Howard will be able to say anything he wants with no fear of reprisals from anyone. Not even Miami attorney Jack Thompson – who has stalked Stern’s program for years in a one-man crusade against what he believes has been a continuum of obscenity and indecency – will be able to issue a press release anyone will even pay attention to.
Ironically, for the first time Howard Stern will be free – as long as you are willing to pay a monthly subscription to hear him. Maybe that’s why they say freedom is not really free.
Yes, if you want to listen, you’ll have to pony up the monthly fee. Otherwise, he won’t exist on any other radio - anywhere - except for a SIRIUS receiver. Stern will be living in a self-imposed banishment from commercial Radio because the Post-Janet Jackson era of decency pushed him into an inescapable corner and he finally fled.
In the end, Stern’s move to SIRIUS puts an end to the Stern most people have known because he will no longer be under fire and fighting for his “right” to talk about strippers, boobs, farts, sex, and the myriad of subjects his listeners enjoy.
When you tell a child he can’t do something, he wants more than anything to do it. There will be no one to tell Howard what he can’t say. Somehow, that seems less fun for both Stern and his listeners. Who wants to be in the “bad boys” club when no one knows you’re a member?
It makes me wonder about that age old question:
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make any noise?
Reword that to:
If Howard Stern broadcasts on Satellite Radio without the F.C.C. – will as many people care?
That depends on whether SIRIUS gains enough new subscribers to make Stern's $500 million dollar deal worthwhile.
