to affectionately as the ex wife, to another station, and 0:01:51.400 --> 0:01:55.400 I got hired over after the two day audition. Little 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.760 did I know I was going up against a monster 0:01:58.000 --> 0:02:00.560 in the market, but it was an originally not planned 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:02.800 to be that. So I told this whole story yesterday. 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:08.240 This is like old school, old fashioned hardcore deep in 0:02:08.320 --> 0:02:12.640 the paint, you know, radio war days. And I learned 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:16.079 a lot from Neil, and I have to give him 0:02:16.080 --> 0:02:19.480 credit because I'm better as if I'm any good at 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:23.440 Paul Radio, in part is because I would listen to 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:26.800 Neil and I knew that my career was being threatened 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:31.240 every day. Long story short. He initially went over to 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:35.239 the news station and was going up against Russia twelve 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:39.400 to three. And then one day, my first day I'm 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.120 going on vacation. I'm driving a Hartsfield Airport and I 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:44.880 turn on Neil and I listen to him. Tell me, Sean, 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:46.840 I know you're listening to this program. And I'm like, 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:49.919 how and how the hell does this man know I'm 0:02:49.960 --> 0:02:53.000 listening to his program and I was, and I listened 0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:55.520 the whole way and he's like, well, your phone's about 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:57.560 to ring and it's gonna be slug and Slugo is 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.520 going to tell you to come back and not go 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.839 on vacation, because starting Monday morning, I was on nine 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.920 to noon at eight forty five, he was going to 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:10.920 get a fifteen minute jump on me. I'm going back 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.959 to my old time slot and I'm taking my audience 0:03:14.040 --> 0:03:18.000 back with me, and I'm listening to this. I then 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.640 arrive at Hartsfield all Slugo say I'm coming back. He 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:24.359 didn't have to call me. I called him. He would 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:28.440 not allow me to come back. I didn't have I 0:03:28.520 --> 0:03:32.320 had no power to fight him because I was still new, 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.880 fresh to the market and it was the worst vacation 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.240 of my life, worst week of my life. And that 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.920 began a series of radio wars. And then one day 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.480 I'm driving into work. It's six fifteen in the morning, 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.040 and I tuned into Neil's station just to see what 0:03:47.040 --> 0:03:47.840 they're talking about. 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:48.840 It's six fifteen. 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:52.640 Not only was Neil there, he telegraphed his entire show, 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.960 and he had read every newspaper, knew every news story, 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:59.240 and I was just driving to work. I hadn't done 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:04.320 any work yet. I was never ever late to work again. 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.000 I was there at five o'clock every day, and I 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:09.600 would tune in and he would telegraph his show every 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.760 day at six fifteen. I'd take notes, and if he 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:14.600 was going to be talking about a topic he didn't 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:17.719 do many guests I did. I'd find the guest that 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.080 he would be talking about at the beginning of his show, 0:04:20.360 --> 0:04:22.960 and you had a choice. You can hear the people directly, 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:25.279 or you could listen to Neil talk about the people 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.920 that were in my studio anyway. So it was kind 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.279 of a fun radio story. The irony of all of 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:36.839 this is we became really close friends. Even you know, 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.960 I was only there four years, but he swears he 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:42.280 ran me out of town to the Fox News channel. 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:46.040 Kind of a joke. But we became really good friends. 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:48.920 We'd even talk to each other in breaks. We had 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:52.440 a very both were very competitive, but we had respect. 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:54.240 I think we had respect for each other. I certainly 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:58.320 respected him, and if I didn't learn that, I had 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:01.600 to work harder. I don't think I'd be here today. 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.440 And it's a pleasure to welcome back my dear friend, 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:08.320 Neil Boorts. How are you, I'm fining what part of 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:09.560 that story is not true? 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:14.360 Well, no, it's all true. It's all true. I heard 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:14.800 you were going. 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:16.640 How did you know I was listening on my way 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.159 on my first vacation ever since I had taken that 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:22.640 job six months six months into that job. 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:24.760 Well wait a minute, we were in Atlanta, and who 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:25.919 wasn't listening to me? 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:28.800 Actually, that's not true. 