Howard Stern Learns: Going Behind A Paywall Is A Good Way To Lose Influence

from the the-price-of-influence dept

Tue, Oct 14th 2008 1:41pm — Mike Masnick

We've talked for years about the danger any media makes in focusing on setting up a paywall. In an age where openness and the ability to get others to spread and promote the content for you is often a key barometer of success, locking yourself up behind a paywall takes you out of the wider conversation, and by its very nature, decreases your overall ability to influence. The LA Times has an article noticing that this seems to be exactly what's happened with Howard Stern, who famously made the jump from terrestrial radio to satellite radio -- and in doing so, appears to have lost a large percentage of his audience, and with it much of his influence. Of course, he was paid handsomely for doing so, but Sirius almost certainly expected Stern to bring a larger percentage of his audience with him. Yet, as the article notes, Stern's waning influence due to the switch means that even he's having trouble getting the level of celebrity that he used to command to even bother coming on his show. Amusingly, the article also notes that the very reason why Stern claimed he was moving to satellite -- his troubles with the FCC -- may be contributing to his lack of influence with the new show. In the past, every time Stern got in trouble with the FCC, it boosted ratings, giving him plenty of free publicity. Without that foil, he loses much of the free publicity. Such is life behind the paywall, apparently.

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Filed Under: howard stern, influence, paywall
Companies: sirius, xm

73 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:04pm

Down but not out...
I wouldnt count Stern out just yet. This guy thrives on publicity and knows how to get it. While free publicity of the FCC is over. Now stern has no one to fight with, to argue with. He is just surrounded by his loyal disciples of Stern worshipers.

He needs to go mobile. In radio they call these remote sessions. Stern needs to strap on remote broadcasting equipment and do his show in the street, red carpet, where ever he can to stay in the public eye, (While he cant broadcast on public airwaves-he can be in public places)etc.. If he does not do something quick the celebrities who are using his influence (and using him) are going to stop talking with their good friend Howard. What? Celebrities are phony and use people NO WAY!!

He really did put a stamp on radio broadcasting and took it to new places. The thing I hate about Howard is he gave birth to 1000's of Stern wannabee-clones, Opie & Anthony, etc.. Its funny how so many other people do his show over the public airwaves and the King of all media must be permanently on the bird. (Or satellite)

Stern should talk Ralph Nader into let him be his VP. That why him and Nader run for President (Why not Ralph its not like you have a prayer in getting elected anyway). That way he can seek to destory the FCC!! Stern will not just fade away. If he doesnt do something, all the people that said he was going to fail will be right! And I am sure he doesnt want that...
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WarOtter (profile), 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:16pm

Meh
Always cared more for Opie & Anthony meself.
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Plac Ebo, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:30pm

Ron & Fez .......... by far

... by the way, Howard Stern sounds more like he's a guest on his own show. He lets Robin dominate and she says very little that I care to hear.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:31pm

Re: Meh
I am not saying there is not some Value to the clones. But thats Howards show they are doing.. Come'on. Opie & Anthony have funny moments and can be entertaining.

They only show I can remember before Howard was Imus. Stern is kind of like Led Zeplin. Almost no one played like that before em. And every one played like that after em.

But thats just how I see it.
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Ima Fish, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:38pm

And the main requirement of edgy comedy, is that it needs, requires, and necessitates an edge.

Without the FCC setting rules and taboos, i.e., the edge, there are no rules or taboos to be broken. Thus, without an edge to dance around, you're not daring guy, you're just an obnoxious guy safely dancing around nothing.

By stopping his dance with the FCC, Sterns has eliminated his biggest draw: "What will he get away with next?!" Now he's left with, "What obnoxious and stupid thing is he doing now?"
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Bryan, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:38pm

