Do you ever hear any news from Howard Stern anymore? I know the media continues to get more fragmented by the day, there are more options and newsmakers than ever before, but still, Stern was once known as the “King of All Media.”
Yes, Stern has cut back on his schedule. And no one can blame him for that. He’s made hundreds of millions of dollars and can live his life however he sees fit.
But what once made Howard Stern “must-listen” to radio was not the strippers; although that was entertaining, it was that you never knew exactly what he was going to say next or what was going to happen next. It was gripping. And it was, at its core, anti-establishment.
Today’s Howard Stern is everything he wasn’t when he made a name for himself nearly 40 years ago.
Don’t believe me? Just Google “Howard Stern.”
Here are the headlines:
Washington Examiner: Howard Stern loses it while talking about ‘completely unhinged’ Republicans
The Hill: Howard Stern on abortion: I miss Republicans who ‘didn’t want to invade your private life.’
Heck, this website wrote a similar piece on the same story.
If you want to go back a few months, Google “Howard Stern COVID,” and you’ll find gems like this:
Sacramento Bee: Howard Stern says hospitals shouldn’t admit unvaccinated patients. ‘Go home and die.’
You get the point.
I’m not bothered by Howard Stern’s political beliefs. He’s entitled to them just like everyone else. But Howard Stern is a naughtier version of any no-name talking head on CNN bashing Republicans.
There’s nothing unique about it. There are no original thoughts. There’s undoubtedly nothing anti-establishment about it. The only time Howard Stern makes the news in 2022 is when he trashes Republicans because it makes media members feel good. Yes, the same mainstream media that Stern spent a career railing against. It’s funny how things come full circle.
But this is why the likes of Joe Rogan, Dave Portnoy, and Bill Maher (to name a few) have run circles around Stern in terms of their media exposure and interest in today’s landscape. They garner more attention with growing audiences.
Those three are harder to fit into ideological boxes, you can’t predict what they will say and what their opinions will be on various news topics and issues of the day, and they have far more depth than Stern.
Howard Stern has become everything he made a career out of not being in many ways. Predictable. Tired. Establishment.
Maybe that’s bound to happen to a degree when one makes his kind of money. But if anyone was going to be able to buck the trend, I thought it might have been Stern. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The excellent news is talented folks are filling the gap.
Now, who wants to tell Stern the “King of All Media” moniker has to go? Maybe they can announce it on CNN or MSNBC. But, of course, he’ll likely be watching anyway.
Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the morning show host and program director for KCMO in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. Pete was also the sports and news director for Omni Media Group at K-1O1/Z-92 in Woodward, Oklahoma. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on Twitter @PeteMundo.
There’s a point to be made about Stern’s relevancy in the day-to-day newscycle, but it’s hard to buy it in the form you’ve presented when a look at your Twitter confirms you’re a 2-time Trump voter who’s obviously bothered by his political takes despite what you said.
I don’t think you’re advocating for only side of the story to be told as Joe Rogan has certainly voiced support for those fiercely against what Trump and his ilk are for, and Maher has obviously been a prominent left-leaning figure. But it is disengenous to attack Stern for siding with ‘the establishment” in a piece that focuses on his political opinions for multiple reasons.
To suggest “the establishment” is a liberal force downplays stations like Fox News regularly pulling top cable numbers where their opinion hosts, like those CNN & MSNBC ones you brought up, often offer one-size-fits-all “Democrats bad” takes that offer as little or even less depth than Stern’s opinions you cited and got so annoyed by that you wrote a whole piece on. Not to mention Joe Rogan, another voice you cited, has a $100M deal on a massive streaming platform that has gone out of its way to protect their investment in beaming new episodes of his influential show out on their service that connetcts to users of all age/race groups.
As much as Republicans complain about victim complexes for those on the left, it’s hard to understand how voices that are heard daily/weekly by millions (and outrate many of the CNN/MSNBC shows) are stifled. They are the establishment, just as prominent liberals are and as prominent centrists are. Next you’ll tell me Christians are a marganilized group in America despite an overwhelming history protecting that faith as the predominant one in the country, not to mention the Christian beliefs influencing the highest court in the land now in charge of laws in our country.
You can knock Stern for what you feel are misinformed, shallow and/or reckless opinions and there’s a discussion to be had there, but if we’re to truly believe none of what he said bothered you on a personal level, then it’s silly for you to suggest the reason he needs to change his personal opinions are to be your definition of more “unpredictable.” If he feels the way he does, you want him to say otherwise for ratings? He’s made his money to great & continued success just like many voices on the right have. I might disagree with them, but I’d never makes my argument for why they should feel differently be, “It would be more interesting content.”
Not everything in media will appeal to me, and as consumers, we have the ability to make that choice. Stern has made riches with his fans, just as Rogan, Barstool, Maher, Don Lemon, Hannity and any other successful media voice has with theirs. They could all change their content and appeal to more people, or even just make more headlines as Stern has with your story that is trending #1 on this site currently, which doesn’t help your case that he isn’t good for making a splash anymore.
That’s just the thing… after a while, it’s no longer unpredictable. Same s#it, different day. It simply gets old, just like we all do…