Rush Limbaugh’s impact on the world may never be fully understood or appreciated. Even as we’ve heard many heartfelt tributes over the past week, they fail to capture the landscape-changing consequences of his 30-year rise and domination of the talk-radio airwaves. This piece, too, will fall well short.
Still, one lesson for aspiring broadcasters sticks out. From the up-and-coming student at the college radio station, to the neophyte media professional cutting his teeth for ten bucks an hour somewhere in middle America. This lesson is for one, and for all.
It isn’t to learn all you can about Conservative policy and Republican party history, although Rush certainly did. He figuratively, and literally, wrote the book, while making complex philosophy simple. His ideal America? Create a strong and powerful country where people of all types, colors, backgrounds, sexes and ethnicities can flourish to the greatest of their God-given abilities. This was one of his overarching beliefs, but not the key lesson we are referring to here.
It wasn’t his side-interest in tech products, specifically those designed by Apple. He was quick to silence his devices when they talked to him during a broadcast, and he loved sharing what he had learned from the liberal tech blogs. Yet he always knew when to return to the topics of the day, pleasing the “stick to the issues crowd.”
Yes, he was a “household name in all four corners of the world,” but that took time. To aim toward such lofty heights could paralyze a young newbie just trying to get on the air for the first time. Rush’s notoriety grew over years and decades. Many of his loyal listeners of 2021 began as “Rush babies,” or first heard him while catching the EIB network during high school lunch breaks back in the 1990’s.
Limbaugh’s path required perseverance, which became a driving force for his career. While his family of lawyers would have been pleased had he followed in their footsteps toward a stable and lucrative career, he blazed a different path. He shunned formal advanced schooling and pursued radio. A brief stint in professional baseball helped him grow and continue, following his heart all the way. That tenacity helped sustain him through personal and health challenges over the years.
Once identifying his first love – radio – he mostly stuck to it. Brief stints with television, from the bright-ties on weekend talk to a short-lived sports gig never made him lose focus with radio.
Rush learned to nourish his “talent on loan from God.” In this way he balanced the necessary media ego with the acknowledgement of where the talent truly came from, and to who it ultimately belonged. He was simply a steward of the gifts.
Limbaugh was never afraid to challenge someone who “got all up in his chili.” He was a serious and thoughtful broadcast professional, and not one to waste time with the “phony-baloney, plastic banana, good-time rock n rollers.” A solid lesson, sure. But not the big one, from a broadcast perspective.
He idolized “Ronaldus Magnus.” He distrusted the “wizards of smart.” He promoted Rush Revere and Liberty, while sipping Two If By Tea. He stood with Betsy Ross against the modern detractors of America, and he took major career risks each and every “Open Line Friday.”
Yet, these still were not the big lesson Rush Limbaugh imparted on aspiring broadcasters.
That major lesson, the one that helped him grow a career to lengths never before seen, was simple.
The big lesson is this – He built an unbreakable bond with his listeners.
Rush knew his audience. He thought like them, and he spoke like them. He said what they thought, with words they themselves often could not come up with.
This was the biggest lesson for aspiring broadcast professionals. If you listened every day, you could sense its significance. Rush was honest. He was authentic. As he said many times, he had nothing to gain by misleading his listeners. One failure in this regard would have been catastrophic and career-crushing. He delivered not what his audience wanted to hear, but what his heart and mind authentically believed.
For example, at noon Eastern time the day after the 2012 presidential election, Rush got straight to the point. “It is nearly impossible to beat Santa Claus,” he said that day, referring to the challenge of unseating a president intent on spreading the wealth of hard-working citizens around.
When you listened to Rush Limbaugh, you felt as though he was speaking directly to you. Not to a crowd or a group, but to you. The connection was natural – a friend talking to a friend, complete with the emotion and fact. When he was frustrated, you knew it. When he felt good, you instinctively did too.
Rush was real. He was original, as all unique humans are. For broadcast professionals, this genuine approach is the key to long-term success. Authenticity attracts the audience – your bona fide broadcast tribe.
Watch and listen to the really great ones throughout history or in today’s media landscape. Whether in news, sports, finance or entertainment, the most successful broadcasters are the ones who know who they are and effectively share that vision with the audience. This built his incredibly attractive brand, lassoing the masses by their own volition.
Rush Limbaugh was authentic. He connected because he was the real deal.
This is a lesson for aspiring broadcasters across the fruited plain, who dream of success and dare to achieve it.
Rick Schultz is a former Sports Director for WFUV Radio at Fordham University. He has coached and mentored hundreds of Sports Broadcasting students at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, Marist College and privately. His media career experiences include working for the Hudson Valley Renegades, Army Sports at West Point, The Norwich Navigators, 1340/1390 ESPN Radio in Poughkeepsie, NY, Time Warner Cable TV, Scorephone NY, Metro Networks, NBC Sports, ABC Sports, Cumulus Media, Pamal Broadcasting and WATR. He has also authored a number of books including “A Renegade Championship Summer” and “Untold Tales From The Bush Leagues”. To get in touch, find him on Twitter @RickSchultzNY.
