**Howard Stern's perfectly pubbed trial balloon to leave radio to become a judge on "American Idol" is further indication he's headed back to terrestrial radio.
Stern's contract with Sirius satellite is up at the end of the year. As scribbled here a few times, Stern's been lost at the water-cooler since 2006 when he took a huge amount of coin and left his commercial syndicated gig.
While his bank account may have enlarged, the shows topical edge has lost its zip. Stern doesn't need any more money and I'd seriously doubt he'd leave radio, be it satellite or commercial. As a morning wag noted, Stern has been threatening to leave radio for over 25 years.
He's already getting serious offers from Clear Channel and the Idol gig; while a great idea in theory, would take too much of Stern's time.
**KRON4 has lost its traffic helicopter. As usual, its a money deal...By the way, the station's financial turmoil continues down a beaten path: almost all employees, including a few prominent anchors are being paid on an "at-will" scale, which in layman's terms essentially means "no personal services" contracts. And yes, it does include THAT GUY that does the sports.
**KSFO's gutter-mouth morning man, Lee Rodgers, sank to new lows Tuesday. During his usual paranoid early-morning monologue, Lee referred to the N.O.W. (National Org. for Women) as the "National Org. of 'Broads."
Not stopping there, Rodgers called Patrick Kennedy, the son of the late Ted Kennedy, a "local drunk." Not funny, pretty damn petty, even by Rodgers "bleepin'" standards. I'm sure the Walmart demo from Livermore ate it up.
**A reader of this site had a great point: Jay Leno's cameo on the Super Bowl with Letterman and Oprah, was probably the first decent, positive PR he's had in six months.
Come to think if it, Letterman helped himself too, if only to diffuse his noted off-show dalliances, and yes, even Oprah was funny. How the heck he pulled it off still boggles the mind.
**Appointment radio: Ex-Fox house liberal, Alan Colmes weeknight syndicated show on Green 960 from 9 PM to Midnight is topical, funny, and Colmes' "graffito radio" bit, easily one of the best shticks in radio.
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