RUSH SIGNS NINE-FIGURE RADIO DEAL

Radio talk-show host and Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh has signed a $250 million contract that will keep his fiery conservative message on the nation's airwaves until 2009, the Drudge Report Web site reported Monday.

The on-line story -- at www.drudgereport.com -- says that the deal includes a $35 million signing bonus and also gives Limbaugh a high percentage of advertising revenue from his daily syndicated broadcast. The story cites nameless sources with "direct knowledge of the deal."

An official release from Premiere Radio Networks Inc., which syndicates the Limbaugh program, described the contract only as a "nine-figure deal, the highest priced distribution deal in the history of radio syndication."

Kit Carson, Limbaugh's chief assistant, said Limbaugh was on vacation and unavailable for comment on the accuracy of the Drudge Report's figures. Carson would not comment on the report. Limbaugh's brother, local attorney David Limbaugh, also declined comment, saying that as Limbaugh's lawyer it would be inappropriate.

In a prepared statement, Rush Limbaugh said he is not surprised by his accomplishments.

"I am frequently asked if I expected this level of success, and the honest answer is yes," Limbaugh said. "At least it was the goal, so why should I feign surprise when it happens?"

Limbaugh may not have been surprised by his success, but some were.

"When I first heard the figure, my reaction was to pick up my jaw from the top of my desk," said Bruce Mims, an associate professor at Southeast Missouri State University, who teaches radio courses and is faculty adviser for the campus radio station. "There are people in the NFL who don't make that kind of money."

Mims said the new contract is a strong testament to the controversial radio talk-show host's durability.

"Some have thought that he was on a decline, but with a deal like this, there's an awful lot of faith that he will continue to attract that large of an audience," Mims said.

Limbaugh said his goals have not changed since his radio program was nationally syndicated on Aug. 1, 1988.

"I have said that I will not retire until all Americans agree with me," Limbaugh said. "That is still operative. So, you who know who you are, have been warned."

Limbaugh hosts the highest rated national radio talk show in the country, reaching roughly 20 million listeners each week. The three-hour show is distributed to nearly 600 radio stations by Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.