In some ways, February 17th, 2021 doesn’t feel that long ago. In others, it has felt like an eternity. Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio pioneer, died that day at the age of 70 after a battle with lung cancer. Limbaugh left behind an indelible legacy on the medium, and it’s a torch his former producer, Bo Snerdley, continues to carry to this day.
Snerdley, who now hosts a daily one-hour afternoon show on 77 WABC in New York, told Barrett News Media he has a deep understanding and appreciation for what he accomplished in the business alongside Limbaugh for more than 30 years. However, he admitted comprehending the timeline can be a struggle at times.
“It’s weird because it all went by so fast. And it was incredible. The achievements that he made were profound, I think, in helping to shape not just the radio medium but he had an impact on the print medium, on television, and the electronic media. He really did change the American media landscape,” said Snerdley.
“So looking back on it now, I’m even more convinced that in the long run, history will be very kind to Rush. It will notice what the media landscape was before his show took off, how incredible of a run he had on the radio, but also how much impact he had on not just the medium that he was engaged in directly, but the other mediums as well.”
Like Limbaugh, Bo Snerdley makes his living in conservative talk radio. But that doesn’t mean he spends much time listening to others in the format.
“I don’t listen to a lot of radio,” he admitted. “I can’t because I’m doing my own radio show and one of the things that I am really conscious about is not imitating other people, not picking things up that they do. And I think a lot of radio people do that. So we read a lot and I spend most of my days reading and watching other mediums. I don’t want to inadvertently use someone else’s lines or whatever. I just want to have an original presentation for what it is that I do.”
That original presentation is an important aspect of Snerdley’s on-air persona.
“It is important, and there is going to obviously be some overlap. Many of us have similar thoughts about things, I suppose,” said Snerdley. “But that has always been so important — just to be original, to be your most authentic self, based on your own thoughts and your own prep.”
If anyone knew Rush Limbaugh’s show prep habits, it’s Bo Snerdley. He shared that he would often still be at the office and see papers being printed by Limbaugh from his home office to his studio computer for content on the next day’s program. Snerdley has carried that tenacious drive to find the best content into his show for 77 WABC.
“I think that if there’s anything that working with him all those decades has left me with is that that kind of work is absolutely necessary if you’re going to be extremely successful. You can’t leave it to somebody else,” Snerdley shared. “No matter what anybody else is reading and hands you — the people that work with you, whatever — you have really got to absorb a great deal of knowledge yourself.
“And no matter how much you absorb, you’re not going to get it all because we live in a world where, as you know, the news is constant. I am old enough to remember what those of us in the business used to call the ‘Dog Days of Summer’, when Congress was out and not in session,” he continued. “And it would also happen in December, around the Christmas holidays. The new cycles would come to a halt. You’d be scrounging for stories.
“Those days have been long gone. This 24-hour news cycle has been relentless now…even through the holidays, even through summer vacation for legislators. It just doesn’t stop. And if you’re going to be facing the public — and they’re looking at you for information — you’ve got to be tuned into it.”
The process of finding the correct content for his audience is a tedious one, but one Bo Snerdley takes seriously.
“I don’t feel comfortable at least I’ve done four to five hours of show prep for an hour,” he said.
In addition to his daily afternoon program, he hosts a three-hour morning show on Saturdays on the Red Apple Media-owned station. The two shows share similar purposes, but the presentations can be diametrically opposed to one another at times.
“It’s a different pace,” said Snerdley of the weekday program compared to his Saturday show. “If you have an hour, you really, really want to make sure that you get the top news and the top stories and your top take on whatever it is there. So you have to go a little bit different pace.
“In a way, it’s fun because it’s a challenge to see how much you can get in during that hour and still make it fun to listen to and — one hopes –make it engaging, and then do a good show. So it’s a lot of fun. I think we were able to accomplish that. It’s good to be able to accomplish doing a show where the listener feels that they’ve gotten the top news of the day and they’ve gotten a good dose of humor with it.
“And in my case, I’m really passionate about music. So we also throw in a bunch of music history. From what happened that day in the world of music, but we make it quick, so it’s fast-paced, but it’s jam-packed.”
Snerdley joined 77 WABC after Limbaugh’s 2021 death. He had previously hosted a call-in show on the station from 1992-1998, before returning to the New York news/talker after it was purchased by John and Margo Catsimatidis. He credited the billionaires for their commitment to returning to the station to its former glory.
“I have nothing but praise for John and Margo for the way that they have put together WABC’s resurgence,” said Bo Snerdley. “And how have they done it? They’ve done it by reaching out to all New Yorkers. They do things that you don’t normally find on ‘conservative’ talk radio. They will reach out and celebrate the LGBT community. And they’re doing that because they’re a part of New York. They are on top of every single group that is in New York, that is part of the New York culture. They get recognized on WABC.
“Yes, it is political. There’s political talk, but more than that, they have made it a cultural hub, where people can come in from whatever part of life you are as a New Yorker and be celebrated on that radio station. And I think that’s one of the keys to their growth,” he continued. “Of course, you have Chad (Lopez) there, who has an amazing career as a broadcast executive, who’s heading up as president. You have a lot of talented young people that are there, but the energy, the spirit came from the top down, that’s what’s made the station very successful.
“They love radio, they wanted WABC to become a success again, and that’s what they’ve been able to deliver on that vision,” praised Bo Snerdley. “It has just been a thrill to watch WABC climb through those ratings again, and now find themselves in one of the top stations in New York. It’s just such a thrill.”
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
