You never get used to doing morning radio, Howard Stern told Piers Morgan as the second guest on Morgan’s new CNN show, noting that his wife says he lets loose with string of swear words each morning when the alarm clock goes off at 4:00 am. So, yes, he did almost retire rather than renew his contract with Sirius XM.
“Really, why am I doing this anymore? It makes me crazy. I hate getting up early in the morning, and I don’t particularly like doing the show,” Stern said on “Piers Morgan Tonight.”
According to Stern, the driving force behind his radio career was an attempt to please his father, a broadcast engineer who looked up to the personalities behind the mic. By the time his father told him he was “a genius,” it was almost anticlimactic – had all of his career struggles really been a buildup to that praise from his father?
But Stern isn’t about to end his career. “I think it’s my ego. It’s also something that…”
“Insecurity?” Morgan interrupted? “Oh, absolutely,” Stern said. “But about what? Is it about losing…”
“My mojo! This is about who I am. This is what I do. There’s no better feeling to me than when I walk into someplace and they say, ‘Oh my god, did you hear what Camille Grammer said on your show today? She was sort of implying that Kelsey Grammer likes to dress like a woman.’ I feel like I hit a homerun. I’m Babe Ruth. I did a great show. I made people laugh. But more importantly, I think, for me – and I should admit this at some point to myself – I actually really enjoy it – as much as it drives me crazy. And my career has driven me crazy,” Stern said.
Click here to see lots and lots of clips from the interview.
RBR-TVBR observation: Is radio an addiction? Many in this industry would agree with Howard about the ego boost/personal identity aspect of being on the air. But can you think of a better addiction?
