Being an edgy , formula - break radio host is n’t what it used to be . For one thing , the young gentleman and women who used to revere cranky shock suspensor as gods are n’t as glued to their radio as they once were . In fact , they might not even have radios . fit in to a late Edison Media Research Infinite Dial study , one - third of people 18 - 34 class old have no AM / FM receiver in their home . It ’s rugged to blow out of the water multitude who ca n’t see you .
While democratic shock jocks subsist in market place across the country – likeErich " Mancow " Muller in ChicagoorThe Billy Madison Showin San Antonio– many of the genre ’s biggest stars now lurk behind the paywalls of orbiter radio ( Howard Stern ) or have their own remunerative podcast electronic web ( Adam Carolla ) . They do n’t father headlines like they used to . They are n’t changing the cultivation . They are n’t relevant .
need proof ? The most hotly debated radio receiver jounce - supporter controversies of the last year have all been tie to the past tense . In February , BuzzFeedunearthed recordingsof Republican presidential campaigner Donald J. Trump making a serial of degrading comment about cleaning lady onThe Howard Stern Show . Just last weekend , in the aftermath of theAccess Hollywoodscandal , CNNreleased audioof Trump on Stern ’s show back in 2006 when the mogul give the OK for Howard to call his girl Ivanka " a piece of ass . "
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So , what end the once - all - muscular reign of the radio shock jock ? I went looking for result , hoping to observe a renascent generation of young shock jocks ready to take over the airwaves . Instead , I found myself watch " how to get laid " horndog Tom Leykis huckster his " Pedal to the Metal " red wine-coloured from a stage in a college auditorium . in earnest , what the hell find ?
Portrait of a modern shock jock
Mike Calta bristle at the phrase " blow jock . " With his short black hair , carefully cropped whiskers , little earring , and non-white jean , the Tampa Bay radio personality pose out atthe TALKERS 2016 talk - radio conferenceat Hofstra University in Long Island . ( The group discussion occurred in May , and months later , the first presidential debate was held at the university . ) Attending an industry gathering where many of the older , suit - wear off meeter resemble Sean Hannity clon – and the actual non - clone Hannity stops by for a breakfast sports meeting - and - greet – Calta see like an cordial guy who might trade really cool Jet Skis . Or be a seismic disturbance jock .
" The worst terminus ever , " he jokes as we sit down at a table near the league ’s ample lunch buffet . " It ’s not cool if you call yourself a shock jock . It ’s not disgraceful . "
And he should screw : Calta got his start in radio back in the nimbus days of shock jock - dom , the other ' 90s , when private road - time radio set shows – often call " morning zoos " – were playpens for grown military man seem to make prank phone calls , hinder their less talented chum , and ogle ecdysiast in the studio . The public broadcasting waves were a foul oasis .
Mike Calta Show/YouTube
Mike Calta ’s first chore in radio came at a station call in The Power Pig . He began his broadcasting life history as an intern at Florida ’s WFLZ , and later became a producer for noted Tampa Bay wireless personality Bubba " The Love Sponge " Clem . He often lead by Cowhead , a sobriquet he had in eminent schooltime , but dropped the sobriquet in 2014 . In the other ' 00s , he left Bubba behind , briefly run in sport radio before getting his own dawn show . Along the way , he shape a het up contention with Bubba , which is documented in multiple YouTube videos where the two hurl insult at each other . These are some of Calta ’s most popular videos : An particularly brutal one from 2015 has over 96,000 views .
If you do n’t follow Florida radio contention , Calta ’s name might be familiar because he wasnamedin Hulk Hogan ’s lawsuit against Gawker Media , which pore around the publication of a sexual urge tape feature the professional wrestler and Clem ’s wife Heather . Other reasons you might know Calta : He question your favourite pro wrestler , you read about himgiving outConan O’Brien ’s publicist ’s earphone number , or maybe you got a tattoo of anNHL squad ’s logoin his studio apartment . He ’s a busy man .
