WEBVTT - Talkers 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.759 If you missed any episodes of Russia Limbaugh The Man 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:06.120 behind the Golden E I B Microphone, you've missed more 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:10.400 great stories from some of Russia's closest friends, family, and colleagues. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:14.720 All previous episodes are available now on I Heart Radio 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:20.640 or wherever you listen to your podcast. On this episode 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:22.840 of Russia Limbaugh The Man Behind the Golden E I 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:27.000 B Microphone, we'll be speaking with two industry icons, Michael 0:00:27.040 --> 0:00:30.440 Harrison of Talkers magazine and Phil Boyce, who was the 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.480 program director at w ABC in New York when Rush 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:37.000 was there and was the p D who hired Sean Hannity, 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:43.239 currently VP of Spoken Word for Salem Communications. Whether you 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:45.280 listened every day you are at the E I B 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:48.600 Network and the Russia Limball program heard on over six 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:51.880 hundred great radio stations every now and then, nation's leading 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:55.840 radio and talk show, the most eagerly intisepated program. Stories 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:58.680 you've never heard from the people behind the scenes who 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:02.400 knew him best and loved him most. Rushman having more 0:01:02.400 --> 0:01:04.560 funds the human being it could be allowed to have 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:07.480 Rush Limpough The Man behind the Golden E I D 0:01:07.640 --> 0:01:12.600 Microphones hosted by James golden Through the Stand Up for 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:16.120 Betsy Ross campaign, you changed the lives of dozens of 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.240 hero families in need. The campaign benefited The Tunnels Are 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:25.920 Towers Foundation. Tunnel to Towers bills mortgage free smart homes 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:30.880 for our nation's most catastrophically injured veterans and first responders 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:35.360 to give them their independence. For gold star families and 0:01:35.560 --> 0:01:40.440 fallen first respond to families with young children, Tunnel to 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:46.240 Towers pays off mortgages in full for these families and 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:49.360 provides them with the comfort of a home when their 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:53.840 world has literally been turned upside down. And thanks to 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:58.120 this campaign to Stand Up for Betsy Ross campaign, you 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:01.560 have seen to it that we have been able to 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:07.000 send a charital donation in total of five million dollars 0:02:07.560 --> 0:02:11.720 to Tunnel the Towers. Your kindness, generosity, and patriotism brought 0:02:11.840 --> 0:02:15.520 hope when it was needed most but more of America's 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:20.160 heroes in their families need your support. Donate eleven dollars 0:02:20.200 --> 0:02:23.639 a month to Tunnel to Towers at T two t 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:27.760 dot org. That's the letter T the number two t 0:02:28.560 --> 0:02:39.000 dot org. First up, the founder of Talkers magazine, Michael Harrison. Now, Michael, 0:02:39.040 --> 0:02:42.000 you've you've interviewed dresslan Ball. You interviewed him early on. 0:02:42.360 --> 0:02:44.600 But before we get to that, I'd like you to 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:47.800 tell our audience how it came to be that you 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:52.640 published the leading magazine for the entire talk radio industry. 0:02:52.919 --> 0:02:57.480 I had a background in trade publishing and in broadcasting, 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:00.560 and i've i've I've always led a double life or 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.880 a double career of being involved in the trades and 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.400 also being involved in just about every end of being 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:10.000 on air or managing or I even owned a radio station. 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:13.120 I've been a program director, and I've been a personality, 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:16.040 and I've been involved in music radio and in talk radio. 