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:31.960 If you go back and I have the history books, 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.360 Arbitron used to do ratings in three month intervals. 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:37.240 There were three books in a row. 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:41.000 And I told this to Matt Towery yesterday, where between 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:44.640 the two of us we had twenty five percent of 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:48.320 the market in men twenty five point fifty four, which 0:05:48.480 --> 0:05:52.240 for those that don't understand ratings, that is a massive 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:57.240 number in the key demographic, and we both had and 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:00.640 it's almost impossible mathematically for it to work out this way. 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.000 We had nine months in a row, we both had 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:04.280 a twelve and a half share each. 0:06:04.600 --> 0:06:08.080 So but I think I think, actually it was higher 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:08.400 than that. 0:06:08.880 --> 0:06:11.679 It could have been. You know, that's the number I remember. 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:13.400 I mean, I don't even know if I can go 0:06:13.440 --> 0:06:16.599 back and find those old books. But you did not 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:20.400 know the story of that day that I tuned in 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:22.679 and heard you at six fifteen in the morning. 0:06:22.720 --> 0:06:24.479 What time did you get to work every day? I 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:25.200 never asked you that. 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:27.880 Well, I usually got there about four or four thirty. 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:30.560 In the morning, Okay, So I realized I'm never going 0:06:30.640 --> 0:06:34.080 to be late again. And the interesting thing was you 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:38.200 had read every newspaper. You were fully prepared to do 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:40.400 your show at six fifteen. What the heck did you 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:42.640 do for the for the next two hours two and 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:43.279 a half hours. 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.080 I spent that time bothering other people at the radio station. 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:52.080 Oh, I could tell stories. They're so bad, the stories 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:56.800 about you, and especially about Monica Kaufman, that if I 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:58.880 told them in this day and age, I know you 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.320 dear friends with her by the way. 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:04.040 Uh yeah, Monica and I get along just great. But 0:07:04.800 --> 0:07:07.080 you know, well I messed with you a good deal too, 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:07.480 you know. 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:11.120 Oh yeah, you and everybody in the market. You couldn't 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.520 stand the fact that I was younger and prettier than you. 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:20.239 Well listen, who isn't I'm the radio at that radio station. 0:07:20.360 --> 0:07:23.360 You're mentioning on my ID card that I were around 0:07:23.440 --> 0:07:25.000 the neck. They didn't put a picture of me. They 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:26.360 put a picture of Homer Simpson. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:31.320 That's absolutely, positively true. By the way, I have a 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:34.080 special guest to say hello to you, the guy that 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.480 hired me to replace you after you took the money 0:07:37.520 --> 0:07:42.200 and ran to the other stations. Slugo, Eric's Idella's with us, Slugo, 0:07:42.320 --> 0:07:45.920 why did you not let me return? When I called 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:48.560 you from Hartsfield Airport and Neil was going to was 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:51.320 moving from twelve to three back to his old time slot, 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:52.480 I was furious at you. 0:07:53.040 --> 0:07:55.040 Well, I'm calling today to let you know you can 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.640 go on vacation now, Okay. 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:02.720 I really appreciated Slugo and you two, for a while, 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:04.440 by the way, hated each other. I think I had 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:06.920 to bridge that gap didn't I well, no, wait a minute. 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:10.800 After I left, Neil, Yeah, can't you hear me? 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:12.080 Yes, I can hear you. 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:16.800 Okay, after I left, Slugo sent a picture of you 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:19.920 hammering nails into my coffin since. 0:08:19.920 --> 0:08:23.320 I remember that one the final nail in your car. 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:25.480 By the way, I did not approve of it. And 0:08:25.520 --> 0:08:28.400 there was one rating book and you had never been beaten, 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:30.800 and you're never going to admit it. I beat you, 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:34.720 and you did win one demographic like sixty five and older, 0:08:35.280 --> 0:08:40.080 and so Pluggo in his genius and other people that 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:42.800 we work with at the time, decided to send you 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:47.280 a gift package of like denture cream and depends and 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:50.240 say congratulations, you won the sixty five plus demo. 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:52.400 Actually, I think that was Nancy's idea. 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.800 Probably I wasn't Nancy or your Slugo, No, it was 0:08:55.840 --> 0:08:59.560 probably Nancy's. Okay, we'll put it off on poor Nancy's intech. 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:02.440 Now this may sound inside baseball, but there's a lot 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:03.840 of lessons to be learned here. 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:04.800 Logo. 