Now , Calta is the host ofThe Mike Calta ShowonWHPT The Bone , where he takes calls from listeners , discusses the news of the day with his in - studio apartment cohorts , chats with touring comedians , interviews celebrity guest like Joe Buck and Ralph Macchio , and , in true shock absorber - jock custom , does the occasional stunt . For a ticket game show , Calta once collect an audience of about 150 people in the studio and tap tickets to a human beings ’s back , then had objector fritter away the valet de chambre with a blow - dart gun . If you hit newspaper and pierced some flesh , you got to go to the concert .
Mike Calta Show on CowheadTV.com/YouTube
" To be shocking these days , you have to kill somebody in the studio . "
" It ’s just funny to learn , " says Calta while describing the stunt . " All of a sudden , we ’ve struck line and it ’s like hitting vegetable oil . It ’s become exciting . Or you miss and you strike the wrong guy . Or you accidentally photograph your manufacturer – those things are fun . "
Calta understands that his show ca n’t duplicate the off - the - cuff profanity of a podcast like Marc Maron’sWTF . He gets it . comedian like Joe Rogan and Adam Carolla overtop magnanimous audiences and increasingly fickle , data - witting advertiser with their uncensored , freewheeling podcasts because they expand on the shock - jockstrap template : an obnoxious guy who is n’t afraid to tell it like it is . The more and more risk - averse , corporate - controlled terrain of commercial radio has struggled to compete . But like any radio old hand , he apprize the challenge .
Calta is keenly aware of the restrictions of radio . " To be shocking these twenty-four hour period , you have to kill somebody in the studio apartment , " he joke . " It ’s not that we get up every day and say , ' What can we do today that ’s so highly strung ? ' It ’s ' Let ’s do this like the regular guy would wanna do this . ' "
So why do we call them shock jocks anyway?
The phrase " shock supporter " is often used to trace two species of radio host : There ’s the comedic shock athletic supporter in the Howard Stern style , often found on an FM hard - rock ‘n’ roll station , and the political shock jock in the venous blood vessel of Rush Limbaugh , typically found on the AM telephone dial . Rush and Howard , as their fan call them , are the twin pillars of shock jockstrap - dom . The political shock jock still has corking power in this body politic ; the comedic shock jock is more often than not a punch line .
Nick Kroll’sThe DoucheonParks and Recreation , the radio workplace sitcomThe Jamzon Netflix , and comedian James Adomian ’s uproarious portrayal ofTom LeykisonComedy Bang Bangare only a few examples of how innovative comedians mock the shock jock . It seldom comes off as a loving tribute ; instead , it feels like caustic remark of a dying var. . They ’re lampooning a mutated break of day - zoo model that will , perhaps unfairly , always be tied to Stern , the ego - proclaimed " power of All Media . "
The Queens - born media ikon was the product of a specific epoch : heat up conversation about personal computer culture ruled the airwave , Federal Communications Commission fine were doled out like small smack on the articulatio radiocarpea , audience hunger provocative stunts , and if you aver the word " podcast " you ’d sound like a character out of a skill - fiction novel . It was a time when a radio receiver host could compose aNew York Timesbest - selling autobiography then move around it into a $ 41 million gross movie of the same name . ( It ’s calledPrivate Parts , and it ’s pretty good . )
But Stern did n’t emerge out of nowhere ; he was puzzle out in a fat , dirty blood . " There was always what was call ' blue humor ' and citizenry like Don Imus who were a little dirty , " says industry observer , TALKERS Magazinepublisher , and TALKERS 2016 conference ringleader Michael Harrison . " They were crowd the limits of what you could hear on the public airwaves . They were challenging the FCC . That was the winder to the whole thing : that it was on the ' consecrated public airwaves . ' "
Building on the work of truth - tellers like George Carlin and Lenny Bruce , Stern ’s cutting wit , frank sex talk , and willingness to " go there " earned him host of patriotic follower who haunt over the character orbiting the show like Stuttering John , Jeff the Vomit Guy , and Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf . But it all issue forth back to Stern . He was a phenomenon . With that succeeder came controversy , and with contention come the engine that force most seismic disturbance jocks : getting fired .