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:20.240 In the trade arena, I was involved in the development 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.640 of Radio and Records. I was its first managing editor 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:27.119 when it started, and had also worked with Billboard magazine 0:03:27.560 --> 0:03:30.960 and published a couple of newsletters and tip sheets along 0:03:31.000 --> 0:03:34.480 the way. So uh, and I was doing talk radio 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:36.960 on a rock station in l A for eleven years, 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:41.640 and I always felt that when the nineties would would come, 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.440 this was during the eighties, that the nineties were going 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:48.600 to be the decade of talk radio, that talk radio 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.640 was going to become the dominant form of radio. So 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:55.600 I wanted to do it professionally as a broadcaster, and 0:03:55.640 --> 0:03:57.840 I also wanted to be involved in it as a 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:02.839 trade publisher. So when came around, I decided to take 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:07.760 all the experience I had in both on air management 0:04:07.920 --> 0:04:10.920 and trade publishing and put them into a trade publication 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:15.200 that dealt with talk radio back as if it were 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.440 the talk radio industry. We called it the the industry, 0:04:19.440 --> 0:04:21.640 even though it was just at that time basically a 0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:26.200 small portion of the radio industry. And uh, fortunately I 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:31.440 was right, and that was thirty one years ago. Talkers 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:35.520 Magazine is still operating and still thriving, thank goodness, for 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:39.440 which I'm very grateful and it's extremely gratifying. When did 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:43.039 you first meet When did you first become aware of 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.560 Russia Limball? How did that happen? I heard him on 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:50.520 the station that I had owned, UM shortly after I 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.520 sold the station, they put Rush Limbaugh on. I'm driving 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:57.960 down Route Highway ninety one in Springfield, Massachusetts, and I 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:01.600 hear on my former station, the that I owned, UM, 0:05:01.640 --> 0:05:05.680 this is Rush Limball, and how I go, who the 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:09.719 heck is that? It was like it's like the first 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.800 time I heard Elvis Presley. I remember that I'm that old, 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:16.000 and I remember the first time I heard the Beatles. 0:05:16.640 --> 0:05:19.200 I remember the first time I heard Rush Limbaugh on 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:22.320 the air, and it just came through the speakers like 0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:25.480 a ton of bricks, that that voice, and and that 0:05:25.520 --> 0:05:29.400 whole ownership of the airwaves, the ownership of the air 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.960 And that was the first time. And and of course, 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.080 being a student of the industry, I had not started 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:39.120 talkers yet, so I was in the process of thinking 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.960 about it. Obviously. Um, I asked, who who is this 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.880 Rush Limbo? First of all, the name is funny, rush Limball, 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:50.440 you know, and similar to Elvis Presley. When he first 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:52.920 showed up on the scene, the name sounded very funny. 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:55.960 People are making fun of it. They called him Elbow Parsley, 0:05:56.560 --> 0:05:59.680 rush Limbaugh, and UM, you know, you become used to 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:02.920 a name after a while, and uh, we're certainly used 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:04.960 to the name rush Limbaugh now. But that's how I 0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:08.880 first became aware of him. And it's very interesting. The 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:13.280 evolution that followed in terms of syndication during the midday 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.640 was not something that major market radio was very quick 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:20.880 to do. That was considered to be very daring to 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:24.040 put a syndicated program program on in the middle of 0:06:24.120 --> 0:06:26.839 the day and Rush talked about that. By the way, 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:29.239 he was told at the time, this is never gonna work. 0:06:29.320 --> 0:06:31.800 It's not going to work. Radio stations will not pick 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:35.080 you up, et cetera. But he went ahead and and 0:06:35.120 --> 0:06:37.920 he and Ed McLaughlin. Did you know Ed McLaughlin? I, 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:41.080 I subsequently knew Ed. I did not know Ed personally. 