# Do Radio Shock Jocks Still Exist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** radio-podcast\ **Created:** [March 22, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461 "2022-03-22T03:05:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/1 "2022-03-22T03:05:56Z")
It seems like they were the bane of the radio waves for most of the 90’s until the mid-00’s, then rapidly they all went to Satellite Radio after either getting bought out or kicked out of regular radio, and now even those on Satellite Radio seem to be rapidly diminishing. Imus and Opie & Anthony got fired, Howard Stern stopped being a shock jock at some point, ManCow eventually tried to be the new Alex Jones online and failed, and Bubba the Love Sponge is delivering pizzas now after losing everything in a lawsuit. I know podcasts have overtaken radio which explains some of the drop off, but do shock jocks still exist on commercial radio, satellite radio, or podcasts? (And no Alex Jones or people like him, he’s got shock jock tendencies but he doesn’t have any of the wacky stuff shock jocks got famous for) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/2 "2022-03-22T03:46:08Z")
I haven’t heard about any, but it seems to me their time is past. Howard Stern was hilarious and shocking back in the day. Now I guess he’s doing interviews, celebrity interviews? I don’t know who most of them are…no, there isn’t much to laugh at now, IMO. What do you make fun of now, with inflation, gas shortages, war, plague, and no real stars or scandals to snicker over? ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/3 "2022-03-22T04:09:34Z")
Perhaps any shock factor has been diminished by the media-consuming public having become jaded by the instant access of filter-free “shock” now prevalent in new media. “Sticking it to the censors” isn’t really much of a thing anymore. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/4 "2022-03-22T10:42:23Z")
One of my favorites “The Greaseman” (aka Doug Tracht) is still shrieking on [Web Radio Classics](https://www.webradioclassics.com/greaseman.htm). ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/5 "2022-03-23T00:11:12Z")
Rush Limbaugh is dead. Tucker Carlson is the biggest shock jock out there now. Or would you not call these shock jocks? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/6 "2022-03-23T00:46:21Z")
Does Howard do his regular shocking things anymore? I haven’t heard his show since E! stopped showing them at night and that was probably 20 years ago. Does he have his gang of misfits and still do shocking things? I’m surprised he’s still on, to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/7 "2022-03-23T01:00:14Z")
Steve Dahl was a shock jock on Chicago radio from the late '70s until just a few years ago. He started doing a daily podcast in 2009, which he’s still doing, though he’s mellowed somewhat over the decades. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/8 "2022-03-23T01:04:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’m surprised he’s still on, to be honest. SiriusXM still apparently believes that he draws a significant audience, because they signed him to a new five-year contract in 2020, which is said to be paying him as much as $100 million a year. > **[Howard Stern extends long-running SiriusXM Radio deal for five more years](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/08/howard-stern-extends-long-running-siriusxm-radio-deal-five-more-years.html)** > > Howard Stern has extended his long-running deal with SiriusXM, adding another five years to his contract to produce and host "The Howard Stern Show." ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/9 "2022-03-23T01:54:02Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > SiriusXM still apparently believes that he draws a significant audience, because they signed him to a new five-year contract in 2020, which is said to be paying him as much as $100 million a year. It’s amazing. How is it possible he makes them this much money? That many people subscribe just to listen to Howard? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/10 "2022-03-23T01:54:54Z")
Howard transitioned to becoming a more normal radio person who focuses on celebrity interviews and his own personal struggles for the past decade now. They still have old bits but the rumor is that Howard is now trying to “clean up his image and erase all the shock jock elements of his past to be more marketable”. For example “Gary the Retard” became “Gary the Conqueror” and theyve been eliminating all offensive language off both the current show as well as old show reruns. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/11 "2022-03-23T02:02:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > How is it possible he makes them this much money? That many people subscribe just to listen to Howard? I have to believe that they’ve done their market research, and discovered exactly that. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/12 "2022-03-23T02:41:30Z")
