by Linda Chavez
November 23, 1995
What does it say about the state of our popular culture that radio shock-jock Howard Stern can replace Colin Powell as the best-selling author in America?
Stern's book, Miss America, went to the top of the charts last week, selling more than nine copies for every one copy of the next best-selling book on the list.
Stern's specialty is trash talk, and apparently there are thousands of garbage collectors out there who will pay $ 27.50 to wallow in the muck.
I ran into several hundred of them last week in Manhattan as they lined up in front of a bookstore to get autographed copies of Stern's rubbish. I must admit I was intrigued, even a little amused (Howard Stern fans can read?) - from a distance.
The taxi driver warned me when I gave him the address of my appointment that it was just down the street from Stern's book signing and traffic would be more than usually snarled. He suggested dropping me short of my destination since I'd have better luck walking the last block and a half.
The sight of police barricades on the sidewalk and a dozen or more blue uniforms persuaded me he was right. Besides, I was curious to see just who would stand in line for several hours in 30-degree weather to get Stern's autograph. The mostly male, youngish crowd - late teens to mid-30s - weren't content to wait quietly for their chance to meet their idol, who had promised to appear dressed in the same transvestite outfit that adorns the book's cover. Several shouted insults and obscenities at cars, pedestrians, police, anyone and anything in hearing distance. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but the voices bellowing curses felt like a slap in the face. I can turn the dial when I hear Stern's foul mouth on the public airwaves. But for the few minutes I stood waiting to cross the street in front of Stern's fans I couldn't escape his cheap imitators.
Stern likes to fashion himself a libertarian (he ran, briefly, as the Libertarian Party candidate for governor of New York in 1994) pushing the envelope of free speech on the radio. He even manages to sneak in a few lines of "social commentary" in his 482-page book, striking a blow for morality by inveighing against Woody Allen's "low-life, amoral habits" and the hypocrisy of those parents who sent their prepubescent sons to spend the weekend with Michael Jackson, no questions asked.
And Stern proudly touts his 20-year marriage, describing himself as "a devoted husband and father." It's enough to make you wonder if his whole bit isn't a put-on.
But Stern is no satirist, a latter-day Jonathan Swift making "a modest proposal." He incites nastiness, crudity and effrontery. And his fans revel in outdoing their mentor. In his book, Stern describes one particularly vulgar protege who specializes in Stern's trademark prank phone calls. This social misfit delights in tormenting TV call-in show hosts, especially Mother Angelica, a Roman Catholic nun whose program appears on a religious cable station. Stern reproduces the transcript of two of these creepy calls in his book under the subheading "Jesus died for you," in bold print.
Stern has made millions with this trash. And the sales of his book suggest he'll make millions more. And it's not just Stern who's getting rich, but also the publishers and radio stations that give him access to his audience.
Infinity Broadcasting, which produces his radio show, has paid $ 1.7 million in fines to the Federal Communications Commission for some of Stern's on-air antics, which violated FCC rules. They're not laying out that kind of money just because they believe in the First Amendment. The response to Stern needn't be censorship. Mother Angelica had the best answer. "You really need to examine your conscience," Stern quotes her saying to a Stern-inspired prank caller.
There's not much hope Stern or his fans will take Mother Angelica's advice. But maybe the rest of us can shame the media executives who give Stern a platform into examining theirs.
Linda Chavez is President of the Center for Equal Opportunity.
Now that you've read for yourself how dopey Linda Chavez really is, go ahead and send her an email.
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