WXRK (92.3 MHz), known on-air as "92.3 Now", is a radio station in New York City. Owned by CBS Radio, WXRK broadcasts a Contemporary Hit Radio format with a rhythmic lean. The station is notable for being the flagship station of The Howard Stern Show from November 1985 to December 2005, and The Opie and Anthony Show from April 2006 until March 2009.

History[link]

1948–1975: Early years[link]

The station, first known as WMCA-FM, went on the air on December 25, 1948. It was co-owned with WMCA radio (570 AM) by former New York state senator Nathan Straus. FM radio was not a successful venture for Straus, and he sought to either sell it or close the station down altogether.

In late 1950 Straus sold the station to the owners of WHOM radio (1480 AM, now WZRC), and WHOM-FM appeared on February 26, 1951, featuring a variety of formats, including ethnic, background music, classical, Spanish, and easy listening. By the early 1970s WHOM-FM had a Spanish language easy listening format.

1975–1985: WKTU[link]

Following the sale of the WHOM stations to SJR Communications, the FM station became WKTU, taking on an adult contemporary format that ran from June 5, 1975. At that point WKTU was positioned as a "soft rock" station and called "Mellow 92". Ratings were relatively low. The station held on to the format in spite of low ratings until 1978. That June, when a station executive visited New York's Studio 54 discothèque on half a dozen occasions, he was very impressed with the crowds there. He then got the idea that a disco music-based station was needed, as several FM-based Top 40 stations were leaning disco in other markets. As a result, the station management purchased 200 disco records and brought them into the station. Keeping the same airstaff, adding Paco from their Spanish-language AM station WHOM, and with no notice, the station abruptly flipped to a disco-based rhythmic top 40 format with the tagline "Disco 92" at 6 p.m. July 24, 1978. That fall, the station rose from "Worst to First", unseating WABC in the 18-30 age demographic. Air personalities of this era included Kenn Hayes, Randy Place, Paul Robinson, Trip Reeb, Mary Thomas, Dave Mallow and Joe Guarisco. During the height of the disco craze, WKTU was the station to follow in New York.

Initially, WKTU played mostly dance/disco and a few rhythm-friendly pop and rock songs (such as "Miss You" by the Rolling Stones for example), but by 1979, the station began to add more R&B music as well as rhythm friendly new wave rock. By then, WKTU was still regarded as a disco station, but could be more accurately described as rhythmic contemporary hit radio. Since that term was not yet used, the station had been classified as urban contemporary. During this period, disc jockeys such as Paco, Rosko, J.D. Holiday (Paul Zarcone), Dale Reeves, Bob Bottone, Jim Harlan, Carlos DeJesus, Joe Causi, Guy Broady, Jay Thomas, Freddie Colon, Don Geronimo, Al Bandiero and Diane Pryor graced the airwaves, as the station continued to be at or near the top into the 1980s. Paco later went to jail for drug dealing, which is curious considering he had a successful career in radio and didn't need the money that the illicit profession of drug dealing provided.

In 1981, SJR Communications sold WKTU to Infinity (which later merged with CBS Radio, the station's current owners). Also that year, WKTU added more dance-based New Wave to the format. WKTU remained among the top ten New York City radio stations until 1983, when the station had introduced a new dance music genre called Latin Freestyle. At this point, WKTU received new competition from WHTZ ("Z-100") and WPLJ, both of which adapted a CHR format. By the next year, the station maintained respectable but declining ratings, thanks to the new competition.

By mid-1984, WKTU went to a CHR format as well, but the ratings continued to decline. That fall, the station added legendary WABC host Dan Ingram to afternoons, and Jo Maeder, "The Madame", from Miami's Y-100, joined Jay Thomas in the morning and did her own midday show, but the station continued to struggle in the ratings. To make matters worse, then-named WAPP also went CHR that fall.

So strong was the memory of the late-1970s WKTU that despite all the subsequent on-air changes, the general public still regarded it as a disco station. Even though WAPP moved back to playing mostly rock music in the form of a rock-based CHR in June 1985, giving WKTU one less competitor, the station management thought a more drastic change was needed. Since New York City only had one full-time rock station with WNEW-FM, there was an opportunity.

1985–2005: WXRK[link]

On July 13, 1985 at midnight, the same day WKTU aired the historic Live Aid concert, the station switched to an album-oriented rock format, adopted the nickname of "K-Rock", and changed their call letters to WXRK. (The WKTU call letters later reappeared on New York City's 103.5 FM with a dance pop format in 1996).

Initially, the format at WXRK was similar to the pre-1983 WPLJ, as the air personalities left the station gradually in the next several months (exceptions were Maria Malito and Jo Maeder, who became known as "The Rock and Roll Madame"). Jimmy Fink from WPLJ was one of the first new radio personalities to be hired. After being fired from WNBC that October, Howard Stern signed on to do afternoons, and initially combined music with talk, but in February 1986, Stern took over the morning slot. His morning show became the highest-rated in the market, dethroning Don Imus, who previously had the highest-rated morning show for several years on WNBC. Later that year Stern's show became syndicated, with WXRK as its flagship station.

