Remembering the media’s comparison of Rush Limbaugh to Howard Stern

Greg Corombos and I taped yesterday’s Three Martini Lunch podcast shortly after the news broke of Rush Limbaugh’ death, and one of the points I remembered was the November 1, 1993, Time magazine cover that caricatured Limbaugh and Howard Stern as twin giants breathing fire into a microphone, under the headline, “Voice of America?”

Few fans of either man were particularly pleased by the cover, and neither broadcasting giant liked being compared to the other. Looking back, Time’s cover was a useful indicator of how little the mainstream media understood Limbaugh or his appeal.