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Howard TV |
| The Howard Stern Show | |
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| Genre | Comedy, talk |
|---|---|
| Running time | 4 hours (contractual) 5 hours (current) 4–6 hours (on terrestrial) |
| Country |  United States |
| Home station | Howard 100 |
| Starring | Howard Stern Robin Quivers Artie Lange Fred Norris |
| Announcer | George Takei |
| Creators | Howard Stern |
| Executive producers | Gary Dell'Abate |
| Air dates | 1979 to Present |
| Opening theme | "The Great American Nightmare" by Rob Zombie and Howard Stern (current) "In a Mellow Tone" by Duke Ellington (previous) |
| Ending theme | "Tortured Man" by Howard Stern and The Dust Brothers |
| Website www.howardstern.com |
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The Howard Stern Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Howard Stern on Howard 100, one of two channels on the subscription-based SIRIUS Satellite Radio that was developed by Stern during his transition from WXRK, the terrestrial station that Stern joined from 1985 to 2005. For over twenty years1 the terrestrial show was syndicated on FM (and a few AM) radio stations throughout the United States until the last terrestrial broadcast on December 16, 2005. Since January 9, 2006 the show began broadcasting on SIRIUS, and to Canada later on via SIRIUS Canada by February 6. By June 19, the show was made available worldwide via SIRIUS Internet Radio. The show is currently broadcast from Studio 69 on the 36th floor at 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York City.
The Howard Stern Show is a free-form comedy show consisting of banter, spin-off games, stunts, clips from television shows, interviews, the Internet or the cast, and prank phone calls. Common themes include current events, Hollywood gossip, politics, and ridiculing staff members for their personality, mistakes, incompetence and behaviour. Traditionally, no person or topic is considered sacred (particularly now that the show is uncensored on SIRIUS) and every cast member, including Stern himself, has taken ridicule on the show.
After two years at WRNW, Stern's first professional radio job, Stern worked at WCCC, an FM station in Hartford, Connecticut in 1979. Stern decided to apply for the job after reading an ad in Radio & Records that wanted a "wild, fun, morning guy". Stern was hired for $12,000 a year. It was at WCCC that Stern met Fred Norris, where Norris was working the overnight slot under the pseudonym "Earth Dog". This is perhaps the start of what grew to become The Howard Stern Show as it is known today.
In 1980, when his ratings had increased but his pay remained the same, Stern found an advertisement, again in Radio & Records, for an opening at WWWW (or W4 in short) in Detroit, Michigan. Stern replaced the controversial Steve Dahl who left for WDAI in Chicago. He met with management and signed a contract for $30,000 and moved to Detroit. At W4, the show was further refined with bits such as Dial-a-Date being invented. The show started to get noticed by the industry, and Stern won the Billboard Award for "Best AOR Disc Jockey". Suddenly however, W4 changed station format from rock to country, which was highly disliked by Stern.
Fortunately for Stern, his success in Detroit led to a job offer at WWDC, branded as "DC101" in Washington, D.C. This was the first time Stern met then-news reader Robin Quivers, who has been with Stern ever since. In one typical example of the radio show, Stern persuaded a female caller to have phone sex with him on the air.2 Stern made deep buzzing noises into his microphone, and had her sit on a speaker with the volume and bass turned up. This incident appeared as a scene in Stern's 1997 movie Private Parts.
Another notable moment from DC101 was when Stern did a bit where he pretended to call Air Florida to ask if the 14th Street Bridge would be a "permanent stop", in reference to the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 one day earlier which killed 78 people. Stern later stated that he was ridiculing the airline for allowing such an error to occur.3
On June 29, Stern was fired from DC101 after being suspended for criticizing his station management and two other radio stations. Stern's lawyer alleged "It's our view that the real reason they've [fired Stern] is they would like to get new DC101 deejays "GreaseMan" and "Adam Smasher" on the air as soon as possible, and hope the audience forgets about Howard, and that's a perfectly rational business judgment." Although Stern then made a deal with WNBC, Stern mentioned in the 2007 special The History of Howard Stern that he was very naive back then, and didn't realise WNBC refused to hire Quivers. As a result, Quivers left the show and went back to Baltimore. Quivers returned to the show on October 18, 1982 after Stern informing WNBC management that he would be more "under control" should Quivers be part of the show.
