Rush Limbaugh explaining 'How Talk Radio Works'

VIDEO: Rush Limbaugh candidly explains his formula for Talk Radio success

I've transcribed the entire clip as it is a very instructive and candid accounting of Rush Limbaugh's formula for success. Spoken by the master himself. It's a fascinating interview as Rush Limbaugh volunteers his entire playbook, revealing someone self-aware and enjoys what he's doing. It challenges the image projected by Rush now, of someone who rarely allows access except for friends and the most prestigious of outlets. The interview was conducted by Miggs B of Connecticut Public Access Television.

Transcript: Rush Limbaugh on his formula for Talk Radio success
Rush Limbaugh on getting people mad

You know what amazes me though, can I be honest with you about something? You're going all the way back to Walter Winchell. We have people on the radio and TV, we can go down the list of people who are there for one reason only and that is to make you mad. And the formula for making you, the viewer or the listener mad hasn't changed a bit yet people keep falling for it. It amazes me.

Rush Limbaugh on the 'law of averages'

A lot of people, anytime I have found that when you express an opinion. Half the people who hear it are going to disagree with you by law of averages. If you embellish the opinion with confidence and cockiness then you're getting into generating hatred and so forth. A lot of people would love to be confident in the way they think. Most people aren't. Most people are trepid about their opinions and if they are subjected to, someone like myself who is not. It tends to offend them but the key is knowing that nobody can get everybody to like them.

Keeping in mind the law of averages indicate that half the people aren't going to like you are still going to find a way to get the people who don't like you to enjoy the program. ad that is really the key to finding the entertainment value that the program contains.

Rush Limbaugh on WABC and investing in callers

I believe that people turn on the radio to be entertained, to be entertained, to be entertained. No matter what they're turning it on for, whatever kind of programming. It has to entertain them. Callers are like records on a top music station. You play the Top Ten. You don't take bad calls. You don't just sit there and open the lines. OK what do you want to talk about.

When you invest in callers you're whole hope or you're whole chance for success fails. You've got to lead them. You can't get along without them. I don't mean to disparage them. You can't let them control the show. And that's the difference between WABC. For the longest time, the people who have worked there and some of them who still do. Simply just open the phone lines and deal with what they get so people are used to calling WABC and making speeches about whatever else.

Rush Limbaugh on his job at hand

I want people to call because they are reacting to what's happening on my program. Not what happened yesterday on somebody else's. Not what happened on the guy before me. If I'm not stirring them up and that doesn't mean being negative and pounding them. if I'm not making them compelled to call, I'm not doing my job that's the way I look at it.

I set myself up as the expert. I want to be the reason people listen in to my program. They way I react to the guests, the way things might happen on my program. The things I might say and the things I might do.
I mean I never have guests. I never do interviews. And most -- a lot of what I do on radio requires people's imagination to be fruitful

Rush Limbaugh on being dictated by callers

I discovered your technique. You start out by saying "tell me a little bit about yourself". You let the guests start off and run. Now if the guest jogs or crawls then its tough. Then you have a good guest like me. One who realises the entertainment value that needs to be on a show like this. I'll be glad to kick it off and start it.

See there are bad callers, but in the final analysis their aren't. They are only bad
if you're not doing your job (directed at interviewer) or I'm not doing mine.

Rush Limbaugh on performance

All I'm trying to do is grab people's attention for what I say and I know that they're going to be so mad hearing the song that it's going to take a while before they start hearing the message. But that's OK. I'm prepared for it to take a long time. The bottom line is for them to get the message. The whole thing here is that a lot of people say "Do you really believe the stuff you say." (puts on voice), "I don't know that's for you to figure out"

Rush' frank discussion of his methods and intentions, as well as his ability to shape and confuse the perception of reality I've seen elsewhere in two other crafts - Performance art and Wrestling.

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Wrestler 'Edge' on committing to a "villainous" character to win over audiences

Edge Interview, Edge on Christian Cage returning to WWE
Q: I think one of the things that is amazing about where your career is now is that you have found a way where people truly hate you.
EDGE: It can actually be very easy. All the person has to want to do is actually be hated. You can be hated if you want to be hated. If you have no part of you that wants to do a cool move, that wants to get any kind of a positive reaction, that wants to out wrestle the babyface. You have to throw all of that out the window. You always have to look worse... As long as you don’t mind doing those things... I realized how easy it can be because that was my mentality. I wanted no redeeming qualities whatsoever. And it’s easy to do that, easy for people to buy into that. You just have to really commit to it.