2015 Heavy Hundred Stars Praise for The Right Frequency

Several of the top talk radio hosts ranked in the Heavy Hundred by industry bible Talkers Magazine also endorsed The Right Frequency.

Mark Levin, nationally syndicated conservative radio host with Cumulus Media Network ranked #6 on the Talkers list and said: “Fred Lucas not only delineates the roots of talk radio as a venue for communicating conservative political thought in the 1930s and 40s, he explains how it has become, in the 21st century, the life force for the conservative movement and the voice for conservative ideals on the current political landscape. Anyone who loves talk radio will love this book.”

Mike Gallagher, a nationally syndicated conservative host on the Salem Radio Network, ranked #10 on the Talkers list said: ‘The Right Frequency’ is an insightful, thorough, exciting chronicle of the talk radio story. This is destined to be a classic as it perfectly captures the nature of talk radio in a way no book I’ve ever read ever has.”

Alan Colmes, a nationally syndicated liberal host on Fox News Radio, ranked #21 on the Talkers list, said during an interview with Lucas: “I enjoyed it because I’m in the business and I think you did a really good job in writing about the business including, I notice I’m in there a little bit.”

Phil Valentine, ranked #32, with Westwood One, said, “It’s a great book about conservative talk radio.”

To learn more about these and other top talk radio stars, read The Right Frequency.

Right Frequency Hits 3 Bestseller Lists — Topping 1

The Right Frequency is once again the #1 Best Selling book in Amazon’s category for Radio History & Criticism, as of June 13. It ranks #2 among overall books in the Amazon category for Radio books.

That outranks two books by Wendy Williams, a book about National Public Radio and a book on Rush Limbaugh.

The book ranked #24 in Public Affairs & Administration, where it beats out Bill Clinton’s book, “Back to Work” among others.

It also ranks #27 in Amazon’s category for Media Studies, where it is beating out books by former pro wrestler-turned politician Jesse Ventura and well known conservative pundit Michelle Malkin.

The climb comes the same week talk radio made news for its influence in swaying voters to oust House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a Republican primary in Virginia, which had political tremors nationally.

More readers are finding out why Mark Levin said, “Anyone who loves talk radio will love this book.”

Dick Morris said, “Talk radio destroyed the liberal media monopoly and gave the conservatives a voice. But precisely because it brought the giants low, the publishing industry has ignored its history. Fred Lucas now fills that void, explaining from where it came and where it might be headed.”

Brent Bozell wrote, “”Author Fred Lucas chronicles conservative talk-radio stars over the decades, reminding us how they kept the American idea alive.”

To learn about the history and influence of talk radio going back to the earliest days of the medium — from Walter Winchell to Limbaugh — read The Right Frequency.

Sean Hannity, Mark Levin Talk About Rallying Around a 2016 Candidate Early

In 2008 and 2012, the Republican nominated moderate candidates for president in part because conservatives split the vote. This week, top talk radio stars Sean Hannity and Mark Levin talked about how conservatives should get behind a conservative candidate early.

Ted Cruz (Photo Credit: Cruz.Senate.gov

From Real Clear Politics:

SEAN HANNITY: What about guys like Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, you know the more conservative, Mike Lee, and these guys. What about these guys? Are you looking at them for maybe 2016? Is there anybody you’re looking at? Is there anybody that stands out in your mind?

MARK LEVIN: Yeah, those guys are great. What I’ve decided and said on the radio is, look, at some point — and we can’t wait forever — we cannot allow the neo-statist establishment, the Republican dug-in ruling class, to pick off our candidates one by one by one. We’re going to have to get behind one of the solid constitutional conservatives relatively early on, bring our differences together, get behind that candidate, and fight off the people that have brought us loss after loss. Whether it’s Romney, whether it’s McCain, whether it’s Dole, whether it’s Ford. The whole crowd. We need to take back the Republican party and use it to try to save the country, try to establish constitutional conservatism.

