Florida Broadcasters Hall of Fame Inducts George Beasley, Rush Limbaugh, Richard Lobo, Others

George Beasley
George Beasley (Image credit: Beasley Media Group)

The Florida Association of Broadcasters inducts George G. Beasley, founder of Beasley Media Group, former WPLG Miami anchor Ann Bishop and talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh, among others, into its Hall of Fame. The event happens June 27 at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach.

It is the inaugural class for the Florida Broadcasters Hall of Fame, celebrating the best and brightest in television and radio. The nine inductees were chosen based on careers in the state, with a minimum of 25 years in the industry. 

“They are the pioneers, the innovators, and the stars of broadcasting whose contributions advanced and revolutionized the industry in Florida,” said the Florida Association of Broadcasters. 

The other inductees are Bernard and Edith Waterman, who were presidents of Waterman Broadcasting; Patrick Roberts, president and CEO, Florida Association of Broadcasters; Emerson Eugene Deckerhoff, Jr., radio announcer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Florida State Seminoles; Johnny Magic, host of Johnny’s House Morning Show on WXXL Orlando; Richard Lobo, former president and general manager of WTVJ Miami; and William J. Brooks, former general manager of WPTV West Palm Beach, and former chairman of the Florida Association of Broadcasters. 

Limbaugh hosted The Rush Limbaugh Show. He died in 2021. Bernard Waterman died in 2017. Beasley died in 2021. 

The Association said Bishop was the first female news anchor at WPLG. She died in 1997. 

Brooks was the WPTV GM from 1981 to 1998. He died in 2010. 

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.