In 1982, Stern (along with Quivers and Norris) made it to New York City to work at NBC's flagship AM radio station, WNBC, also known as 66 WNBC. Working at NBC at that time was David Letterman, and made Stern a guest on Late Night with David Letterman on June 19, 1984 for the first time. This first appearance launched Stern into the national spotlight and gave his radio show unprecedented exposure. Stern would appear on the Late Show thereafter, increasing Stern's ratings.
Stern was fired from WNBC in 1985 in response to a particularly outrageous sketch known as "Bestiality Dial-a-Date", although relations between station management and Stern had been strained from the beginning, which was well-documented in Stern's 1993 book Private Parts.
Stern quickly returned to FM radio by joining local rival station WXRK, branded as "92.3 K-Rock", on November 18, 1985. For the first three months, Stern worked the afternoon slot before moving permanently to mornings in February 1986. By the end of 1986, Stern's show was syndicated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania via WYSP, which he announced on an appearance on Letterman. The local media initially doubted that Stern would be a success in the Philadelphia market.4 however, in a move that would repeat itself many times over in his career, Stern was successful in knocking off the local morning talent (John Debella) to become number one in the ratings.5 Before long, the show would be heard in Washington, before being syndicated nationwide by Infinity Broadcasting. The show made great sport out of feuding with other cities' top-rated shows, and soon the show became number one in several major markets. Stern's arbitron numbers were the strongest in the country's number one radio market, New York City, where his morning ratings more than tripled his station's average numbers the rest of the day.
Early in his career, the show was already becoming lucrative for advertisers, due to Stern's promotional ability. Defying critics like Don Imus, who in 1986 responded to Stern's success with: "...talk to me six months from now...prestige accounts are not going to advertise on that kind of program no matter what Howard does. You can get local retailers on who don't care what he says about them and there are only so many of them out there..."6.
In 1991, the show began to broadcast in Los Angeles, a move that was considered risky at the time, on KLSX. Predictions about the success of his show, like the one of a local L.A. radio listener: "Vulgarity has reached a new low. I think he's going to bomb beautifully out here. At least I hope he does. I'm sure he'll find the Los Angeles market is more sophisticated", proved in the end to be untrue7.
In 1992, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) fined Infinity Broadcasting $600,000 after Stern discussed the act of masturbating to a picture of Aunt Jemima. His exact statement was: "The closest I came to making love to a black woman was I, uh, masturbated to a picture of Aunt Jemima on a pancake box. I did it right on her kerchief"8.
Stern made national news in 1994 by preventing a suicidal man from leaping to his death off the George Washington Bridge9. Stern was again in the national news on June 10, when a live broadcast in Cleveland was sabotaged when Bill Alford, an engineer from rival WMMS cut the wires, temporarily stopping Stern's "funeral" broadcast10.
In April 1995, after Tejano singer Selena was shot to death in March, and one day before the singer was to be buried, Stern parodied her by playing gunshots over Selena's music. He also mocked Selena's fans in a fake hispanic accent and said "Spanish people have the worst taste in music...they have no depth". This episode ignited a fire-storm of controversy and protests. As a result of Stern's comments, a disorderly arrest warrant was issued against Stern by the justice of the peace in Harlingen, Texas. Stern was never arrested, but he ended up making a rare on-air apology, in Spanish, a week after the episode.
