Rush was heard in 600 markets, I guess we can call that the EIB - Excellence in Broadcasting - Network. Not some offical entity but a force based on sheer numbers.

There is talk from the left of reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine, over simplified to state a broadcaster must provide opposing viewpoints to controversial issues discussed on a given platform. The FCC eliminated the FD in 1987, info on the FD is readily available on line.

If Rush Limbaugh single-handedly recreated the AM radio band (he did), dumping the FD opened the door for him to do so.

For years, the left have grumbled about bringing the FD back. The door is probably open to that now. Without the economic powerhouse of EIB affiliates to push back, conservative AM talk radio may well be on its heels.

As concerning as that is, the survival of many of the stations may be in question. I'm sure many of these small market stations earned the bulk of their revenue from that three hour Limbaugh block.

Purely anecdotal observation, over the last several years, we travel across Missouri and Kansas to visit with some few remaining relatives. At no time do you not find Rush, as one signal fades, another comes in, usually more than one choice. He is everywhere.

Or he was. Replacing him is unlikely enough, the left are not going to let this conservative crisis go to waste. We're facing another war on multiple fronts.

Let us know how your local market handles this new challenge. As of today, the EIB is up and running. 50000 watt clear-channel KMOX radio blowtorch in St. Louis has big choices to make, more than a little edgy waiting to see how they respond.

quote:

There is talk from the left of reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine, over simplified to state a broadcaster must provide opposing viewpoints to controversial issues discussed on a given platform. The FCC eliminated the FD in 1987, info on the FD is readily available on line.

Conservatives should add in a codicil to the bill: "to be applied to any and all social media, internet, digital, broadcast, mediums to include Twatter, Fakebook, et al.... lummp in those leftist media groups that now have an exception....

Question: who will eventually replace him? I know several conservative hosts say, "No one can replace Rush" and that's not what I mean.

But I can't see his program just closing shop, right? He's like Trebek of Jeopardy except Rush brought his ideas to the table, not other people's questions.

There's absolutely no way the left will reinstitute the FD. They've got way more to lose than the conservatives do.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
There's absolutely no way the left will reinstitute the FD. They've got way more to lose than the conservatives do.

Completely agree.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
There's absolutely no way the left will reinstitute the FD. They've got way more to lose than the conservatives do.

I had much the same thought. In the left's more typical sleazy, disingenuous way, they would more likely pressure cable providers and individual broadcast facilities to cancel conservative content.

The free market allowed Rush to kick the left-radio's ass. The end of the 'Fairness' doctrine opened the door, but without Rush, nobody would have gone through.

Now, the 'Fairness' doctrine could have killed EIB - don't get me wrong. What radio station would give some drooling leftist equal time/audience opportunity with EIB? That'd have been financial suicide.

Rush made it work with both content and style, and that's a rare gift.

There are lots of people with reasonably conservative viewpoints who cannot, for the life of themselves, be either succinct or witty. We see those people's content re-posted on SIGforum quite often...you know, pundits who take 12 paragraphs to cover three paragraphs' worth of content. Intelligent though they may be, and logical though their thinking processes are, there is no 'doctrine' that could get them a large enough audience to be financially viable.

It surely helped Rush/EIB that few wanted to hear the left's drivel. And for those who truly wanted that crap, there were tons of places spewing it in the mainstream; they could get it on the evening 'news' and didn't need to seek out specialized radio programs.

And I think that latter dynamic still holds, unfortunately. It is ourselves who are motivated to go beyond the mainstream 'news' sources, and it is ourselves who comprise that potential market.

Just add "Rush 2.0", whoever that might be.

TL: DR We do not want/need another mandated "Doctrine" IMO- we know very well who those rules would be constructed to thwart, and who they would be designed to promote.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
There's absolutely no way the left will reinstitute the FD. They've got way more to lose than the conservatives do.

Never underestimate the ability of the dems to exceed our expectations.

Whenever they hit rock bottom, they bring out the TNT and start blasting.


After all, the leftists would be in charge of any mechanism tasked with enforcing this nonsense. They would be in charge of defining what is 'Fair.' Just like the censorship on social media (and we all know how that works), the leftists would get a pass and they would crack down hard on conservatives.

I missed the open to today's Rush, the wife said sub Todd Hermann mentioned EIB isn't going away any time soon.

Whatever, keep it going with an increasing number of substitute hosts. On top of the ok at best bench now, let's give slots to Tammy Bruce, Mark Davis from Dallas, Nick freakin' Searcy, roll the dice and see if Nick Di Paolo can keep a lid on his instincts, Levin, there's a bunch out there who could keep the show fresh every day. Flood the zone!! Who knows, there may even be cream waiting to rise.

All the left needs to do is have a radio network to their own. Besides taxpayer subsidised NPR. Oh wait they did. And it failed. Nobody wants to hear their drivel.

The left are always so blind in their ambition they never see the “unintended” consequences

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sig Marine,

The lefties have their mouth pieces on TV and in the internet medium.

They, combined, just do not have the 20+ million audience that Rush has.

I do not see the fairness doctrine coming back. If something comes back, it will be worse.

Rush was at the right place at the right time with his talent on loan from god. Too bad god decided to collect early.