Howard called Jay an asshole.

I rarely listened to Howard Stern on terrestrial radio.  He was on too early.

But I check in on a regular basis on the satellite.  Because Howard’s on all day.  And he’s incredible.

Today Howard Stern weighed in on the Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien/NBC fiasco.  And he said what everybody was thinking, and furthermore injected insight only a fully-skilled comedian familiar with the territory could supply.

First, Howard raked Jay over the coals for constantly saying he didn’t need more money, that he was comfortable with whatever NBC was paying him.  Huh?  NBC’s making record dough on your show and you want to let the fat cats keep it all, and get no more for yourself?  No one would take that position.  That’s what Howard said, and he’s right.  Jay’s a phony.

As for Conan, who Howard professed to like, he really had no options, because his ratings sucked.

Howard put forth the fact that just before he jumped to 11:30, Craig Ferguson was beating Conan.  What did O’Brien think was going to happen an hour earlier, when he was up against Dave?  Why didn’t Conan keep his ten million dollars a year, stay at 12:30 and shut the fuck up?  Why get creamed and lose all your leverage?

Of course, Conan can now cite Jay’s lousy lead-in, but is this really the reason his ratings are anemic?

As for the complaint that Conan had to move his entire operation to the west coast, Howard went on to say that this was BUSINESS!

And in the TV business, ratings are king.  And Conan just doesn’t have them.  So his options are limited.

And would Fox really overpay a guy who’s already lost in the slot?

As for Jay only doing a half hour stint, Howard called bullshit.  The plan was to try and embarrass Conan to the point he quit.

I’ve followed this story closely.  For many reasons, the news leaks, the inane comments about giving Jay and Conan the weekend to think about it, and the abject failure by the supposedly infallible NBC brass.

At least they admitted their mistake, unlike the record labels, who are still chastising the public for stealing music.

But the straight press fell behind TMZ.  And all the esteemed analysts gave NBC’s pronouncements the weight of presidential orations, as if they involved state secrets.  Oops, Judith Miller gave Bush/Cheney the same pass.

If only the public could hear Howard.  People love when they get it straight, with no b.s.

Howard’s ridiculed by the mainstream…but isn’t he the real winner in radio?  Both ratings-wise and financially?  Maybe he truly is smart.

But he’s almost irrelevant.  Because he’s on satellite.  Proving the point, that distribution is king.

If Howard were still on terrestrial radio, he’d be part of this debate.  Now he’s a sideshow.  Speaking to his relatively small audience.  Look at it this way, when a big event like this happens, like Tiger Woods’ infidelity, even casual listeners gravitate to Stern, to get the straight dope.  Think of his pull in the past few months if he had a broad forum.

But he doesn’t.

He’s got the money, but no impact.  Because the distribution medium he chose has got a limited audience.

So don’t tell me how great you are.  If no one can hear you, it doesn’t matter.