The conservative talk radio farm team

[bigrobmjca]

Hey guys, we all know that the greats like Limbaugh, Savage, and Valentine will eventually retire. Anybody know of any up and comers besides Andrea Tantaros? The only other one I could think of would be if The Southern Avenger Jack Hunter got a talk show. Opinions? Any ideas?

 

[jrls4444]

Limbaugh will go for probably at least another 10 years. Hannity will keep with it for probably at least another 15 years. If Valentine left, nobody would notice or care. Tantaros isn't doing radio for the love of radio, she's doing it to expand her brand. Don't expecther to be in it for the long haul. Jack Hunter is despised by mainstream conservatives because he is a Ron Paul lackey.

As far as the next big star, who knows! It won't be Andy Dean, Andrea Tantaros, or Jack Hunter. The legends still have some years left in them.

 

[FredLeonard]

Rush Limbaugh is 62, morbidly obese, with a history of drug use, tobacco use and terrible diet and lack of exercise. Another 10 years of anything is highly unlikely.

 

[KeithE4]

Rush Limbaugh is 62, morbidly obese, with a history of drug use, tobacco use and terrible diet and lack of exercise. Another 10 years of anything is highly unlikely.

His contract is also up at the end of 2016. I can't see CC keeping him on without a serious pay cut, if at all. His audience is dying of old age, and what little credibility he had in the past is gone. He's a dinosaur who's time is up.

 

[ProducerGuy]

Rush Limbaugh is 62, morbidly obese, with a history of drug use, tobacco use and terrible diet and lack of exercise. Another 10 years of anything is highly unlikely.

1993 called. They want their insults back.

 

[ProducerGuy]

Hey guys, we all know that the greats like Limbaugh, Savage, and Valentine will eventually retire. Anybody know of any up and comers besides Andrea Tantaros? The only other one I could think of would be if The Southern Avenger Jack Hunter got a talk show. Opinions? Any ideas?

There are a million wanna be Rushes. When he does retire, he'll be replaced by 3 or 4 different guys. No one will ever be allowed to get 600 affiliates again, since that tends to inflate salaries. Clear Channel doesn't want to pay one guy $80 million a year, but they'll jump at the idea of paying 5 guys $5 million.

(See? That's how you answer a question without insults.)

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

There are a million wanna be Rushes. When he does retire, he'll be replaced by 3 or 4 different guys. No one will ever be allowed to get 600 affiliates again, since that tends to inflate salaries. Clear Channel doesn't want to pay one guy $80 million a year, but they'll jump at the idea of paying 5 guys $5 million.

The Limbaugh "machine" has worked because his personality and stature in the industry was used by local affiliate stations to go out and sell based of "the lift his airflow gave the wings." If the networks, Clear Channel or others, come trotting out their new $5 million dollar guys as a replacement for the $80 million dollar guy... will local stations across the nation jump on board... or will they say: We have always put up with a certain amount of local push-back and grief because of the fire-power of the "800 pound gorilla" in the room. Will affiliates ever be happy with fielding the grief when all they get in return is a 50 pound gorilla. And without a network of local stations, will the new gorilla be able to command $5 million?

Fads come and go. Some of them live on much longer than we expected. Some of them vanish much quicker than we expected. So what is the future in Talk Radio for gorillas of any weight classification?

You have noticed, I assume, that the gap left when Paul Harvey left the stage has no new tree in his place.

 

[ProducerGuy]

And without a network of local stations, will the new gorilla be able to command $5 million?

Maybe not. That was just a number I pulled off the top of my head. That replacement could be 10 guys making half a million, or 3 guys making $10 million. The point is there won't be one big guy with 600 affiliates again. Just like the record industry, they don't want the artists/hosts having all the power when contract time comes along.

Just like there will never be another band as big as the Rolling Stones or U2, there will never be another host as big as Rush. That's neither a good nor a bad thing, it's just how the business has developed.

 

[radiowizard101]

The conservative drum has been beaten to oblivion. The new genre of talk is going to have to be more female friendly and skew much younger. Look for a more entertainment gossip type personality to pull this off. Could be female. Whoever it is, he or she will have to have lots of charisma and be very likable. I would venture to say that this 'star' will cross multiple media platforms. They will have to do this to succeed in this brave new world of talk. The conservative talk era is coming to an end.

 

[FredLeonard]

The Limbaugh "machine" has worked because his personality and stature in the industry was used by local affiliate stations to go out and sell based of "the lift his airflow gave the wings." If the networks, Clear Channel or others, come trotting out their new $5 million dollar guys as a replacement for the $80 million dollar guy... will local stations across the nation jump on board... or will they say: We have always put up with a certain amount of local push-back and grief because of the fire-power of the "800 pound gorilla" in the room. Will affiliates ever be happy with fielding the grief when all they get in return is a 50 pound gorilla. And without a network of local stations, will the new gorilla be able to command $5 million?

Fads come and go. Some of them live on much longer than we expected. Some of them vanish much quicker than we expected. So what is the future in Talk Radio for gorillas of any weight classification?