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.680 Did I even tell you about the first day that 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:11.240 I was listening to Neil at six fifteen with Scott 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.800 Slade and I heard them and I It put panic 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.520 in my heart and how prepared he was, and I 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:19.040 realized I got to work harder. 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:22.280 Man, who is the attorney you faced him on? Who 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:23.600 is going to be coming into his. 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:27.760 Show from the Oh no, well that's well. 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:30.520 It was right after the OJ Simpson case, and Bob 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:35.040 Shapiro to this day is still a dear friend of mine. 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.719 I heard Neil telegraph that morning at six fifteen that 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:41.760 he had Bob Shapiro on, and Neil rarely had guests 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:45.679 on though. I looked at Eric Stegner, who still works 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.319 with me, and I said, what the hell? Why does 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:50.840 he have Neil Bob Shapiro? Why didn't we book him? 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:53.400 And anyway, he said, you know what, I think, he's 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:56.360 on ninety nine next, let me call over. He called over, 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.199 He was free at nine o'clock. We got him before 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:01.600 Neil did. And then when the hour was ending and 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:03.840 he was supposed to go over to Neil show, I said, 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.040 would you mind staying a little bit longer? You know 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:08.040 what happened from there? When he finally got over to 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:09.720 your place around eleven. 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:11.080 I wouldn't put him up. 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:12.120 I mean we all. 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:15.440 Became close, and we all remain close. Although port says, 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:17.040 you never know where this guy is. He's got this 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.280 big bus that he travels around in. I've tried to 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:23.079 convince you numerous times to go back on the air 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.560 full time. You won't listen to me. How many years 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:27.760 were you on talk radio? How many years did you 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:28.559 do talk radio? 0:10:29.280 --> 0:10:29.960 Forty seven? 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:31.640 Yeah, something unbelievable. 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.640 We'll wait him out. In forty seven, it was thirty seven, 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:35.640 thirty seven years. 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.839 Okay, Now I think it would be better told by 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:42.559 slug O. Slugo, do you want to tell the world 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:46.160 how cold hearted Neil is and how he got his 0:10:46.200 --> 0:10:48.240 first radio job at Ring Radio. 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:50.880 I'm not going to go into that. That's Neil's story 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:54.840 to tell, but I will tell you that I've always 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:58.760 thought Neil have some of the best radio instincts of anybody. 0:10:58.360 --> 0:10:59.040 I've ever worked. 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.400 That's why you You paid him a lot more money 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:03.880 than you paid me. You got me for like third sheep. 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.559 When you paid me and you hired me, you were 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:07.440 the diamond. 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:11.160 In the rough, you know, looks hoochie, an ambassador much 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.640 like Moses. And we plucked you out of the water 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:14.560 and we gave you life. 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:18.600 Okay, I really can't complain, all right, Neil, tell everybody 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:21.480 how you started in talk radio, because this is the 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:25.560 coldest hearted story of all time, but it's actually brilliant. 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.880 On the other hand, well it may be cold hearted, 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:31.240 but somebody had to do it. I was a big 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:34.840 fan of a talk show host on what they called 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:38.560 at that time, Ring Radio, and I would go whenever 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:41.080 he made a speech. I was there, we would go 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:44.320 to lunch together. Then one time I'm sitting at home 0:11:44.360 --> 0:11:47.520 on Sunday and I hear on the news that evening 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:51.000 that this particular talk show host, his name was herb Elfman, 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:55.800 that he committed suicide. He shot himself dead right there, 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.199 and so I said, well, I wonder who's going to 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:03.280 do the show tomorrow. So I got a lawn chair 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.200 and a thermos of coffee and I went and sat 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:09.120 on the sidewalk outside the radio station waited. Everybody got there. 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:11.720 The station was only on the air during daytime, and 0:12:11.760 --> 0:12:13.280 they said, what are you doing here? And I said, oh, 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.000 you haven't heard HERB is not going to come in 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:15.319 to date. 