Letters to the Editor
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Only tangentially related to the article...
But, in reference to the Alexis "Cunty" Stewart conversation: maybe "cunty" is to women what "cocky" is to men? So confident that they're obnoxious, but still mysteriously appealing? Maybe? 'Cause I want to OWN that word if that's the case.
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Right now stories about Howard Stern are bigger than Howard Stern
But that's part of the product rollout plan, isn't it? Stern has a knack for making up an image and then banging it home over and over until everyone walks around agreeing it's a fact. Who came up with 'the king of all media'? Howard Stern did and after a few thousand times of hearing it we accepted that it's an opinion we came to on our own. Talking about Howard Stern is almost as valuable as Howard Stern because a sufficient number of people will subscribe to become listeners of Howard Stern. It's really very clever that his new show is not simply unadulterated profanity because that would kill the mystery and the buzz. You don't really know what it is until you hear it for yourself. It's pure textbook PT Barnum. 'This way to the Egress'
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idiotic article
This article is one of the most idiotic things I
have read. It is not just the Howard Stern show
that one gets on Sirius, there are over 100 channels,
commercial free! I spent 15 hours in my car this
weekend driving to and from a funeral, and Sirius
helped that time fly. Since I installed Sirius,
I have listened to less than 1 hour of normal radio.
The receiver has a play list so that one is notified
whenever a song by that artist is on. It is well
worth 43 cents a day to have no commercials, music,
comedy, Nick fuckin' Drake on the radio!
Granted, I would not have got it lest for Mr. Stern,
but now that I have it I would get rid of a lot
of other luxuries in my life before I got rid of
Sirius.
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Sirius... beyond Howard...
My fiance bought me a Sirius radio last July in anticipation of Howard's move. I thought this odd because I was an infrequent listener of Howard and his crew. I have this odd habit of switching between Howard and NPR during my morning commute.
Lo and behold... Both Howard and NPR are now on Sirius meaning I can continue listening to both. On top of that, I also get Backspin, Left of Center, First Wave, Boombox, Chill and a host of other stations playing the sort of music I actually like to hear.
I'm not entirely convinced that it's worth $13 a month, but I've made room for it in my budget and I can't say that I'm disappointed. Now... if they could get a station that played underground house music from the early 90s... another station that played a better mix of world music... and a station that played underground rap, it would be beyond perfect.
--sam
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13 Bucks a Month
I have been hearing a lot about the fact that listeners have to pay $13 a month now to hear Howard Stern. Bill O'Reilly wanted to know if he thought he was worth $13 a month. Larry King wanted to know. He insisted that he was, but he also made the point that it is not just Howard Stern to which the Sirius subscriber is subscribing. There are many, many other channels of content available from music to talk.
Sirius and XM have been building their customer bases slowly but surely for several years. On Sirius, Howard Stern could be seen as just a value-added product on a media outlet that has been gaining in popularity due to the sad state of terrestrial radio. Certainly, Howard is a huge draw. This is why Sirius was willing to pay him $100 million a year. But, if Howard Stern is all you care about, and you can't find anything else that interests you on satellite radio, then I think you need to expand your horizons.
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Why is 13 dollars a big deal?
I figure to the people who like Howard and radio, 13 bucks is not that big a deal. I pay 8 bucks a month for Tivo. People spend 10 to 20 dollars a month on their favorite movie stars or musicians. Not to mention magazines and tabloids. Millions of people spent upwards of 200 dollars for an iPod.
Since Howard left I have been trying to find other morning shows to fill the void, but boy do they suck. Maybe I'll get a Sirius, but my iPod is going to have to get boring first.
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Stern is only a Sirius hook...
I have to agree with some of the previous posters - is Howard Stern worth $13/mo? Probably not, however it’s a draw to get people hooked. I signed up for Sirius over a year ago strictly because I wanted access to Air America Radio, which I couldn’t get in the Kansas City area, and that was my single point of motivation. However, when Al Franken or the Minority Report wasn’t on, I began to drift and found the Michelangelo Signorile Show and Derek & Romaine on OutQ as well as the Young Turks and syndicated Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz on Sirius Left. Not to mention endless amounts music from the “Hair Nation” station, to the dance music found on “The Beat” or even my guilty pleasure on “Broadway’s Best”. When Air America decided to bolt to that “other” satellite radio service last fall, I didn’t question for a minute whether I’d cancel my subscription.
Yes, I have a problem – Sirius is as vital to my sanity as my TiVo!
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Howard is worth my $12.95
And if he isn't fighting, and if fewer people are listening, will the world beyond his superfans continue to care about what he does?
I, for one, hope not. Leave Howard alone and let us fans enjoy the show and his channels in peace!
Is the show worth $13 a month? To fans, yes. I can imagine paying $13 a month just so I can fill my mornings with all the folks on the show.
To occassional listeners? Yes - remember, Sirius isn't just 2 channels of Howard Stern, there is plenty of commercial-free music, too. Lamentably, the music channels are poorly programmed, but they're still better than all but one of the local, terrestrial stations I used to listen to. Add in the NFL, NPR/PRI/BBC and satellite-only features like song/artist seek, and $13 is not too much to ask.