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The Daily Stern

16 comments on The Daily Stern

The Daily Stern

: SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION: Stern said this morning that his company is threatening to make him stop taking phone calls and even make him prerecord the show a day before, just so it can be sterilized and homogenized. He even mentioned them threatening to move him to another daypart.

Many people have speculated that Infinity won’t let Stern go.

But I’ll just bet he has a creative-control clause in his contract and that will be his out.

And if he is suddenly liable for up to $500,000 per day personally, you can bet that a smart lawyer can get him out of any contract that puts him in a position of such liability.

I’m not selling my Sirius stock.

: QUIET BEFORE THE STORM: Things are quiet on the Stern front today. But expect them to heat up again later this week when the Senate passes its indecent indecency bill.

: WELCHERS: Howard said Clear Channel is trying to stiff him for the money they owe him on his contract. He’ll fight in court. He’ll win.

: SATELLITE DOC: Says Doc:

I want so see Howard on Sirius for two reasons: Tom Reilly and NPR, both of whom/which are on Sirius and not on the larger XM.

Me, I’d just love to see Howard start webcasting, finding the best way to stay inside the rules imposed by the Library of Congress rather than by the FCC, and leading the way to vitalizing an industry that was strangled in its cradle and left for dead by the LOC and its Copyright Office, acting as puppets for the RIAA. I guarantee you’d see webcasts to cars, somehow, within three years.

: REPUBLICANS ARE PAYING ATTENTION: Even the GOP USA site is covering what Stern says. Because it matters.

: THE VOICE OF YOUTH: YM surveyed readers and two thirds side with Stern and free speech.

: PREVIOUS STERN POSTS: here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here.

16 responses to “The Daily Stern”

  1. MQ Avatar
    MQ

    I caught about 2 minutes of the Stern show this morning and he was talking about an article in a NY daily that was bothering him. Anybody know which one?
    MQ

  2. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    “But I’ll just bet he has a creative-control clause in his contract and that will be his out.’
    A creative control clause? In radio? Ha!
    But thank you for finally admitting what this is all about. Howard wants out of his contract so he can go to satellite. He’s not fighting for free speech, he’s wrangling for another buck.

  3. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    The article Howard was railing about was “King of All Kvetchers” by Richard Huff in the TV section of the NY Daily News. He basically writes about everything people in commenting on Jeff’s blog have been saying for the past 2 weeks.
    And I had a different take on the “threats” to change Howard’s show. It seemed to me at least that Howard was referring to a conversation with Mel Karmazan about what they could do differently so the show wouldn’t be subject to fines by the FCC. I don’t believe Mel was threatening to do that to the show, merely giving Howard the opportunity to try that, which Howard won’t agree to, and righfully so.
    And can someone tell me if this bill in the Senate right now does anything to the standards the FCC has been using for years now, or does it just change the fining structure?

  4. Jeff Jarvis Avatar
    Jeff Jarvis

    Reid: That’s ridiculous and you know it. Stern has built a gigantic business on broadcast radio and he does not want to see it taken from him. He would make far less on satellite, for the audience will be much, much smaller and this us his influence will also be smaller. Oh, he’d be terribly valuable to the satellite industry, that’s for sure. But Stern wants to be as big as possible – he’s the guy who created his kind of radio syndication, after all – and this move would shrink him. He’s not choosing this course. He’s being forced into it. And that’s obvious.

  5. hugh macleod Avatar
    hugh macleod

    So somebody shows off a bit of (covered) boob and suiddenly that gives the politicians the right to take Howard away from us? I find it rather coercive.
    Digital media is the only answer. It makes the citizen responsible for his own content, not the government.

  6. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    Please the only one taking Howard away from you is Howard. He’s the one making the decision to leave if the Senate passes this legislation. If Howard is such a big free speech guy he would want to stay, do things the way he is doing them now, and fight the FCC in court once it hands down a fine against him (which they still haven’t done). Howard has the backing of Viacom and Infinity, so he has the means to make this fight public. He is looking for a way out of his contract, his whining reflects that, otherwise he wouldn’t be complaining that he is going to quit once this legislation passes.

  7. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    “That’s ridiculous and you know it”
    No, it isn’t, and no, I don’t. It’s my honest belief of the core of this situation, and I’d appreciate it you’d accept that, rather than insinuate that I’m purposely making false statements.
    “He’s being forced into it. And that’s obvious.”
    Wow. Aren’t you the one who’s been reporting his constant daily references to satellite radio, and his meeting with them? That seems to be the goal on which he is focused, but there’s a little problem of two more years on his contract.
    If this was really about free speech, wouldn’t Howard try to mobilize his millions of troops to contact their elected representatives on his behalf? Fight for him to stay?
    Why hasn’t Howard done that?
    Because Howard doesn’t seem interested in staying. He’s recently put forth every excuse to quit that he can think up. He’d quit if he was fined (didn’t happen), and he’d quit if Bush signs the new penalties bill. He talks about moving to satellite, worries if they can produce enough receivers for his listerners, and meets with Sirius.
    You yourself have said that Howard has often threatened to quit. And it has always come when he’s trying to broker a new deal.
    This time, it’s on satellite.
    I repeat: Howard hasn’t been fined, Howard’s employer insists they will defend him from all FCC charges and fines, and they insist he has two more years on his contract. Yet Howard still wants to go to satellite.
    If you can’t see that underlying motive in its massive proportions, then you’ve truly jumped the shark on this issue, Jeff. You seem to have lost the ability to assess new data on this topic with any real objectivity.

  8. Reid Avatar
    Reid

    “listerners”

  9. shark Avatar
    shark

    YM surveyed readers and two thirds side with Stern and free speech.

