Talk Radio

Actually, it's not about politics, it's about advertising

I recall Rush on PBS many years ago, as he was getting started and he said "it's all about three things, ratings, ratings and ratings"
Without ratings he can't sell advertising.

Interesting profile :


Rush Limbaugh is Just Getting Warmed Up - NYTimes.com:

"Limbaugh can afford to live the way he wants. When we met he was on the verge of signing a new eight-year contract with his syndicator, Premiere Radio Networks. He estimated that it would bring in about $38 million a year. To sweeten the deal, he said he was also getting a nine-figure signing bonus. (A representative from Premiere would not confirm the deal.) “Do you know what bought me all this?” he asked, waving his hand in the general direction of his prosperity. “Not my political ideas. Conservatism didn’t buy this house. First and foremost I’m a businessman. My first goal is to attract the largest possible audience so I can charge confiscatory ad rates. I happen to have great entertainment skills, but that enables me to sell airtime.”"

And I'd bet that many comments in the profile are aimed to help ... ratings.


Later thoughts
While I would occasionally listen while driving, I came to realise that he truly is not all that well educated and sounds like he's not willing to learn. Rarely would I ever hear "well, maybe I'm wrong" or "let me learn more about this"

Taking positions on issues he has little to no knowledge and being bull headed about them causes all other positions to be suspect.

Bottom line : a contribution to the ongoing dumbing down of society rather than improvement.

Also : the politics of confrontation, vs compromise - look what it gets us.