By 1987, Stern stopped playing music on his show altogether, while the station changed to a classic rock format that same year. The airstaff became full of veteran refugees from other New York rock stations, including Dave Herman, Pete Fornatale, Meg Griffin, Vin Scelsa, and Alison Steele from WNEW-FM and Jimmy Fink, Tony Pigg, Marc Coppola, and John Zacherle from WPLJ. In 1993, The Greaseman's syndicated show was put in the nighttime slot, bookending Stern with an act that was often quite controversial.

By the mid-1990s, modern rock had become popular. In mid-1993, in New York City radio, WHTZ began to play a lot of modern rock despite primarily being a CHR station. Late in 1993, Classical music station WNCN switched formats and became WAXQ ("Q 104.3"), with a mix of hard and modern rock. Moreover, WNEW-FM switched to a modern rock format in the summer of 1995, and later evolved to first an adult-based modern rock format by the end of that year, and then a more eclectic adult rock mix by 1996. Nevertheless, by the beginning of 1996, there was no full-time modern rock station in New York City.

To fill the void, WXRK switched to a modern rock format on January 5, 1996 right after Stern's show. To kick off the new format, which he enthusiastically endorsed as a better fit for his audience, Stern stayed on the air until 1:06 pm that day playing music. The first song Stern played was Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)". Most of the classic rock DJs including Jimmy Fink, Tony Pigg and Marc Coppola disappeared from the station with this change, as did The Greaseman. By August 1997, the station added music that suited an active rock station, and it continued this format of a hybrid active rock/alternative for several years.

By 2003, with a new program director, the station dropped the active rock variant of music. No matter what the format, the longtime problem for the station was that while Stern always had very high ratings, the rest of the station did not fare as well. Moreover, it was hard to classify K-Rock an alternative station (considering classic rock acts like Led Zeppelin being played), while it was hard to label them active rock due to the inclusion of some but not all alternative artists.

Concerned about Stern's move to Sirius Satellite Radio at the beginning of 2006, and acknowledging that its target audience was looking elsewhere for modern rock music, WXRK made another format adjustment on April 4, 2005 to a mainstream rock format, which relied heavily on classic hard rock such as Guns N' Roses, Metallica, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana, while playing new music from such established artists as System of a Down, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day and Weezer. At this time, New York City was one of the few large cities in the United States without an alternative rock station. To prevent any backlash from fans of modern rock, an Internet-only radio station called "K-Rock2" was launched at the same time as the format adjustment. The strategy did not work, as ratings did not improve much.

As a result of the imminent departure of Howard Stern, an announcement was made on October 25, 2005 that the station would adopt a talk format on January 3, 2006.

At 10 AM on Friday, December 16, after the last Howard Stern broadcast, K-Rock began stunting with a melange of audio sound bites, music and program line-up announcements. At 10:20, K-Rock DJ Julie Slater announced "Welcome to Free FM" and went into music.

2006–2007: WFNY-FM[link]

The WXRK call letters were replaced by WFNY-FM (standing for "Free New York") on January 1, 2006. The station, which was one of several CBS Radio stations around the nation branded as "Free FM", featured David Lee Roth as its morning show host. Other talk shows aired throughout the day, while an active rock music format continued to be played on the weekends, called "Free Rock Weekends."

Simultaneously, the WXRK call sign moved to the former WXTM in Cleveland, also owned by CBS Radio, and coincidentally at the same 92.3 frequency, and was rebranded as 92.3 K-Rock.

The station's ratings plummeted since the change to an all-talk format. As the replacement for Howard Stern, Roth lost nearly three-quarters of Howard Stern's previous audience, dropping a 7.9 share to a 1.8. Among the core audience - 18-34 year-old men - the numbers fell from 13.8 to 1.3. Overall station ratings went from 3.2 in Summer/Fall of 2005 to 2.7 in Winter of 2006, and later to a 2.0, leaving it in 20th place in the New York market.

On April 25, 2006, Chris Booker, host of "The Booker Show", announced that he was broadcasting his last show on Free FM. He soon moved over the morning show at Q102 in Philadelphia. The abrupt end of his show, which had evolved on afternoon drive before the format switch, led the station to revert to "Free Rock" music at nights.

The following day, on April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony replaced David Lee Roth in morning drive on Free FM, while simulcasting on XM Satellite Radio. The show aired from 6-9 am on both terrestrial and satellite radio, then continued on XM exclusively to 11 am.

By spring 2007, Opie and Anthony managed to slightly improve WFNY-FM's ratings to a 1.4. However, this performance left the radio station ranked #22 of 25 in the NY market.^[1]

Weekends continued to use the "Free Rock Weekend" format, which included hour-long "Freecasts" in which a single listener chose the (approximately 15) songs played during the hour. The listener also acted as guest DJ over the phone during the time.

The station was also used as a secondary broadcaster of sister station WFAN, serving as a secondary outlet for NFL football games, New Jersey Devils hockey games and New Jersey Nets basketball games when there was a conflict with another game on WFAN.

After Jim Cramer's Real Money went off the air on in December 2006, WFNY-FM was left with just 4 talk shows (one from syndication). As a result, the station attempted to revamp its lineup with the addition of several new talk shows, the first of which occurred on December 20, 2006. Ron & Fez, who also have a show on XM radio, signed an agreement to broadcast a 92.3 Free FM-exclusive radio show from 6pm to 9pm. Ron and Fez had previously been employed by CBS at WNEW-FM (now WWFS) shortly after that station switched to FM Talk in 1999.

