Talk Radio & The Limbaugh Effect: The Supposed Heresy of Independent Broadcasting

Mandeville, LA – Friday I sent a fundraising/membership appeal email to people who have signed up for the mikechurch.com email list, it is the first one I have sent this year. Below you can witness a sampling of the resulting corresponæ with recipients. Apparently, Crowdfunding is below radio show hosts. I guess I’ll call this the Limbaugh effect. “Talk-show hosts” are all supposed to be proud and wealthy and powerful beyond mortal man, infinitely able to, by force of our words, impel people to throw money, abundant supplies of money, at our feet. Radio hosts “reign”!? Really!? If I solicit the consumers of my craft to support it DIRECTLY as opposed to soliciting someone else who will use said craft to profit from it, that makes me a “beggar”!? mea culpa mea culpa mea maxima culpa if this solicitation has “disappointed” you, reader and possibly listener. I publish the following in the spirit of Augustine’s “Confessions”. Forgive me….

Richard wrote:
“I tried to tell Mike before he was axed, “Nobody likes whiners who beg for alms.” Get out there and realize you are not a welfare recipient or food-stamp recipient. Your own negativity drove your bus to nowhere.
Concentrate on positive discourse, call in to Breitbart with great comments to see IF you really have it, or not. I’m not sure you can capture attention with “woe is me; got any money?” spiels.

R (who gave you $500 3 months ago.) “

I RESPONDED:
Dear Richard,
Thanks for the donation and for the response. Please, so I can prevent this from happening again, what exactly is “whining” and “negative” about this? It says that we’ve begun a long voyage on a very stormy ocean and we might run out of food, donate some if you are able.
I believe after responses to this missive from folks like you, I will just end the mailings, end the show and channel, refund all I’ve been sent and go take that job in Scotland.
Thanks for the humiliation, Ricard, I plan to print it and hang it on my wall here in the studio to further embarrass myself daily and chasten me against ever asking anyone for anything again.
Thanks again for the donation, would you like a refund?

Pax Domini tecum,

Mike Church

RICHARD THEN RESPONDED:

Hi Mike,

Thanks for responding.

I’m sorry for writing in a manner that humiliated or offended you., though the later is easily accomplished. However, begging is not worthy of you, it just is not.

What I wanted to say is simply that which I felt over the waning months of your reign.

I thought your new world would include a new, more empowered and accepting embrace of the plenty that covers the Earth rather than more protestations and wringing of the hands.

That’s all, Mike. I wanted better for you and thought you had moved toward it. Honestly, I believe you will.

With love and best wishes for you,

R

I RESPONDED (ego respondit)
Dear Ricard,
In responding you humiliate again, thanks for that, I shall count reading it as a penance. I am however baffled by your claim that you “want better for” me. How do YOU know what is better for me or David Cameron PM of England!? Christ said he came to “give you life and that you may have it more abundantly” do you honsetly think this abundance has anything in relation with your state or the stature of your employer!?

I challenge you, Sir, right here and now, turn on the radio channel TODAY, Sunday, you helped to create by your donation, listen for an hour then listen to ANY OTHER CHANNEL/STATION etc and tell me, Sir, is that not Life, more abundant per radio!?

CRUSADE Home 2024

As a matter of Faith I can’t question your love and best wishes, but someone not of Faith most certainly would.

Pax Christi,

Mike Church

UPDATE: The reaction on the Facebook is encouraging then confounding.

TheKingDude

Host of the Mike Church Show on The Veritas Radio Network's CRUSADE Channel & Founder of the Veritas Radio Network. Formerly, of Sirius/XM's Patriot channel 125. The show began in March of 2003 exclusively on Sirius and remains "the longest running radio talk show in satellite radio history".

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