Spirit of Radio

I was never a huge Rush Limbaugh fan. Part of the reason for that is timing. It was difficult at best with my work schedule to be able to listen on any sort of regular basis. Over the last two years, if I was able to catch his opening segment, that was a lot. I also didn't agree with him all the time. I was able to understand his viewpoint and often it helped me refine my own opinions and beliefs. To me, the lasting part of his legacy will be how he defined the concept of talk radio.

I won't elaborate on the details of his career. There are dozens of news articles for that. Instead, I am going to focus on just how much he influenced, some would say invented, the genre. Rush, more than any other, took radio from a passive media and created an interactive experience that has been, and will be for years to come, copied by talkers of all stripes from far left to far right. Look at any talk show on any station today. Every single one, from national powers like Sean Hannity to local stars like Dan O'Donnell, can trace their roots to Rush.

It isn't an overstatement to say that nobody since the invention of radio played such a critical role in the evolution of radio as Rush. AM radio was a slowly dying entity before Rush went national. As a result of his show and the others that followed, an entire industry was given an overhaul that is still thriving today. Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Air America, Resistance Radio...none would exist if it hadn't been for the trail that Rush broke.

Love or hate his content, we all have to agree that, in terms of format, Rush was a pioneer the likes of which do not come around every day. His legacy will survive well into the digital age. Godspeed Rush. You will be missed.