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:21.000 And so you basically jumped on the guy's grave and 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.720 you got hired. And thirty seven years later, you know, 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.040 you were still a top rated host. And one of 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:31.040 the most well known personalities in Atlanta radio history. And 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:33.120 then you became nationally syndicated as well. 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:35.559 Yeah, I didn't jump on the grave. I dug him 0:12:35.600 --> 0:12:36.560 up and jumped on him. 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:42.520 He did, come on, Slugo, that is cold. That is cold, cold, cold. 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.440 It is It is Neil's story to tell, not mine. 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:47.840 But it is cold, oh man. 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:50.360 Also, so that's natural for me. 0:12:50.760 --> 0:12:51.880 You know we did. 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:54.160 Other things to mess with you too, did you know? 0:12:54.679 --> 0:12:58.559 We used to feed you purposely stories so that you 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:01.240 would talk about the same top every day. If there 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:04.960 was a gun topic, a plane topic, what else? What 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:06.920 are the stories did we always want Neil to talk 0:13:06.960 --> 0:13:09.439 about because the research showed that people got bored when 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:11.680 he talked about is Slugo? There were a couple of 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:14.760 other we found ways to get that information to you. 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:18.400 Or we'd have somebody call in and set you off, 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:21.960 and then you'd you'd go right down the predictable path. 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:22.840 You know we did that. 0:13:23.120 --> 0:13:27.440 You also took some recordings of some uncomplimentary things I 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:32.720 said about the owners of my new radio station, and 0:13:32.760 --> 0:13:33.560 you sent them that. 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:35.880 You can blame Slugo for that. I had no role 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:36.240 in that. 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:40.280 You keep trying to absolve yourself of responsibility for those. 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:44.320 I did not have any role in that part. Slugo, 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:45.800 you have to defend me here. 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:49.880 Well, I remember some of the acronyms for WSB that 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:51.120 he developed. 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:53.679 Like we suck and blither and all the way. I'm 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:55.800 still on the station, so I gotta be nice here. 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.559 But I think they'll find it amusing so. 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.559 Boring that was, but at the time they were. 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.800 Until you got there, and then Greg most Sherry, I'll 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:06.480 tell you what, We'll pick it up a couple more minutes. 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:08.080 On the other side, if you guys have nothing to do, 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:10.760 you're both retired, so I assume you have nothing to do, 0:14:12.040 --> 0:14:15.280 and I mean that complimentary. More with Neil Boards, more 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:18.400 of Eric's Sidell's slugo. On the other side, a little 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:20.360 bit more of the radio war. Then with the phones. 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:22.360 Eight hundred nine to four one shown is on number 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:25.920 as we roll along, so we're doing old radio war stories. 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.080 And when I'd only been a professional radio host for 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:32.560 two years, I had started in what eighty seven, and 0:14:32.920 --> 0:14:36.920 I guess my first job was in nineteen ninety in Huntsville, Alabama. 0:14:36.960 --> 0:14:39.960 Then I'm Eric Sidell, who's with us sluggo we call him. 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.880 Hired me in Atlanta, and I went up against this 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.880 unbelievable giant in the market, Neil Borts, and I realized 0:14:49.920 --> 0:14:52.240 that if I didn't work hard, Neil Boorts was going 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:54.280 to do to me what he did to so many 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:56.440 others before me, and that's run them the hell out 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:58.200 of town. And I was not going to let that happen, 0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:02.320 or at least fight my heart to do so. After 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:04.920 about the first year and slogo, this is a story 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:08.920 for you to tell, and it taught me something about research. 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:12.240 And you did. You brought me in your office one 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:14.880 day and you sat me down. Do you remember what 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.240 you told me, because I remember what I told you. 0:15:17.440 --> 0:15:20.080 Well, okay, first of all, let me give this some perspective. 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.120 Neil worked for a company that was doing research every 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.040 five seconds in the market. They were constantly aware of 0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:30.000 what was going on in the market. You and I 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.080 were working for a company that didn't have those pockets 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:38.040 as deep. And we did our first major research about 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.040 a year after you came to the radio station. And 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:47.160 before that research came in, we had been telling you, Sean, 0:15:47.280 --> 0:15:49.760 this is not New York. You need to ease back 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:53.200 on the callers. We're in the Deep South and you 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:53.800 weren't listening. 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:55.840 And by that, just think of perspective. 