In November, Billy West made his departure from the show due to the stations refusal to pay him what he viewed as a fair salary. West has never returned as a guest, the closest to doing so has been providing commentary for a West edition of Stern Spotlight, a special that aired on Howard 100 in February 2007 as well as a guest appearance on the Greg Fitzsimmons Show on Howard 101 in November 2007, both on SIRIUS.
In 1997, Stern's show aired for the first time in Canada, appearing on CILQ in Toronto and CHOM in Montreal11. CHOM cancelled Stern's show in 2000, after frequent listener complaints to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission; for most of the time that the stations did air Stern's program, they were required to monitor the show for offensive content through the use of broadcast delays. CILQ cancelled the Stern show after John Hayes, who Stern refers to as The Incubus12 became program director of Corus Radio. This was a personal vendetta against Stern by John Hayes, as Stern was the most highly rated radio morning show in Toronto in November 2001 when the show was pulled from the air. Howard Stern's fans in Toronto were able to hear the uncensored show on a Buffalo, New York station until the move to SIRIUS in 2005.
Stern has claimed on-air that the Canadian government disapproved of his use of the ethnic slur "polack", and that this was one of the reasons why his show was not broadcast in Canada until February 6, 2006, when Howard 100 made its debut on SIRIUS Canada.
The show broadcast on April 21, 1999 show drew angry criticism and official "censure" from the Colorado State Legislature for his comment regarding the motives of the two male students who murdered twelve classmates and one teacher in the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado "There were some really good-looking girls running out with their hands over their heads. Did those kids try to have sex with any of the good-looking girls? They didn't even do that? At least if you're going to kill yourself and kill all the kids, why wouldn't you have some sex? If I was going to kill some people, I'd take them out with sex"13. Stern did not apologize for his words but instead argued that his comments were an attempt to figure out what was wrong with the two attackers. Stern believes much of the furore was roused by deejays at competing stations in the Denver market. He said "There has been a tragic shooting in Denver. It's a national horror and what are the deejays doing? They're announcing my sponsors trying to get them to pull out. Are they really caring about the Denver community, or are they really just saying, 'Hey, maybe we can get Howard Stern off the air?' If I'm so vicious, why would you draw attention to me?" Stern explained his remarks this way: "I had zero intent to make fun of the situation. The point in making that comment was an attempt to try to understand a motive... We didn't know anything about motives (the morning after) and were trying to consider all possibilities."14
On March 5, 2001 it was officially announced that show staffer Jackie "The Jokeman" Martling had left the radio show after failed contract negotiations. Over the next several months, various comedians auditioned in the "Jackie Chair" for the job, with comedian Artie Lange eventually becoming a permanent member of the cast in late 2001.
Stern was on the air in his New York City studio during the September 11, 2001 attacks and stayed on the air with his cast/crew while many other broadcasters fled the city.15 Fittingly, he was in the middle of a rousing story about a rendezvous with Pamela Anderson when he first mentioned the World Trade Center was on fire. His coverage of the attacks increased as the gravity of the situation became clear. His live reporting was one of the first news of the incident for many East Coast residents. The show had a somewhat subdued tone, with many listeners calling in to share their own stories of survival or personal loss. As other comedy performers like David Letterman and Jon Stewart later returned to the air, many with emotionally-charged monologues, Stern was furious at the glowing response they received in the press, as he had been on the air the whole time without any positive reaction. This reinforced his long-held belief that there is a bias against him in the mainstream media. Stern's September 11, 2001 broadcast was replayed in its entirety on the first and fifth anniversary of the attacks. Among Stern fans - many of whom work in the broadcasting and entertainment fields - the September 11 broadcast was a watershed moment; as Stern remarked before the gravity of the situation was truly apparent, "I'm auditioning for Dan Rather's job".
