Radio's Limbaugh Brings His Opinions to TV : Television: The controversial talk-show star will host Pat Sajak's show March 30 on CBS, the same network that suspended Andy Rooney.

By RICK DU BROW

March 3, 1990 12 AM PT

Rush Limbaugh, the controversial and outspoken radio talk show host, sees nothing ironic in the fact that he is getting a big opportunity to make a TV name for himself on CBS, the same network that suspended the outspoken Andy Rooney amid proven and unproven remarks that enveloped him in controversy.

Because of their public statements, neither man is a favorite of gays. But, curiously, Limbaugh, who will be the guest host of CBS’ late-night “Pat Sajak Show” March 30, may benefit from the arguments over freedom of expression that emerged during the furor over Rooney, who returns to “60 Minutes” Sunday.

“I am not puzzled by CBS’ decision to ask me to host,” says Limbaugh. “It is, I think, a business decision. They’re hoping I will be able to draw viewers. I am, too. I can tell you this: When I did the Sajak show as a guest, I’m gathering that they enjoyed it. I think they got a little bit of a ratings bump up the night I was on. And I bring a rather large radio audience to the show.”

Freedom of expression became a central issue in the Rooney affair as debate raged over remarks about blacks that he denied making to a gay publication, and also over criticism of the gay lifestyle that he admittedly had tough words for on TV and in print.

Because CBS News President David Burke never did make clear precisely what Rooney was suspended for, and now has not made clear precisely why he is being reinstated after three weeks of his three-month suspension--which surely everyone, including the newsman, had the right to know--the freedom of expression issue has seemed to grow more and more in importance.

From criticisms of CBS by other journalists to remarkable public support for Rooney in phone calls and letters, it became clear that people wanted him to have the freedom to speak his mind. One disturbing aspect of this is that we’ll never how many of these calls and letters came from people who hate blacks and gays. Nonetheless, the clear distaste for censorship on TV was unmistakable.

And that’s where Limbaugh comes in.

Even those who may vehemently disagree with his views on such matters as liberals, gays and the homeless, delivered on more than 170 radio stations including KFI-AM (640), may think a bit about the free-speech principle of the Rooney case in contemplating Limbaugh’s outing on the same network. For what the boring arena of network TV needs is more, not fewer, strong opinions, to liven it up like cable.

But Limbaugh says no one has to worry about him going off the deep end in his March 30 hour on CBS--which, incidentally, should provide fascinating head-on competition for Johnny Carson. In a phone interview from his New York home, Limbaugh first of all said he found nothing ironic in being tapped to appear on CBS, the network that backed off on Rooney.

“I was asked to do this before this whole flap with Rooney happened,” he said. “If there is an irony here, they (CBS) would have to speak to it. But I think you’re dealing with the fact that one division’s entertainment, one division’s news.”

Anyway, says Limbaugh, “We’ve had some discussions on what the show’s gonna be, and there’s not even gonna be a word mentioned about any of this--the gay situation, what my feelings about gays are. It has nothing to do with what we’re gonna do.

“To me, it’s a golden opportunity, and I’m just flattered they have enough confidence in me to give me the opportunity. I’m not worried about whatever political point of view of mine they might be afraid of. I can tell you this whole gay thing is not something which I lead with. I’m not in any way, shape, matter or form planning to have it come up.”

A CBS spokeswoman says there are “no ground rules” restricting Limbaugh on the show.

But did the Rooney situation influence his decision to avoid the subject of gays? “No,” says Limbaugh, “because it was never in my mind to do it.” And he agrees with CBS that no one has told him to stay away from the topic.

“No. Never,” he says. “It has not been said. Now, it might be said if I said, ‘You know, I would like to talk about the gay situation.’ But I don’t want to.

“I’ll tell you something. Television is something I’m trying to learn. And this is a one-shot opportunity. You never know where these things lead. And the last thing I want to do is come on so strong that people are saying, ‘Who is this guy?’

“On radio, you can be a little controversial. You can come back the next day and explain what you mean to people who don’t get it, might not understand. On a one-shot television show, you have to, in my mind, start out at a pace where you just don’t totally blow people away.

“I think coming on with something as sensitive as the gay issue and the AIDS issue and all the stuff that has now been hyped because of what happened to Rooney would not be in my best interests to do, regardless of how passionate I may be about it.”

Limbaugh maintains repeatedly that “I don’t think I am known for my anti-gay comments. I have some outspoken opinions about the politics of the gay movement. I have simply opposed the politics of them.”

This may come as a remarkable view to those with a somewhat different perspective of Limbaugh. In December, for instance, he unloaded on AIDS and abortion activists who disrupted services at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, commenting: “I say to those of you of the leftist, militant, homosexual crowd: Take it somewhere else. Get out of our schools. Get out of our churches. Take your deadly, sickly behavior and keep it to yourselves.”

Asked about these comments, Limbaugh says they are accurate and that he stands by them, but that the framework of what he was trying to get across was that the activists should have been seeking the comfort of the church rather than attacking it. That is hardly likely to satisfy his enemies and critics, but he says viewers who watch his hour on CBS won’t get a show heavy on social issues:

“I don’t think people tune to late-night entertainment shows to listen to serious discussions of social ills and consequences. They’re gonna be watching ‘Nightline’ if they’re interested in that kind of thing. I’d like to find a way to mix issue-oriented discussions with humor.”

Indeed he would. His CBS gig is vitally important to his attempt to crack into TV on a much wider scale. In a November interview with The Times, Limbaugh described himself as “a lovable little fuzz ball,” “an entertainer first and a conservative second”--and said he’d like to do a TV talk show that mixed topical issues with humor: “I’d like to be a comedian and I don’t mind being a serious talk-show host.”

He’s pursuing these TV goals actively, but says he’s “written off” two recent attempts--one for a call-in talk show on Cable News Network, the other as a panelist on a new version of “To Tell the Truth.”

As a nationally known conservative, he speaks with amazement of what he says a CNN executive told him: “Everybody here loves your tape. They just wish you were a little more liberal.” Limbaugh interprets this as meaning that CNN thinks it is already well-stocked with such conservative commentators as Pat Buchanan.

But now there’s the upcoming job at CBS, where the news department may tell Dan Rather or Andy Rooney to watch their step, but where network honchos tell Rush Limbaugh to just go ahead and do his thing.

That’s entertainment.