I didn’t realize Rush made $38 million a year. Sounds like this contract renewal will pay him less. Radio ad revenues are down, listenership is down.
I expect Rush will still be around, just that his new contract won’t pay him nearly that much money. As you were saying, this is the free market at work. I expect Rush will still be in radio, still nationally syndicated, but will be paid based on the market situation now.
I think his biggest problem is that he’s not as entertaining as he once was. Fewer humorous elements in his show and that was once a good part of the success of his show. His true genius is understanding what makes an entertaining show, he’s a consummate radio professional. But I think he’s started to believe that he’s more than that and it’s hurt his product.
I’m the same age as Limbaugh and I’ve never seen him as any important thinker. He’s not. He began as popularizer of conservative material that most listeners weren’t aware of, usually found in small circulation magazines. The humor page of American Spectator. Articles from National Review (most without attribution which used to result in some grumbling). That sort of thing. He’s not all that well read, he rarely if ever speaks of any serious books that he’s read. One by Hayek is the only one I remember hearing him mention. But that’s not why I listened to him.