On February 25, Clear Channel Communications "indefinitely suspended" Stern from six markets because of indecency involving sexual and racist dialogue during his show.16 The show in question featured Rick Salomon, whose claim to fame includes a publicly released home video showing him having sex with hotel heiress and socialite Paris Hilton. During this broadcast, Stern held a sexually-provocative and racially insensitive interview with Salomon, asking him graphic questions about anal sex and making light of a caller's use of the word "nigger". Clear Channel president John Hogan said "Clear Channel drew a line in the sand today with regard to protecting our listeners from indecent content, and Howard Stern's show blew right through it... it was vulgar, offensive and insulting, not just to women and African-Americans but to anyone with a sense of common decency." The move came only a day after Clear Channel fired Bubba the Love Sponge for similar reasons. Due to the timing of the incident, this is considered to be part of a wide-ranging backlash against obscenity triggered by the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy. By April 8, Clear Channel announced it would "permanently terminate" its relationship with Stern after being fined $500,000 by the FCC.1718 However on July 19, Stern returned to four of the six markets Clear Channel had booted him from, and added five new ones to the roster, this time on Infinity-owned stations.19 In late August, he returned to a fifth market, Miami, on an independent station. Here, as was often typical with Stern, his return was greeted with controversy as the Miami Dolphins threatened to revoke their broadcast deal with the station in question if the station did not fire him. Because Clear Channel and some of its executives have donated over $200,000 to the Republican Party, Stern claims the company was trying to penalize him for his harsh criticisms of President George W. Bush. Stern told his listeners:
Stern turned against Bush because neither Clear Channel nor Bush "got the FCC off my back." Stern perceived Bush's religious beliefs as fanatical and has described Bush as a "Jesus freak," a "maniac" and "an arrogant bastard".21 Stern endorsed John Kerry in the 2004 presidential campaign, and urged his listeners to vote for him, the latest in a long string of political endorsements Stern has made.22 In the past, he had also supported former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. In one on-air stunt, Stern promised then-gubernatorial candidate Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey that he would endorse her candidacy if she promised to name a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike after him if she were elected. She won and kept her promise, although one of her successors, Democrat Jim McGreevey, later claimed impropriety by Whitman and revoked the honour. In recent years, Stern has been a staunch opponent of Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. On July 25, 2006 Stern launched into a tirade against the Senator. He attacked Lieberman's past support of indecency laws and his current support of the War on Terror.23.
On February 27, 2004, long-time Stern show member John Melendez left the show to become the on-air announcer for The Tonight Show. Stern has consistently claimed the hiring of Melendez was an attempt by Jay Leno to steal ideas from his show, citing Melendez' speech impediment, heavy east coast accent, and limited show business resume as questionable qualifications for the announcing job. Prior to this, many late night talk show bits had been stolen from the Stern show, such as Leno's "Jaywalking" segment, which closely resembles "The Homeless Game". After Melendez' hiring, additional bits were borrowed such as goofy red carpet interviews (with Ross the Intern) and booking Stern Show regular Kenneth Keith Kallenbach as a guest (albeit Leno intentionally mispronounced his name 24). On July 1, after a search and auditioning process, Richard Christy, drummer of various death and heavy metal bands including Iced Earth and Death, became the winner of the show's "Get John's Job" contest with 30% of the vote and was hired as Melendez' replacement. Sal "The Stockbroker" Governale, who was runner-up in the contest with 24%, was later hired by September.
