M
MarkDavis
Guest
Hello, friends.
I just did something I figured I would never do...replied to a post containing a lie about me. As I state in that post, subject line "Limbaugh," I don't really care what contemptible things are said about me by people who don't know what they're talking about. But when they contain things that reflect on others, it's another matter.
That said, I have to say it was energizing to throw a few words into this pond. It is filled with proud professionals at times, and other times with bitter malcontents. The small price of free speech.
But since I'm sitting here and have a couple of extra minutes, I figured I'd explode a few of the most repeated myths I see. I'm a fairly rare visitor, so fresh BS may go unaddressed for months.
But for now, here we go:
MY SYNDICATION HISTORY: Since ABC gave me the national show in September 2005, many references have been made to my previous national broadcast history. I have never had a daily syndicated show before. (You will see the occasional dunderheaded reference to some show I had "which lasted eight months.") My Sunday show lasted from 1997 to 2003 without interruption. Two things happened in '03-- my son was born, which eroded my desire to keep working six days, and the weekend topical talk ad market dried up, which eroded ABC's desire to pay what I wanted for '04 and beyond. The Sunday show was fun, but was never a big deal. It kept the needles bouncing in 100 to 150 markets, most of them small but grateful. The congeniality that marked the end of the Sunday show was part of the goodwill that led to the network giving me the weekday gig.
WBAP IN GENERAL: Everyone is entitled to an opinion about any show in the universe. You can think I suck, and that's fine. But there is nothing funnier than the cult of bitterness that clasps its hands waiting for my extinction, or Rush's or Sean's or whatever. The nine hours of Me/Rush/Sean are a powerhouse of talk, and when you precede it with a legend like Hal Jay and follow it with Levin/Gold/Doyle til midnight, that's why we are untouchable. No domination lasts forever, but you tell me what beats it. Plenty have tried.
MY BUDDY RUSS MARTIN: I scarcely recall how this got started, but the status quo is this: His is a show that doesn't care about discussing, or welcoming, personalities from elsewhere in the Metroplex media. No doubt it is an oddity for an afternoon drive radio icon to solicit guest hits from a midday counterpart in the same market. But it is pure symbiosis. He gets what he graciously considers decent radio, and I get some exposure to people who might not otherwise know I exist. He's happy, I'm happy. No mystery.
THE CITADEL MERGER: No one knows what exact effect it will have until it happens, but every vibe from every executive I've spoken with is that they didn't plunk down all that cash to screw ABC up. I have loved being a Disney employee for a decade, but the fact is that against the backdrop of their vast empire, we are but a small sliver. Citadel is an actual Radio Company, and that may accrue to the benefit of many.
A Happy Spring to all.
Mark
I just did something I figured I would never do...replied to a post containing a lie about me. As I state in that post, subject line "Limbaugh," I don't really care what contemptible things are said about me by people who don't know what they're talking about. But when they contain things that reflect on others, it's another matter.
That said, I have to say it was energizing to throw a few words into this pond. It is filled with proud professionals at times, and other times with bitter malcontents. The small price of free speech.
But since I'm sitting here and have a couple of extra minutes, I figured I'd explode a few of the most repeated myths I see. I'm a fairly rare visitor, so fresh BS may go unaddressed for months.
But for now, here we go:
MY SYNDICATION HISTORY: Since ABC gave me the national show in September 2005, many references have been made to my previous national broadcast history. I have never had a daily syndicated show before. (You will see the occasional dunderheaded reference to some show I had "which lasted eight months.") My Sunday show lasted from 1997 to 2003 without interruption. Two things happened in '03-- my son was born, which eroded my desire to keep working six days, and the weekend topical talk ad market dried up, which eroded ABC's desire to pay what I wanted for '04 and beyond. The Sunday show was fun, but was never a big deal. It kept the needles bouncing in 100 to 150 markets, most of them small but grateful. The congeniality that marked the end of the Sunday show was part of the goodwill that led to the network giving me the weekday gig.
WBAP IN GENERAL: Everyone is entitled to an opinion about any show in the universe. You can think I suck, and that's fine. But there is nothing funnier than the cult of bitterness that clasps its hands waiting for my extinction, or Rush's or Sean's or whatever. The nine hours of Me/Rush/Sean are a powerhouse of talk, and when you precede it with a legend like Hal Jay and follow it with Levin/Gold/Doyle til midnight, that's why we are untouchable. No domination lasts forever, but you tell me what beats it. Plenty have tried.
MY BUDDY RUSS MARTIN: I scarcely recall how this got started, but the status quo is this: His is a show that doesn't care about discussing, or welcoming, personalities from elsewhere in the Metroplex media. No doubt it is an oddity for an afternoon drive radio icon to solicit guest hits from a midday counterpart in the same market. But it is pure symbiosis. He gets what he graciously considers decent radio, and I get some exposure to people who might not otherwise know I exist. He's happy, I'm happy. No mystery.
THE CITADEL MERGER: No one knows what exact effect it will have until it happens, but every vibe from every executive I've spoken with is that they didn't plunk down all that cash to screw ABC up. I have loved being a Disney employee for a decade, but the fact is that against the backdrop of their vast empire, we are but a small sliver. Citadel is an actual Radio Company, and that may accrue to the benefit of many.
A Happy Spring to all.
Mark