I usually agree with most of what Mike says, but I don't think he did enough research before writing this post. Now that Sirius/XM have merged Stern now has the ability to reach nearly 20 million listeners. To put that into perspective Jay Leno is happy to get 5 million viewers a night. Research has shown that Stern is by far the highest rated show on Sirius/XM. When Stern went to Sirius there were 600,000 subscribers. I think Stern has more than delivered for Sirius. The story in the LA times is total bunk. This nearly identical story cropped up 2 years ago in New York Post written by a person who happened to work for...the NAB. Yes the same NAB who spent millions of dollars trying to block the Sirius/XM merger because they knew it meant trouble for them. The fact is The Howard Stern show was never about big name celebrities. It is about Howard Stern. The LA times article points to a handful of A-list celebs that came on his show while on terrestrial radio. What the article fails to point out is those celebs came on his show over a five year period. Its not like he had A-list celebs on every day like the article would lead you to believe. The day this article ran Howard was interviewing Christian Slater, and later in the day talked to Jimmy Kimmel, two mainstream, some would say A-list celebs. The point of my rant is that this story was planted in a paper that many celebs read. Now if those celebs get the same impression that it appears Mike got from the article, then they may be less likely to go on his show because there is a perception he has lost his influence. But as Mike surely knows perception and reality are sometimes very different. I would not be surprised to find out in the next few days that someone backed by the NAB had a hand in getting this article to run. Rant over.
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Drew, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:41pm

Maybe everyone stopped caring!!
Seriously, who wants to listen to his non-stop antics! The same thing over and over. "Come on baby, sit on my lap, take your top off...ohhh" LAME. Dude is a loser, that's why people stopped listening to him.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:41pm

From when Stern joined Sirius until now they've gone up something like 8 million subscribers. You're never going to compete with free radio to pay radio for number of listeners. Sounds like a biased Stern bashing article to me.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:42pm

Preston and Steve
Howard's shameless self promotion turned me away years before he left terrestrial radio. At one point he was funny, then he just became surly and an ego-maniac. Good riddance. Exit Jackie, enter Artie. That was the end.
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Ima Fish, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:43pm

Re:
"ability to reach nearly 20 million"

The ability to reach 20 million and having the audience of 20 million are two completely different things.

And you're leaving out that XM listeners will have to shell out an extra $4 per month to listen to Sterns. So he's not getting all of XM's listeners, only those willing to pay extra for it.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:46pm

Re: Re:
When Howard signed with sirius the company had 600,000 subscribers, and XM had nearly 4x as many. Within 3 years the company had nearly as many subscribers as XM and took the dominant roll in the merger. My point is Sirius is more than happy with amount of listeners he has pulled into the loop.
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interval, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:50pm

Re:
Agreed. The media has continuously portrayed Stern as "out" in every major turn in his career, yet he remains the highest paid media personage ever. Something has to be said for that if money is any measure of success (and in the entertainment industry is certainly is.)
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Uhh, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:50pm

Sorry Meh even Howard had to concede Steve Dahl in Chicago opened the door for him.
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interval, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:51pm

Re: Meh
Opie & Anothony? ha ha ha...
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Ima Fish, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:52pm

Re: Re: Re:
"My point is Sirius is more than happy with amount of listeners he has pulled into the loop."

If that's your point, I won't disagree. I have no idea what makes Sirius happy and further think it's doubtful that such an assertion can be objectively measured.

However, if your point is that Sterns has not lost his audience and has not lost is influence, I will disagree.
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interval, 14 Oct 2008 @ 2:54pm

Re:
And Dahl was relevant how long ago...?
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The Man, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:01pm

Not a good example Mike
His influnce has not gone away. The first year he did not get many celebs. This year he has had probably more than ever. Currently 8 Mil listen, which is more than most tv shows or news programs. A lot of Celebs would not go on Stern because they do not like him, not because his influce. Just off the top of my head recent celebs, Chevy Chase, Kid Rock, Chris Rock, Paul Mcartny, etc.

Also, just take Artie for example of influence. He got a book deal and moved to around #10 best seller on Amazon before his book was even released. Ad example, Beecuticles (sp?). Small company making crap out of honey and bees wax. Started advertising almost soley on Stern and quickly grew to have products at whole foods and other retail based on exposure and sales on stern from ads.

One of the biggest leasons they had to learn was the demographics change. They now broadcast to people with jobs and some money who are willing to actually pay for things. An example of the demographics change was when they tried to recruit for a contest, "Hottest female Felon". They had the contest years ago and had tons of entries. They only recieved around 4 total after the move to Satallite. Other contest they recieve thousands of entries for, just not many felons in the audience.

