King of (almost) all media
: Brian Lowry names Howard Stern the media man of 2002 in the L.A. Times. Lowry is to be commended for not apologizing about listening to and liking Stern — “one who admits as much without the customary disclaimer issued by many of his patrons, who insist they only tune in during National Public Radio pledge breaks” — he nonetheless gives a shallow analysis of Stern’s importance. He notes that the just-past year in TV “reveals a parade of programs with antecedents on Stern’s radio show” and includes in his list of shameless Stern copying television’s sudden interest in reality, Ozzie O., plastic surgery, and prostitution. Ah, but that misses the real contribution of Stern: Honesty. I say that Stern is also the atecedent for the success of FoxTV; he is the antidote to media oil and ooze.
: Why do I now say that Stern is only the king of (almost) all media? Because he still refuses to conquer the Internet. His fears: that the Internet would cut into his syndication business (but I know how it would support, not hurt him there) and that bandwidth won’t support his ambitions (that has changed in the last year or so). I stand ready, willing, and able to bring Howard online. Then he will have conquered all media.
