Good old Howard, doing his thing

[Cole Parker]

Over the past few years, there has been a certain member of this gentle society who has taken it upon himself to laud Howard Stern over and over again. Now far be it from me to cast aspersions on the man... well, either of the men, the lauder or the laudee. But I think with this proof, we can put to rest the notion that Howard Stern is anything but THE MEANEST MAN IN AMERICA.

I'll let the video speak for itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKrEtyJ8MdU

C

[Merkin]

Radio Talk Show Host Howard Stern may not be cut out for being a talent judge.

Says it all. He should be barred from interacting directly with other humans.

[JamesSavik]

If one kid is diverted from rap and hip hop, it's all worthwhile.

There's always Jazz and the Blues but those require actual talent.

[The Pecman]

Oh, c'mon, Cole. Did you see Howard get up out of his chair, go up on stage and hug the kid immediately afterwards? Show me Simon Cowell doing that, ever.

Howard also talked about it for days afterward on the radio, and said, "jesus, the worst part of this TV job is having to dash some little kid's dreams and tell them they just aren't quite good enough yet." It's the nature of these awful TV competition reality shows that they zero in on the failures far more than they do the winners: sadly America likes to watch people suffering. (Yet another reason why I have a hard time with these shows.)

Note this incident happened nine months ago. Note also that I believe about 75% of the judge's reactions during the auditions are all heavily coached beforehand by the producers, and 100% of it is heavily edited to create a desired response from the viewing audience. These shows are very, very calculated and manipulative, far more than you might be aware. The live shows are different to a point, but even there, the judges make it clear which contestants are their favorites and which they're more inclined to want to win the final contest.

[The Pecman]

Remember he's British and the old nuggets of, "The stiff upper lip" and "It just isn't done old boy".

Cowell is often right and honest in his comments, but the difference there is that he puts a pretty cruel spin on his evaluations sometimes. I don't dispute that he can be very witty and entertaining at times, though The X Factor has been a pretty big bomb in the U.S. so far.

Howard at least doesn't turn the negative vote into an insult -- it's more often something like, "hey, I'm sorry, but I don't think your act will work for this competition," vs. "what on Earth made you think you have any talent?", which is the kind of thing I've heard Cowell say.

One thing I think is interesting about all these shows (American Idol, The Voice, X Factor, etc.) is when somebody gets up who is "somewhat" talented, but winds up being merely good and not very good, let alone great. This is when Simon says something like, "well, you're what I would expect to hear on a cruise ship or a hotel cabaret," damning with faint praise. At the same time, it's great when a spectacular, unexpected talent on the order of a Susan Boyle comes out and just blows everybody away... but those moments are extremely rare.

I'm often quick to remind people: these are not talent contests -- they're TV shows... meaning it's all very, very controlled and pre-determined in many ways. Do a search on the net and you'll see a variety of exposes on how these shows really work. There's a lot of skulduggery going on.

If I live long enough to finish my current model and also get into a third installment, that one will show a character of mine going through what I call "American Voice," a fictitious TV show where the kid gets pretty far up in the ranks before some dramatic developments happen. Being a fairly obsessive student of pop culture for the last 40-odd years, I'm fascinated with celebrity, particularly with singers and groups whose careers rise and fall. My take is that the really smart ones are those who understand that you're lucky to have 2 or 3 years as a successful pop singer, and then it basically comes to an end and you're coasting from then on, playing revival concerts, state fairs, and smaller venues. I have some plans on what would happen with my character... but I'll keep those on hold for now.

[dude]

I think it’s pretty obvious that the very reason that Howard was chosen to be a judge was that he'd eventually tramp on some poor young person with a dream. Controversy equals ratings.

Like the Pec - who knows the insides and outs of commercial television first hand – I believe the audience is definitely being manipulated.

That said, Howard is guilty of the same thing on his own radio program... the Shock Jock' wouldn't be nearly as popular with the hoi polloi if he didn't say and do controversial and outrageous things. I am told by friends at SiriuxXM, where he has a ‘day job,’ that he’s a pretty decent fellow ‘off air.’

That's why I eschew commercial television (and radio for that matter) totally and get my news from NPR, as well as BBC and the like on Public Television.

I feel sorry for the little kid to a degree... but James is right, too. Any kid who can be diverted from such a destructive path as a career in 'rap' at such a young age is well served, provided he gets a good education and makes something of his life.

[Cole Parker]

Pec, you should know me well enough to realize I wrote that about being the meanest man in American very much tongue in cheek. He did what he thought he was supposed to do, then afterwards realized the effect it had on a young ego, and was genuinely appalled.

