Beth Ostrosky
Photo: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Howard Stern's fans know her as "the lovely Beth O," the object of Double A's affections and the svelte blond model who's been by the shock jock's side since 2000. But on October 3, Stern and Beth Ostrosky made it official, tying the knot after a 20-month engagement.

They had a quiet ceremony officiated by Mark Consuelos, the husband of "Live With Regis & Kelly" co-host Kelly Ripa, and held at the ritzy Le Cirque restaurant in Manhattan. The wedding was attended by 180 guests, including Joan Rivers, Chevy Chase, Rob Zombie, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, John Stamos, Barbara Walters and Donald Trump. During the evening, the Sterns were serenaded by 1970s songbird Phoebe Snow, who sang the wedding classic "You Send Me," and Billy Joel entertained guests with a rendition of "The Stranger" during the reception. Train's Patrick Monahan also performed before the night was through.

(Check out pictures of Sarah Silverman, Rob Zombie and more celeb guests at the wedding.)

"Chevy Chase doing an impromptu [and X-rated] speech was fun," Ostrosky told MTV News on Monday night outside the New York premiere of "Filth and Wisdom," a new film that marks Madonna's directorial debut. "Billy Joel serenading us was not planned, and my best friend got up and spoke. Jimmy Kimmel made a surprise speech at the altar as Mark Consuelos was officiating. It was so much fun."

The last few weeks have been especially busy for Mrs. Howard Stern, 36, who has been training for the upcoming New York City Marathon, set for November 2. Ostrosky, who is a vocal proponent of animal rights, is participating in the marathon to raise money for the North Shore Animal League. She hopes to raise more than $250,000 for her cause, which fans can support by visiting her Web site, GoBethO.org.

All the proceeds raised through Ostrosky's sponsorships will benefit the Animal League's mission to find permanent homes for more than 20,000 orphaned animals.

"Between getting married, the honeymoon and my marathon training, it's been crazy," she said. "I did my first 20-mile [run] on Saturday, and we moved. We've moved into a new apartment, so it's all at once."

How did Ostrosky keep up her training amid all the hectic wedding planning? "That, to me, is the top priority," she said of the marathon. "The getting-married part was easy. The planning was a little more difficult, but it was the training that took top priority."

• Howard Stern's Wedding Album

• Howard Stern
• Madonna
• Train
• Rob Zombie
• Billy Joel

Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky leaving Le Cirque after their wedding in New York Friday
Photo: James Devaney/ WireImage

As if further proof was needed that the man behind the tinted glasses and forest of curly hair is not the same off the air as he is on, Howard Stern's wedding on Friday to longtime girlfriend model Beth Ostrosky was shocking mostly for how tame it was. No strippers, no topless fire-eating midgets, no professional farters.

Among the 180 guests were such old-school media stars as Joan Rivers, Billy Joel, Chevy Chase, Barbara Walters and Donald Trump. The couple were serenaded by 1970s songbird Phoebe Snow, who sang the wedding classic "You Send Me," according to The Associated Press.

(Check out pictures of Sarah Silverman, Rob Zombie and more celeb guests at the wedding.)

The wedding took place at the ritzy Le Cirque restaurant in Manhattan, and the bride wore a traditional white chiffon gown for the ceremony, which was officiated by Kelly Ripa's husband, ordained minister/actor Mark Consuelos. Billy Joel sang "The Stranger" during the reception.

Stern had long said he would not wed Ostrosky for fear that making it official would ruin the couple's romance. The talk jock was married to his long-suffering first wife, Alison Berns, for 23 years — a romance he paid tribute to in his "Private Parts" movie.

"It's a nice feeling that we get along great," Stern, 54, explained in 2006 of his hesitation to get married again. "We're very happy, and I don't want to f--- it up."

Stern — who has had a decidedly lower profile since leaving traditional radio for satellite station Sirius in 2006 for $500 million — revealed to his listeners in February 2007 that he'd surprised Ostrosky, 36, with an engagement ring.

Among the other guests at the wedding, according to E! Online, were Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman, Adam Carolla, John Stamos and Stern's longtime co-hosts, Robin Quivers and Artie Lang. The reception also reportedly featured an X-rated toast from Chase.