    Yes, and they’re also siding with the war on terror, and I doubt Stern’s MoveOn.org talking points broadcast will sway their votes…

  10. Trump Avatar
    Trump

    Oh boy! Stern is reading from Al Franken’s misinformation playbook now.
    Screw Stern’s free speech.
    Buh-bye Howie!

  11. sol Avatar
    sol

    “Even the GOP USA site is covering what Stern says. Because it matters.”
    The hell it does. The man is more ignorant than Al Franken.
    “THE VOICE OF YOUTH: YM surveyed readers and two thirds side with Stern and free speech.”
    Wow. Youth say they are for free speech. That’s astonishing. (Get it through your celebrity-dazed head that Howard Stern is to youth what adult diapers are to youth.) And: STOP INSULTING MY RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH BY TYING IT IN WITH WHAT HOWARD STERN IS CURRENTLY ‘GOING THROUGH’. IT’S MUCH TOO IMPORTANT A RIGHT THAN TO ASSOCIATE IN THIS WAY WITH A COMIC BOOK READING 50-YEAR-OLD TELLING FART JOKES. GET UPSET ABOUT NEO-NAZIS NOT BEING ALLOWED TO MARCH OR SOMETHING IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT UNPOPULAR SPEECH NEEDING TO BE DEFENDED. ONCE AGAIN: STERN SPENDS FOUR AND A HALF HOURS TELLING FART JOKES AND ASKING WOMEN TO REMOVE THEIR CLOTHES. PERIOD.

  12. John Avatar
    John

    Here’s the link to the New York Daily News article in question.
    As for the possible “creative control clause” Mel Karmazan is a very smart man and built a very small radio business into the No. 2 radio company in America and himself into the No. 2 spot at Viacom. He’s no dummy and I doubt he’s going to be snookered on an early-out option by Stern’s lawyers. The only way Howard gets to satellite before 2006 is if there’s some major $$$ in it for Infinity — i.e. he stays on the terrestrial radio stations that want him, but on delay while Sirius or XM also gets the Stern show uncennsored, but has to pay Infinity for the right to air him, based on some formula they would come up with to account for the lost listners Infinity would see due to people opting for the satellite feed instead of the regular local FM station.

  13. Matt Welch Avatar
    Matt Welch

    That’s “Welshers.”

  14. Wayne Moore Avatar
    Wayne Moore

    Let’s evaluate the situation with Howard Stern, Congress, Bush, and the FCC:
    1. Congress has regulated the “decency” of content on broadcast radio and TV for many years. It is and has always been a bi-partisan issue.
    2. On March 11, 2004 less than 1% of house Republicans and less than 11% of Democrats voted against the bill to increase penalties. Bi-partisan? You bet. Had ALL Republicans abstained the bill would still have passed overwhelmingly.
    3. Michael Powell was appointed to the FCC by Bill Clinton in 1997. He was elevated to chairman by Bush.
    4. Michael Powell is black, the son of Colin Powell, and a Republican. Nothing offends Democrats as much as a black Republican, even a moderate one like Powell.
    5. Mainstream Democrats like Joe Lieberman and Tipper Gore have long been strong advocates of broadcast decency.
    6. Stern aims his daily rants at only George Bush and Republicans despite the fact that both parties have overwhelming majorities that support stronger standards and higher penalties.
    7. Satellite TV and radio as well as the Internet remain largely regulated (with respect to decency standards). Nor is there a consensus in either party to regulate the content of these media areas.
    8. From the earliest days of TV and radio, as a matter of public policy, broadcast licenses have been granted based on public interest standards. The theory is that the public owns the airways and has a strong interest in the waves being based on the public good. As such, absolutely free speech has never been guaranteed to those who seek the licenses.
    9. The straw that broke the camel’s back and led to the higher penalties getting broad bi-partisan support was a racial slur by a caller that could/should have been edited out by Stern since he was on 7 second’s delay. Stern made a decision to let it broadcast. There is simply no way that it was an accident, and there is every reason to believe it was a planned and staged event. It is sheer foolishness to take any position other than Stern was cynically attempting to manipulate his loyal listeners to vote against George Bush.
    There is and never has been a right of broadcasters to spew filth over public airways. It has never been a partisan issue. Yet Stern and Jarvis, both Democrats, are using partisan political debate to blame George Bush, Michael Powell, and the Republican party for the public policy positions of the large majorities of both major parties. Their arguments are fundamentally flawed and display deep personal dishonesty.
    Jeff, if you want to change public policy of more than 5 decades that has strong bi-partisan support, by all means give it you best shot. But all of us know that it is not a partisan issue and that defeat of George Bush will have no impact on the policy. Your best bet is to sue the FCC in an attempt to get the courts to rule that public policy concerning broadcast decency violates the First Amendment.
    For now, I believe that Stern’s driviing force is hatred for a specific black Republican (Michael Powell), not for his policies but because he is the worst of all humanity in the eyes of leftists: being both black and a Republican. Conspiracy theory? You bet, but one based on a history of hatred of black Republicans.

  15. Steve Rhodes Avatar
    Steve Rhodes

    Oh please.
    Any pretense that there is a public interest obligation for broadcasters was shredded back in the Reagan administration.
    If you’ve read Jeff’s writing, he is hardly partisan against Bush (and Stern was pretty kind to Bush til recently). Stern would attack Powell if he were a white Democrat (and it has been Michael Copps who just happens to be exactly that who was speaking out on decency issues BJJB – before Janet Jackson’s breast).
    You can already listen to shoutcast streams of web radio in your car if you hook up a Treo 600 with pocket tunes. Justin and I did exactly that while driving to San Diego for etech.

  16. Wayne Moore Avatar
    Wayne Moore

    The fact remains that the bill would have passed the house by a wide margin even if all Republicans had abstained. I’m lost as to why Stern is on Bush’s case.