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.560 He was a major executive at ABC Radio. So being 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.880 in the broadcasting business, I knew who he was, but 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:50.040 I had not yet met him or interacted or done 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:52.080 business with him. But I certainly knew who he was, 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:56.559 and I knew that his starting a syndicated venture after 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.400 leaving ABC was something to be taken seriously because he 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.719 was what we call in the business, a heavyweight, and 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:07.000 obviously he was. So let's let's advance you hear him, 0:07:07.040 --> 0:07:11.880 this is before you started Talkers magazine. Correct, follow your 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:17.480 own evolution as a listener. Well, I certainly understood the 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:21.560 need to fill a void, because that's why I call 0:07:21.600 --> 0:07:26.360 that positioning, and in radio, positioning is everything. And so 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:30.480 it immediately struck me that his approach to UH talk 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:36.040 radio from the conservative perspective, especially with humor, in many ways, 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.720 he was sort of what on the right, what Jon 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:42.400 Stewart was on the left. Heavy use of satire, heavy 0:07:42.480 --> 0:07:47.000 use of humor, heavy use of production and entertaining elements 0:07:47.040 --> 0:07:52.520 and parodies and wordplay and double entendres. Uh So he 0:07:52.600 --> 0:07:58.160 was very entertaining and filled a void because talk radio 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.080 was political. It was post fairness doctrine, so you could 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:04.360 be opinionated without being too restrained by fear that you'd 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:09.360 be sense sword or sensored by the government. And uh, 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.360 I knew right away, Oh this tap, this makes total sense. 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:16.000 There's a there's a giant market out there for conservative 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:19.840 politics because, let's face it, most of the media was 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:24.960 either moderate or liberal, and conservative politics was marginalized as radical, 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:29.480 far right, very negative, pejorative. So I knew right away 0:08:29.520 --> 0:08:33.120 this guy's got it all. He's positioned properly to fill 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.840 the political void, politics being the major topic of interest 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:41.200 on news talk radio. And he's entertaining and he sounds good. 0:08:41.240 --> 0:08:45.520 His his mechanics were that of a really seasoned top 0:08:45.559 --> 0:08:48.880 forty jock. He knew that mechanics. And I'm very, very 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:52.800 into mechanics because I just love radio, So I knew 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:54.880 this was a guy to watch. Explain what you mean, 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:56.760 because we have a lot of people here that are 0:08:56.840 --> 0:09:00.960 not radio people. So when you say mc planics, okay, 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:02.680 what are they talk What is he talking about? What 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:05.839 is mechanics? But you know, people think you just get 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:07.520 on the radio and you sit there and you spout 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:09.520 your politics, you spout what you want to do. But 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.600 radio is a symphony. Radio is a combination. It's a 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:17.400 continuum of elements. There there's music, and there's commercials, and 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:19.680 there are breaks, and there's timing, and we're working our 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.319 way up to the clock and at one o'clock we've 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:25.239 got the news and then we'll be back. And there's 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:30.280 it's a whole dance of thirty second elements, ten second elements, 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:34.840 sixty second elements, bed music. Um, there's a pacing to it. 0:09:35.240 --> 0:09:39.920 There's a sound and a texture to it that DJs 0:09:40.040 --> 0:09:44.280 who came out of the sixties and the seventies and 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:48.679 the eighties inherently knew how to do. It's it's the reps. 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:50.480 It's if you want to be a pianist, you have 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:52.440 to learn how to make your fingers work on the 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.240 on the piano. If you want to be a baseball player, 0:09:54.280 --> 0:09:56.200 you have to do batting practice. You have to you 0:09:56.240 --> 0:09:58.360 have to learn how to throw, how to catch the 0:09:58.400 --> 0:10:03.280 basic mechanics of an entity, and radio is the same way. 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:07.800 So and you can hear it right away. Rush played 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:11.040 the continuum of sound, the symphony of a sound of 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:15.000 a radio station or a radio show as one of 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:19.360 its elements. He knew how to integrate his voice into 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:22.360 that flow. I know it sounds esoteric and maybe I'm 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:26.120 over analyzing it. No you're not, because this is one 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.040 of the things that Russie Rush talked about this on occasion. 