I am happy to pay for sat radio. I enjoy a lot of the programming and get it in a easy to use format. I do not have to "pod cast" or other crap. infact, the cost of three year subscription is cheaper than an Ipod. I get content in my house, in my car and on my computer with out having to worry about dowloading and transfering or batteries on a stupid ipod.
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Bryan, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:03pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
While I won't disagree that less people hear him on a daily basis than when he was on terrestrial radio, I have to disagree that he has lost his influence.
A large percentage of his actual fans made the switch to sirius for Howard Stern alone, and he still has quite a lot of influence over his fans. The people who weren't very big fans of his were probably not influenced by him when he was on free radio anyway.
Every day a new show airs people who come his show and topics he discusses make there way to the top of Google trends. While it might not be the most scientific way of measuring influence I'm sure plenty of people would like to have enough influence to push things to the top of Google Trends on a daily basis. When Jackie's wife came on the show she was the most searched term for that day within minutes. This is something that happens daily with things discussed on the show. I would say he still holds quite a bit of influence over a very dedicated audience.
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Drew Sucks, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:03pm

Re: Maybe everyone stopped caring!! (Drew Sucks)
You are an idiot. He hasn't had a girl sit on his lap since he started getting serious with Beth O. If anything I think he has done less of this. But he does have a sybian which his great. He has great musical acts, great interviews, and great bits.

Why don't you listen for a little bit before judging and sounding retarded DREW.

By the way you suck!
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The Man, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:08pm

other proof
I bet this thread will be one of the most commented on, to further prove his loss of influnce.
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The Man, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:08pm

other proof
I bet this thread will be one of the most commented on, to further prove his loss of influnce.
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DS, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:11pm

Re: Re: Meh
"Clone"? Huh? Do you know how much of a silly goose you sound when you parrot things like that? Even moreso when someone who at one time listened to Howie (even to the point of buying his two books) and now listens to O&A.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:12pm

That's blindly believing a lot of baseless claims by just regurgitating what you found in the LA Times. I expect this site to actually do some research and thinking before blindly following. Guess you missed on this one.

Howard Stern is doing fine, his show is still good, and he gets real celebrities (Chris Rock was just on). If you read the whole article it even notes that CBS is still 10% below their position when they employed Stern. That's a pretty significant fact.
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The Man, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:13pm

Re: Re: Re: Meh
Did you really just write "silly goose" in a sentance? Holy crap........
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DS, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:13pm

Re: Preston and Steve
Heck, once Billy West left it was not as good.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:13pm

Stern is a fool and the people wasting there time listening to him. Well they are gools as well.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:18pm

You think this is a surprise to him?

How much money did he get for making the move? That is what it is all about. Think Celine Dion didn't know that she would have less "influence" when she booked a 10 year (whatever) contract to do Caesars? Think she really cared?
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UUUD444, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:26pm

You realize....
That the crack reporters (or is that reporters on crack?) never contacted anyone at Sirius prior to this article? Personally, I prefer Bubba to Stern, but I listen to both. Now, assuming Bubba has fewer listeners than Stern, and given the fact that Bubba can tell his listeners to "Google _____" and ______ is not only at number 1 within an hour, but is the number 1 search for the day. Losing Influence? I doubt it. The Times is just hurting its credibility with its tabloid-esque reporting.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:27pm

just the fact that they are still writing about him 5 years after the jump, shows that he is still influential
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KOzOK, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:39pm

Meh
Never cared for Stern, now Adam Carolla filled his spot, and I'm happy.
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JayGee, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:40pm

I never listened to Howard Stern until two years ago AFTER he went to Sirius. The show is fantastic and there are millions of listeners who pay to hear him. He's as edgy and creative, even more so, than he ever was. The article was definitely put out by some tool of the NAB or a similar group of fools who think they can peddle influence just because they get published in a newspaper. Dream on you Stern-bashers, writing and wishing it does NOT make it so.

Satellite radio is so much better than terrestrial and Stern is so much better without the FCC restrictions. The sky is the limit and he's nowhere reached it. Listening to re-runs from the terrestrial days clearly shows how restricted the content was compared to what he can do and say on Sirius.

