Howard Stern

I was going to try to keep the next several posts in the holiday mood, but when I heard last night that Howard Stern has been selected as a judge on “America’s Got Talent” I had to go off track.

I have never listened to Howard Stern. My kids did where they were in High School many years ago and back then I was a successful news anchor in New York and Stern would occasionally say on the air that he wondered if I did some obnoxious thing to my female co-anchor at the time.

At the time a lot of kids in their teenage years would listen to Howard on the radio and then chide my kids about his remarks. I choose to ignore it and so did my kids for the most part, but it was still there, lingering in their minds. Stern was a shock jock and teenagers love that stuff.

Go ahead several years and I was working at a different television station and Howard was taping in new television show at that station. We would see each other in the cafeteria and occasionally have a brief conversation.

At that time he would say on his show, “ I don’t think Rolland likes me” and he would continue with some crude remark.

It’s not true that I did not like Howard. It is true that I do not like what he says. I think it is prurient, scatogical and crude. It is not part of my nature and therefore in my likes.

But here’s my point. Based on his history and his penchant for the rude and crude is he even remotely qualified to judge talent?  I think not.

The producers of the television program have sunk to the lowest denominator purely for the sake of ratings.

My suggestion is to boycott the show.