0:10:29.720 --> 0:10:31.800 He would talk about it, but but he wouldn't talk 0:10:31.840 --> 0:10:34.040 about it in depth the way that you are now 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:37.720 explaining it. What he would say is that radio is theater, 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.320 and you have to understand just as as an actor 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.480 would or or someone in the theater business. You have 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:49.199 to understand the theater. You have to understand and and 0:10:49.200 --> 0:10:53.160 and there are no visuals, so what you have is 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:58.080 the complete attention of someone who's listening. It's an active 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:01.800 process to listen to somebody, as opposed to look at 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:05.880 something while you're busy doing something else. Absolutely, and and 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.960 and the theater is a perfect analogy. When you go 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:12.360 into a theater, there's the curtain, there's the chandelier at 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:13.800 the top of the roof. If it's if it's a 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:17.319 classic old theater, there's there's the whole atmosphere of the theater, 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:19.319 and then the lights go down, and then if it's 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:22.080 a musical, the orchestra comes up, and then the curtain 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:26.080 opens and the lights start. It's not just somebody standing 0:11:26.080 --> 0:11:29.920 on a stage talking to you. There's a whole environment 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:33.400 and the actor or the writer or each of the 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:39.120 elements finds its place within this whole, you know, montage 0:11:39.760 --> 0:11:46.360 of synchronized entities, and Rush brought that to talk radio, 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:49.240 so it's like listening to a music radio station with 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.160 the station's format was part of the program, was it 0:11:52.200 --> 0:11:54.079 was actually part of the show. The format was part 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:57.640 of the show. He did that in Talk before anybody else, 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:03.000 and um, that is one of the things that made 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:06.319 him successful. Obviously he brought content and and a lot 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.720 of intelligence and other things to it. But that was 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:12.080 the first thing I noticed was his position politically that 0:12:12.160 --> 0:12:15.160 he's filling a gap and that's good for democracy, and 0:12:15.160 --> 0:12:18.800 that's good for radio because people that feel left out, disenfranchised, 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.600 hungry for that type of a point of view, empowered 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:25.760 and and franchised as opposed to disenfranchised. They would like that, 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.520 but they're also radio listeners, and a radio listener knows 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.280 when they're hearing the radio that it's not television. When 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.520 you hear a television soundtrack on radio, it doesn't sound 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:38.200 like a radio station. It sounds like there's something different 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:41.360 about it has a hollowness to it. This was full 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:45.680 radio and that voice. It just was the right package 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:49.480 at the right time. But I definitely think that his mechanics, 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:52.520 back to that word, were one of the pillars upon 0:12:52.600 --> 0:12:56.160 which his success was built. AM radio was in trouble 0:12:56.240 --> 0:12:59.640 at that time. People were wondering if AM radio would 0:12:59.640 --> 0:13:03.320 survive five talk about that for a moment please. AM 0:13:03.440 --> 0:13:05.760 radio was in big trouble, and, as I think Chris 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.360 Christofferson wrote in the Janice Joplin hit, freedom is just 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.080 another word for nothing left to lose. There was nothing 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:14.560 left to lose. FM radio was eating AM Radio's lunch 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:16.880 with the music. It just didn't sound as good. So 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:22.439 here's what happened AM radio. First, of all radio fans 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:26.560 post war Baby boomers uh knew how to use radio. 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:28.360 They grew up with radio and they knew what AM 0:13:28.440 --> 0:13:33.199 radio was, so they were not strangers to the dial um. 