Sometimes the best things in life happen on accident, by chance, or with just a little bit of luck. Whatever it might be, nationally syndicated radio host Tom Sullivan sure is glad to have been flexible when it mattered most. “You never know what’s going to come your way,” he said.
It was 1980 when the Sacramento businessman was looking to advertise his new investment firm. “I looked into advertising rates for local radio. This is out in Sacramento. And I called, and they said, well, our business reporter is leaving soon. And by the way, could you come in and do some year-end tax tips and things like that? I said, ‘sure’ and they hired me to be their business reporter. And it was basically for free advertising.”
For eight years, business was his beat at KFBK, and he became close friends with Rush Limbaugh. “Well, [Rush] was the best man at my wedding,” he said. “I mean, we were really close. I miss him terribly.”
When the radio giant moved to New York, Sullivan received an offer for a hour-long show. “The only station in the country that had a three-hour Rush Limbaugh show was the station in Sacramento. Rush’s deal was he would do two hours for WABC radio locally and then two hours on the national show. The national show was only a handful of stations, but that’s how they started. So, the only station that had the problem was out in Sacramento. Rush only was on the board for two hours. So, they [asked me], ‘Would you go in and do a one hour talk show to fill that void?’ And I did, and that’s how I got started.”
He noted of his friend, “I think one of the things that surprised a lot of people about Rush was that he was truly a humble man. Because he was so big and full of bravado and everything else. But he was a good Midwestern guy from Missouri and polite and generous. So that side of him, you did not necessarily see if you were a consumer of his show, but really a good, honest Midwest guy, with humility. He couldn’t believe the success that he had. He pinched himself about it all the time.”
Sullivan would fill in for Limbaugh for many years, but radio was just the beginning of his long broadcasting career. He eventually followed Limbaugh to New York but not for radio. “In 2007, Fox called and said, ‘We are starting a new network called Fox Business and we understand you’re a businessperson and a broadcaster. Would you come to New York to a large television network and also bring your radio show with you?’ So that’s how I got to New York in 2007, and here I am 17 years later, still going. I retired from Fox, but I kept my radio show.”
The timing of Fox Business’ beginnings could not have been timelier. “I used to kind of joke about the fact that we started Fox Business October 1st of 2007. From that day for the next two years, the market started going down and just kept going down. It was until 2009 when it hit bottom in March of 2009. So, did we jinx it? What did we do? But it was straight downhill from the day we started Fox Business for almost two years. And I just enjoy it whatever the financial markets are doing.”
During this time when financial experts were losing their heads, the media veteran always kept calm. “Neil Cavuto always teased me. He’d say, ‘Tom, you stay so calm in the middle of this storm, wow do you do that?’ I don’t know. It just is what it is. I mean, the market goes up, the market goes down.”
For nearly 25 years, Sullivan has seen dramatic change in the industry, most notably through technology. “They keep saying it’s going to get easier, and in some ways it has. During the pandemic, they set me up with a studio in my home, and there were a few glitches, but it worked really well. So, there’s a lot of people that are still staying home. But I like to go into the studio and be in a professional environment.”
His advice for those looking to follow in his footsteps is “be flexible and be ready. I did not see myself as a broadcaster. I was interested in money and finance and the economy, and that’s what I studied. My degrees are all in business, and I got into radio by accident because I wanted to get some advertising for my new little investment firm that I started. So, I kind of stumbled into it.”
Sullivan noted, “I never took a broadcasting course in my life. I took the minimum English Lit courses that I had to take to get a degree. My whole thing is I’ve got accounting degrees and business degrees. So just get out there and you will find the more education you have, the more doors you’ll open, and with more doors opening, you’ll have more opportunities. I see a lot of people that don’t answer the door when opportunity is knocking. I heard the door, and I opened it up and it was a broadcasting door, and I tried it. So be flexible. You never know what’s going to come your way.”
Sullivan, a big believer in radio, and currently syndicated by Talk Media Network, believes it will always be here, but he is looking toward the future of the industry with excitement. “They predicted the demise of radio when television came along. Today, more people listen to radio than any other media source. Every week, somewhere during the week is like 90 some percent of people listen to radio. So, I don’t think it’s going away.”
“It’s like television. When I grew up, there were three stations – ABC, NBC, CBS. Now there’s 3,000 stations and cable started to see an erosion to the streamers. The streamers are bringing in a whole new angle that we never thought would come along. Podcasting is basically streaming of radio. I keep swearing I’m going to start a podcast someday”
About podcasting, he noted, “It’s just another way to reach out and have some fun with what we do.”
Krystina Alarcon Carroll is a news media columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
