Why Howard Stern's Departure from Broadcast Radio Should Concern You

Love him or hate him, we should all be concerned that Howard Stern is leaving broadcast radio for pay satellite radio. More and more our culture is getting bifurcated into two groups, those that can afford all kinds of pay media (cable tv, satellite radio, Ipods, internet connection, cell phones, etc.) and those that cannot. To hear the voices that are critical of the people in power, you have to pay for the right, "The Daily Show", "Real Time with Bill Maher", and now Howard Stern.

Yes, Howard is crude and offensive at times, but he also thinks. He went from supporting the war in Iraq to turning against it, and I think that his journey influenced a lot of Americans who took that same path. Howard has always been open-minded and he never took a predictable path to any issue. It's a real shame that people with strong, well thought out opinions can only be heard by the people that can afford it.

there would be no satellite radio.

BTW...you have no "right" to watch a particular TV show or to listen to a particular radio program.

What I am saying is that media content that's controversial and provocative is getting pushed out into pay venues. Howard Stern is leaving broadcast radio because of pressure by the government to make his show less provocative, and that is dangerous to our culture.

Yes, Howard Stren was crude at times, but many people would find HBO's brilliant mini-series, "Angels in America" crude as well. Both shows provided thought provoking media content

He's getting a boatload of cash don't get me wrong. However the oft quoted 100 million a year figure isn't just his salary. Sirius committed 500 million over 5 years but that includes everything. The salary of the entire cast and crew and all of the expenses of doing the show as well as advertising.

The reason why he is leaving Broadcast radio is because of the escalating censorship caused by the religious right's war on speech through their proxy the FCC. He has been getting more censored progressively and it stifled his creativity and made doing the show not fun anymore. Howard has enough cash to disappear but he wants to work. If there was no satelite to go to he was going to retire from Broadcast radio and then produced other projects.

Now that he is moving to an uncensored environment he can be creative again and not have to be bogged down for which euphemisms are acceptable to say for body parts etc. He'll succeed again there I am sure.

Over 5 years with some costs of the show comming out of it.

Just like in our justice system, if you want freedom, you have to pay for it.

Now more than ever, money determines your guilt or innocence, whether you live or die, where you live, if you have children, and now what media choices you have.

On radio, all we had was AM and it was mostly top 40 stations. There was maybe one news/talk station. Seems like there's a lot more choices now than in the early 60s. By the late 60s and 70s there really wasn't a whole lot more choice on tv unless you count cable tv programming. Radio was better, but by the early 80s it was already going "corporate".

onenote

I can remember staying up until they'd play the National Anthem, then go to a test pattern and tone.

You could switch channels (by getting up and turning a knob) when the news was on and the same news report wouldn't be playing; each news station went out and got its own news.

And you could call any radio station and ask them to play something. More often than not, they would. No set playlists, no annoying "on air personalities" that babbled for most of the hour.

Moreover, in the early days of television, most stations were owned by local newspapers. While the percentage of newspaper owned stations had declined precipitously by the time the FCC barred local newspaper/tv cross-ownership, ownership of out of market tv stations by newspapers has always been legal. (For example, the company that owns the Washington Post owns 6 television stations). That being said, the number of stations that one company can own has increased and that's not a good thing.

onenote

In DC, channel 9, now WUSA, used to be WTOP, which was owned by the Washington Post. Channel 7, now WJLA and owned by Gannett, used to be WMAL, which was owned by the Evening Star. I wish the Evening Star were still with us.

dcrtv.com - Washington DC Radio & TV Nostalgia & History

But they look the other way when Right Wing hatemongers spread their hate and lies and racist comments but come unglued if someone sees a tit.

RW control over broadcast media, we will always be defined by them.

EVERY other issue important today depends on public knowledge of the actual facts involved.

Now I'm going to miss hearing him because, as you've noted, I just can't afford to subscribe to satellite radio. I do get basic cable, so I can still watch TDS but I don't have HBO so I miss Maher ... The reason the right has been able to hypnotize so many with its hatespeech is because they basically OWN the AM radio band -- the most accessible free form of media. If people like Stern, Maher, et al. are banished to the hinterlands of pay services, it makes it all the more difficult for our message to get out to the masses.

He willingly signed a contract for $100 million.

and Maher was DEFINITELY banished to cable after 9/11. I meant "banished" in terms of exposure and ability to reach people, not in terms of pay or respect.

to say fuck on the air. Can't do that on free broadcasting whether you're Howard or Rush.

onenote

Howard has said himself he has little interest in saying the f-word. It's the fact they prevent you from saying a lot of other things than the seven dirty words that ticks him off, and it's all based on the pure whim of the FCC.

If he, or anyone else, wants to say certain things, they're going to have to go to satellite or cable or the internet to say them. The only new about this is that, before now, if you wanted to say certain things, you had no outlet at all.

onenote

Totally off-topic, but I just wanted to say that. LOL.