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:38.240 Talk sounded good on AM. The aforementioned fairness doctrine was repealed, 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:40.400 which means now you can talk about politics and have 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.400 opinion without having to hold back for fear that you're 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:46.520 not giving every side at the proper exposure. And that's 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:49.280 impossible to do because there are more sides two sides 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:53.040 than anybody can believe. It's very subjective. So rather than 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:55.760 be fair and have more points of view on the air, 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:57.760 radio station said we're not messing with this, they just 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:01.120 never talked about anything controversial. That was gone, so controversial 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:05.040 politics suddenly was was fair game. The post war baby 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:09.599 boomers that grew up with pop radio and AM rock radio, Um, 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:14.200 we're getting older and suddenly interested in politics, Suddenly interested 0:14:14.200 --> 0:14:18.280 in taxation, suddenly interested in in in various aspects of 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:27.080 freedom of government, of community, education, health care, public safety, 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:31.720 foreign affairs, all of these things suddenly were of interest 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.160 to basically the same audience that grew up listening to 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:37.920 rock and roll. The demographic shift had happened. They were 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.720 getting older, so suddenly the audience was was there for that. 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:47.040 And the thing that Rush did and that talk radio 0:14:47.200 --> 0:14:54.720 did was it provided uh, the listeners with something that 0:14:54.920 --> 0:14:59.000 was important in their life, something that was more than 0:14:59.120 --> 0:15:03.840 just back crowned. It was it was heavy duty, It 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:09.440 had teeth, It reflected the culture, and radio to succeed, 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.280 going all the way back to the beginning, unlike other 0:15:12.400 --> 0:15:18.360 forms of media, had to be hip, grassroots, the sound 0:15:18.400 --> 0:15:23.120 of the street, uh, the everyday person, and RUSSI accomplished 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:25.240 that and and and as a result, it kept AM 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:28.560 Radio alive, and I think to a certain extent, it 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:33.280 kept all of radio alive. Not only you, my professor, 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:37.560 but you're also a friend and a mentor and somebody 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:39.480 that I've looked up to and I dare say a hero, 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.840 uh due to the value that the true life values 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:45.640 that you have expounded out there. I remember many years 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.040 ago you spoke to being able to get a job, 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.960 and you talked about the different levels and what's required 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.640 and whether it was a high school, college education. And 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.400 I think that the top level of that had something 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:57.480 to do with integrity and respect. And I think that 0:15:57.520 --> 0:15:59.480 those are parts of values that you teach out there 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.080 that are invaluable. And I just I'm thankful that I've 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.280 been able to experience you for all these years and 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:06.880 many years to come. Well, I thank you very much. 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:11.960 You know, I'm I'm always flattered and deeply appreciative when 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:16.520 I find out how detailed people's listening is, and you 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:21.320 have heard the details and they've obviously made an impression 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.200 on you. I remember many of the times, not all, 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.520 I'm sure, but I remember many times I've talked about 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:33.280 getting a job, versus finding a career, versus becoming productive, 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:37.080 versus finding what it is that you are born to do. 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.800 We are all born to do something, including be lazy. 