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In his own way, Howard Stern also became known for speaking on the radio
what some people were thinking but were afraid to say, but in a style
that often hits below the belt and is typically shared only between close
friends. But that’s what has made Stern’s brand of talk radio
so compelling - you never know what he’s going to say next.
Howard Stern’s biography is well known since it’s documented
in his books and his movie, “Private Parts.” He grew up in
New York, went to college in Boston and got his start in rock radio as
a DJ and PD. He worked his way up to high profile gigs at FM rock stations
in Detroit and Washington, DC before coming home to New York in 1982 for
a creatively stifling job at then WNBC-AM before moving back to the FM
dial and on to syndication (Infinity Broadcasting) fame and fortune.
Howard Stern is often dismissed by his critics as just a “shock
jock.” But that label is inaccurate and narrow. Few talk hosts know
their audience as well as Stern does and are able to speak directly to
them as well as he does. For all of his self-deprecation, Stern is extremely
intelligent and knows exactly what works on the radio and why.
Stern’s program, unlike his imitators’, is rarely gratuitous.
He has an excellent comic wit and is adept at bringing that to the radio,
which is not easily done. It is his ability to deliver consistently funny,
topical talk radio to a rabid fan base that is one of the largest audiences
in contemporary radio that makes him the enormous success that he is.
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