• Howard Stern's Wedding Album

• Howard Stern

Beth Ostrosky and Howard Stern (file)
Photo: Mat Szwajkos/ Getty Images

When Howard Stern signed on to his satellite radio show Wednesday morning (February 14), he realized it wouldn't be long before the phone lines at Sirius were all lit up with fans and friends just waiting to ridicule him. And really, why shouldn't they?

Since the dissolution of the veteran shock jock's 20-year-long marriage to first wife Alison back in 2000, Stern has repeatedly vowed — with his entire audience as his witnesses — that he would never, ever tie the knot again. At times, he'd even deride his own pals and members of his staff in the wake of their own engagements, advising them against making the same terrible mistake he'd once made.

Well, it seems the 53-year-old King of All Media doesn't care about making the same mistake twice. Stern revealed Wednesday that he proposed to longtime girlfriend Beth Ostrosky the night before. Stern has been dating Ostrosky, a model 18 years his junior, since 2000; Ostrosky contributed a monthly advice column to the now-defunct FHM magazine and hosts "Filter" on the G4 network.

With his staff expressing their utter disbelief, Stern joked that he'd had Ostrosky's uterus excised to ensure the couple would not have children. "I see my married friends with children and it seems like absolute torture to me," said Stern, himself a father of three. Several callers to the show — along with sidekick Artie Lange — blasted Stern for his decision, which prompted the jock to call off the engagement on at least two occasions during the show's first hour.

"Do you want your Valentine's Day gift now?" Stern said this morning, recalling how he'd proposed to the woman known to fans as "Beth O." When the model told Stern she wanted her present early, he instructed her to strip down. Stern said she protested, insisting that she was too "fat" to disrobe. His first thought, he said, was "any girl who looks like that and thinks she's fat — I've got a chance with her."

When Ostrosky did get naked, Stern said he handed her a 5.2 carat diamond ring. "I love you. You're everything to me," Stern recalled saying. "This is so gay. ... I'm asking you to spend the rest of your life with me." Ostrosky said "Yes," and Stern said the couple made love immediately after; Ostrosky claims she had her "hand up and was looking at my ring the whole time" the two were in bed.

This will be Ostrosky's first marriage. When asked if the couple had set a date yet, Stern said the actual wedding was something they didn't want to even think about for now, and that his audience can expect an elongated engagement.

• Howard Stern

Howard Stern at the Howard Stern Film Festival on Thursday
Photo: Roger Kisby/ Getty Images

"Gabba gabba/ We accept you/ We accept you/ One of us." — The Ramones, "Pinhead"

NEW YORK — It's not every day that you see a crackhead walking the red carpet.

OK, on second thought, it's not every day that you see a professional crackhead walking the red carpet. But there was Crackhead Bob, flanked by Jeff the Drunk, High Pitch Eric, Gary the Retard, Elephant Boy and a gaggle of oddballs and curiosities as the Howard Stern Film Festival unfurled its banner for one night only in the heart of midtown Manhattan on Thursday. And at the center of it all, there was Howard Stern, beaming like a proud papa (or perhaps Dr. Moreau) as his self-styled "revolution" reached again into fresh terrain.

"We've had 3.5 million people make the jump to satellite so far," Stern said on the red carpet at New York's Hudson Theater. "What could be more gratifying than that?"

Undoubtedly, two dedicated satellite channels and your own on-demand television network feels kind of nice. Your very own film festival with an avalanche of listener-produced films (more than 2,200 in all, according to Stern) jockeying for a spot in the final nine probably provides a bit of validation too (or perhaps vindication for the often revenge-minded Stern).

It's fitting that Stern's affair took place as Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival unspooled just a few miles away in downtown Manhattan. There, Oscar winners and A-listers rubbed elbows while eagerly awaited films were screened for the first time. At Stern's fete, a man in a dingy clown suit shouted obscenities from the audience during lulls between films. "This is clearly the more prestigious event," Stern's largely silent sidekick Fred Norris quipped on the red carpet.

"The Tribeca Film Festival is over," Stern added. "People want access. The Tribeca Film Festival is too commercial. This is the one where the next great comedy directors will be discovered. This is good for New York, and it's good for the listeners. They get to come down here, participate, make creative films, and all the films are about me. What better topic is there?"