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.040 I grew up listening to the likes of Bob Grant, 0:15:58.320 --> 0:16:00.360 you know, one of the great pioneers of talk radio, 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.440 but also geniuses like Barry Farber and Barry Gray. But hey, 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:09.120 get off my phone, use some bag, you low life, 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.960 you dirt bag, Get off my phone. 0:16:12.080 --> 0:16:14.400 You know, that was not Farber's technique, but it certainly 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:15.320 was Bob that was That. 0:16:15.320 --> 0:16:18.160 Was Bob Grant's for sure. Bob Grant, you know, eventually 0:16:18.160 --> 0:16:20.760 got fired in part because he was so controversial. 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:24.320 But anyway, so you came in and are you talking 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.000 about after the research came in or. 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.160 After the research came in? You didn't let me know 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.160 you did research. I figured out you did research, But 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:35.200 you sat me down in your office. Nancy Zentag was 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.680 in the room, and you leaned into me about this 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:40.040 very issue that. 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:41.120 You know, you grew up. 0:16:41.320 --> 0:16:43.760 You grew up with one type of talk radio that 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.240 you listened to, and you now live in the South. 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:52.040 And the bottom line was, people love my conservative positions. 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.840 It was the beginning of the rise of New Kingridge. 0:16:55.360 --> 0:16:59.280 But they didn't like stylistically that I was harsh on callers, 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:00.560 and you know that. 0:17:00.480 --> 0:17:03.560 You were perfect politically, you were perfect for our demographic, 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:06.560 for our target, but you still had that edge of 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:09.800 a New Yorker in you. And I think, and you 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:13.040 said you've lost confidence in me, and I said, no, that's. 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:15.120 What I said. Well, you do remember I did say that. 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:16.800 I said in that meeting, I looked at you and 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:18.240 I said, you lost confidence in me? 0:17:18.520 --> 0:17:24.320 No, And the fact is we had not, and if anything, 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:27.680 we just wanted to help improve you, develop you more. 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:32.000 And so the research which you really weren't supposed to 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.520 see until you stole it from somebody's office. 0:17:35.200 --> 0:17:38.639 And I was curious, but didn't steal it. I borrowed it. 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:40.680 There's a difference. I returned it. 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:47.119 Yeah, okay, okay, that's not stealing, it's borrowing. 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:48.680 I didn't even say, by the matter. 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:51.960 As a matter of fact, it never left Arnie Kotinsky's 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:56.240 room because I read it, you know, one night overnight, 0:17:56.320 --> 0:17:58.800 and I didn't stop reading it till I read the 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:00.919 very last page in a was very It was a 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:01.560 thick book. 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.199 Yes, what did you sit in his office and read it? 0:18:04.440 --> 0:18:05.000 Yes? I did. 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:12.160 My god, you were squatting too, So you're bad anyway, 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:16.080 you had seen the One of the things that that 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:19.360 struck me really wrong was that the guy who analyzed 0:18:19.400 --> 0:18:22.280 the research said you should think about replacing Sean. There 0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:22.640 was no way. 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:26.360 Weird words were You may want to rethink John Hannity 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:27.240 at some point. 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.240 Okay, okay, well either way, you and I both I remember, 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:36.160 okay and you. But you read the transcripts of what 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:37.680 people said to death. 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:40.280 The verbatims, the verbatims said. 0:18:40.119 --> 0:18:43.080 To them in the research, and that that rang a 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:46.199 bell for you. You finally you No, that woke me up. 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:48.680 That's that's what changed me. On a dime. 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.480 I changed from that day moving forward. Now, what I 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:54.880 learned is it called perceptual studies in radio. Neil, you've 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:57.119 read a ton of research over the years, or at 0:18:57.200 --> 0:18:59.120 least they've told you about it. I'm sure you could 0:18:59.160 --> 0:19:00.960 care less. You are going to do what you were 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.359 going to do. You were a legend. I was not 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:06.560 in that market, so I had to work harder. And 0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:11.200 what I learned is the audience was dead on, honest, 0:19:11.640 --> 0:19:14.880 and the audience was right, and I needed to read 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.160 it in black and white and let it absorb it 0:19:18.240 --> 0:19:21.560 and let it hit me in the face hard. 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:23.919 And dating what we have been saying to you. 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:26.320 It did, but you didn't. You weren't saying it in 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.560 a way that just screamed at me. It screamed off 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:32.919 the page. Love his politics. He needs to stop hanging 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:35.800 up on people and telling them to shut up, right right. 0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:37.920