On October 6, Stern announced on his show that he had signed a five year, $500 million deal with the subscription-based SIRIUS Satellite Radio.25 The deal also contained an additional $225 million one-time stock bonus which he would receive if the show attracted a certain amount of listeners in a given time, which it did. The $500 million contract and $225 million stock deal placed Stern at the second richest celebrity of 2004 at $302 million, ahead of George Lucas, Oprah Winfrey, The Rolling Stones and Tom Cruise.26 The deal, which took effect on January 1, 2006 (when Stern's terrestrial radio contract ended) enabled Stern to broadcast his show without the content restrictions imposed by the FCC. The move to satellite radio met with controversy, as Stern talked about his move to SIRIUS on his terrestrial show, including telling listeners how to purchase SIRIUS equipment and subscriptions.27 To promote his move, Stern held a rally in New York City where he gave out coupons for free or discounted SIRIUS equipment. Stern's touting of his move to satellite resulted in some radio stations censoring him every time he mentioned the words "SIRIUS" or "satellite radio". In one incident, Farid Suleman of Citadel Broadcasting billed Stern $200,000 for the advertising plugs he gave SIRIUS on his show. Stern's responded publicly on his show, "Keep sending me bills. Like I'm going to pay 'em". Citadel eventually pulled Howard Stern off 4 stations in Grand Rapids, Providence, Syracuse, lower Lancaster, Harrisburg, and York during the show's Christmas vacation. On November 7, 2005, Infinity Broadcasting suspended Stern from going live on air on November 8, because Stern was excessively promoting his move to SIRIUS.27 The December 12, 2005 issue of New York Magazine revealed that rival satellite radio company XM had been prepared to offer Stern a $30 million per year contract in 2004, but its executives were slow to close the deal, giving SIRIUS the chance it needed. When asked why he picked SIRIUS over their competitor XM, Stern replied that he "Always liked the underdog. Every radio station I ever went to was a toilet bowl."28 Stern has also stated that during very preliminary negotiations with XM, he found the management to be slow and unresponsive while Sirius was "nimble". Stern's budget with SIRUS, including all operating costs, is $500 million for the five-year contract.
On April 6, Stern pleaded on-air for Infinity Broadcasting to let him out of his contract, citing the reason of possible prosecution, per House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner's recommendation. FMQB.com quoted Stern as saying: "They're [[[Viacom]]] holding me to the contract and I'm afraid to break the contract, because I don't want to ever do anything illegal or wrong. I'm very, very clear on that. I'm a pretty honest guy. I try to live by the laws, but it seems like I'm being set up."29 It must also be added that within Stern's contract with Viacom/Infinity, if he were to have been fired or his show cancelled, his employer would have had to pay him and his production company $20 million.
In early June 2005, Artie Lange began missing work, prompting concerns of a possible relapse into the substance abuse which had affected him in previous years. The situation climaxed in Lange behaving incoherently and belligerently while on the air. He infamously sneered at Stern and the crew that "Artie's going to do what Artie's going to do." Stern later commented that this statement had scared him. Lange subsequently missed the next two days of work. At the time, Lange's absence from the show went largely unmentioned and was written off as stress from doing the radio show and beginning production of his film Artie Lange's Beer League. The real reason for Lange's absence was made public in a spontaneous revelation on September 21, 2006, which Lange acknowledged that he was regularly snorting heroin from February to June 2005. Lange discussed prior episodes of heroin use, beginning when he was a stand-up comedian and continuing until Beer League was set to begin shooting. Lange detailed his painful withdrawal, which included common side effects such as cold sweats, shaking, and vomiting. Lange recalled disconnecting the telephone to avoid speaking with his mother, who ultimately intervened and helped Artie recover. Lange was threatened with legal action by producers of Beer League (whom he later described as having "waste management connections") if he failed to show up for the first day of shooting in June 2005, which led Lange to secure a home visit from a doctor who prescribed Lange with buprenorphine (also known as "Subutex") to alleviate his heroin dependency. Since starting the medicine, Lange claimed to be free of any illegal substances, but on May 24, 2007 he stated that he has abused Subutex. He stated that taking more than his recommended dose gave him a small high.
On June 22, 2005, Stern announced that production of the Howard Stern Show on E! would be ending. The last new episode was taped on July 1, and aired on July 8. E! continued to rerun the show until December 31.
