Shock jock Howard Stern coming to Seattle airwaves
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Bring on the drunken dwarves. At long last, syndicated shock jock Howard Stern's show will be heard in Seattle, starting today.
KISW-FM (99.9) will carry Stern on weekdays from 3 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. - the first three hours live from New York, where the show originates.
No one from his show responded to inquiries. But KISW general manager Clark Ryan said, "I'm excited. Howard Stern is without a doubt the pre-eminent morning radio personality in America."
Stern, aka "The King of All Media," is heard nationwide on 46 radio stations, and highlights from the show appear on his E! Entertainment Television cable show.
Stern has also written two best-selling books and starred in the hit screen adaptation of one of them, "Private Parts," as well as controversial network TV shows and pay-per-view specials.
He'll fill the spot on KISW that popular talk-host Bob Rivers occupied for more than a decade before leaving recently for a syndication deal of his own.
Ryan said Rivers' replacements, Rob, Arnie and Dawn, "just didn't kick in very quickly. We felt like it's time to pull out the heavy artillery."
What took so long? Radio insiders had long speculated that Stern's asking price was too high. Ryan wouldn't disclose the sum.
And the notion that Seattle is too politically correct for Stern seems to have been dispelled by the success of shock jock Tom Leykis on 100.7-FM "The Buzz." (Both stations are owned by Pennsylvania-based Entercom Communications.)
The jock generally considered Stern's main local competition in the mornings, "T-Man" Rob Tepper from KUBE 93-FM, will announce his own syndication deal today with Premiere Radio Networks.
"We'll be in 25 cities by this time next year," Tepper said.
Tepper launched the first salvo: "He's an old man. He's past his prime. He's lost his wife, he's lost his ratings, and now he's in the process of losing his dignity.
"He should have retired when he had a chance a few months ago."