Howard Stern gets the joke

Radio Business Report asks today if Howard Stern is “missing the point”:

In Howard Stern’s just-released interview with Entertainment Weekly, he was asked if it bothered him that most of his fans haven’t followed him to Sirius from terrestrial radio? He responded: “It’s insulting to me that everyone hasn’t come with me. I take it personally…I want to say to my audience in this article, ”F— you! You haven’t come with me yet? How dare you?” We, and a few others, found that statement to be a bit insulting as well. In a recent conversation with an industry observer, it was noted that Stern always positioned himself as the anti-hero. But now he’s become a victim and it’s hard for his audience to have empathy for a victim who’s making all this money.

Stern was, of course, joking. Even if that wasn’t evident to the folks noted in the RBR story, I’m betting it was evident to most of Stern’s audience.

By the way, there’s no difference between an anti-hero and a victim when you’re a victim of the established order.

Look, the guy is delivering what are, by all accounts, terrific shows. He wants as many folks to be on board as possible. He’s making a joke! There’s no need to intellectualize his hero/anti-hero qualities.

If it was every last listener and their empathy he wanted he would have stayed with CBS.