It was a double standard being applied. Howard never said fuck on the air, and was heavily fined. The FCC was out to get him and succeeded. Who's next?

the same thing about the internet. One has to buy a computer, pay for an ISP....etc....

Also, think about how free radio is now essentially controlled by the companies who pay for the commercials.

I listed it as a pay media source that many Americans cannot afford to have.

I just skimmed the post.....my mind is racing......waiting for more feedback on the Fitzpatrick Grand Jury......:spank:

Yes, FCC limits free speech, but it just got worse and worse for Howard until he felt he could not speek freely anymore under the FCC.

is welcome to him. I can't stand that creep.

Al Franken, Randi Rhodes, and Janeane Garafolo are "creeps" as well. Will we have to pay to listen to them as well? Where does it end?

(1) they want to use profanity on the air or (2) they can't draw a big enough audience to get advertising support or (3) they get offered and decide to accept more money to be on satellite than over the air. The limit on profanity is nothing new -- its just that now there is an alternative to simply not having a show; the second option is the way its always been. Only the third option is really new -- and its the choice of the speaker.

onenote

As far as "paying for radio", you're paying for content...much as millions pay for cable TV when there ARE free TV channels available.

The Stern issue is not whether you like him or not, it's that America is INCREASINGLY becoming a place where you have to pay to get original content (read dissenting opinion). The majority of the free broadcast media is controlled by a very small number of people.

including DU (although I urge everyone to donate).

onenote

...unless you do it at the library, where content can be censored.

shortwave radio. OK, I mentioned it. Mitaswell give a link:

RadioIntel.com

I'm a bit surprised to see these listed as examples of "pay media" that divides haves and have nots. I suppose the same could've been said about Walkmen and wireline phones too?

onenote

With Ipods, you pay for the content of that device. More and more media is being transmitted through IPods.

With land line phones, the government regulated how much you had to pay for them. Again, you pay for the device and the service, the content was not charged.

To the extent that there is "iPOD-only" content I haven't run across it, but I've only had my iPOD a week.

onenote

People are putting out new music. Radio and TV shows, etc, and it's growing every day.

I know that I can download an Podcast of the news and weather from my local radio station, buts its just the same content that is broadcast for free over the air. Is there Podcast content that is exclusive? As I said, I just got my iPOD a week ago and this is all pretty new to me. Where do I find this exclusive content?

onenote

She went to satellite radio as the only way to get out her message. She used to openly criticize Giuliani before it was fashionable, calling him "vile" and "despicable".

to her a few times a week on Sirius "Left", she never fails to make me laugh when she refers to Bush, as "that little cocksucker", or "that motherfucker Bush", to hear it come out of this woman's mouth, out of nowhere, is always hilarious!!!

However, her taste in music SUCKS!!!! (Can't have it all I suppose).

Listen, if you want to hear "bad music", see if she doesn't do the "Christmas Eve Sing-A-Long". She gets several callers on the air with her at the same time and they all sing carols horribly off key (in different keys). Now, THAT'S funny!

what she refers to bush as..too bad her music isn't as Dead On.

It is probably the single most important vehicle we have left to combat the right.

Take away your satellite TV, cable, internet ISP, satellite radio, and then look at your news and entertainment options. You only have the three big networks, local channels, and PBS for news and thought provoking entertainment.

This is how a large number of Americans are getting their information. Think about this when you see polls supporting Bush.

You think all people listen to pop music in their car?

before cable tv and internet, most people had no more than three or four broadcast channels from which they got their information. Talk radio wasn't really big back then, and even now there hasn't been that much migration from broadcasting to satellite (other than Howard who's basically doing it for the money and, so he can say fuck on the air). In short, the amount content that has "migrated" from free over the air broadcasting to cable, the internet, or satellite pales by comparison to the amount of content that wouldn't exist but for those media.

onenote

You keep leaving out the internet. We pay for the right to access DU through our ISP. This content IS NOT available on the broadcast networks. Not even close. It's not just about saying profanity or showing nudity. It's about being able to present alternative viewpoints.

My point is that the content that is available exclusively on the internet, by and large, has been created for the internet and has migrated away from free over the air broadcast. In other words, the creation of the internet has not resulted in a decrease in free content.

onenote

DONATE --- a few bucks to AAR, it REALLY helps!!!

www.airamericaradio.com

Then it will dawn on them as to what's really happening.

It wouldn't take much. A series of heavy fines, and poof! AAR has to go out of business or off terrestial radio. Don't think that raunchiness was the ONLY reason why the FCC chased Stern off the air. He's been doing raunchy radio for well over 20 years, and now they decide to take him on after he heavily criticized Bush about the war.

pay to listen to him. He will lose millions of listeners, and make millions of dollars. I'm not so sure he would have left to go to satellite if he was free to do the show he wants, without the fear of being personally fined $500,000 per occurrence on undefined content.

I'm not sure what he would've done if he could do the show he wants either, but I suspect the money he is being offered by Sirius would be awfully tempting even if there were no rules.

Now if it was more like $100, then we might have something to complain about.

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