It’s a given in broadcasting that when a personality gets ready to depart he does so quietly. In fact, in most instances listeners tune in and find that their favorite DJ or talk show host has simply vanished and gone somewhere.
There is no forwarding address.
But “shockjock” Howard Stern, the self-styled King Of All Media (but who has had a rocky road expanding significantly beyond his niche broadcast), tried to leave one yesterday.
And for a few days, at least, he’s outta there:
NEW YORK — Shock jock Howard Stern was suspended Monday from his syndicated show for a day after heavily promoting his move to satellite radio.
Stern spokesman Matt Traub confirmed the suspension from the syndicated show in more than 20 Infinity Broadcasting Corp. markets. It was first reported on the Howard 100 channel carried by Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., where Stern is moving his show next year.
Howard will not be on the air tomorrow. We expect him back on Wednesday,” said Infinity spokeswoman Karen Mateo. Mateo wouldn’t call Stern’s absence a suspension and declined to comment further. Listeners will hear a compilation of Stern’s best shows on Tuesday, she said.
Stern announced his departure last year to Sirius, where he received a $500 million contract to begin in January 2006. Stern boasted an audience of about 12 million and revenues of about $100 million from his morning FM show. His last live radio show for Infinity is set for Dec. 16.
And the AP:
But Stern’s spokesman Matt Traub called it a paid suspension.
“This is an act of desperation by men who are losing their once-in-a-lifetime franchise,” Traub said Monday.
Perhaps, perhaps not.
Because, as we reported in this post here, since Stern announced he was leaving, his show has reportedly lost some of its comic edge and his ratings have started going down almost as fast as President George W. Bush’s poll numbers. Well, perhaps not THAT bad (if his ratings went down that fast he’d have to do a gig on Deep Sea Radio).
New York Business.com doesn’t mince words about Stern’s performance (personal and professional):
Howard Stern will be taking a rest on Tuesday, courtesy of his employers at Infinity Broadcasting Corp.
The “King of All Media� was suspended with pay for one day for talking too much about Sirius Satellite Radio, where he is moving his show in January. He has become an increasing annoyance for his current employer with seemingly nonstop promotion of the satellite service and diatribes against Infinity, a division of Viacom Inc.
In other words, Stern is forgetting why he is where he is: he ENTERTAINED people.
Why should people tune in to listen to him kvetch when they have their husbands, wives, kids and bloggers who can do the same thing?
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.