I have no doubt whatsoever that the article is bogus. As a very recent devoted fan, I can say that what he did before pales next to the stuff he's doing now. The article denigrating Stern is not based on the facts as so much content in the media is today. Fact checking was definitely not done in this instance.
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stanfoo, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:45pm

BS
I havent read any of the other comments. So if this is posted already sorry. Stern has made what Sirius is today. They went from 800k~ subscriptions to what, ~8 mil!! I crossed over when he did and im never looking back. I dont even play CDs anymore. Tech dirt seems to pull up some random bs when they have nothing else to talk about. Dont forget XM merged with Sirius.
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TX CHL Instructor (profile), 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:47pm

Who is...
Who is Howard Stern?

Ok, I *have* heard of the "shock jock", but not lately, and I prefer not hearing about him.
--
www.chl-tx.com Nothing deters violent crime as effectively as the thought that the intended victim might shoot back. Nothing.
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stern fan, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:49pm

i dont think anyone listens to howard??
if anyone in here actually listens to the show....
this article is a rehash from more than a year ago !
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CVPunk, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:58pm

???
Can perverts and poor-white-trash afford satellite radio?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 3:58pm

Re: i dont think anyone listens to howard??
"This nearly identical story cropped up 2 years ago in New York Post written by a person who happened to work for...the NAB."

Someone does.
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tubes, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:07pm

As an avid listener, to tell you all the truth I usually hate it when they have a show full of guests. I usually prefer when its just them talking amongst everyone in the studio, playing funny things from the TV but the best is the news at the end of the show. I will have to say the show was never really about A-list celebrities, but sometimes its a plus (depending on the guest). It was always about any interesting individuals & how great he is at interviewing them. But just to clarify him not having any big name celebrities since he has been on Sirius he has interviewed Chevy Chase, Chris Rock, Barbara Walters, Paul McCartney, Cuba Gooding Jr., Donald Trump, Don Rickles, Elijah Woods, Ryan Philippe, M. Night Shyamalan, Nancy Sinatra, Paul Giamatti, Sacha Baron Cohen, Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bob Saget, John Stamos...just to name a few & those are just the celebrity guests if you want he has a huge list of musical guests that have been there since he has been on Sirius. But when he does interview you will be guaranteed there will be quite a few things that usually will make it into either a magazine, newspaper or a rag mag. He is able to get his guests comfortable enough that they usually lose their inhibitions.

Just name one radio or TV personality that would be able to bring a huge chunk of their audience to join them at a pay type of service. That just says how influential he is.
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Yobamamama, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:11pm

Howard is near death... he's 54 yo
Let him wander around the house in his stinky old man drawers. You'll see how many of the millions of XM listeners will pay for his dribblings
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:13pm

Who's High Pitch??
This is Kelly Clarkson.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:17pm

Re: Who's High Pitch??
Hello Hello.
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tubes, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:22pm

Re: Meh
I've tried listening to that show, it is un-listenable. I will have to admit I did laugh at it a few times but it wasn't because of them. The only funny one on the show is Jimmy Norton. It should be called just the Jimmy Norton Show cause without him the show would be in the negatives when it comes to listener ratings.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:24pm

Bye for Now
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howard sellout and beth o'horsey, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:29pm

Fair and Balanced Assessment of a Sellout
oh my friends barbara walters, kelly rippa anybody famous (sellout). did you meet my model wife (sellout) oh yeah she would love me without my millions. my little insecure pony. no original material, wait for sal or richard do something gay (sellout). no real female would let their husband boyfriend watch and coax girls to get on symbian (freakshow, sellout, loser women). oh artie, tell us another heroin or cocaine story, your heroin death should boost subscriptions. stupid beecuticals lies, selling idiot repackaged beeswax and honey, no value in medical and alternative medicine world. sellout "writing it in" until contracts up. then i will hang with my horseface girlfriend and diddy in the hamptons or turk and cacos, keep those common people away from me and my horse or i will jump on my jet and go to a star studded party. oh yeah "i am not going to have commercials on satellite" LIAR. oh yeah, "i will tour the country when we go to satellite and thank our fans", LIAR, SELLOUT, LOSER.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 4:31pm

Re: Bye for Now
I accept the balloon stunt. Ack ack.
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JD, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:20pm

Wow. This article and your editorial on it are way off base. Maybe you can be forgiven because you were commenting on the article, but shouldn't you have checked the facts instead of just plugging in some tenet that you use as a theme?

