Cloudfont Some claim that Howard Stern was chased out of terrestrial radio by the fists and screams of moralists. Others say that he left by his own steam, settling in at a quieter and better-paying gig on satellite radio, where the moralists could find no, even slightly absurd, argument to ban him. From whichever perspective you see him through his eighties metal-hair, which for some creepy reason he looks good with the metal-kid curly locks in 2017, you have to agree he has never apologized for anything he’s said or done. Here are some of the most outrageous things said and done by Howard Stern.
The Future King of All Media
ClaudiaCopquin Had anyone else said some of the things coming from Howard Stern’s mouth, he or she would be on their knees begging for forgiveness while making an appointment with a therapist.
An Early Start
Snakkle Howard Stern had been practicing for a career as some kind of star since he first slid dirty magazines between his mattress. From practicing as a DJ at age 13 in his family basement to singing in a band, Howard appeared to have a forgone conclusion about himself. He would be a star. Just what kind, he wasn’t sure?
Banned His First Week
LiveJournal While attending Boston College Howard Stern started his first radio show, a student project called “The King Schmaltz Bagel Hour,” which was banned its first week. Administrators had a problem with a segment of the show called “Godzilla Goes To Harlem”.
Early Days In Radio
FuzFace Howard turned down many opportunities in order to wait for the right ones. He initially turned down the first offer he received to be a broadcaster because he thought he wasn’t good enough. Each time he made a move in radio, it was for a strategic reason.
Boycott Gets Attention
THR While working at a station in Hartford, CT, the future King of All Media began to put together his team, many of whom are still with him today. It was at the Hartford station where Howard first got the attention of news media with his a boycott of a gas station company during the 1979 energy crisis.
War With WNBC
Howard Stern eventually made it to the big time with his afternoon show at WNBC in the early 1980s. Though the show was successful, NBC tried to get rid of Stern as soon as they hired him.
Howard Stern vs Don Imus
It was while at WNBC that Howard Stern took a disliking to Don Imus and started a long running public feud. Though Imus was the wild morning DJ of his time, his show was nothing compared to what Stern would end up doing when he finally got to do just a few years later.
Anything To Get Rid Of Him
Imgur NBC only got their wish after they let him out of his contract so he could compete against them from another station. He soon won the morning ratings war.
Infinity And The FCC
MiserableMenShow At WXRK in northern New Jersey, Howard Stern started the morning show that would make him famous internationally, and start his legal war with the FCC. It was while at the New Jersey station that parent company, Infinity Broadcasting, received fines for a Christmas show broadcast at three of its affiliate stations. The first fine was for $2000.
20 Million Listeners
RollingStone The FCC fines couldn’t scare off stations as Howard Stern’s morning show became popular. By its peak, the show was on 60 stations and had around 20 million listeners.
A Naughty Christmas Party On Air
WSBRadio The first FCC fine was for a rendition of ‘White Christmas’ sung by a gay choir while a pianist used his penis to play the keyboard. While Infinity Broadcasting and Howard Stern fought the initial fines, more and more would begin to rack up, and banning Howard Stern became a favorite cry among politicians looking for an immoral target.
Sell The Good Stuff
Amazon Not to be tamed, the resulting FCC fines did nothing to change what Howard did, just how he sold it. He began selling albums and CDs of broadcasts that could or would never make it on the air. They sold very well.
Someone’s Listening . . . And Taking Notes
AVVO As Howard Stern’s show grew its syndication network, its detractors became more intent, even obsessed, to bring it down. One dedicated Howard Stern hater taped 60 hours of the show and typed up volumes of transcripts, in order to make attractive complaints to the FCC. The FCC acted on this listener’s complaints and fined the broadcasters over $700k. The listener even continued making transcripts and sending them to the FCC after the fines and even after moving to a different city.
Run For Governor
WriteWork In 1994 Howard Stern ran for Governor or New York on the Libertarian Party ticket. His run turned out to be a threat to incumbent Mario Cuomo, who would eventually lose to George Pataki.
Drops Out Of Race
IAgreeToSee Though he was polling well, he dropped out of the race due to requirements that would make him disclose his personal income. Howard has since become an active member of the Libertarian Party.
Leaving For Space
AndroidAuthority In the early 2000s, the FCC was gunning for Howard Stern. Fines had reached many millions of dollars, but did it matter as the future of radio looked to be beyond the FCC’s control. That’s just where Howard went, beyond the FCC’s control, into satellite radio.
Sirius And Deafening Silence
Imore Almost all at once, in late December of 2004, all the complaints of Howard Stern hurting children went away. No longer were his words under the FCC’s control. By going to a subscription-based satellite service, detractors could no longer claim that children might hear Howard outside of their parent’s control.
Terrestrial Radio Comes Back For A Bite
CBS However, Howard wasn’t done with his war with terrestrial radio. Infinity Broadcasting had been sold to CBS and had become CBS Radio. CBS then decided to sue Stern as ratings at its Infinity inherited stations had tanked since Stern left. They claimed he was unfair to them in leaving for satellite radio.
A Seat On Reality TV
Adage Howard made it back to broadcast television in 2010 with a guest stint that turned permanent. He was so popular on America’s Got Talent that it made headlines when he left the show a few years later.
Nice Work If You Can Get It
DailyMail Now 63, and with a $52 million dollar home to enjoy, Howard recently made some changes to his new Sirius contract. He will be doing three live shows per week instead of four, allowing him to spend more time on his personal life. Brian G