Stern's last live broadcast on conventional FM and AM radio stations was on December 16, 2005.30 The studio segment of the show ended when Stern staff each gave a final farewell, then walked to a stage on the streets of New York City below WXRK, simulcast live accompanied by video on the Internet through Yahoo!. Several thousand fans attended the event. Stern was the last to leave the studio. On the stage, many members of the show's Wack Pack gave speeches and Staind performed. Speeches were given by each member of the show including Gary, Artie, Fred, Robin, and finally Howard, who frequently referred to himself and his fans as "the last of a dying breed." During his speech, Stern thanked the New York City Police Department and dedicated the show to Sergeant Keith Manning, a friend of the show who at the time was serving in Iraq. Stern was then bussed to the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, where Martha Stewart (who also has her own SIRIUS channel) was on hand to induct Stern into the SIRIUS family. Much of the show took place at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City where Sheryl Crow performed and mentioned on stage the debt America and musicians should pay towards Stern. True to the last broadcast, many of Stern's final statements were edited out on the radio and even on the Yahoo! Internet broadcast. These statements largely pertained to Stern's animosity towards Clear Channel and the future at SIRIUS. As a response to Stern leaving terrestrial radio, many of the radio stations under ownership of CBS Radio, including WXRK New York, changed their format from music to a hot talk format. Select stations were rebranded to Free FM. Stern's flagship station changed its name from "92.3 K-Rock" to "92.3 Free FM". Stern himself was a harsh critic of the Free FM format in his last days on terrestrial radio, arguing that the name was a joke due to continued FCC and industry censorship. CBS Radio revenue fell eight percent after Stern's departure.31
Eight months following the changeover to satellite radio, Advertising Age reported that advertising revenue from Stern's show is a third of what his terrestrial radio show commanded for a live read spot.32 Analysts partially attributed this to the lack of measurable listener data Sirius makes available for its individual channels, but also due to the smaller satellite audience when compared with Stern's previous terrestrial broadcasts. What Advertising Age failed to mention was that SIRIUS is a subscription service (similar to HBO or Showtime) and airs approximately 8 minutes of commercials per hour (0 minutes music channels), compared to Stern's show on terrestrial radio, which aired approximately 22 minutes of commercials per hour.
At 5:55am on January 9 on Howard 100, the heartbeat sound effect (that was played on a loop since January 6 and progressively got faster and faster) broke away to "Also Sprach Zarathustra" with added flatulence sound effects. The show's opening theme, "The Great American Nightmare", played a few bars before George Takei introduced himself as the show's new announcer. Listeners were soon invited to call into the show using the new toll-free line 1-888-9-ASSHOLE. The first show had no commercials (the first being on January 10) with music being played instead whilst various technical problems were sorted. During the show Stern revealed that there were 180,000 SIRIUS receivers activated the day before his inaugural broadcast. He also revealed that he was not married, squashing rumours that appeared during the Christmas period. One of the first radio bits on the show included the playing the uncensored sex tapes from Pat O'Brien and uncensored versions of parody songs using the sex tape. Later, Stern announced the list of revelations for the long-awaited Revelation Game, where staff members of the show revealed dark secrets about themselves. The revelations took place on the following week on January 16 and 17.
In May 2006, Stern said that he had received offers from three major terrestrial radio companies to return. Stern said that while he would not return "It would be cool to go back and kick their asses." None of the companies involved were named or came forward. Media organizations announced that he was thinking of returning to terrestrial radio and to clear up the rumors Stern called Associated Press on-air on May 10. While talking to Associated Press Stern said "The story is I wouldn't do [terrestrial radio] for any reason".33 In September 2006 rumours once again arose that Stern would be returning to terrestrial radio. These rumours were once again denied by Stern and SIRIUS. SIRIUS representative Patrick Reilly told UPI "There has never been any discussion of Howard Stern in any way, shape, or form being anything but exclusive to SIRIUS. Published reports suggesting otherwise are wrong,".34
Initially, SIRIUS Canada chose not to carry Stern because of the possibility of a future issue with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Josef Radomski, a Canadian writer, announced on the January 11, 2006 show that he has started an online petition to bring Stern to Sirius Canada. On February 1, 2006, Sirius Canada announced that they would start airing Howard 100 starting February 6.35 On Stern's first day on Sirius Canada a caller claiming to be Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister-designate who was sworn in as Prime Minister that same day, welcomed Stern back to the Canadian airwaves.
