Hannity shares life lesson from conservative radio legend
Talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh passed away a year ago, on February 17, 2021, leaving a huge void in his big, booming voice that expressed conservatism like no other in American history.
"I can't believe it's been a year," Sean Hannity told Fox News Digital.
"I think the great gift that Rush had was always having a unique perspective on the issue of the day that no one else would ever think about. I can't tell you how many times he'd say something and I'd be like that." , 'Why wouldn't I think so?' He just had a gift that no one else had," Hannity said. "You wanna talk about the greatest goat ever? It's definitely Rush."
The radio icon learned that she had stage IV lung cancer in January 2020 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Trump in a State of the Union address a few days later. After receiving America's highest civilian honor, Limbaugh continued to host his shows whenever possible during his brutal treatment for advanced cancer.
Hannity said most people would have called it a career after more than three successful decades and crossed off a few things on the bucket list while enjoying his final days — but Limbaugh didn't act like most people.
"Rush's bucket list was what he used to do every day. His bucket list was to be behind that microphone. His bucket list was to be with his audience. His passion was radio and his passion was politics, and his passion was his audience. ,” said Hannity.
"That's why he went through those treatments, just got better enough to be back on the air until he had to take the next round of treatment," he said. "I think it speaks volumes a lot and it's a life lesson for all of us that you should love what you do in life. And obviously, he was very much loved by his audience."
He lost his battle with lung cancer just a year after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Limbaugh's death shook everyone from his listeners to Trump, who checked in on the talk radio icon on a frequent basis.
"I know that President Trump has been in touch with him throughout his illness and will call him regularly," Hannity said. "He cared about Rush a lot."
Limbaugh is considered one of the most influential media figures in American history and has played a consequential role in conservative politics since "The Rush Limbaugh Show" began in 1988. Sitting behind his Golden EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) microphone, Limbaugh spent more than three decades as arguably the most beloved and polarizing figure in American media.
Beginning 34 years ago on national syndication with only 56 radio stations, the program became the most listened to radio show in the United States, broadcast on over 600 stations. 27 million people tune in on a weekly basis, and Limbaugh affectionately refers to his passionate fan base as "dittoheads", as they often say "ditto" when the iconic radio host agrees.
In his final radio broadcast of 2020, Limbaugh thanked his listeners and supporters, revealing at the time that he had exceeded his forecast.
"I didn't expect to be alive today," he said. "I didn't expect to make it until October, and then November, and then December. And yet, here I am, and today, there are some problems, but I feel great today."
Limbaugh helped take Trump's influence seriously as a candidate ahead of the 2016 election, when other established conservatives didn't want the former reality television star anywhere near the Republican Party. Many of Limbaugh's listeners eventually became supporters of Trump, and the radio legend continued to defend Trump throughout his presidency, despite occasional disagreements.
In the heat of the 2020 presidential election, Limbaugh hosted Trump for an unprecedented two-hour "radio rally," during which the president was given control of the iconic Golden Microphone to answer questions from the host and his listeners.
Cape Girardo, Mo., on January 12, 1951. Limbaugh, born in 2006, began his radio career as an "assistant" in 1967, when he was only 16 years old. He eventually graduated with a degree in disc jockeying and worked at a small station about 100 miles south of St. Louis while attending high school.
"I was completely consumed," Limbaugh told the New York Times in 1990, noting that his idol was a Chicago radio host named Larry Lujack. By 1971, Limbaugh was the morning radio host in Pittsburgh, but covered things like "agriculture news" more often than politics. He has said that he realized that America was "the greatest country ever" when traveling to Europe and Asia in his late 20s and early 30s, an experience that helped shape his political views. Of.
From that point forward, Limbaugh believed that "American exceptionalism" should be ignored, and his conservative views became more prominent.
"Rush loved this country with all his heart, mind, body and soul," Hannity said. "He influenced a generation of Americans about real conservatism. He was a great believer in individualism and freedom and liberty and capitalism and free markets and our Constitution."
In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission repealed the fairness principle, a policy that had been in place since 1949 and mandated that both sides of controversial political issues have equal time on radio programs. The FCC's decision paved the way for Limbaugh to broadcast his conservative views without fear of being punished by the government, making him a pioneer in the now dominant talk radio format.
Following local radio programs in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Sacramento, Limbaugh landed at WABC in New York shortly after the Fairness Principle was repealed. It was there that he changed talk radio forever when "The Rush Limbaugh Show" became a cultural phenomenon both for the message and the way it was delivered.
"Unlike most radio talkers, who wield a casual, intimate style, Limbaugh sounds like he's on a soapbox. He's intoxicated with words, especially those flowing from his own lips. His vocabulary is broad; his accent is lavishly formal, though blown to the extent of self-parody. His nervous energy emanates from hands that never stop moving. They rattle papers, slap desks, consoles punch!
Around that time, Hannity was in New York for "The Phil Donahue Show" and popped in by ABC to chat with the program director. Limbaugh was also there and the two met for the first time.
"He couldn't be nicer," Hannity said.
A few years later in 1996, Hannity moved to New York to help launch Fox News and found himself broadcasting his own radio show from the ABC studios where Limbaugh was held. Hannity began working the late night shift, but quickly moved into the afternoon drive timelot that followed Limbaugh.
“I would see him from time to time while he was there, he was transitioning to Florida, and then they started inviting me to fill in for him,” Hannity said. "The first time I fill up, I'm doing opening monologues for their shows and I'm on 600 stations. I've never been too nervous to do radio, but I felt it that day."
Hannity recalls a loud "thud" sound when Limbaugh's golden EIB microphone fell in the middle of his monologue when he first filled in for the iconic host. Hannity ended her monologue with her head down on the table, attempting to talk as she desperately tried to steady the mic.
"I'm sweating profusely, thinking, 'I'm never going to be invited here again,'" Hannity said. "But they used me a little bit to fill in for him and it was such a great opportunity, I can't believe it. I'm so grateful and grateful that he helped... It definitely raised my profile a lot." "
Limbaugh was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame and the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He was a five-time winner of the National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award for "Excellence in Syndicate and Network Broadcasting", was a #1 New York Times bestselling author and was named one of Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People in 2008 and one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2009.
While Limbaugh pursued a career on radio, a speech he gave at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2009 is widely regarded as one of the most pivotal moments of his career – his interpretation of "who are the conservatives" that struck a chord with the crowd. Inspired "USA! USA!" burst with chants.
Hannity said Limbaugh wants the next generation of conservatives to "keep fighting," but the massive void he left is impossible to fill.
"Rush Limbaugh was simply irreplaceable," Hannity said. "You can't take the place of a guy with so much talent."