To learn more about Hannity and Levin and the impact they’ve had on the conservative movement, read Chapter 9 and Chapter 12 of The Right Frequency.

Limbaugh, Hannity, Levin as GOP Moderators? If Only RNC, Candidates Had the Guts

With CNN and NBC out of the running for hosting 2016 GOP presidential primary debates, three of America’s biggest talkers could step forward, the Washington Examiner first reported this week. It would be a ratings bonanza if the candidates and the RNC have the guts to do it.

“Miffed that their candidates were singled out for personal questions or CNN John King’s ‘This or That,’ when he asked candidates quirky questions like ‘Elvis or Johnny Cash,’ GOP insiders tell Secrets that they are considering other choices, even a heavyweight panel of radio bigs Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.

“They told Secrets that they are eager to bring in questioners who understand Republican policies and beliefs and who have the ability to get candidates to differentiate their positions on core conservative values.

“The move comes as several conservatives are pressuring the party to have Limbaugh, Hannity and Levin ask the debate questions. “It makes a lot of sense. We’d get a huge viewership, they’d make a lot of news and maybe have some fun too,” said one of the advocates of the radio trio hosting debates.”

Talk radio has helped shape the outcomes of Republican presidential primaries in the past. Below is an excerpt from The Right Frequency about the role of talk radio in the 2000 Republican presidential primary.

Bill Clinton was getting little attention in his final year in office, 2000, as most of the attention was focused on the presidential race.
Hosts weighed in heavily to the Republican primary, which had become a two man race between Texas Governor George W. Bush
and Arizona Senator John McCain by the end of 1999.
Rush Limbaugh threw all his support in the 2000 primary to
Bush.
It is always impossible to know how much impact talk radio had
on primary voters, but it is certainly reasonable to view talk radio
having greater influence on a primary, when the choir seeks guidance
in making a choice, than in a general election when the choir
already knows what notes to sing and listens to the preacher for reaffirmation.
So it would be with Limbaugh’s near daily lambasting of
McCain, even more than he built up Bush.
“The way the primary system is set up today, talk radio has more
of an influence in encouraging primary voters to vote than general
election voters because talk radio has a higher audience of people
who are more in the extremes of both the left and the right,” said
Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers Magazine. “And statistics do
indicate that the turnout for primaries are more o the zealots than
the average person in the middle. Any radio show that specifically
targets the extremes is likely to galvanize voters. I would think that
talk radio has a bigger influence in primaries today than it does in
the general election.”
McCain had a mostly conservative record, but his support of
campaign finance reform was untenable to many conservatives, as
was his eagerness to “reach across the aisle” and work with
Democrats. Most Republicans liked him in spite of, not because of,
the McCain-Feingold bill. Still, because of his biography as a war
hero, a significant numbers of voters were enamored by him. The
mainstream media especially loved him, because he kept things
interesting, but also for the campaign finance reform proposal.
When McCain trounced Bush in the New Hampshire primary
by a surprising margin, it posed the question whether the inevitability
of Bush’s nomination would happen.
Limbaugh warned that even though the media is “orgasmic”
over McCain now, they are “love ’em and leave ’em liberals” if he is
the Republican nominee (a prediction given credence by the 2008
election).
One of Limbaugh’s parodies featured a McCain supporter
singing, “He’s the candidate I adore. He can keep my tax cut and I’ll
be poor. And I’ll send him more.”
The National Annenberg Election Study found that post New
Hampshire primary listening to Limbaugh negatively affected the
voters feelings about McCain. This is significant since Limbaugh’s
focus on McCain really began after the senator’s victory in New
Hampshire. The Annenberg study also found that the impression
Republican voters in Super Tuesday states had of McCain took a
negative turn after listening to Limbaugh. So there is evidence to
show that talk radio can impact the outcome of a primary election.

Click here to order a copy of The Right Frequency.

