stern
 

This thread is spilling over from one in Tilted Politics...

simple question: Is Howard Stern a genius who has influenced tv, radio, print and movies....or an immature idiot who panders to teenage boys by saying "penis" and "boobs" on the radio.

(thanks to seretogis and sixate who started the debate)

i dont think it can be that black and white. he is a smart man, he found a niche and worked it for all it was worth. ever since the dawn of entertainment there have been people like him. and you could say that the only reason there are people like him, doing what they do, is because its what the public wants. it may be crude, rude humor, but hey, we all gotta make a living somehow.

I think it is simple...he is a genius who taps into human nature, markets it and entertains millions of people every morning...long live the King Of All Media!

He may have been original, but only because he seeked out the absolute lowest form of comedy that could be legally broadcast on radio. I don't think that is something to be proud of. Carson was great, not Stern.

My humour is is definitely lowbrow, so of course I'm a Stern fanatic!

Calling him a genius though might be going a bit too far though. He's definitely an intelligent man and has benefited from staying true to himself. Bottom line though: Stern rules!

And excellent avatar, JoeyB! *duhn-duhn-da-nuh*

Stern is not a buffoon. He knows what he is doing. I think genius is a strong word. Now the idiots in his little group, they are complete imbeciles.

Thank you, but the credit goes to Fred G. Sanford.

He gets crude, but on the occasions I listen to him I laugh everytime. He's not someone I listen too for current world events though; which is OK because sometimes no gnews is good gnews.

He was funny when he was married.... Now he is just amusing... Most of the time I can't stand the 10 to 20 minute long commercials..... Robins news is good though.............

The best comparison is to Lenny Bruce. You may not have liked what he said or didn't think he was funny, but he broke down walls that allowed others to come through and improve on the concept. Now I am not saying that Stern allowed your local morning guy to improve on a concept, but I do think that he allowed for others to start talking with their audience, not just to their audience.

I have listened to Stern since he came to the Philly area. No, he is not always funny. Yes, I disagree with some of his positions. Some of his humor offends me - everyone has their sore spot. Yes, he has strong influence over his loyal listeners. Did "his" voters get Whitman and/or Pataki elected? Who knows.

What I do know is that for the enjoyment that I get out of most of the show, I am willing to put up with the parts that I don't enjoy, and I do consider his requests/suggestions.

And remember, if you don't like him, change the channel.

i don't like stern. i'll give props to anyone who can stay afloat in the biz for this long, and even more to someone who is on the top of the pile, but he did it by laying to the lowest common denominator. his schitck makes sense to and amuses the people it was meant to amuse... i won't make any further commentary regarding those people, make your own inferrences.

all of the above...

i hear him every morning....

interesting that he's a CBS product which means he's a Viacom product, but hasn't he always? Since his book was Simon & Schuster published, the movie was Paramount...

he's able keep a number of listeners... which is amazing that he's been able to do it for such a long time.

Re: stern
 

I would lean more towards immature idiot. He certainly wasn't the first "blue" comedian. He probably wasn't even the first shock jock. He panders to the lowest common denominator and his work can hardly be genius. His self publicity can be considered genius. He is one of those rare few who can manipulate the media for his own personal gain, like Madonna. If Stern is a genius, it lies in his manipulation of the media.

i dont think he's a genius, but i do think he's quite good at what he does. he's funny. he may not hit 100% of the time, but who would given his exposure.. 20+ hrs a week. he has influenced radio but not to the extent that he claims. hell, if you listened to him, you'd have to think that he invented anal sex. :p

as far as people going all high brow on this. yeah, he can be rude and crude, but i'd be very surpised if all those people in the world who says he is nothing but immature and lame didnt laugh at some antics.

Like Stern - listen daily. I was enlightened by Opie and Anthony however when they were on WNEW in syndication - they were cutting edge the same way Stern was cutting edge in the mid-80s. He's been around a long time, is still amusing, but I've seen that there's better new stuff around (similar to Metallica.)

Waiting for Jim Norton to get his own show - by far the funniest, crudest guy on radio (O&A sidekick.)

No like. Stern bad.

:D

stern is a marketing genius - he really knows how to sell himself

he also happens to be an an "immature idiot who panders to teenage boys by saying "penis" and "boobs" on the radio."

If it weren't for Howard, my mornings would be so slow. A lot of what is on the TV show is the crude stuff, but on the radio, he has a lot of interesting things to say. He really gets good dirt out of his interviews too!

Stern is, quite simply, all an act.

A FUNNY one, but also one that has grown increasingly old and tired over the years.

He can no longer call himself the King of all Media.