. SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) — In Sacramento, Rush Limbaugh’s career really took off as he worked for KFBK from 1984 until his show went into national syndication in 1988.
“People don’t realize that he was a groundbreaker,” said Judy Farah, the former news director for KFBK. “He paved the way for some many talk show hosts today. Whether they’re left, right, sports, politics, Rush laid the groundwork for them to be able to have a conversation, to express your views.”
The conservative talk show radio host didn’t get his start in Sacramento but by the time he went on the airwaves here, he had hit his stride.
“Rush was fired at least five times before he came to Sacramento,” Farah told FOX40. “He gave a voice to people on the conservative, for Republicans who feel they didn’t have a voice in mainstream media.”
Farah’s ex-husband helped Limbaugh write his second book “See, I Told You So.”
While Limbaugh had already left the station for national syndication by the time she worked there, Farah said his legacy remains at the station to this day.
“He would always mention KFBK,” she said. “He’d always send his appreciation for the people of Sacramento for embracing his brand of talk radio that helped him launch on a national level.”
And Limbaugh often returned to Sacramento.
“We had a great event at the old Railroad Museum where Rush, there’s a roundabout there, the doors of the old museum opened, Rush came in on a train right into the building,” Farah recalled.
When Limbaugh was on the radio in Sacramento, KFBK was in its old location on Ethan Way. The rumor is that the studio had a window in it and the window had to be replaced with bulletproof glass.
“I never got to prove whether that was correct or not but I chose to accept that’s part of the myth who was Rush Limbaugh,” Farah said.