Rubio, Ryan Try to Salvage Immigration Reform on Talk Radio

Over the past week, Republican politicians fanned out across conservative talk radio shows seeking to sell the immigration reform package in the Senate, who in 2007 helped “sound the amnesty alarm,” to kill the immigration bill, as explained in Chapter 9 of The Right Frequency.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., were the leading figures this week defending the bill.

Rubio told host Bill Bennett, “My goal here is not politics. I don’t believe that this is the salvation or the doom of the Republican Party. This is an issue that confronts our country, and it has to be solved because it’s bad for America. That’s why I’m involved in the issue.”

Rubio, a likely GOP presidential candidate in 2016, continued, “Now you mention legalization, I think there’s confusion. Permanent residency in the United States, a green card, that’s what permanent residency is. In this bill, that does not happen until there is an E-Verify system that is fully implemented, until there is an entry-exit system that is fully implemented, and until there is a border security plan that is fully implemented.”

Ryan, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, hit both the Mark Levin and the Laura Ingraham programs this week to attempt to persuade the conservative listeners of both shows to back the bill. He did very little to win either host over.

“Not now but in the future we’re gonna have labor shortages,” Ryan told Ingraham. “Immigration in a decade or so can help us. That means we need to get an immigration system that works.”

Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh told listeners there is a reason for the border enforcement amendments that appear likely to be accepted, even after the supporters of the bill previously rejected such language.

“There’s a reason all these amendments are being offered,” Limbaugh said. “They don’t have the votes yet.  They are trying to sweep up votes.  They are Hoovering votes. They are coming up with amendments to get Republicans that are on the fence.  But there are some Democrats that have to run for reelection 2014, and they know what their constituents are thinking about this.  So it’s hard every day.”

Click here to order a copy of The Right Frequency.

 

 

Tea Party Movement Pushed by Talk Radio

Americans have learned the Internal Revenue Service has targeted tea party groups and other conservative organizations. The Tea Party movement, that helped sweep many constitutional conservatives into office was heavily driven by talk radio, as described in this excerpt from The Right Frequency: The Story of the Talk Radio Giants Who Shook Up the Political and Media Establishment, available for a special deal on Amazon through Memorial Day.

Townhall.com recently posted an excerpt from The Right Frequency on how talk radio helped boost the tea party movement.

“… During the Obama years, talk radio played a vital role in the formation of the Tea Party movement. They railed against a Democratic health care bill that eventually passed. They also were leading advocates for Republicans during the 2010 elections, which led to a new majority in the House. …”

Click here to read the excerpt.

Click here to order a copy of The Right Frequency.

 

 

 

 

Talk Radio Book Climbs to Number One: “The Right Frequency” Powers Up

The Right Frequency: The Story of the Talk Giants Who Shook Up the Political and Media Establishment  by Fred V. Lucas hit Amazon’s best seller list. It entered the golden circle for two categories: Radio and  Public Administration

Standing alone atop, at Number One, above such classics as the audio of the award winning  Les Miserables, It is at the very pinnacle in the Radio category

Powered by the widening scandals with Benghazi and the Internal Revenue Service, interest in public commentary has turned attention to The Right Frequency pushing it far beyond such books as Former President Bill Clinton’s Back to Work in the Public Administration category..

Written by White House correspondent Fred V. Lucas, The Right frequency, is a study of the personalities that comprise the conservative radio world from its earliest days with  Walter Winchell speaking to  everyone including “everyone on the ships at sea,”  to the modern voices of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Lavin and others who bring excitement to the day.

The Right Frequency by Fred V. Lucas 9781933909172 was published by History Publishing Company LLC and is currently available at Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, BN.com and Amazon.com.

Contact: Don Bracken, djb@historypublishingco.com, 845-398-8161

The Right Frequency Hits #1 on Bestseller List

The Right Frequency: The Story of the Talk Radio Giants Who Shook Up the Political and Media Establishment is a Number 1 Amazon Bestseller for books on Radio. 