Additional new shows soon followed. On December 28, 2006, John and Jeff started being broadcast from syndication out of sister station 97.1 Free FM in Los Angeles. They broadcast live 2 am to 6 am. On January 2, 2007, Larry Wachs, who was half of The Regular Guys morning show on WKLS-FM in Atlanta, began hosting the 10pm to midnight slot on the station for 2 weeks. That same day, Nick DiPaolo became host of the 12pm to 3pm time slot. He had done some preview shows the previous week. Beginning January 3, Loveline with Dr. Drew Pinsky & Stryker aired Late Nights, tape delayed, from 12am to 2am.

Danni was Free FM's Music Director and was still a Free Rock jock. She has been heard doing DJ shifts on Fresh 102.7 as well. Free Rock Weekends aired 6am Saturday-12am Sunday, and 6am Sunday-2am Monday. Game Show Radio ran 12-2am on Sundays, while infomercials ran 2am-6am Sunday.

Free FM was using guest hosts for the 10pm to 12am time slot. March 2, 2007 was the last day for the Penn Jillette show on Free FM and CBS Radio stations. The following Monday, WFNY-FM expanded the guest host time slot by an hour, making it 9pm to 12am.

In April 2007, during an interview with a local band "A Brief Smile" on The Dog House, the hosts JV and Elvis directed numerous homophobic insults at the band’s bassist. The hosts referred to the bassist as "Fag Number 1" and asked, "How many badges of honor do you have in your colon?" and kicked him out of the studio. After playing a song by the band the hosts also called the bass part "a little faggy." The bass player returned to the studio, stated he was bisexual and that he found their use of the word "faggot" offensive. Gay rights groups such as GLAAD criticized the show as being homophobic for their remarks.^[2]

JV and Elvis were later suspended on April 30 over a six-minute prank phone call peppered with ethnic and sexual slurs to a Chinese restaurant, only after numerous Chinese American advocacy groups complained to CBS demanding the hosts be fired.^[3]

Beginning on May 7, Free-FM started using guest hosts 9 am to 12 pm to replace The Dog House. On May 12, 2007, AP News reported that CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo said, "The Dog House with JV and Elvis will no longer be broadcast [on Free-FM]." CBS fired the co-hosts JV and Elvis, as well as the producer of The Dog House after numerous complaints received from various civil rights groups.

On May 15, 2007, XM Satellite Radio suspended the Opie and Anthony Show for 30 days because of comments made by a homeless man about raping Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and First Lady Laura Bush made on an uncensored May 9 broadcast. Their suspension was effective immediately. During this time, CBS Radio kept the show on from 6 to 9am. However, it was not simulcast on XM.

2007–2009: Return to WXRK[link]

At 9 AM on May 24, 2007, after the Opie and Anthony show, an eight-hour countdown began on the former "Free FM" website and a sound collage was broadcast for most of the day. The stunting came to an end at 4:57 PM with an apology from general manager Tom Chiusano, who apologized to listeners for taking K-Rock away. Minutes later, at 5 PM, the station returned to the air as K-Rock, playing an alternative rock format (per Mediabase reports) from the 90s and 2000s, along with heavy classic rock.^[4] The first song on the resurrected K-Rock was "All Apologies" by Nirvana, while the first host on air was Gregg "Opie" Hughes of Opie and Anthony.

The station reverted to its previous call letters, WXRK, on May 31, 2007. The previous WXRK (92.3 K-Rock in Cleveland Heights, also owned by CBS Radio) received the callsign WKRI, which is now WKRK-FM.

Initially, the station had no on-air staff, although on Mondays it featured a Hostile Takeover show where guest(s) sat in as the jock. The station also had contests which begun after Opie and Anthony.

On February 8, 2008, it was announced that program director Tracy Cloherty was among the many non-programming staffers that was let go by CBS Radio, in an attempt to "more effectively monetize the aggregate number of listeners who hear us on the radio and the Internet." [2] The advent of WRXP caused WXRK to morph to active rock at that time.

In December 2008, as a result of another change in the station's management, K-Rock made an adjustment to the format focusing more on classic hard rock and playing even less current rock songs. With the format adjustment, Paul Turner, who was the voice of the Howard Stern Show and K-Rock when it was a classic rock station in the 1990s, returned as voice of the station's promos.

As a result of the format shift, on December 16, 2008, FMQB announced that afternoon jock Ian Camfield had left K-Rock to go back to XFM. K-Rock vet Chris Booker took his place, airing in afternoon drive from 2-7PM.

2009–present: Now FM[link]

At 5PM on March 11, 2009, WXRK changed to a Contemporary Hit Radio format known as 92.3 Now FM.^[5] The last song played on K-Rock was Van Halen's "Right Now". It was followed with the sound of a clock ticking and a promotion mentioning the station's new competition with WHTZ. An introductory montage was then played, followed by the launch of 92.3 Now FM with the commitment to play "10,000 songs in a row, with zero minutes of commercials". The first song played on "92.3 Now FM" was The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow".^[6] It has been speculated in online forums and trade journals that CBS Radio will continue to unfold or tweak towards similar Top 40 radio stations in other major markets in the coming months leaning towards younger listeners.^{[citation needed]} The station ended the "10,000 Songs in a Row" promotion in early April 2009.