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.640 Some people just have to find what what they were 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.680 born to do, and it's a rewarding thing to get 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:57.320 calls like yours. I deeply and and profoundly appreciated. In 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:00.480 each episode, we've been documenting the story of Russia's life, 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.960 narrated by some of his closest friends and colleagues. This 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:07.160 week a good friend of the program, a good friend 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:11.480 of mine, the actor, the director, and he was a 0:17:11.520 --> 0:17:15.240 guest host once on the Rustling Ball program, none other 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:20.520 than our friend Nick Sercy. The Life of Russia Limbaugh, 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:27.119 Chapter eleven, narrated by Nick Searcy. After the election of 0:17:27.119 --> 0:17:29.919 Barack Obama in two thousand and eight, Russia Limbaugh was 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:33.760 immediately concerned for the direction America was headed as he 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:36.879 intuitively sensed the growing loss of freedoms and liberty to 0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:39.639 come over the next eight years, and as the end 0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:43.120 of the Obama regime neared, Russia's listeners trusted him more 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:47.000 than ever as Conservatism's most vocal champion and opinion maker. 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.639 As a well known businessman, a non political outsider, started 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:54.639 gaining steam in a long shot bid for the Republican 0:17:54.680 --> 0:17:59.040 presidential nomination, Rush made clear where his priority stood. Whatever 0:17:59.080 --> 0:18:02.000 you think I'm advocate aiding, it's not because I care 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.439 what happens to the Republican Party. I care about what 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:07.520 happens to America, and I know that any more of 0:18:07.520 --> 0:18:10.360 what we've had the last eight years, it's gonna be America. 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:12.760 But it's not gonna be America. You and I know. 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.760 As then candidate Donald J. Trump took off on a 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:20.440 meteoric rise, the mainstream media and political pundits were dumbfounded 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.800 by his success and his refusal to play by the usual, 0:18:23.880 --> 0:18:27.359 tired set of rules. But Russ knew early on that 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:30.840 Trump was different and why he connected with the American people. 0:18:31.119 --> 0:18:35.880 He's real, he isn't phony, he is not politically correct, 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:39.159 and he's fearless. He's not afraid to tell people what 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:43.560 he actually thinks about other people or things. Trump is 0:18:43.840 --> 0:18:47.480 showing that the things the Republican Party is afraid of 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:50.359 are baseless. They don't need to be afraid. With his 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:54.080 signature insight, Limbaugh told his listeners why the experts were 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:57.000 failing to understand the man who was promising to make 0:18:57.080 --> 0:19:01.119 America great again. Despite the scores of critics and doubters, 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:04.800 Trump never gave up, and he campaigned relentlessly right until 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:08.200 the early morning hours of election day, November eight, two 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:17.760 thousand sixteen. So it's so officially Tuesday November. Did you 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:20.280 ever think you'd be hearing a major speech like it 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:23.480 around close to one o'lock in the morning? Are we phrasey? 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:27.520 And as America came alive the next morning, it discovered 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:30.680 Trump had shocked the world with a decisive win over 0:19:30.760 --> 0:19:33.920 Hillary Clinton. For his part, Rush became one of President 0:19:33.920 --> 0:19:38.360 Trump's most vocal advocates throughout his presidency and the election. 0:19:38.640 --> 0:19:40.840 He saw Trump as a uniter who would be good 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:43.080 for America in the long run. He is out trying 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:45.959 to get as many people in this country as he 0:19:46.040 --> 0:19:49.679 can to join his movement. He's not trying to lose. 0:19:49.760 --> 0:19:52.000 He's not trying to clean things up and make the 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:55.679 party something that it isn't. He's trying to rename it, 0:19:55.840 --> 0:19:58.919 reshape it, so that is a party of victory. And 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:03.200 what's the slogan, America great again? America First. Everything he's 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:07.480 talking about is real. The outcome of the last presidential 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:11.000 election of Russia's lifetime didn't produce the results for which 0:20:11.040 --> 0:20:13.199 he had hoped. And if the world ever needed his 0:20:13.280 --> 0:20:17.439 insight and commentary, it does today more than ever. But 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:20.159 if you listen close, even though the Golden E I 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:24.080 B microphone sits empty, through the speakers of radio stations 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.919 across the country, you can still hear the man we 0:20:27.000 --> 0:20:30.760 knew and loved for more than thirty years. The voices 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.480 offering their opinion on the radio now may be different, 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:38.240 but the footsteps in which they follow undoubted belong to 0:20:38.320 --> 0:20:51.240 Rush Limbaugh. Hey, James Golden, here, you know what it's 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:54.320 time that you treat yourself to a little bit of luxury. 