No, the problem here was the kid's handlers, putting him in a situation over which he had no control where the outcome was likely to be what it ended up being, even if it had been handled more sensitively by Howard and the rest.

If the show's director had set this up in advance with the judges, he should be replaced. He created an ugly incident, not a funny or engaging one.

C

[The Pecman]

No, the problem here was the kid's handlers, putting him in a situation over which he had no control where the outcome was likely to be what it ended up being, even if it had been handled more sensitively by Howard and the rest.

Well, remember you're seeing the edited down version of what actually happened in real life, just a 2-minute distillation of a 15-minute event. On his radio show, Howard has said many times, "I can't understand the psychology behind parents who would willfully tell their kids, 'oh yeah, you're incredibly talented,' and then push them to be on a national TV show to be made fun of."

You're the guy who started it by saying that Howard Stern was "the meanest man in America." My take is that you would have a very different impression if you actually listened to his show. I think Howard himself is manipulative, calculated, and puts on a very over-the-top act, and yet he also knows where to draw the line. It's beyond just an act, but at least he knows where to stop and backtrack and actually admit on the air, "OK, maybe I was just being a little too outrageous," which he admits much more today than he did 10-15 years ago. There are reasons I don't always like Stern, but those lie more around the deception that goes on during his show, not his outrageousness.

I think it is pretty cruel to push a 7-year-old kid into a show like this. Although... America's Got Talent did have a 12-year-old girl who actually went pretty far in the competition and was championed by Howard on many occasions. Watch the segments where Howard gets out of his chair and gives contestants standing ovations, praising them to the heights. He's just as capable of compliments as he is wise-ass remarks, and (as he himself has often pointed out) is the only actual American judge on America's Got Talent. (There's a Canadian, a Scot, and a German on the show with him at the moment.)

What is funny is when a moment of reality accidentally spills out on the show. On the episode following the one where the little kid burst into tears, Howard said, "man, I really had to re-think the reasons why I'm doing this show in the first place. That experience yesterday really shook me to the core." And Howie Mandel immediately shot back, "I can think of 15 million reasons why you're doing the show, Howard" (referring to Stern's $15 million salary).

[Cole Parker]

Pec, I'll say it again: my remark that he was the meanest man in America wasn't meant seriously. He showed real emotions after the fact. That wasn't acting. That was real. I didn't see the others doing what he did. Before this, I had nothing to say about him, good or bad, but the overall outcome of this, in my mind, is that he's a decent human being with a heart where it belongs.

C

[The Pecman]

Pec, I'll say it again: my remark that he was the meanest man in America wasn't meant seriously. He showed real emotions after the fact. That wasn't acting. That was real. I didn't see the others doing what he did. Before this, I had nothing to say about him, good or bad, but the overall outcome of this, in my mind, is that he's a decent human being with a heart where it belongs.

I went back and re-read your original paragraph, and didn't get that impression. The wording could have been clearer.

Mike above has the right impression: Howard does an act pretending to be a difficult, "shocking" character on the radio, but the truth is whenever anybody calls him on it, he immediately crumbles and backs down. He's a pussycat. I've been a longtime listener, and I have a problem with quite a bit of what he says, but having done radio before, I admire the fact that he can create compelling talk radio for four hours a day.

One thing I have praised him for for years: he's been for gay rights and gay marriage for at least 10-15 years, long before it was popular, and also stopped using the word "fag" a decade ago, when it was pointed out to him that this was almost the gay version of the "N" word. So again, Howard has his limits.

I object to some of the phoniness with Howard -- particularly when you consider he makes almost $100 million a year and yet pretends to understand and identify with the common man -- but his work is undeniably entertaining... some of the time.

[Cole Parker]

I went back and re-read your original paragraph, and didn't get that impression. The wording could have been clearer.

Well, as the point of what I wrote was to be both humorous and to pull your chain just a little bit, I think it was exactly what I wanted. I just didn't expect this degree of defensiveness from you! If I'd been clearer, the whole purpose would have evaporated.

C

[The Pecman]

Well, as the point of what I wrote was to be both humorous and to pull your chain just a little bit, I think it was exactly what I wanted. I just didn't expect this degree of defensiveness from you! If I'd been clearer, the whole purpose would have evaporated.

I'm so dense, sometimes I take people at their word, especially when it's without the benefit of obvious spoof or a smiley. This is a problem when staring at ASCII text on a screen, minus the raised eyebrow or tone of voice you'd have in real life.