As of August 2009, WFAN started moving the conflicts of New York Giants games to WCBS-FM.

Tic Tak stunt[link]

On December 17, 2010, WXRK afternoon host Mark "Tic Tak" Allen pulled a on-air tirade in which he dissed the music director (while he was in West Virginia, on vacation) and went against playing the usual Top 40 songs, including "slamming" Katy Perry singles, by declaring that "I'm playing what I want... this is my Christmas present to you" and started mixing in certain songs that do not fit WXRK's current format. Allen was hoping that station management would fire him, but from the comments from message boards like Radio-Info, this "event" might have been staged or a ratings ploy to attract more listeners, since Allen has been known to pull stunts at other stations that he had worked at in the past.^[7]

Howard Stern returns[link]

On January 17, 2012, Howard Stern made a live appearance on 92.3 WXRK for the first time in over six years. Stern was a guest on the Nick Cannon morning show, via telephone, where as Cannon was equally a guest on Stern's Sirius Satellite show. Large portions of the interview were not heard on 92.3 due to Cannon's obligations to play commercials and music, though the entire interview was heard on Stern's show where Cannon would pause to play his show bumpers, and immediately return to the interview once the commercials or music began. ^[8]

"K-Rock2" and HD radio operations[link]

As part of the K-Rock format change on April 4, 2005 from alternative rock to mainstream rock, K-Rock2, a new Internet-only radio station, was created. Throughout the Free FM period and during the resurrection of K-Rock, K-Rock2 continued to stream on krock2.com. Following the main channel's format change to Now FM on March 11, 2009, the HD2 channel became known simply as K-Rock, but retained the alternative rock format. The HD2 channel is still K-Rock and can be found at krockradio.com. K-Rock HD2 has a full time air staff.

Starting shortly after 2 a.m. on October 6, 2008, the K-Rock2 audio stream was added to WXRK-HD2. A few minutes earlier a simulcast of sister station WFAN was added to WXRK HD3. 92.3 HD3 was initially using the delayed audio feed from wfan.com complete with internet only commercials and not the over the air broadcast feed used by WFAN on 660 AM. After a day or so, WXRK HD3 switch to the over the air feed of WFAN, but still had a time delay of over a minute.

See also[link]

• WKTU – the "new" WKTU started in 1996 at frequency 103.5

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of 92.3 Now FM
• K-Rock HD - New York's Only Alternative
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WXRK
• Radio-Locator information on WXRK
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WXRK
• 92.3 K-Rock format switch
• What it was like to intern at K-Rock in 1991
• Aerial view of WXRK studios from Google Local

Coordinates: 40°44′53″N 73°59′10″W / 40.748°N 73.986°W / 40.748; -73.986

Howard Stern
Stern at WXRK in New York City, 2000
Born	Howard Allan Stern (1954-01-12) January 12, 1954 (age 58) Jackson Heights, New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Radio personality, television host, author, actor, photographer
Years active	1975–present
Political party	Libertarian during 1994 Governor of New York campaign
Spouse	Alison Berns (1978–2001; div.) Beth Ostrosky Stern (2008–present)
Website
www.howardstern.com

Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio personality, television host, author, actor and photographer best known for his radio show which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style. Stern has been exclusive to Sirius XM Radio, a subscription-based satellite radio service, since 2006. The son of a former recording and radio engineer, Stern wished to pursue a career in radio at the age of five. While at Boston University he worked at the campus station WTBU before a brief stint at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts.

He developed his on-air personality when he landed positions at WRNW in Briarcliff Manor, WCCC in Hartford and WWWW in Detroit. In 1981, he was paired with his current newscaster and co-host Robin Quivers at WWDC in Washington, D.C. Stern then moved to WNBC in New York City in 1982 to host afternoons until his firing in 1985. He re-emerged on WXRK that year, and became one of the most popular radio personalities during his 20-year tenure at the station. Stern's show is the most-fined radio program, after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued fines to station licensees for allegedly indecent material that totaled $2.5 million. Stern has won Billboard's Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year award eight times, and is one of the highest-paid figures in radio.^[1]

Stern describes himself as the King of All Media for his ventures outside radio. Since 1987, he has hosted numerous late night television shows, pay-per-view events and home video releases. He embarked on a five-month political campaign for Governor of New York in 1994. His two books, Private Parts (1993) and Miss America (1995), spent 20 and 16 weeks respectively on The New York Times Best Seller list. The former was adapted into Private Parts (1997), a biographical comedy film that starred Stern and his radio show staff that earned $41.2 million in domestic revenue. Stern performs on its soundtrack which topped the Billboard 200 chart.

Early life and education[link]

Stern graduated from the College of Public Communications at Boston University in 1976.