Stern ’s inclination to lose his business was cyclic . " I do n’t care that I ’m croak to be fired , " he say David Letterman during hisfirst of many appearancesonLate Night . " What ’ll happen is some other radio station will hire me and pay me a lot of money to say obscene thing and they ’ll get uptight about it and they ’ll dismiss me and some other radio station will … I ’m constantly getting fired . "
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That backstage dramatic play is not just a feature film of a good shock - jock show – it ’s part of the DNA . tenseness - fill sagas like Stern ’s played out across the country , with fines and lawsuit only adding to the mystique . In 1997 , San Francisco station KSOL - FM had to bear $ 500,000 in tolls as restitution for a stunt where emcee Erich " Mancow " Muller caused a dealings muddle on the Bay Bridge so a station employee could get a haircut in a van . Boston ’s Opie and Anthony got fired by WAAF in 1998 for an April Fool ’s gag that involved telling their audience Mayor Thomas Menino died in a railroad car accident . calendar month afterward they were back on the radio in New York . In 2002 , Bubba the Love Sponge was clear of animal cruelty charges after broadcast the on - air debacle of a angry boar . And those are just the famous hombre . ( Note : They ’re pretty much always cat . )
For a point , the fine and lawsuits were badges of dishonour , and more than anyone , Stern skilfully positioned himself as a spare - talking to sufferer in the public press , even make anapproving profilewritten by David Remnick inThe New Yorker . No mulct could stop him . " When Howard got fined it was cool because Howard had always got fined , " explain Calta . " He was the original shock athlete and he was the bad boy , and he got fined and fought it , and it was great . "
Sadly , thing did not stay great for farseeing .
Paramount Movies/YouTube
The big crackdown
" I can tell apart you that Janet Jackson was really the matter that fucked it up for everybody , " sound out Calta with a sigh . It ’s clear this is not his pet issue . " Once that whole titty - logic gate thing come out , the FCC started devote more tending . "
If electric shock athlete were dinosaurs in expensive shades , the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII was the giant nipple - work asteroid sent to put down them . Ninety million people watched Justin Timberlake tear off a piece of Janet Jackson ’s bustier , exposing a partly barren breast for less than a second as " Rock Your eubstance " play in the stadium . According to anESPN Magazinestory about the upshot , the FCC receive 540,000 indecency ailment about the incident .
Then headed by Michael Powell , the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell , the FCC stepped up its endeavor to fight back dirty word case , taking on a more marked and proactive persona in police the airwaves . For the Super Bowl mo , 20 Viacom - owned CBS station were fined a combine $ 550,000 . In 2006 , President George W. Bush sign the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act into police force , which lift the maximum punishment for broadcasting indecent material on wireless and television to $ 325,000 . This meant state of war .
" The communication channel are so hazy as far as what ’s acceptable and what ’s not by the FCC with the community criterion , " says Calta . " So you really do n’t know . Radio erred on the side of caution , which take the wind out of a lot people ’s canvas . "
Even before nipple - logic gate and the fallout , the era of the shock jock demo signs of winding down . In 2002 , Opie and Anthony curb their annual " Sex for Sam " contest , a promotion for Sam Adams beer that encouraged devotee to have sex in populace to earn point . A Virginia couple allegedly had sex in St. Patrick ’s Cathedral and earned 25 points for their trouble , but also got arrested . As a outcome of the controversy , the show disappeared until Opie and Anthony reemerged on uncensored artificial satellite radio set in 2004 . Two years ago , Anthony Cumia wasfiredby SiriusXM for a series of anti-Semite tweet he made , and now hostshis own podcast , while Opie remains on satellite radio . ( Mike Calta recentlyannouncedthat he will be co - hosting an afternoon show with Opie on SiriusXM in December . )
Opie and Anthony were n’t the only ones losing their jobs . In 2004 , Bubba the Love Sponge incur a $ 755,000 fine for , among other things , send sketches where celebrated cartoon characters discussed drug and sex . In the midst of the nipple - gate fallout , he was quickly dumped by Clear Channel . Around the same timeSlate ’s Bryan Curtisdescribed Sternas " a shock suspensor in winter . " Hounded by increasing FCC mulct , the " King of All Media " made his final terrestrial receiving set broadcast in 2005 and get down his own ongoing artificial satellite radio stint on January 9th , 2006 .
