angus wrote:
] Even if you are not a fan you should checkout some of the
] stories and links on his web page. I think Howard is making up
] for lost time. He sat on this domain for many years with
] almost no content posted and now the site is suffering from
] information overload. You be the judge.

This bruhaha over Jackson's breast, in the context of recent consolidation of broadcast media, is entertaining enough to comment on, but not fundamental enough to be angry about, IMHO.

First, Jackson's "incident" was clearly a promotional stunt for her new album. It apparently didn't help much. Whatever.

Second, I really liked Stern's movie. I had such great hope for him. But my only access to him is his television show, and Stern's television show sucks. If you've seen one you've seen them all. Its Stern "convincing" some stripper to take her clothes off, but I don't even get to see her naked because his show has always been censored. Between my cable and internet access I've got much better porn at my fingertips if thats what I'm in for.

Frankly, I don't care about the consolidation of broadcast radio and television because I'm not listening and I'm not watching. I get my information from the internet. I never watch broadcast television unless its the super bowl or something. The stereo in my car doesn't work, and when I do fix it I'll probably get XM. I think XM is over-priced, but broadcast radio is so bad that its almost not worth the money to fix my stereo if thats what I'm going to be listening to.

Stern should be using his website and he should be on XM. I'm sure that people who work in the old broadcast world view these new media as ghettos for programming thats not popular enough to make it in the real world. That perception is wrong. There is a fundamental change occurring from an environment where we all accessed the common denominator to an evironment where no one accesses the common denominator because there is enough bandwidth available to provide each of us with something that really does interest us. This is the future. The broadcast world is a ghetto of programming that no body really likes but which appeals to the majority of us on some low level.

All these "community" groups who are pissed off that consolidation has pushed them off the air need to get their asses in gear and start using the internet. They'll have real power to communicate and organize online. Its completely stupid for them pawn after dead media. I agree with the conservative's push to get these people wired, even if they did do it for selfish financial reasons. These changes are inevitable anyway. Within my lifetime I think I'll see the broadcast radio and television spectrum reallocated for another purpose, and I'll celebrate the day.

RE: Howard Stern: A General in the Culture Wars?