I never listened to Stern before Sirius. The NAB spent ten times the amount of money fighting the Sirius-XM merger than Sirius and XM spent lobbying for the merger. The NAB didn't care one lick about satellite radio until Stern went there.

600,000 to 8+ million subscribers from the time the announcement was made until just before the merger (less than 2.5 years...I'd take that growth in my 401K anyday).

And a few corrections:

1) see this thread for clearly A-List people who have been on recently.

2) if you think Stern's show is for T&A (on the radio? really? that's your argument) or just "perverts and whitetrash," then you clearly do not listen or you have the listening skills of a pre-school student.

3) Stern consistently has the most in depth, interesting interviews of anyone in ANY media. Doe he ask about sex? Yes, because it's interesting. Does he also ask about people's troubled and turbulent pasts? Yes, because it is interesting. Try comparing him to any other show and see how much more open and honest his guests are. That, for me, is always much more interesting than the b.s. they peddle on other media outlets.

4) XM subscribers currently have to pay $4 for the "Best of Sirius." Soon the a la carte services will start where you can select 50 Sirius channels and 50 XM channels for around $6.95 a month. When that is available, there is going to be another subscription push. No format wars + low base price=higher rate of adoption.

One listen to satellite radio and you are ruined for terrestrial radio forever.
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Steve Strowbridge, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:24pm

Howard Hasn't Lost a thing, neither have his listeners
Every time the "press" runs a story on how Howard Stern has lost something, it only shows thier ignorance, thier inability to research facts and tangible trends, and thier blind belief in the progaganda spewed out by the FM radio broadcasters who have suffered in the wake of Howard's removal from thier airwaves.

Howard has never been more relevant or more influencial than he is now, becuase over 8 million were paying to listen to him before the Merger, not the "fraction" of listeners that ignorant idiots claim.

To have 12 million people listen is impressive, to have even 1 million pay to listen to you is impressive, to have taken Sirius subscriptions from less than a million to over 6 million in a year, is nothing short of amazing.

Any guest who is on his show becomes the most googled person the very same day, this is a tangible trend that any credible journalist should know about and give credit to.

The Howard Stern Effect as it's called has never been stronger.

With the merger there are now a least 12 million paying listeners, just as much that listened for free.

They get a better show, a longer shower with fewer commercials, un-censored, and downright entertaining.

On top of that they get hundreds of commercial free music channels and tons of other programming.

Get a clue!
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Scottitude, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:33pm

Stick to what you know...
Hey Mike, I thought this was TECH dirt, not write-things-about-which-you-know-nothing dirt.

The article in the LA Times came from paidcontent.org and is a two year old regurgitation of anti-Stern rhetoric originally paid for by the NAB. Since it's clear you know nothing about terrestrial or satellite radio, the NAB is akin to the MPAA and the RIAA.

It is, however, refreshing to see that many TD readers understand and appreciate the reality and importance of satellite radio and the relevance, both current and historical, of Howard Stern.

Commentary from anyone who isn't now or has never been a Sirius subscriber is a bunch of hot air and noise that has no merit (ell, the hot air may just fly Eric the Midget with balloons but the noise is still worthless); it's like the dork that's never been laid telling you pussy ain't all that.

Stick to what you know and stop pretending to have a clue about pop culture or anything else that's not directly related to computer code, mmm-kay?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:37pm

Re: Re: Maybe everyone stopped caring!! (Drew Sucks)
Why don't you listen for a little bit before judging and sounding retarded DREW.

He can't: the paywall of Sirius Satellite Radio does not allow him to do so. If Howie has changed, no one would know because he did so under a veil of exclusivity. So much for bucking stereotypes...
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Willton, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:40pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I would say he still holds quite a bit of influence over a very dedicated audience.

An audience that continually shrinks because he can't attract new listeners very well.
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Willton, 14 Oct 2008 @ 5:44pm

Re: other proof
I bet this thread will be one of the most commented on, to further prove his loss of influnce.

