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Rush: Sterling Was Set Up

F

FredLeonard

Guest
Rush does it again:

Rush Limbaugh Has a Fun New Conspiracy Theory About Donald Sterling

n a segment that even Rush Limbaugh admitted would probably get picked up by an army of his critics (hi!), the conservative radio host pretty much ran with a caller's theory today that Clippers owner Donald Sterling was set up. That theory makes one big assumption: that Magic Johnson, the subject of Sterling's latest recorded racist rant, orchestrated the whole controversy in order to open up an opportunity to buy the Clippers for a lower price. Sterling was suspended for life from the NBA today, and the league will try to force him to sell his team. ...
www.thewire.com/politics/2014/04/ru...nspiracy-theory-about-donald-sterling/361407/
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Rush did PR for the Kansas City Royals. Seems like he didn't learn much from that experience. ESPN fired Rush a decade ago for making apparently racist comments about then Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
 
What does this have to do with news/talk radio as a format?
 
FredLeonard said:
Rush does it again:



Rush did PR for the Kansas City Royals. Seems like he didn't learn much from that experience. ESPN fired Rush a decade ago for making apparently racist comments about then Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
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What Rush and his army of idiots will certainly ignore or overlook, is that there's no way to set someone up in a manner that makes them say racist things, repeatedly.

Police set up criminals all the time, allowing them to commit a crime that they obviously had a penchant for committing. Sterling is a racist, as are many of Rush's listeners who seek solace from him in situations like this, since Rush will distract from the point and instead make the racist the victim. That's why they love him. And that's why he's a scumbag.

That's also why John Mainelli, who hired him at WABC in 1988, says he regrets helping to introduce him to the national stage and recently said that he's a nasty. ugly man.
 
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Avid Listener said:
What does this have to do with news/talk radio as a format?
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Good question. Why did Rush even step in this minefield? Not his area. Must be a slow news day. He would have been better off sticking with the regular playbook. The sports talk stations have been doing a better job handling the story.
 
While Rush and so many others are narrowly focused on Sterling's words (which we're heard over and over by now,) John & Ken (KFI) did some excellent segments on Sterling's relationship with the bimbo. Funny stuff! Terrific, off-beat talk radio. I never know what to expect from these guys and that's why I go to the trouble of listening online.

The trouble with Rush has less to do with his politics and his view of the world and more to do with his predictable, humorless presentation. He was just the opposite when Mainelli hired him. It's time for Rush to go before he takes talk radio down with him.
 
The topic was hot news and a CALLER offered this theory. Rush didn't excuse Sterling for his bigotry and he acknowledged that Sterling has no right to continued ownership, nor did he even imply that anyone forged the recording. The theory is that someone set a trap. His girlfriend opened the discussion, knowing how he'd respond to get it on tape. He's done with the NBA now, but he could still stick it to Magic by refusing to sell to him and engaging with the group that wants a franchise to return to Seattle. The discussion was topical to current events.
 
wadio said:
While Rush and so many others are narrowly focused on Sterling's words (which we're heard over and over by now,) John & Ken (KFI) did some excellent segments on Sterling's relationship with the bimbo. Funny stuff! Terrific, off-beat talk radio. I never know what to expect from these guys and that's why I go to the trouble of listening online.

The trouble with Rush has less to do with his politics and his view of the world and more to do with his predictable, humorless presentation. He was just the opposite when Mainelli hired him. It's time for Rush to go before he takes talk radio down with him.
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Since you put it that way, keep Rush around, by all means. If he takes talk radio down (and I assume by that you mean ideological right-wing talk), at least he'll will have made one positive contribution as he exits.

Mainelli also put Alan Colmes, Lynn Samuels and Joy Behar on the schedule with Rush. He was NOT "Johnny One Note" like Phil Boyce and the rest that followed.
 