How much does it cost per month to get Howard 100 on Sirius? EDIT: Google says you need to pay for the Sirius All Access package to get the two Howard channels, and it also says that costs $23 a month. That adds up quick. I calculate 1 million subscribers paying just under 276 million per year. I don’t think he’s getting the lion’s share of the 30 million or so subscribers they have, or had at one point, but I’d bet his listeners number closer to 10 million than 1 million. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/13 "2022-03-23T03:06:23Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I don’t think he’s getting the lion’s share of the 30 million or so subscribers they have, or had at one point, but I’d bet his listeners number closer to 10 million than 1 million. They were at 34 million subscribers as of late last year; they are slowly, but steadily, gaining subscribers, and I’d guess that most of their new customers are using streaming to listen. > **[SiriusXM Adds 616,000 Paying Subscribers in Third Quarter](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/siriusxm-subscribers-rise-third-quarter-1235036311/)** > > The audio giant, led by CEO Jennifer Witz, also said that its Pandora music streaming business lost 59,000 net self-pay subscribers. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/14 "2022-03-23T04:30:52Z")
**Lex** & **Terry** is a national syndicated radio show. They started out as shock jocks. A current Google doesn’t refer to Lex & Terry as shock jocks. I assume that doesn’t fly in todays woke world. They’ve adapted and changed (like Howard Stern) to survive. This is how they were introduced to Little Rock. They were challenging The Outlaw Tommy Smith. A shock jock in the 80’s and 90’s. He changed his show in the 00’s to straight Talk Radio. [Trash-talk inflames LR radio wars. - Free Online Library](https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Trash-talk+inflames+LR+radio+wars.-a0104329848) Lex and Terry didn’t pull any punchs. I listened to a few shows and decided it wasn’t for me. > [@](#): > > We’re] coming to town pretty much to dispose of Tommy the Outlaw and Corey and Gay, who are just three guys who have no business having any listeners whatsoever," Lex Staley said on the show’s Web site, referring to morning hosts Tommy Smith of KMJX-FM, 105.1 (Magic 105), and Corey and Jay of KDJE-FM, 100.3 (The Edge). > > “It’s all about girls. It’s all about sports. It’s all about everything a guy likes,” said Terry Jaymes, the other host on the Web site. “And believe it or not, you b\*\*\*\*es like it too.” > > Not only did the trash-talk raise eyebrows, but so did the show’s content. > > Just as the show was sure to attract attention, so has the station’s company, Archway Broadcasting of Atlanta. Formed in July 2002, it has been gobbling up radio stations in the South. In less than a year, it has spent $11.3 million on three stations in Little Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/15 "2022-03-23T04:57:54Z")
[According to this New York Post Article](https://nypost.com/2021/04/27/howard-stern-has-lost-his-sting-and-his-mojo/) in terms of overall SiriusXM subscribers > “Is Howard Stern really still worth $100M+ a year? Our recent survey work suggests that only a low-single-digit percentage of respondents subscribe to SiriusXM solely because of Howard Stern.” ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/16 "2022-03-23T05:21:06Z")
Nice, that’s something to work with. 1% of 34m = 340k \* $23 \* 12 months = $93.84 million per year. So around $100m per percent. What’s low single digits? 3? That would be $300 million per year from Howard-only subscribers. I mean, sure? To be clear, Howard doesn’t get paid $100 million, that the show’s total budget, correct? (I also take the Post’s word about Howard with a grain of salt. I expect the group of people who don’t _only_ subscribe for Howard but might scale back from the $23 package to something cheaper or would cancel altogether is non-trivial and also not included. The wording sounds like negative spin to me.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/17 "2022-03-23T05:26:38Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > That would be $300 million per year from Howard-only subscribers. And, there’s likely another group (possibly even a larger group) who listen to Stern’s show as well as other channels on SiriusXM, but for whom he’s a significant part of their reason for subscribing (and who might be less likely to renew if Stern left). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/18 "2022-03-23T05:28:43Z")
Ha! I was editing in that exact thought as you posted. Stern is way anti-Trump and has said he can never vote R again. The Post is a Murdoch rag, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/19 "2022-03-23T15:19:29Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Rush Limbaugh is dead. > > Tucker Carlson is the biggest shock jock out there now. > > Or would you not call these shock jocks? Don’t know about Tucker’s background, but Glenn Beck actually got his start as a shock jock in the '80s. At some point he decided it would be more lucrative to talk conservative politics, but he still comes off as Mancow without the strippers, fart noises or dick jokes. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461/20 "2022-03-23T15:31:41Z")
I can’t really think of any “shock jocks” besides Howard Stern. Maybe Opie and Anthony. From the limited amount of time I spend in the car listening to morning FM radio, I think the “morning zoo” style of radio still exists (at least around the NYC market). You know, where you have one or more hosts with their eclectic group of friends riffing, shooting the shit, and hosting fun little call-in contests between songs and news updates, [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-radio-shock-jocks-still-exist/961461.md?page=2)