The book hit the top spot on the Amazon list on Sunday, May 12. All Amazon lists are updated hourly.

The Right Frequency is also ranked number 2 on the Amazon Bestseller list for books on Public Affairs & Administration.

The Right Frequency chronicles the roots of talk radio and how it transformed American politics and became the driving force of the conservative movement.

The book beats out books about Rush Limbaugh, Lucille Ball, Larry King, Paul Harvey and Coakie Roberts about National Public Radio that are also on the Amazon Radio History & Criticism list.

Below are some reviews for The Right Frequency.

“As history, this is an excellent book, well worth reading.” – Bookvue
“Lucas’s love and knowledge of talk radio is evident and will appeal to any fan of the medium.” – Publisher’s Weekly

“Lucas’ book reads more like an objective study, scribed with footnotes leading to sources which demonstrate what he says is based in fact, not speculation or opinion. … This is an easy read with a wealth of amusing knowledge and history.” – About.com

“This is the book that explains the history of talk radio (it goes back further than you think) and explains how it got to be the lifeline to so many millions of Americans. If you’re interested in the personalities, the history and the impact of talk radio, Fred Lucas has the story.” – The American Spectator

“Lucas delivers a book that is sure to please both conservatives and fans of talk radio. ‘The Right Frequency’ successfully captures the spirit of conservative talk radio and leaves the reader both well informed and entertained.” – Townhall

“This remarkable and compelling look at the history of talk radio shows the power of the marketplace and the dangers of the free-speech squelching ‘fairness doctrine.’ – The Blaze

“Author Fred Lucas chronicles conservative talk-radio stars over the decades, reminding us how they kept the American idea alive.” – L. Brent Bozell III; president, Media Research Center

‘This is destined to be a classic as it perfectly captures the nature of talk radio in a way no book I’ve ever read ever has.” – Mike Gallagher, nationally syndicated talk radio host

“”Anyone who loves talk radio will love this book.” – Mark Levin, nationally syndicated talk radio wrote bestselling author

Joe Pyne: ‘Father of In Your Face Talk’

(The following is an excerpt from The Right Frequency.)

Joe Pyne made his mark in TV, but got his start in radio and had a definite influence on modern talk radio and talk TV. He was among the first talk show hosts on radio or TV to insult guests, and was entertaining aside from that.
“The first real game changer was Joe Pyne,” said Farber. “He was a real rough neck; a rude, crude, opinionated and he wasn’t as
smooth as Rush and wasn’t as brilliant as Rush. He was a former Marine. He had lost a leg. He was very good, and he was a game changer.”
Talkers Magazine called him the “father of in your face talk television.”
Before that, he built up quite a reputation on radio. “He was an early conservative groundbreaker,” Talkers editor Michael Harrison said of Pyne.

Pyne said he originated talk radio in the 1940s, and said his TV and radio shows would be about serious material. “I don’t interview
movie stars on their last picture,” he once said.

The Chester, Pennsylvania native enlisted in the Marines to light in World War II, where he lost his left leg. He became known for having a wooden leg, a characteristic that some fans of the show doubted, because they thought it could be part of his eccentric act, but it was true.245
He began his radio career at WCAM in Camden, New Jersey then moved into a local TV show on a Wilmington, Delaware station.
Pyne was on the right, but had a sense of equal justice when broadcasting in a segregated city. The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware reported that in the 1950s Pyne did his WILM broadcast from the English Grill restaurant in Wilmington. One of the guests he was to have on the show was black, and was denied service at the restaurant. “Pyne, who was setting up for his program, observed the goings-on and began packing up his broadcasting equipment to leave. He said he would do the show from the WILM studio rather than watch the injustice of Morris being refused service,” the newspaper said. “The English Grill manager backed off, obviously so he wouldn’t lose the publicity his business got through the Pyne show.”

Pyne headed west to Los Angeles for a spot on KABC in Los Angeles. On KABC Pyne railed against communists, the women’s movement
and President John F. Kennedy. The station even took him off the air temporarily on November 22, 1963, fearing he would say something inappropriate after the assassination.

