Posted on 07/01/2004 2:07:43 PM PDT by Glenn
GREEN TREE - Howard Stern defiantly returned to Pittsburgh's airwaves Wednesday, vowing to carry on a cultural battle with political conservatives.
Stern was named the new morning-show host for WBZZ-FM (93.7) in Green Tree, replacing the popular "Dave, Bubba, Shelley" show, which had aired for 15 years on the Pittsburgh area's longest-tenured Top-40 station.
While Stern's stint with WBZZ formally begins July 19, the station immediately switched formats Wednesday, becoming a rock station, dubbed "93.7/K-Rock." The station will feature an aggressive attitude targeting Stern's core audience, largely adult males.
To pave the way for Stern and the new format, all nine WBZZ disc jockeys were fired, though some might be rehired to work for sister stations in Pittsburgh, such as WZPT-FM ("Star 100.7") said Michael Young, senior vice president for parent company, Infinity Pittsburgh.
The decision to hire Stern was almost a no-brainer, Young said.
"When you look at Howard, in our opinion, he's the premier morning-drive personality in this country," Young said. "He has a proven track record in Pittsburgh, and when he was taken off the air in Pittsburgh, it left a huge void."
Stern's high-rated show hasn't been heard in Pittsburgh since Feb. 25, when modern-rock station WXDX-FM (105.9) dropped the racy program in the wake of an FCC crackdown on obscenity.
In a New York press conference aired Wednesday morning on WBZZ, Stern said along with Pittsburgh, he is returning to the airwaves in four other cities where he simultaneously had been banished: San Diego; Orlando and West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Rochester, N.Y. His syndicated show also has been picked up in four new markets: Houston and Austin, Texas; Tampa, Fla.; and Fresno, Calif.
"This will teach the FCC a lesson," Stern said. "We won't give up. We will fight back."
Though rumored for a few weeks, the Stern-to-WBZZ announcement was a bombshell for Pittsburgh radio listeners.
Ellwood City resident Shari Mulig said she has listened to the WBZZ morning team for 15 years, but now she will seek a new station.
"I can't believe they're being replaced by Howard Stern," Mulig said. "I mean, they did some crazy things, but they're not as repulsive as Howard Stern."
Fired WBZZ jocks Marc "Bubba" Snider and Shelley Duffy gave emotional, on-air farewells to listeners Wednesday morning, minutes before WBZZ switched over to the Stern press conference.
Stern's return to Pittsburgh sets up an intriguing showdown with his former Pittsburgh employer, WXDX, which a day earlier had announced its top jock, Alan Cox, would become the station's permanent replacement for Stern.
Cox and Stern will battle for a similar demographic - the 18-to-34-year-old male audience coveted by advertisers. That audience must choose an allegiance between the 50-year-old, nationally famous Stern, based in New York, or the 31-year-old Cox, a Chicago native who lives in Pittsburgh's Mount Washington section. Cox's nervy, sometimes confrontational style draws comparisons to Stern's, although Cox insists that his biggest influence is David Letterman.
Amid the Wednesday press conference aired nationally, Stern arrogantly predicted he will be the highest-rated morning man in Pittsburgh.
"The day I start in Pittsburgh, I'll be No. 1 again," Stern said. "I'm going to kick their asses in Pittsburgh."
But WXDX's vice president of programming, Baden native Gene Romano, confidently countered, "Alan is an extraordinary talent. 'The X' will be stronger than ever."
The jockeying for listeners continued up and down the Pittsburgh radio dial Wednesday morning, as one of WBZZ's sister stations, WZPT, began airing commercials welcoming former listeners of WBZZ presumably turned off by Stern and the station's new format.
The format switch will force Pittsburgh's highest-rated FM station, WDVE-FM (102.5), to brace for direct competition for the first time in a decade. But now Pittsburgh's lone Top-40 station, WKST-FM (96.1), will enjoy a relatively free ride.
Though he's a proven ratings winner, Stern wears a target on his back these days, as the FCC monitors his every broadcast, ready to levy million-dollar fines against any on-air statements deemed obscene. The FCC crackdown resulted from an enormous public outcry, fueled by conservative groups, after pop singer Janet Jackson bared a breast during the Super Bowl halftime show.
Stern said Wednesday that not one fine has been issued against Jackson, the NFL or CBS-TV for airing the Feb. 1 halftime show.
"The person who is the victim in this is me," Stern said.
Stern berated Clear Channel Entertainment, the Texas-based company that in February kicked Stern off six of its stations, including Pittsburgh's WXDX.
"Clear Channel is in bed with George Bush," Stern said.
Stern claimed Clear Channel used the Super Bowl debacle as an excuse to fire him, when really the company canned him for his anti-Bush opinions expressed on the air.
Predicting that his return to two Florida stations will deliver a victory for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in that decisive state, Stern said, "Bush is threatening this country in so many ways, it's frightening."
Then the "shock jock" who routinely interviews porn stars and pesters celebrity guests with embarrassing sex questions added, "I am in a war. A cultural war."
Scott Tady can be reached online at stady@timesonline.com.
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©Beaver County Times/Allegheny Times 2004 |
Stern is so 1990s.
NOT good news for the city of Pittsburgh. I feel sorry for the nine fired D-jays.
FMCDH(BITS)
Alleged? lol
Fragmentation would be the best BUT you would get too many of them.
"he was nabbed for some stuff that he shouldn't having been doing in the first place"
So what was it that Howard was last fined for?
Did you listen yesterday or today?
Is WTAE still on the air ?
If only it were RIP permanent.
You bet, so did Howard say that?
He sure decided to air it.
Answer the question.
Did he say it?
Were you listening?
When did it happen?
What was Howard's response?
I was just saying this to my wife today, for Stern to come into these markets, some will be fired.
The Watermelon Thing is an Old fine (within 3 months) There are more in the pipeline.
ALLEGED?? He promotes his obscenity!
It was a caller question to the guy who had sex with Paris Hilton on vidio. Forgot his name...
>>FREE HOWARD STERN!
Where do I get a free Howard Stern?
I don't know, but I recommend you boil it before putting in any beer.
It went out over his air without him dumbing the audio.
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