0:20:54.680 --> 0:20:57.480 You know the company. It's my pillow. But what you 0:20:57.560 --> 0:21:00.600 may not know is that my pillow may more than 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:05.840 just the incredible pillows that have captivated America. They make sheets, 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:10.960 and these aren't just any sheets. These sheets are smooth, 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:14.840 they're soft, They're comfortable. You'll look forward to getting under 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:18.840 these sheets every night. I know I do. My pillow 0:21:18.920 --> 0:21:22.800 Geeza sheets have a luxurious feel. You're going to love. 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:28.359 Get yourself the luxury. Get a set of these sheets. 0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:32.240 They come with a sixty day comfort guarantee. Pillows Sheets. 0:21:32.520 --> 0:21:37.080 Don't forget the incredible slippers from my Pillow. They're available 0:21:37.160 --> 0:21:40.280 from my Pillow. They have a level of comfort you 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:44.320 need to experience. Log on to my pillow dot com, 0:21:44.560 --> 0:21:47.479 clicking on the new radio listeners specials and use promo 0:21:47.560 --> 0:21:51.560 code icon. Lots of incredible offers there. Now that's my 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:59.920 pillow dot com promo code icon. Back with Michael Harrison. Mike, 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:05.680 when did you meet Rush? I met Rush? Uh, it 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:07.320 was I think it was nine. I met Rush on 0:22:07.320 --> 0:22:10.160 the telephone when I interviewed him for the second issue 0:22:10.160 --> 0:22:14.159 of Talkers magazine. UM, but I met him personally. I 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:19.520 believe it was at the National Association of Broadcasters convention 0:22:19.560 --> 0:22:22.560 in San Francisco, in which he and I were on 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:26.920 the same panel, and UM the panel had a couple 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:30.159 of other people. I think ron Owens from KGO and 0:22:30.200 --> 0:22:34.159 San Francisco was on it, and the conversation was or included, 0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:38.639 is it possible for a national syndicated personality to to 0:22:38.800 --> 0:22:43.680 appropriately put a mid day on on a major market 0:22:43.800 --> 0:22:46.160 radio station. That was the issue. It was that outrageous, 0:22:46.600 --> 0:22:51.239 and the audience was a little hostile to Rush and 0:22:51.480 --> 0:22:54.359 very positive about ron Owens and UM. I believe the 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:57.560 moderators were Kennan Daria Dolan, and I was on there 0:22:57.640 --> 0:23:01.080 as the observer. Talker was only one year old at 0:23:01.080 --> 0:23:03.760 the time, but fortunately we already were very popular and 0:23:03.800 --> 0:23:07.040 I was the I was the impartial observer UM and 0:23:07.080 --> 0:23:09.360 that was where I met Rush Limbaugh. You know, one 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:12.240 of the things that I've thought for years is that 0:23:12.960 --> 0:23:18.080 so many broadcasters and not just broadcasters. It's it's because, 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:21.080 as you know, this is an industry that, to use 0:23:21.080 --> 0:23:26.960 a political phrase, trickles down into other areas. Jobs are 0:23:26.960 --> 0:23:29.000 not just created in a radio and just where you 0:23:29.040 --> 0:23:31.320 have the jobs that come from advertising, you have all 0:23:31.359 --> 0:23:35.399 the jobs that come from the advertising support, and it 0:23:35.480 --> 0:23:41.040 goes on and on. So Rush coming in and and 0:23:41.040 --> 0:23:44.199 and doing what he did for radio at such a 0:23:44.240 --> 0:23:47.280 critical time, one would think that there would be this 0:23:48.040 --> 0:23:52.320 swell of appreciation for it. Yet you mentioned there was 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:55.760 a little bit of hostility. What did you attribute that to? One, 0:23:55.880 --> 0:23:57.600 A lot of people in the business felt he was 0:23:57.600 --> 0:24:01.320 taking away jobs because, UM, I don't know, maybe there 0:24:01.320 --> 0:24:05.480 were a hundred stations fifty two, it was far less 0:24:05.520 --> 0:24:10.639 than today. Um, during the original ascent of Rush Limbaugh 0:24:10.640 --> 0:24:12.720 and what I call the modern era of talk radio. 0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:14.600 So a lot of a lot of radio personalities felt 0:24:14.640 --> 0:24:17.240 he was taking away their jobs. There was the feeling 0:24:17.280 --> 0:24:19.760 that it was sacrilegious to have something that wasn't local 0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:21.920 on a radio station in the middle of the day. 0:24:22.240 --> 0:24:25.480 So there was hostility towards that. And I have to 0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:29.720 say that at that time, most of the ownership and 0:24:29.760 --> 0:24:33.080 most of the people in the radio business were of 0:24:33.119 --> 0:24:37.240 a moderate to liberal bent, and they found his politics 0:24:37.280 --> 0:24:41.119 offensive and disagreed with it. So the combination of what 0:24:41.200 --> 0:24:44.080 they perceived to be taking away jobs, which which mathematically 0:24:44.119 --> 0:24:46.840