Others had a different take. "The main difference between this and the Tribeca Film Festival is that our films suck," barked Stern sidekick Artie Lange, who admitted that he prepped for his role as the night's MC by downing shots of whiskey at a nearby barbecue joint.

Lange, Norris and the rest of Stern's core crew (newswoman and sidekick Robin Quivers and long-suffering producer Gary "Bababooey" Dell'Abate) may not be Tribeca material, but they are royalty in the Stern universe. They inspire Web sites, tattoos and, on this night, short films. They also served as the evening's judges, combing through thousands of fan-produced entries to settle on the night's nine finalists.

For the final round, the group came dangerously close to upping its credibility by bringing in film critic Richard Roeper (of "Ebert & Roeper"), director Todd Phillips ("Old School," "Road Trip") and actor/comedian Richard Belzer ("Law & Order," "Homicide: Life on the Street") to round out the panel of judges.

	Looking for the newest, hottest trailers? Check out "Pulse," "The Heart of the Game," "Crossover" and more, on Overdrive.

But the night's real stars were the filmmakers, all longtime Stern fans finding inspiration in the embattled jock. The shorts (clocking in at less than five minutes, per contest rules) proved to be more polished and more diverse than most might have expected. It's not surprising that a few set new lows in gross-out humor (two men communicate only through flatulence, a man is murdered while masturbating, and a puppet exposes himself to a group of children), but others took their love of Stern into fresh territory.

Chris Pitchford's "Trapped in the Attic" found an obsessed fan forcing his victims to help out in Stern show re-enactments that would make Rupert Pupkin queasy, while Lee Vehe's "Stern's Revenge" shows the jock finally taking a bit of long-promised retribution against one of his radio rivals. Meanwhile, Matt Street went the documentary route with a riotous "Super Size Me"-like short in which he creates a female online persona and woos a Stern show cast member, only to reveal his manhood during a private webcam chat.

But after the parade of flatulence, masturbation and sodomy gags, it was perhaps the night's most shocking entry — a warm imagining of childhood versions of Howard, Fred and Robin meeting on the ham radio airwaves more than 40 years ago — that took the night's top prize. Director Scott Masterson's "Radio Play" managed to earn laughs, a few watery eyes and a standing ovation during its brief runtime. It also earned the aspiring filmmaker from Massachusetts more than $35,000 in cash and film gear.

Masterson won kudos from Roeper, Phillips and the entire panel of judges for his pacing, technical proficiency and masterful handling of the film's child actors, but it may have been his simple crystallization of all things Stern that earned him first place. This was not your average freak show — Stern events never are. The objects of curiosity and ridicule aren't separated from the audience; they are the audience. The freaks aren't just on the stage; they are all around us — hell, they are us. This is, of course, seemingly Stern's chief appeal.

In a way, we're all weirdoes, and no one knows that better than King Howard the Weird. As quick to self-flagellate as he is to self-congratulate, Stern is flawed, weak, neurotic, needy, scared, insecure and, most importantly, proud of it. He's an outsider who's managed to build a safe haven for his fellow social refugees where the mockery flows freely and evenly, all are included, and no one is spared.

It's that spirit that Masterson captured with his vision of an 8-year-old Stern sitting alone in his room, reaching out across the empty airwaves and finding two other awkward souls to join him for a little while. Of course, Howard's grown since then (as has his audience), but he remains ever the outcast — one of us, it seems.

Check out movies.MTV.com for Hollywood news, photos, reviews, interviews and more.

Want trailers? Visit Movies on MTV Overdrive for the newest, scariest and funniest coming attractions anywhere.

• Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, More At In Demand's Howard Stern Film Festival

• Howard Stern

Howard Stern
Photo: Getty Images

The early results are in, and a good number of former Howard Stern listeners appear to have jumped to other pursuits in the morning. Based on preliminary numbers released by Arbitron for winter 2006 (November 2005-January 2006), stations featuring Stern's successors — David Lee Roth, Adam Carolla and Rover — have suffered serious drops in listenership.

According to an analysis of the numbers released Monday by trade magazine Radio & Records, New York's WFNY (92.3 Free FM) earned a 3.2 share (a share is the percentage of listeners tuning in to a broadcast in relation to all the people tuned in to that city's radio stations at that time) in November and 3.7 in December during Stern's final months. By January, Roth's first full month, the share had dipped by nearly two-thirds, according to Arbitron. Those numbers ranked the station at #18 in the nation's biggest radio market, compared to Stern's #1 slot in November and December. In other words, Roth attracted an estimated 63,000 listeners per quarter hour in January, versus Stern's 277,000 in December.