It's a sad day for Howie when threads about patent law receive more comments than threads about Mr. Stern.
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Schwapp, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:09pm

Howard Stern
Who watches or listens to him anyway...it's the same show everyday and has been for years....some stripper or porn actress or porn site pusher doing strange lewd acts to promote themselves and or their websites. Funny and amusing for while but gets dull real fast. Kinda like the Jerry Spriger / Montel Williams / Maury Povich shows doing DNA paternity every other day. After awhile its just not interesting anymore mo matter how strange and absurd the situattion is.
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Stern Warning, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:18pm

Re: Sterrn
I doubt that many Sirius listeners "subscribed" because of Stern. I think it may have more to do with NFL on Sirius, Nascar switching over from XM, free subscriptions offered with new car sales and some of the other popular shows. Sirius Sats subscriptions may have gone way up but I doubt that pople were rushing out to subscribe because of Stern.
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perogi, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:35pm

Old story, nice way to pick it up retard
This is a very old story from a group that's paid for by terrestrial radio.

Stern is better than ever. Sirius/XM is better than ever.

Everyone who still listens to regular radio have no idea what you are missing. Actually, missing 20+ mins of commercials every hour is one thing that I am NOT missing.
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Buster Hymen, 14 Oct 2008 @ 6:48pm

Howard Stern
Stern rules! Ba-ba-booey!
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:19pm

Re: Re: Re: Meh
I know Stern will say much of the same kind of thing. But that does not mean he is wrong. Stern is guilty of being an egomaniac. He claims Rush Limbaugh is also clone. That of course is wildly inacurate. Rush could not be more different then old Howie.. And Stern played no role in his show lol..

O&A definately are clones. I personally call them clones, Not because Howie says so. They are clones because they actually think Stern did not influence their show. Any, "Shock Jock" is influenced by Stern. To say otherwise is just inacurate.

Rush owes absolutely nothing to Stern.. However, Almost any Shock Jock is there due to Stern. What thanks do they give Stern? Nothing... These guys really should come to the defense of Stern when it comes to the FCC. But they dont. They care for nothing or anyone else other then their own putrid survival. They thumb their nose at Stern as if he is beneath them. In radio jocks compete for ratings and numbers so it can get kind of ugly. Sales people interject by stabbing people in the back based off of how much they think they use someone to sell advertising. Half of this is the fault of the jocks. Instead working with each other they listen to these wormy salespeople. If you are having trouble imagining what these people are like "Pig Vomit" was a perfect on screen projection.

No one defends or helps Stern in radio. Everything he has he has to fight for. The reason Stern is hassled is not so much do to censorship or the FCC. It is because there are many waiting in the wings to take Sterns place. There are many that want Stern to go away. He gets the best ratings and other people have to answer for not getting the same numbers Stern does. I say this not as someone who has just read Howards books. I have also worked in radio. Would one jock call the FCC and complain about Stern. In a second.. Yes, it is that cut-throat...
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2008 @ 7:31pm

Re: Re: Meh
Jimmy Norton is hillarious. I saw his HBO special and he killed for an hour straight.
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Z, 14 Oct 2008 @ 9:59pm

He is nothing close to his comedy in his NBC days. AS a matter of fact I don't find him the least bit amusing anymore. Look, the guy made his money and he's pushing 60 and I am sure he doesn't worry about late payments on his Visa card
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2008 @ 1:55am

Stern got lame WAY before his switch to Sirius. The switch to satellite was just the final nail in his coffin which was LONG overdue if you ask almost anyone
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2008 @ 5:23am

The point isn't whether Stern is still good or not. It's whether his cultural influence and celebrity have diminished. And they have. The only time I have heard his name mentioned in the media in the past year is in relation to his marriage. Howard may still be funny and outrageous, but now nobody but his listeners know it.
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DS, 15 Oct 2008 @ 6:02am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meh
Um, Anthony got his first taste of radio from things that he sent into Howard Stern, and he freely admits that. Also, O&A tried to 'play nice' with Howard when they were first hired by the company that Howard worked for. Howard would have none of it, even to the point of having them removed from a press conference before he would say anything. Now, Stern considers them the losers of the radio war that he created in his mind, because O&A are on satellite and terrestrial radio. Not quite sure how being on two different forms of radio makes you a loser, but hey, Howie math is Howie math.