FredLeonard said:
Mainelli also put Alan Colmes, Lynn Samuels and Joy Behar on the schedule with Rush. He was NOT "Johnny One Note" like Phil Boyce and the rest that followed.
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That's because Mainelli programmed based on personality, not ideology. Boyce is a born-again, who is actually friends with Dr. James Dobson himself, and pushed that agenda onto the talk stations he programmed. When he did so at WABC, the nation of programmers watched. as they often did, to see what the #1 market blowtorch was doing---and many followed suit. Again keep in mind that Mainelli attained better numbers at WABC than Boyce ever did, landing WABC a few tenths away from #1 overall in the market at one point before he sadly resigned/retired to pursue a consulting career.

That's right; with a schedule that included a variety of PERSONALITIES, not ideologues, Mainelli took a station that was floundering around 17th-20th in the market and brought them to #2 overall, a couple tenths from #1.

Where have you gone, John Mainelli, as a nation turns it's lonely ears to you?
 
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wadio said:
While Rush and so many others are narrowly focused on Sterling's words (which we're heard over and over by now,) John & Ken (KFI) did some excellent segments on Sterling's relationship with the bimbo. Funny stuff! Terrific, off-beat talk radio. I never know what to expect from these guys and that's why I go to the trouble of listening online.
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This is what I mean by entertaining. Watch Comedy Central. They take news of the day and make it funny and interesting. These talk hosts feel this need to lecture. That's not entertaining.
 
flybynight said:
That's because Mainelli programmed based on personality, not ideology. Boyce is a born-again, who is actually friends with Dr. James Dobson himself, and pushed that agenda onto the talk stations he programmed. When he did so at WABC, the nation of programmers watched. as they often did, to see what the #1 market blowtorch was doing---and many followed suit. Again keep in mind that Mainelli attained better numbers at WABC than Boyce ever did, landing WABC a few tenths away from #1 overall in the market at one point before he sadly resigned/retired to pursue a consulting career.

That's right; with a schedule that included a variety of PERSONALITIES, not ideologues, Mainelli took a station that was floundering around 17th-20th in the market and brought them to #2 overall, a couple tenths from #1.

Where have you gone, John Mainelli, as a nation turns it's lonely ears to you?
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Amen, FBN. Before WABC, he butchered WJR, "the Great Voice of the Great Lakes." Once a class act.

If there is a talk radio "hall of infamy" Boyce belongs in a prime location. Along with Daryl Parks.

Now Boyce is at Salem, spreading the right wing Gospel According to Bob Jones.
 
Mainelli programmed based on personality, not ideology.
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BINGO! Good talk radio requires witty, creative hosts and a PD who can keep them focused on entertaining, not preaching. I'd like to think if Rush had remained local working under Mainelli he wouldn't have become the dogmatic jackass he is today ... or he would have been shown the door long ago.

In that regard it seems to me today's syndicators could serve the same function as yesterday's local PDs ... obviously they don't ... they just crunch the numbers I guess.
 
wadio said:
I'd like to think if Rush had remained local working under Mainelli he wouldn't have become the dogmatic jackass he is today ... or he would have been shown the door long ago.
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One of the problems with big talent is they become more powerful than the people who are supposed to control them. It doesn't take long before their contracts are written with clauses about "full creative control" and that sort of thing. In a battle between big talent and management, the big talent always wins.
 
umfan said:
The topic was hot news and a CALLER offered this theory. Rush didn't excuse Sterling for his bigotry and he acknowledged that Sterling has no right to continued ownership, nor did he even imply that anyone forged the recording. The theory is that someone set a trap. His girlfriend opened the discussion, knowing how he'd respond to get it on tape. He's done with the NBA now, but he could still stick it to Magic by refusing to sell to him and engaging with the group that wants a franchise to return to Seattle. The discussion was topical to current events.
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Oh, stop it with your facts. The babies who just want to bash Rush don't need to know what actually happened. They already made up their minds 20 years ago when they got put on the beach due to lack of talent.
 
TheBigA said:
One of the problems with big talent is they become more powerful than the people who are supposed to control them. It doesn't take long before their contracts are written with clauses about "full creative control" and that sort of thing. In a battle between big talent and management, the big talent always wins.
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Big talent almost invariably have big egos. That's how they get to the top. Radio isn't unique in that regard.
 
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