It’s not difficult to determine the left’s most profane shock jock in America. Howard Stern wins that moniker hands down – and this isn’t mere conjecture. Stern amassed Federal Communications Commission fines totaling $2.5 million over the course of his broadcasting career. Since this money didn’t come out of his own pocket but was paid by his employers, he had no reason to clean up his act. The self-identified King of All Media didn’t invent profanity or lewd, crude behavior, but he expanded its presence in the public square throughout his lengthy and ignominious career. Now, it appears his days as the number one on-air degenerate may, mercifully, be coming to an end.
The native New Yorker graduated from terrestrial media to SiriusXM 20 years ago. His last contract – which lasted five years for the princely sum of $500 million – is up for renewal. However, it’s widely reported that the digital radio giant plans to offer Stern only $100 million this time around. It’s expected Stern will reject this offer, according to an exclusive report by the U.S. Sun. “Sirius and Stern are never going to meet on the money he is going to want. It's no longer worth the investment," an anonymous insider told the news outlet.
Howard Stern – The Long and Winding Trek to the Bottom
Stern's on-air schtick ranged from sketches about the Virgin Mary being pursued by men in a Jerusalem singles bar to expressing his views about President Donald Trump, whom he says he doesn’t hate but instead “hates the people who vote for him.” He was so rabid about those who refused to get the jab during the Covid-19 pandemic, he remarked, “Screw you. You should die.”
It’s safe to say that anything and everything that was conceived in the Boston University grad's head has also come out of his mouth. Nothing is left to the imagination. A savvy self-promoter, Stern scraped and clawed his way to the top with bawdy and outrageous skits and statements.
Along the way, Mr. Stern’s political metamorphosis – from an equal opportunity slayer to the pathological left – became evident. He labeled Trump voters “stupid,” and promptly lost listeners, resulting in a ratings drop. However, the clandestine Sun source maintained, "If Sirius isn't going to give Stern a good offer, I don't think it would have anything to do with his ratings. It's more likely everything to do with the political climate." During the election season, Stern conducted interviews with President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris designed to curry favor with the Democratic establishment. This came after years of maintaining a friendly relationship with Donald Trump that ultimately turned sour.
Thus, going woke appears likely to cost Stern a pretty penny. Longtime listeners maintain the famed shock jock’s stock-in-trade was not indecency, but rather authenticity. As his far-left politics became evident, listeners began to question his genuineness, and his audience dwindled rapidly, tuning out in droves. His SiriusXM program went from a high of 20 million daily listeners to “just 125,000 of late,” according to the New York Post. Once the highest-paid radio personality, Stern now faces the possibility of becoming the next Stephen Colbert. To those who found Howard Stern offensive, the extinction of his on-air presence may ultimately prove to be one of the greatest gifts President Trump bestows on the American public.
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