News Audio

Erick Erickson: Rush Limbaugh Told Me Not to Be an Activist

Erickson said he has come to understand that his job on the radio is not to take on a role as an activist.

Published

1 year ago

August 29, 2022

Ryan Hedrick

Cox Media radio host Erick Erickson said Friday that he learned a valuable lesson from the late Rush Limbaugh.

While addressing a story about student loan forgiveness, Erickson said he has come to understand that his job on the radio is not to take on a role as an activist.

“Rush and I were dear friends, and I don’t say that lightly,” he said. “He (Rush) got me into radio, I would not have done this but for his encouragement. He found me as my agent, and he let me pick his brain on all sorts of stuff.”

Erickson said his one disagreement with Limbaugh stemmed from a conversation the pair had about what the role of a talk show host should be.

“I am an activist at heart,” Erickson said. “Rush told me that my job was just to entertain and keep people company.”

Erickson said that over time he learned that his number one priority was not to take issues to heart but to entertain his audience and drive engagement.

“It’s not to pick a political fight, it’s not to save the world, it’s to keep people company,” he said. “You must keep them entertained and informed. I always thought I would love to fire up the phones and turn people into activists.”

Erickson added that he understands why Limbaugh didn’t promote activism.

“He (Limbaugh) had 20 million listeners. He always told me that if he did [promote activism] he would’ve been bombarded with issues.”

Erickson said he finally understands what Limbaugh was talking about.

Ryan Hedrick

Ryan Hedrick works for WIBC in Indianapolis as a Morning News Anchor/Digital Content Producer. Prior to moving to Indy, he served as Assistant Program Director and Co-Host of the Morning News Express at WFMD. His career also includes stints at News Talk 103.7 FM in Chambersburg, PA, Sirius XM in Washington D.C., WBEN in Buffalo, NY, and WIBW-AM in Topeka KS where he earned the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB) award for Major Market enterprise reporting in 2016. To connect with Ryan, find him on Twitter @SureToCover.

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News Audio

Fox News Audio to Debut New Podcast Hosted by Benjamin Hall

Searching for Heroes with Benjamin Hall will debut on Monday, December 4th.

Published

3 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BNM Staff

(Photo: Benjamin Hall)

Fox News Audio is set to release a new podcast series hosted by Benjamin Hall early next month.

Searching for Heroes with Benjamin Hall will debut on Monday, December 4th. According to the network, the podcast “will highlight inspiring stories of community and compassion, while providing a voice to America’s unsung heroes.” After the initial debut, episodes will be released every Sunday at 3 PM ET.

Hall was injured in March 2022 while covering the war in Ukraine. The car Hall was riding in was struck by a projectile, killing colleagues Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova.

The first episode of the new podcast will feature a retrospective about the attack, the injuries he sustained while covering the war, and the efforts it took to return to work after suffering the injuries.

Benjamin Hall recently returned to Ukraine for the first time since the attack. He interviewed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his stay, which aired on November 21st.

BNM Staff

News Audio

News Media Well Represented on Apple’s Most Popular Podcasts Rankings

Both radio and digital news media companies fared well in the Top Free Channels category.

Published

4 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BNM Staff

Apple Podcasts has released its rankings for the most popular podcasts in several categories, with news media being well represented in the lists.

In the top overall podcasts of 2023, The Daily from The New York Times was listed as the second most popular podcast. Dateline NBC finished in third. An episode from The Daily — “The Fight Over Phonics” — was the third most shared podcast episode of the year.

Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra was the seventh most shared podcast of the year, according to Apple.

Both radio and digital news media companies fared well in the Top Free Channels category. iHeartPodcasts took the top spot, with The New York Times finishing third. ABC News was seventh, followed by The Daily Wire in eighth, and Cumulus Podcast Network taking 10th.

Apple Podcasts plans to release its Show of the Year on Tuesday, December 5th.

BNM Staff

News Audio

Mark Simone: Karl Rove Hasn’t Won Anything in 30 Years, So Why Is He on Fox News?

“And Rove, ‘he’s the architect!’. This guy hasn’t won anything in 30 years. And the only thing he ever did win — back in the 90s he won a bunch of races in Texas.”

Published

5 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BNM Staff

(Photo: Mark Simone)

As the first Presidential primaries approach, Republican challengers to Donald Trump continue to be pitched around the cable news landscape. Fox News analyst Karl Rove has been a proponent of former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) and current Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). 710 WOR host Mark Simone wonders why Rove’s opinion matters, and why he’s on Fox News to begin with.

During The Mark Simone Show Monday, Simone questioned why Rove is still viewed as a visionary of Republican politics when his record doesn’t stack up to the moniker.

“You hear Rove all over the place talking about Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. Forget it. And Rove, ‘he’s the architect!’. This guy hasn’t won anything in 30 years. And the only thing he ever did win — back in the 90s he won a bunch of races in Texas. He won an attorney general’s race in Texas (and) a state assembly race in Texas,” argued Simone.

“He helped Bush in Texas — George W. Bush — and he was always part of the Bush team and was always there in 2000. I don’t know that you can consider 2000 a great victory. It was pretty much a draw. Bush couldn’t beat Gore with enough votes to win. Remember, it had to go to the court to win, the Supreme Court.”

Rove has served as a political analyst and contributor at Fox News since exiting the Bush White House in 2008. He is also a columnist for The Wall Street Journal.

BNM Staff