Stern was born on January 12, 1954 into a Jewish family who lived in Jackson Heights, Queens in New York City.^[2][3] His parents Ben and Ray (née Schiffman) are children of Austro-Hungarian immigrants, and his sister Ellen is four years older than he.^[2] The family moved to the hamlet of Roosevelt on Long Island in 1955,^[4] where Stern developed an interest in radio at five years of age.^[5] While Ray was a homemaker and later an inhalation therapist,^[6][7] Ben was a co-owner of Aura Recording, Inc., a recording studio in Manhattan where cartoons and commercials were produced.^[8] When he made occasional visits with his father, Stern witnessed actors Wally Cox, Don Adams and Larry Storch voice his favorite cartoon characters,^[9][10] which influenced him to later talk on the air rather than play records.^[11] Ben was also an engineer at WHOM, a radio station in Manhattan.^[8] On completion of sixth grade, Stern left Washington-Rose Elementary School for Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School.^[12] In June 1969, the family moved to nearby Rockville Centre and Stern transferred to South Side High School.^[13]

Stern spent the first two of four years at Boston University in the College of Basic Studies.^[14] In 1973, he started to work at WTBU, the campus radio station where he spun records, read the news, and hosted interviews.^[14] He also hosted a comedy program with three fellow students called The King Schmaltz Bagel Hour.^[15] Stern gained admission to the School of Public Communications in 1974^[16] and earned a diploma in July 1975 at the Radio Engineering Institute of Electronics in Fredericksburg, Virginia which allowed him to apply for a first class FCC radio-telephone license.^[17][18] With the license, Stern made his professional debut at WNTN in Newton, Massachusetts, performing airshift, newscasting and production duties between August and December 1975.^[19] He graduated magna cum laude from Boston University in May 1976 with a degree in Communications^[3][14] and now funds a scholarship at the university.^[20]

Career[link]

Early professional radio career (1976–1981)[link]

After his graduation in 1976, Stern declined an offer to work evenings at WRNW, a progressive rock station in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County, New York.^[21] He was unsure of his talent, and questioned his future in the professional industry. Stern took creative and media planning roles at Benton & Bowles, a New York advertising agency, followed by a job in selling radio time to advertisers.^[22] He realized the mistake of declining on-air work and contacted WRNW a second time where he agreed to work covering shifts over the Christmas holiday period.^[19][23] Stern was hired full time in 1977 and worked a four-hour midday shift, six days per week a $96 weekly salary.^[17] He subsequently worked as the station's production and program director for an increased salary of $250.^[19][24]

In 1979, Stern spotted an advertisement for a "wild, fun morning guy" at rock station WCCC in Hartford, Connecticut.^[25] He submitted a more outrageous audition tape with Robert Klein and Cheech and Chong records mixed with flatulence routines and one-liners.^[26] Stern was hired with no change in salary with a more intense schedule. After four hours on the air he voiced and produced commercials for another four. On Saturdays, following a six-hour show, he did production work for the next three. As the station's public affairs director he also hosted a Sunday morning talk show which he favoured.^[27] In the summer of the 1979 energy crisis, Stern held a two-day boycott of Shell Oil Company which attracted media attention.^[28] Stern left WCCC a year later after he was declined a pay increase.^[29] Fred Norris, the overnight disc jockey, has been Stern's producer and writer since 1981.^[30]

Management at rock outlet WWWW in Detroit, Michigan praised Stern's audition tape in their search for a new morning man.^[31] Stern was hired for the job which he started on April 21, 1980.^[13] He learned to become more open on the air and "decided to cut down the barriers...strip down all the ego...and be totally honest", he later told Newsday.^[32] His efforts earned him a Billboard award for "Album-Oriented Rock Personality of the Year For a Major Market" and the Drake-Chenault "Top Five Talent Search" title.^[33][34] The station however, ran into problems after Stern's quarterly Arbitron ratings had decreased while it struggled to compete with its stronger rock competitors. In January 1981, WWWW switched to a country music format much to Stern's dislike, who left the station soon after.^[35] He received offers to work at WXRT in Chicago and CHUM in Toronto, but did not take them.^[34][36]

Washington and WNBC New York (1981–1985)[link]

Stern moved to Washington, D.C. to host mornings at rock station WWDC on March 2, 1981.^[37][38] He wanted to develop his show further, and looked for a co-worker with a sense of humor to riff with on news and current events.^[39] The station paired Stern with Robin Quivers, a newscaster and consumer affairs reporter from WFBR in Baltimore.^[40] Though he felt restricted and controlled by management who enforced a strict format, Stern had the second highest rated morning radio program in January 1982.^[41][42] Impressed with his ratings success, NBC approached Stern with an offer to work afternoons at WNBC in New York City. After Stern signed a five-year contract worth $1 million in March,^[43] his relationship with WWDC management worsened,^[44] and his contract with the station was terminated on June 25. He had more than tripled the station's morning ratings during his stay.^[45] In its July issue The Washingtonian named Stern the area's best disc jockey.^[46] Stern released 50 Ways to Rank Your Mother, a comedy album of his radio bits. The record was re-released as Unclean Beaver in November 1994.^[47]

