The other day Infinity Broadcasting Corporation's chairman and CEO Joel Hollander hosted a conference call in which he announced who or what would be replacing Howard Stern in the mornings in their 27 markets. I've been listening to Howard Stern since his show first launched on Q107 and when they dumped him for John Derringer I found Howard on Buffalo's 92.9.
During this conference call, Hollander made the following statement about Stern's replacements on Infinity. "Twenty-four hours of farting and mental illness, you won't get that here." Somebody is either bitter or simply doesn't get it.
I don't listen to Stern to hear farting or to laugh at someone's mental illness. I'm not there every morning to hear lesbians or strippers either. Those who haven't listened or simply wish to denounce his show as immoral trash are quick to harp on these points as proof his show is guttural when in reality it's quite the opposite. I don't have the interest, time or patience to listen to a show like that, and Howard Stern's morning show isn't a show like that.
Howard is the great communicator of our time. The way he relates to his audience and tells stories drenched in honesty and full of integrity is unmatched. A great deal is quite funny, but the show is at its best when it's simply Howard riffing, spontaneously talking with us. It's absolutely compelling and it has nothing to do with "farting and mental illness".
They can fill his morning time slots with the likes of Adam Carolla and David Lee Roth, but they can't replace Howard Stern. I've never heard anyone like him and I strongly doubt there's another Howard Stern out there. With Stern's 27 Infinity stations expected to lose $100 million in revenue without him and with only five per cent of his estimated 12 million listeners planning to stick with his ex-stations once he leaves for Sirius, I suppose you can't blame Hollander for being bitter.