But to say that all 'Shock Jocks' are influenced by Stern is just insane. Yes, in some round-about way, all cars are influenced by horses and buggies, but you don't see Horse and Buggy makers claiming that they were the first to put wheels on an axle. Nor can you directly compare a modern day car to a horse and buggy, nor a Model T for that matter.

As your argument that nobody stand up for Stern, the same could be applied to how almost, (O&A, and people associated with the show were probably one of the only exceptions) no-one stood up for Imus, or, to turn it back around, O&A for when they were taken off the air for something that was not even an FCC violation. A situation where Stern specifically said that they should be taken off the air.

Let me also mention that Stern HATED Bubba the Love Sponge, calling him nothing but a Howard Stern imitator. But now, Bubba is his underling.

Don't forget, Stern's ratings had been dropping before he left Terrestrial radio.

Again, this is from someone who was a HUGE Howard Stern fan back in the day. But Billy left, Jackie was more or less fired, and Stern made some terrible radio with Crazy Cabbie and Artie. It also got boring listening to him asking the same questions of his guests over, and over, and over again.
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Editor, 15 Oct 2008 @ 7:03am

Paywall
Our newspaper Web site is behind a paywall. We make 6 digits in revenue because of this, though I know we aren't getting the traffic we could be.

Please, someone, anyone, give me some ideas of how we can really replace those 6 digits with a free model. And don't say "more eyeballs, more ads," because we have a surplus of ad inventory.
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J, 15 Oct 2008 @ 7:16am

Re: Maybe everyone stopped caring!!
Spoken like someone who has never really listened to the show.
Keep posting things you've heard from other tools.
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Bob Mime, 15 Oct 2008 @ 7:54am

hehe
I heard about this as I was listening to one of the first live shows on XM this week. Kind of funny. I added the Best of Sirus so I could hear Howard again.

This just in: Newspapers are a dying media.
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Lucretious, 15 Oct 2008 @ 5:32pm

RON & FEZ, Noon to Three! O&A, all the way, thats what I say.....

Ok, anyhow....I'm not a Stern fan but I would fault the way the FCC is working rather than Stern himself. The fines have gotten so outrageous and the company lawyers so paranoid that Both Stern and O&A simply cannot do the shows that made them so great to begin with on over-the-air radio. We've become a nation of over-sensitive pansies with special interest groups that threaten boycotts at the drop of a hat if they feel they've been slandered (ie, remember when Rosie O'Donnell spoke in a mock Asian voice while doing a joke about her landlady or some such? It became national news and she was accused of being a racist and hate-monger for chrissakes). no one is constitutionally protected from being offended but yet they are stifling free speech nonetheless. Meanwhile, the FCC panics and responds to the slightest hint of sexuality (Janet Jackson titty anyone?) lest one special interest group mails out a 1000 form letters from "offended Christians". Under that kind of political atmosphere radio company's simply do not want their precious shareholders getting upset so they go for the safest, blandest pap they can do.

Frankly, I pay for the privilege of hearing O&A's show everyday on XM uncensored as it should be (although that may change too) and its worth it. I doubt satellite will survive even with the current merger after a year so I want to hear adult content (seeing I'm an adult and all) while its there.
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JD, 16 Oct 2008 @ 8:11am

I haven't heard anything about him so he must be losing his influence. Sounds like a ton of research done to prove your point. NASCAR and NFL never made XM spike as sharply in subscribers and the switch from XM to Sirius wasn't public knowledge for those until much farther along into Sirius' subscription explosion. Again....if you think it is strippers and porn stars...you are thinking of what E! used to have on and you have not listened to the show....but that's what you saw in 20 mins so that must be the whole show.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Oct 2008 @ 9:14pm

0.0
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mike, 20 Oct 2008 @ 12:22pm

stern
I made the leap to Sirius because of Stern. I have always enjoyed his show. Your mileage may vary. It's got to be true to some extent that his audience is not the same as if it were free to listen. I am not sure how much the difference is in relation to the number of listeners vs. the change in demographics. I do think, however that his influence is still quite far reaching. Maybe he should do an experiment where everyone searches for "howard stern" one morning and see where it puts him on the google search list...
Still, I am not sure how much it matters to his fans. I'll be listening as long as the show continues to entertain me!