On April 2, 1982, a news report by Douglas Kiker on raunch radio featuring Stern aired on NBC Magazine.^[48] The piece stimulated discussion among NBC management to withdraw Stern's contract. When he began his afternoon program in September,^[49] management closely monitored Stern, telling him to avoid talk of a sexual and religious nature.^[50] In his first month, Stern was suspended for several days for "Virgin Mary Kong", a segment featuring a video game where a group of men pursued the Virgin Mary around a singles bar in Jerusalem.^[48] An attorney was hired to man a "dump button", and cut Stern off the microphone should potentially offensive areas be discussed. This became the task of program director Kevin Metheny, who Stern nicknamed "Pig Virus".^[48] On May 21, 1984, Stern made his first appearance on Late Night with David Letterman, launching him into the national spotlight.^[13] A year later he claimed the highest ratings at WNBC in four years with a 5.7% market share.^[51]

On September 30, 1985, Stern and Quivers were fired for what management termed "conceptual differences" regarding the show.^[52] "Over the course of time, we made a very conscious effort to make Stern aware that certain elements of the program should be changed...I don't think it's appropriate to say what those specifics were",^[53] said program director John Hayes, who Stern nicknamed "The Incubus". In 1992, Stern believed Thornton Bradshaw, chairman of WNBC's owner RCA, heard his "Bestiality Dial-a-Date" segment and ordered his firing.^[50] Stern and Quivers kept in touch with their audience throughout October and November where they toured club venues with a stage show.^[52]

K-Rock, early television endeavors and Fartman (1985–1992)[link]

Stern signed a contract with Infinity Broadcasting worth around $500,000^[54] and returned to afternoons on its New York rock station WXRK on November 18, 1985.^[52] The show moved to mornings on February 18, 1986 and entered national syndication on August 18 when WYSP in Philadelphia first simulcast the program.^[52] In October 1992, Stern became the first to have the number one morning radio show in New York and Los Angeles simultaneously.^[55] In the New York market The Howard Stern Show was the highest-rated morning program for seven consecutive years between 1994 and 2001.^[56] In 1994, Billboard magazine added the "Nationally Syndicated Air Personality of the Year" category to its annual radio awards based on entertainment value, creativity and ratings success.^[57] Stern was awarded the title from 1994 to 2002.^[58][59]

In May 1987, Stern recorded five television pilots for Fox when the network planned to replace The Late Show hosted by Joan Rivers.^[60] The series was never picked up; one executive having described the show as "poorly produced", "in poor taste" and "boring".^[61] Stern hosted his first pay-per-view event on February 27, 1988 named Howard Stern's Negligeé and Underpants Party.^[52] Over 60,000 homes purchased the two-hour special that grossed $1.2 million.^[62] On September 7, 1989, over 16,000 fans packed out Nassau Coliseum for Howard Stern's U.S. Open Sores, a live event that featured a tennis match between Stern and his radio show producer, Gary Dell'Abate.^[52] Both events were released for home video. From 1990 to 1992, Stern was the host of The Howard Stern Show, a Saturday night program on WWOR-TV. The series ran for 69 episodes to 65 markets nationwide.^[63] In February 1991, Stern released Crucified by the FCC, a collection of censored radio segments following the first fine issued to Infinity by the FCC over alleged indecency.^[64] He released a third video tape, Butt Bongo Fiesta, in October 1992 that sold 260,000 copies for a gross of over $10 million.^[64][65] He returned to Saturday night television that November with The Howard Stern "Interview", a one-on-one celebrity interview series on E!.^{[citation needed]}

Stern appeared at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards as Fartman, a fictional superhero that first appeared in the National Lampoon humor magazine series. According to the trademark he filed for the character that October, he first used Fartman in July 1981.^[66] Stern rejected multiple scripts for a proposed summer 1993 release of The Adventures of Fartman until a verbal agreement was reached with New Line Cinema.^[67] Screenwriter J. F. Lawton had prepared a script before relations soured over the film's rating, content and merchandising rights and the project was abandoned.^[68][69]

[edit] Private Parts, E! show and run for Governor (1993–1994)

In 1993, Stern signed a $1 million advance contract with Simon & Schuster to publish his first book.^[70] Co-authored with Larry Sloman and edited by Judith Regan, the release of Private Parts on October 7 saw its first printing of 225,000 copies being sold within hours of going on sale. It became the fastest-selling title in the history of Schuster after five days.^[71] In its eighth printing two weeks later, over one million copies had been distributed.^[65][70] Stern embarked on a book signing tour that attracted an estimated 10,000 fans at a Barnes & Noble store on Fifth Avenue in New York.^[70] In its first run, Private Parts spent 20 weeks on The New York Times Best-Seller list.^[72] Stern has written forewords for Steal This Dream (1998), a biography of Abbie Hoffman, Disgustingly Dirty Joke Book (1998) by Jackie Martling, Too Fat to Fish (2008) by Artie Lange, and Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption from an Irish Mailbox (2010) by Greg Fitzsimmons.