He would generally say to callers, “It’s your nickel,” and referred to liberals as “meathead” long before anyone ever heard of the fictional Archie Bunker character.249 Some of Pyne’s favorite lines involved telling callers or guests whom he disagree to “gargle razor blades” or “take your false teeth out, put them in backward and bite yourself in the neck.”250 He would also say, upon becoming exasperated with a guest, “I could make a monkey out of you but why should I take the credit?”251 He told one caller, “Look lady, every time you open your mouth to speak, nothing but garbage falls out. Get off theline, you creep.”

Click here for a special limited time offer on The Right Frequency for Kindle.

Mark Levin: Chief Justice of the Airwaves

(The following is an excerpt from The Right Frequency.)

Perhaps no other radio host can speak words that inform, enlighten, crystallize thinking and still be entertaining the way Mark Levin does. While critics have described the program as “anger theater,” it is more passion than anger. Levin goes through rants, and throw out terms like “New York Slimes” referring to The New York Times and “Hillary Rotten Clinton,” referring to the former first lady and secretary of state, and telling know-nothing callers, “get off the phone you big dope.” But he also delivers monologues that are quite professorial.
Levin can be most accurately described as a very passionate conservative with a great sense of humor and even greater intellect. His show with 8.5 million listeners became prominent during the Bush years, the program and Levin became a true political force during the Obama administration thanks largely to Levin’s book “Liberty and Tyranny,” that became a cultural phenomenon and proved that ideas matter. Levin was not a trained broadcaster, or aspiring media star from the beginning. Rather, he was a whiz kid who leaped into the Reagan movement in 1976 and stayed on board through the revolution in the 1980s.

Levin skipped his senior year of high school to go to Temple University, where at the age of 19 graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. Shortly thereafter, he was elected to the local school board, making him the youngest school board member in the state of Pennsylvania at the time. He graduated from Temple Law School at 22, and then became active in politics.

He was a foot soldier for Reagan’s effort at the state level in Pennsylvania to rest to the Republican nomination away from incumbent President Gerald Ford in 1976, a losing battle that still saw Reagan come extraordinarily close.

He was then part of the Reagan revolution in 1980, when Reagan won the nomination and trounced Jimmy Carter to become president
Levin was deputy assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education, and Deputy Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior before he moved up to the Associate Director of Presidential Personnel and eventually became the Chief of Staff to Attorney General Edwin Meese.

After his career in government, Levin went into private practice and later became the president of the non-profit Landmark Legal Foundation, based in Leesburg, Virginia, where he lives and broadcasts his radio show from. As president of Landmark Legal, he became an enemy of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, over their questionable funding of political campaigns. He also brought legal action against the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service and other federal agencies regarding federal grants. While many public interest non-profits tend to be press release factories, Landmark Legal was never a publicity hound, working quietly and taking press calls as
they came, but hardly ever calling a press conference.

“Landmark Legal Foundation is a great passion of mine because it is a relatively small legal group which has done truly amazing things both before I came here and now that I am here,” Levin said.

“And we have enormous challenges. Our opponents are much more heavily funded and more numerous.”
A fan of talk radio for 30 years, he became a frequent legal analyst, penning op-eds for National Review and other publications, and appearing as a guest on the Rush Limbaugh radio show.

Limbaugh gave him the name “F. Lee Levin,” jokingly after the famous defense attorney F. Lee Bailey. In 2001, the American Conservative Union honored him with the Ronald Reagan Award.

After Hannity reached national syndication, Levin became a frequent guest and occasional guest host. Hannity gave him the name “The Great One,” a phrase callers to the show continue to use.

Levin took to radio well enough that in 2002, WABC gave him a Sunday afternoon program.

To read more, click here to order a copy of The Right Frequency.

Click here for a special limited time offer on The Right Frequency for Kindle.