-mike
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robert, 21 Oct 2008 @ 10:08am

howad sten
teckdirt, what a bunch of dopes. the la times has a hinden agenda, like mabe buying 50 new radio sta. what better way to create contraversy than to bash the king of all radio. who by the way now has a base of over 20millon liseners. not even the top tv program can bost that. the media will do anything to bash howard, because it cost them billons when he move on.... oh yes, he still gets a list celebs on satt. check the web when anybody comes on his shoe they become the #1 search of that day............. yeh i know im just a working stiff not rich guy like you cater to
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robert, 21 Oct 2008 @ 10:15am

howard
sorry show. i see all four O & a fans are on here
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Heartfart, 31 Jan 2009 @ 12:18pm

Re: Re: Preston and Steve
You hit the nail on the head. Howard doesn't like his subordinates out-performing him.
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Donna Rosenberger, 1 Feb 2009 @ 2:58pm

Howard Stern & The FCC
2/2/09

I used to listen to Howard Stern when he was on regular radio. When he went to satellite radio, I didn't go with him because I'm too poor to pay for radio and all the attachments that are needed. I wish I could listen to him so I could get caugt up on the news and happenings in the world. I never found the format of his show offensive.

I think the FCC should fine the media for disclosing the names of people who were victims of sexual abuse. There was one girl who was only chronologically 15 years old who didn't want her name publicized and the media plastered her name all over tv and that she was sexually assaulted. There was another girl who was chronologically in her 20's who had her name and what was done to her plastered all over the news stations. I think the media should have been fined millions of dollars and the money should have been given to victims assistant funds and organizations that deal with victims of violent crimes. As well as the victims who had their names plastered in the media.

I also think that the FCC should fine the media when they announce sports scores and they don't give equal recognition to females who play sports. For instance, a newscaster for a news show will show a video of men's professional and college basketball and go on and on and on about the game and the players. For women's college basketball, they don't show a video, they just report a score.

I find this highly offensive and I think that the FCC should fine these news stations for millions of dollars and the money could be used to give females an opportunity to participate in paid professional sports. I hope before I die that I can watch a SuperBowl with women players. I would have loved to have played paid professional sports. But, unfortunately, I'm probably too old NOW.

SinCyrilly,
Donna Rosenberger
724-776-1213
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Donna Rosenberger, 1 Feb 2009 @ 5:17pm

Howard Stern & The FCC
2/2/09 I used to listen to Howard Stern when he was on regular radio. When he went to satellite radio, I didn't go with him because I'm too poor to pay for radio and all the attachments that are needed. I wish I could listen to him so I could get caugt up on the news and happenings in the world. I never found the format of his show offensive. I think the FCC should fine the media for disclosing the names of people who were victims of sexual abuse. There was one girl who was only chronologically 15 years old who didn't want her name publicized and the media plastered her name all over tv and that she was sexually assaulted. There was another girl who was chronologically in her 20's who had her name and what was done to her plastered all over the news stations. I think the media should have been fined millions of dollars and the money should have been given to victims assistant funds and organizations that deal with victims of violent crimes. As well as the victims who had their names plastered in the media. I also think that the FCC should fine the media when they announce sports scores and they don't give equal recognition to females who play sports. For instance, a newscaster for a news show will show a video of men's professional and college basketball and go on and on and on about the game and the players. For women's college basketball, they don't show a video, they just report a score. I find this highly offensive and I think that the FCC should fine these news stations for millions of dollars and the money could be used to give females an opportunity to participate in paid professional sports. I hope before I die that I can watch a SuperBowl with women players. I would have loved to have played paid professional sports. But, unfortunately, I'm probably too old NOW. SinCyrilly, Donna Rosenberger 724-776-1213
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Ozzie, 16 Feb 2009 @ 6:26pm

Howard Stern
Who really cares about Howard Stern he is filthy rich, and is not paying my rent, many Americans are loosing there jobs and we are worried on his ratings, send him a note and see if he is worried about your rent
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