Stern hosted his second pay-per-view event, The Miss Howard Stern New Year's Eve Pageant, on December 31, 1993. It broke the subscriber record for a non-sports event previously held by a New Kids on the Block concert in 1990.^[65] Around 400,000 households purchased the event that grossed an estimated $16 million.^[73] Stern released the program on VHS in early 1994 as Howard Stern's New Year's Rotten Eve 1994. Between his book royalties and pay-per-view profits, Stern's earnings in the latter months of 1993 totalled around $7.5 million.^[74] In its 20th anniversary issue in 1993, Radio & Records named Stern the most influential air personality of the past two decades.^[75]

On March 21, 1994, Stern announced his candidacy for Governor of New York under the Libertarian Party ticket, challenging Mario Cuomo for re-election.^[76] He planned to reinstate the death penalty, stagger highway tolls to improve traffic flow, and limit road work to night hours.^[77] At the party's nomination convention in Albany on April 23, Stern won the required two-thirds majority on the first ballot, receiving 287 of the 381 votes cast (75.33%). James Ostrowski finished second with 34 votes (8.92%).^[78] To place his name on the November ballot, Stern was obliged to state his home address and to complete a financial disclosure form under the Ethics in Government Act of 1987. After declining to disclose his financial information, Stern was denied an injunction on August 2.^[79] He withdrew his candidacy two days later. Cuomo was defeated in the gubernatorial election on November 8 by George Pataki, who Stern backed. Pataki signed "The Howard Stern Bill" that limited construction on state roads to night hours in New York and Long Island, in 1995.^[80]

In June 1994, robotic cameras were installed at WXRK studios to film The Howard Stern Show for a condensed half-hour show on E!.^[81] Howard Stern ran for 11 years until the last taped episode aired on July 8, 2005.^[82] In conjunction with his move to satellite radio, Stern launched Howard Stern on Demand, a subscription video-on-demand service, on November 18.^[83] The service was relaunched as Howard TV on March 16, 2006.^[84]

[edit] Miss America and Private Parts film (1995–1997)

On April 3, 1995, three days after the shooting of singer Selena, Stern's comments regarding her death and Mexican Americans caused an uproar in the Hispanic community. He criticized her music and gunfire sound effects were played over her songs. "This music does absolutely nothing for me. Alvin and the Chipmunks have more soul...Spanish people have the worst taste in music. They have no depth".^[85] On April 6, Stern responded with a statement in Spanish, stressing his comments were made in satire and not intended to hurt those who loved her.^[86] A day later, Justice of the Peace Eloy Cano of Harlingen, Texas issued an arrest warrant on Stern for disorderly conduct.^[87]

In 1995, Stern signed a deal with ReganBooks worth $3 million to write his second book, Miss America.^[88] He wrote about his cybersex experiences on the Prodigy service, a private meeting with Michael Jackson, and his suffering with obsessive-compulsive disorder.^[89] Released on November 7, the book sold 33,000 copies at Barnes & Noble stores on the same day which set a new one-day record.^[90] Publishers Weekly reported over 1.39 million copies were sold by the year's end and ranked it the third best-selling book of 1995.^[91] Miss America spent a total of 16 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list.^[72]

Production for a film adaptation of Private Parts began in May 1996 with all shooting complete in four months.^[92] Its premiere was held at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden on February 27, 1997, where Stern performed "The Great American Nightmare" with Rob Zombie.^[93] Making its general release on March 7, Private Parts topped the box office sales in its opening weekend with a gross of $14.6 million, and went on to earn a total of $41.2 million in domestic gross revenue.^[94] The film holds a "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a website that aggregates film reviews. 79% of critics gave Private Parts a positive review based on a sample of 48 reviews, with an average score of 6.6 out of 10.^[95] For his performance, Stern won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Male Newcomer" and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy)" and a Golden Raspberry Award for "Worst New Star".^{[citation needed]} The soundtrack to Private Parts sold 178,000 copies in its first week of release, topping the Billboard 200 chart.^[96]

Stern filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Ministry of Film Inc. in October 1997, claiming it recruited him for a film titled Jane starring Melanie Griffith while knowing it had insufficient funds. Stern, who was unpaid when production ceased, accused the studio of breach of contract, fraud and negligent representation.^[97] A settlement was reached in 1999 with Stern receiving $50,000.^[98]

Return to Saturday night television and productions (1998–2004)[link]

In August 1998, Stern returned to Saturday night television with The Howard Stern Radio Show.^[99] Broadcast across the country on CBS affiliates, it featured radio show highlights along with material unseen in his nightly E! show. The show competed for ratings with comedy shows Saturday Night Live on NBC and MADtv on Fox. Concerned with its risqué content, affiliates began to leave the show after two episodes.^[100] Making its launch on 79 stations on August 22, 1998, this number was reduced to 55 by June 1999.^[101] A total of 84 episodes were broadcast.^{[citation needed]} The final re-run aired on November 17, 2001, to around 30 markets.^[102][103]

In 1994, Stern launched the Howard Stern Production Company for original and joint production and development ventures. He intended to make a film adaptation of Brother Sam, the biography of the late comedian Sam Kinison.^[104] In September 1999, UPN announced the production of Doomsday, an animated science-fiction comedy series executively produced by Stern.^[105] Originally set for a 2000 release, Stern starred as Orinthal, a family dog.^[106] The project was eventually abandoned. From 2000 to 2002, Stern was the executive producer of Son of the Beach, a sitcom which ran for three seasons on FX. In late 2001, Howard Stern Productions was reportedly developing a new sitcom titled Kane.^[107] The pilot episode was never filmed. In 2002, Stern acquired the rights to comedy films Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) and Porky's (1982). He filed a $100 million lawsuit in March 2003 against ABC and the producers of Are You Hot?, claiming the series was based on his radio segment called "The Evaluators". A settlement was reached on August 7.^[108]

Stern announced in early 2004 of talks with ABC to host a prime time interview special, which never materialized. In August 2004, cable channel Spike picked up 13 episodes of Howard Stern: The High School Years, a second animated series Stern was to executive produce.^[109] On November 14, 2005, Stern announced the completion of episode scripts and 30 seconds of test animations.^[110] Stern eventually gave the project up. In 2007, he explained the episodes could have been produced "on the cheap" at $300,000 each, though the quality he demanded would have cost over $1 million.^[111] Actor Michael Cera was cast as the lead voice.^[112]

[edit] Satellite radio and America's Got Talent (2004–present)

Following Stern's move to Sirius, he assembled the Howard 100 News team.