You have noticed, I assume, that the gap left when Paul Harvey left the stage has no new tree in his place.

Paul Harvey made a point of exercise and healthy diet and he did not smoke. Sometime in the 50s he lost weight and maintained a taut physique for the rest of his life. He made it to 90. I don't see any insurance company willing to bet Rush is going to last another 10 years. Some of Rush's fans may live on but Rush won't.

And when Rush's fans go (and to most advertisers, they already have) there is nobody coming along to replace them. If Rush were doing sports PR today and looking to get back into radio, he'd be doing sports talk. He'd probably do it very well.

 

[cefgw]

Rush Limbaugh is 62, morbidly obese,

Not obese since the 90s

with a history of drug use,

He abused perscription painkillers for back pain and lost his hearing. You imply ongoing recreational drug use such as marujuana, etc

tobacco use and terrible diet and lack of exercise. Another 10 years of anything is highly unlikely.

He quit smoking years ago, and finally I'm not sure about the diet or the exercise. Please offer proof.

 

[FredLeonard]

Rush Limbaugh is 62, morbidly obese,

Not obese since the 90s

with a history of drug use,

He abused perscription painkillers for back pain and lost his hearing. You imply ongoing recreational drug use such as marujuana, etc

tobacco use and terrible diet and lack of exercise. Another 10 years of anything is highly unlikely.

Check recent photos online, including those of Rush with a cigar.

He quit smoking years ago, and finally I'm not sure about the diet or the exercise. Please offer proof.

 

[cefgw]

How could I forget about the cigars? ??? Thanks.

 

[del_griffith]

cefgw: His own website front page shows him cigar in hand.

 

[ProducerGuy]

The conservative talk era is coming to an end.

It's 1993 again. They want their predictions back, too.

 

[Albert19X]

Don't most big markets have multiple Little Limbaughs just itching for a shot at a national deal. I know my market has several.

 

[ProducerGuy]

Don't most big markets have multiple Little Limbaughs just itching for a shot at a national deal. I know my market has several.

Yeah, there's no shortage of people waiting for the shot. And hiring a bunch of them will be more cost effective.

 

[cefgw]

cefgw: His own website front page shows him cigar in hand.

Hey, I don't visit there often

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Don't most big markets have multiple Little Limbaughs just itching for a shot at a national deal. I know my market has several.

Yeah, there's no shortage of people waiting for the shot. And hiring a bunch of them will be more cost effective.

Let me challenge the meaning of and the nature of the term "cost effective". Cost effective may be to go with a known, proven product. What happens to a given radio station that decides to gamble on a low-priced (we can define PRICE but we may not be able to measure COST) "Little Limbagh" and the candidate bombs. Another station in the market decides to gamble on another low-priced "Little Limbaugh" and the gamble pays off.

How cost effective will that be for the station that selected the wrong "Little Limbaugh"?

What does it do to the industry if it turns out that ALL the "Little Limbaughs" are indeed LITTLE and none of them have the skill and talent to become a national force. It seems that part of the mystique and success of "The Real Limbaugh" is the one big unified message and philosophy on a nationwide basis. I'm sure many a station operator has gone out for an evening of socializing at the country club and has quietly been confronted by a big buyer of local radio advertising who asks: "How do you sleep at night bringing all that discord into our community?" And the current workable answer is: "Hey, it must be the right thing to do. EVERYBODY is doing it across the country."

If we move into an era of Balkanized talk radio with "Little Limbaughs" everywhere and your bread and butter advertisers start asking "Why do run three hours of talk-sewer every day?" how will the station operator explain and justify having picked the WRONG "Little Limbaugh"?

Will that be cost effective?

 

[ProducerGuy]

Let me challenge the meaning of and the nature of the term "cost effective". Cost effective may be to go with a known, proven product. What happens to a given radio station that decides to gamble on a low-priced (we can define PRICE but we may not be able to measure COST) "Little Limbagh" and the candidate bombs. Another station in the market decides to gamble on another low-priced "Little Limbaugh" and the gamble pays off.

How cost effective will that be for the station that selected the wrong "Little Limbaugh"?

What does it do to the industry if it turns out that ALL the "Little Limbaughs" are indeed LITTLE and none of them have the skill and talent to become a national force. It seems that part of the mystique and success of "The Real Limbaugh" is the one big unified message and philosophy on a nationwide basis. I'm sure many a station operator has gone out for an evening of socializing at the country club and has quietly been confronted by a big buyer of local radio advertising who asks: "How do you sleep at night bringing all that discord into our community?" And the current workable answer is: "Hey, it must be the right thing to do. EVERYBODY is doing it across the country."

If we move into an era of Balkanized talk radio with "Little Limbaughs" everywhere and your bread and butter advertisers start asking "Why do run three hours of talk-sewer every day?" how will the station operator explain and justify having picked the WRONG "Little Limbaugh"?

Will that be cost effective?

You make an excellent point. But "cost effective" in terms of most radio management types these days just means "cheap". They're not exactly the most forward thinking bunch anymore. If they ever were.