What change ? The cyberspace , mostly . Who could be shocked byFartmanwhen you may see ineffable sites on 4chan by simply opening your entanglement internet browser ? " The matter that has made ' shock jocks ' as a term entirely irrelevant and passé as a concept has been the pornography diligence , " say Michael Harrison . " There are truly unsportsmanlike and lurid things out there that make these guys look meek . "
What’s next?
The the true - state warrior rhetoric of the impact jock should sound familiar if you ’ve watch the news program recently . As theWashington Post ’s David Weigelpointed outin December of last year , the language of jolt athlete has been co - opted , streamlined , and some might say perfected by Donald Trump . Perhaps learning things during his infamous Stern appearances , the billionaire has taken the bad - boy shtick of wireless DJs out of disconsolate studios and inject it into mainstream political discourse . Harrison calls him " the first shock - politician . "
Despite vote for President Obama in the past , Calta is a Trump fan . He ’s not sure if a Trump presidency will chair to " blooming chaos " or not , but he ’s unforced to take the risk of infection because he likes that Trump speak his mind . " Everybody want to severalize the teacher to fuck off , " he tells me . " That ’s what Donald Trump ’s become . "
At theTALKERSconference , Calta is in good party . Though there are liberal voices present , many of the display I attend are prevail by the conversant voice of conservative lecture radio : loud , brash , and not excited about Hillary Clinton . However , there are fun non - partisan oddness . In the forenoon , New York sports talk - radio front man Mike Francesa gives a soliloquy from the microscope stage where he name - checks " mass medium is the content " cultural theorist Marshall McLuhan . Ex - SNLcast penis Joe Piscopo is there , though he does political talk now too , and many attendees require him to run for governor of New York . Then there ’s Tom Leykis , and his feeding bottle of wine .
The Late Show|NBC
The veteran West Coast shock supporter appears on a board with the title " Generating Revenue in the Digital Era . " About halfway through the word , the 60 - year - erstwhile Leykis pitch his vino , which he sustain aloft like a proud papa . " I ’m manufacturing my own products and selling them , " he says from the stage . " I made 125 vitrine of Santa Ynez Valley syrah , a top - character bottle of wine . " accord to Leykis , he made $ 35,000 in three Clarence Day .
Is that the futurity of the stupor jock ? Selling vino offyour websitefor $ 75 per bottle ? It ’s hard to say . Judging from the panel Calta was on called " The Millennials in the Media , " which ironically featured no speakers under 30 , the future of talking radio is not bugger off any untested . Though theme of radiocommunication ’s demise are greatly overdone – according to Nielsen , radio still reaches about 90 % of adult millennials – the anxiousness about the lack of new untried superstars , particularly in the non - music kingdom , is real .
Unsurprisingly , there were n’t many untried people at theTALKERSconference . During dejeuner I sit with a few Hofstra student attending the conference , but after I introduced myself as a reporter they started texting , then immediately leave behind the table . I must ’ve seemed like a cop . My guess is that none of those student will go on to be the next Tom Leykis or Howard Stern .
Frank Micelotta/Staff/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Despite the paucity of young electric shock jockstrap , Calta see hope for the hereafter in the case of raw , unfiltered comedy he enjoys . He thinks the most innovative material now bechance on YouTube in the missives of vloggers and pranksters likeRoman Atwood , a favorite of his Logos . " As far as the shock jock goes , you go from the guys who want to be Howard to the guys who want to beJackass , " he state . " Now you ’re looking at the bozo who want to match things they see on YouTube . "
I think he ’s right . The democratic star - making apparatus of YouTube , Vine , Snapchat , and Instagram makes the hierarchal power structure of talk radio look like the Middle Ages . It ’s not that the preferable guinea pig of stupor jockstrap have become irrelevant – swear words , slapstick violence , fart gag , and peeler are still democratic – it ’s that the tools of their trade , the medium they use , and the culture around them are switch so quickly . It ’s concentrated to keep up .
As I land up talking to Calta , the truth becomes a petty less murky : The electrical shock jock were n’t defeated . They went viral . Like a belching touch , they haunted wireless for decades , then move on to spread their smoke elsewhere . They walk among us : cry podcasters , angry Redditors , and eggs - avatar Twitter trolls . If you desire to know what chance to blow out of the water jocks , all you have to do is take a puff .
Yarsh29/YouTube
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Tom Leykis Wine|The New Normal
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