On October 6, 2004, Stern announced the signing of a five-year contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, a medium free from FCC regulations, that started in January 2006.^[113] His decision to leave terrestrial radio occurred in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in February that caused a crackdown on perceived indecency in broadcasting. The incident prompted tighter control over content by station owners and managers to which Stern felt "dead inside" creatively.^[114] Stern hosted his final broadcast on terrestrial airwaves on December 16, 2005.^[115] During his 20 years at WXRK his show had syndicated in 60 markets^[116][117] across the United States and Canada and gained a peak audience of 20 million listeners.^{[118][119][120]}

With an annual budget of $100 million for all production, staff and programming costs, Stern launched two channels on Sirius in 2005 named Howard 100 and Howard 101. He assembled the Howard 100 News team that covered stories about his show and those associated with it, and a new dedicated studio was constructed at Sirius' headquarters in New York.^[121] On January 9, 2006, the day of his first broadcast, Stern and his agent received 34.3 million shares of stock from the company worth $218 million for exceeding subscriber targets set in 2004.^[122] A second stock incentive was paid in 2007, with Stern receiving 22 million shares worth $82.9 million.^[123]

On February 28, 2006, CBS Radio (formerly Infinity Broadcasting) filed a lawsuit against Stern, his agent and Sirius. The suit claimed Stern had misused CBS broadcast time to promote Sirius for unjust enrichment during the last 14 months of his terrestrial radio contract.^[124][125] In a press conference held hours before the suit was filed, Stern said it was nothing more than a "personal vendetta" against him by CBS president Leslie Moonves.^[126] A settlement was reached on May 25, with Sirius paying $2 million to CBS for control of Stern's 20-year broadcast archives.^[127] In the same month, Time magazine included Stern in its Time 100 list.^[128] He also ranked seventh in Forbes' Celebrity 100 list in June 2006,^[129] and reappeared in 2011 at number 26.^[130]

Stern signed a new contract with Sirius to continue his show for five more years in December 2010.^[131] Following the agreement, Stern and his agent filed a lawsuit against Sirius on March 22, 2011, for allegedly failing to pay stock bonuses promised to them from the past four years while helping the company exceed subscriber growth targets. Sirius said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the suit.^[132] On April 17, 2012, New York Judge Barbara Kapnick "granted a SiriusXM motion for summary judgment, dismissing the lawsuit."^[133]

In May, Stern announced that he would be broadcasting on a reduced schedule, alternating between three-day and four-day working weeks.^[134] On December 15, 2011, Stern announced that he will replace Piers Morgan as a judge for the seventh season of America's Got Talent. Filming will take place in Newark, New Jersey at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and began in February 2012.^[135]

FCC fines[link]

From 1990 to 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has fined owners of radio stations that carried The Howard Stern Show a total of $3.2 million for indecent programming.^[136]

Personal life[link]

Stern and Beth Ostrosky in 2011

Stern married his first wife, Alison (née Berns),^[137] on June 4, 1978 at Temple Ohabei Shalom in Brookline, Massachusetts.^[138] They have three daughters: Emily Beth (b. 1983), Debra Jennifer (b. 1986) and Ashley Jade (b. 1993).^[139] On October 22, 1999, Stern announced their decision to separate.^[140] The marriage ended in 2001 with an amicable divorce and settlement.^[137] In 2000, Stern began to date model Beth Ostrosky Stern, co-host of Casino Cinema from 2004 to 2007.^{[citation needed]} She also frequently appeared in the American edition of FHM.^[141] On February 14, 2007 Stern announced their engagement.^[137] They married on October 3, 2008, at Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.^[142]

While attending Boston University, Stern developed an interest in Transcendental Meditation, which he practices to this day.^[143] He credits it with aiding him in quitting smoking and achieving his goals in radio.^[144] Stern interviewed the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the technique, twice.^{[citation needed]} Stern also plays on the Internet Chess Club, and has taken lessons from chess master Dan Heisman, although he has recently claimed to have quit playing. Howard's latest passion is photography, where he does private shoots for friends and secured his first paid 'gig' shooting a layout for Hamptons magazine in July 2011.^[145][146] Stern has also shot photographs for WHIRL magazine and the North Shore Animal League.^[147][148] Stern is frequently listed among the most influential contemporary Americans. In 2011, he was rated Forbes Magazines' 49th Most Powerful Celebrity.^[149]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Home video releases[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Stern, Howard (1993). Private Parts. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-88016-3. 
• Stern, Howard (1995). Miss America. ReganBooks. ISBN 978-0-06-039167-6. 

References[link]