On April 10, Artie Lange attempted to physically attack Teddy, his personal assistant while on the air. An off-air argument between Lange assistant escalated on-air as Stern asked Lange to explain the situation. The altercation quickly turned to recriminations regarding money that Lange had loaned to Teddy (though Lange referred to the repeated requests for financial assistance as theft), and soon several show staff members had to restrain Lange, who lunged at his assistant. One of the offences that Artie cited was that Teddy referred to Bloomingdale's as "Bloomie's" which Artie thought was "gay". "Lange blamed Stern for the fight, saying that Stern "pushed" him to the breaking point and that he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't snap again in the future. He then told Stern he loved him and resigned"36. Following a week's vacation, Lange returned to the show on April 21.
Stern is a polarizing figure in the entertainment industry. While beloved amongst his fans, he is loathed by his critics.3738 In 2005 aides to former FCC Commissioner Michael Powell admitted that Stern is a lightning rod (for FCC action), while entertainers like Oprah who also discuss issues like sexuality are "untouchable".39
The FCC has fined stations for content on The Howard Stern Show upwards of $5 million since 1990.40
Over Stern's career, the Stern Show has drawn FCC complaints for indecency. These complaints are paid by the broadcast station against which the complaints were filed, not by Stern or the Stern Show. Stern routinely corrects callers and journalists about this misconception that Stern himself had to pay the various FCC fines. The first complaint was filed in 1986 when Stern asked a caller "Have you ever had sex with an animal?", to which the caller answered no. Stern continued, "Well, don't knock it. I was sodomized by Lamb Chop--you know, that puppet Shari Lewis holds?".40 He was not fined for this complaint, but after his first fines in 1988 they continued until he left terrestrial radio.
| Notice Date | Total Amount | Incidents | Company Fined |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 16, 198840 | $6,000 | 3 | Infinity |
| October 27, 199240 | $105,000 | 12 | Greater Media |
| December 199241 | $600,000 | N/A (Settlement) | Infinity |
| August 199341 | $500,000 | N/A (Settlement) | Infinity |
| February 1, 199440 | $400,000 | 4 | Viacom |
| October 199640 | $10,000 | 1 | WVGO Richmond |
| July 200142 | $27,500 | 1 | Infinity |
| April 8, 200440 | $495,000 | 18 | Clear Channel |
| 200440 | $1,750,000 | N/A (Settlement) | Clear Channel |
| 200440 | $3,500,000 | N/A (Settlement) | Viacom |
Stern feels that he has been selectively targeted by the FCC. Though this defense has never been used against the agency, some legal scholars believe that Stern's case passes the selective prosecution test and that the FCC's regulation of indecency is not proper.43 However, in a 2004 interview the FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein stated that the FCC was not out to drive Stern off the air and was just enforcing the law. "I don't think it's a necessary outcome that good content is driven away from the radio," Adelstein told Billboard Radio Monitor.40
Media watchdog groups have been especially aggressive in attacking The Howard Stern Show, and Stern personally. Jack Thompson, a disbarred Florida attorney, has stated he thinks Stern should be in jail.44 The Parents Television Council headed by Brent Bozell has been one of Stern's chief critics,44 organizing write-in campaigns to the FCC and frequently appearing on television to speak against Stern.
One criticism of the show is that Howard is only funny when he has an enemy to rail against. After his move to Sirius in 2006, Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield wrote, "No wonder he's bored - he's got nobody to piss him off anymore".45 Stern has responded to these criticisms by making analogies like, "That's like saying Chris Rock's HBO special would have been better if he had a censor to fight."46
For the Wack Pack regulars see: The Wack Pack
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