LIMBAUGH ADMITS DRUG ADDICTION, SAYS HE WILL ENTER REHABILITATION

Rush Limbaugh, the nation's most popular radio talk-show host with an
audience of 20 million people a week, announced Friday he is addicted
to prescription pain relievers and would check into a rehabilitation
center.

Limbaugh, who has been in the forefront of conservative talk radio
since the mid- 1980s and is widely credited with mobilizing support
for the Republican sweep of Congress in 1994 and the impeachment of
President Clinton in 1998, made the announcement nine days after he
resigned as an ESPN sports analyst because of race-related comments he
had made about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Limbaugh, who went from a college dropout to nationwide fame with acid
comments about Democrats and environmental ``wackos,'' among others,
made the announcement at the end of his midday program. Pulling his
microphone closer to his mouth, rubbing his nose, scratching an
eyebrow, Limbaugh told his audience on 600 stations nationwide, that
he wanted ``to once and for all break the hold that this highly
addictive medication has on me.''

Limbaugh, who regularly has told his listeners that drug users should
be jailed, said he began taking painkillers after undergoing spinal
surgery in the 1990s. But he said the operation did not ease the
discomfort in his lower back or neck. He said instead of more surgery,
``I chose to treat the pain with prescribed medication, and this
medication turned out to be highly addictive.''

Taking `The Next Steps'

He said that he had tried to end his dependence on pain pills before,
twice checking into ``medical facilities.'' This time, he said, he had
agreed with his doctor about ``the next steps'' he needed to take.

He did not say what drugs he is addicted to. He was linked to an
investigation in Florida last week after his maid was quoted in The
National Enquirer as saying she met him in parking lots where he
handed her cigar boxes filled with cash and she handed him cigar boxes
filled with pills, including OxyContin, a time-release narcotic that
has been widely abused.

On Friday, The Associated Press quoted law-enforcement officials it
did not name as saying that Limbaugh was being investigated by the
state's attorney's office in Palm Beach County. Limbaugh's attorney,
Roy Black, did not return a telephone call for comment. On the air,
Limbaugh said he would not discuss the details ``until this
investigation is complete.''

He did not name the center he planned to check into, although he said
he would spend 30 days there, beginning immediately after his
broadcast Friday.

In the Tampa Bay area, ``The Rush Limbaugh Show'' has aired on WFLA,
970 AM, a news/talk radio station.

Dave Reinhart, vice president and marketing manager for the Clear
Channel-owned station, said Friday he expects one of Limbaugh's roster
of guest hosts to fill in. Among the possible starters: Glenn Beck,
who started his syndicated radio career at WFLA; Bill Cunningham of
WLW, 700 AM, in Cincinnati; or Roger Hedgecock of KOGO, 600 AM, in San
Diego. Another possible guest host is Tony Snow, a political analyst
for Fox News Channel.

Becoming Humanized

``It's really an unfortunate situation, and we wish him the best,''
Reinhart said. ``In talk radio, he's the greatest, the king. He may
not have started talk radio but he has kept a bunch of AM stations in
America alive.''

In 15 years as a syndicated radio star who prided himself on
directness, Limbaugh had made headlines before with surprise
announcements to an audience that includes fans so devoted they call
themselves ``dittoheads.'' In 2001, a few months after signing a nine-
year, $285 million contract that was the largest in the history of
radio, he said his hearing had all but disappeared. He had surgery to
have an electronic device placed in his skull to restore his hearing.

Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers, a radio trade magazine,
predicted Limbaugh's show's long-term ratings would not be hurt.

``It's going to help his career because Rush is now humanized - people
love when people show a human side,'' he said. ``It may make some of
his people scratch their heads and say: `Oh, my gosh. Rush is a human
being and not a god.' ''

Tribune reporter Jennifer Barrs contributed to this report.