The news wasn't much better for Los Angeles' KLSX (97.1 Free FM), where Carolla's show attracted a dismal 0.7 share in January, making KLSX the lowest-rated full-signal commercial FM station in the market during morning-drive time for the month, according to R&R. Even at his lowest finish, in March 2005, Stern's old show got a 2.9 share. Radio ratings are typically based on a three-month cycle, so the early Arbitron numbers are not necessarily indicative of the final ratings the shows will have.

While Roth's show got off to a bumpy start and was heavily panned in the New York press, experts have praised Carolla as having the most significant chance of drawing in Stern's former audience due to his experience in radio and similar sensibility (see "Stern On Satellite: As Fans Scramble For Equipment, We Rate The Winners And Losers"). The same can't be said for former Cleveland morning-show host Rover, whose program on a handful of former Stern stations in the Midwest has suffered even greater declines, according to R&R.

Rover's results in Chicago are practically off the chart. His WCKG (105.9 Free FM) show received a 0.4 rating in January and just a 0.2 in the 25-54 age range.

CBS Radio executives have said all along that they don't envision any quick fix for replacing Stern and that they are committed to the Free FM format and the patchwork quilt of hosts they've hired to take over the shock jock's former slots (see "David Lee Roth Replacing Howard Stern On Morning Radio").

In the weeks after the debut of Roth, Carolla and Rover, Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio) President of Programming Rob Barnett said it could take up to 18 months for the new hosts to find their footing. "One programmer said to me if the Lord had replaced Howard Stern, the first 24 hours would produce nothing but negative comments," Barnett joked at the time, saying the company plans to stick with the shows as they develop an audience.

"It's far too soon to draw any permanent conclusions based on these preliminary numbers," CBS Radio spokesperson Karen Mateo said. "We continue to have a long-range outlook for the Free FM stations and expect it to take anywhere between 12 to 24 months to see how it all plays out." Mateo added that the network has no current plans to add or subtract shows from the lineup.

The Arbitron ratings from R&R are unofficial monthly "extrapolations," with the official numbers expected next month. Stern began his new show on Sirius satellite radio in January, and due to the subscriber-based nature of the satellite business, pure ratings are not available. The company did report, however, that its subscriber base ballooned from around 600,000 on the day the Stern deal was announced in October 2004 to more than 3 million as of January 5, with more than 1.1 million signing on in the fourth quarter of 2005 alone.

• Howard Stern

Howard Stern speaks to reporters on Wednesday
Photo: CBS News

Howard Stern's risqué radio rhetoric will be broadcast to listeners across the country — uncensored — via satellite radio beginning in January 2006.

The shock jock announced on Wednesday (October 6) that he has signed a five-year agreement to broadcast his show on the commercial-free Sirius Satellite Radio network.

"It has been my dream to have the top-rated show in radio since I was five years old," Stern said. "Sirius — the future of radio — will take this dream to a whole new level as I bring my fans my show, my way. It will be the best radio they will ever hear."

Stern is the #1 national radio host among males ages 18-49 and ranks #1 in many of the 46 major networks where his show is currently broadcast, including the key markets of New York and Los Angeles. Stern's morning show is currently broadcast by Infinity Broadcasting, a unit of Viacom; Viacom also owns MTV.

In the past year, Stern, whose show has consistently tested the boundaries of what the Federal Communications Commission deems acceptable content, has been a prime target in the FCC's investigation into broadcast indecency (see "Howard Stern Broadcast Costs Clear Channel Nearly $500,000"). The move to satellite radio — which, like cable television, is largely unregulated — will mean that his show can hit the airwaves uncensored.

"Signing Howard Stern is, without a doubt, the most exciting and transformational event in the history of radio," Sirius CEO Joseph P. Clayton said. "He is an entertainment force of unprecedented recognition and popularity in the broadcast world, who is capable of changing the face of satellite radio and generating huge numbers of subscribers for Sirius."

Sirius has said it would need to add 1 million subscribers to cover the cost of the five-year deal.

"When you look at his enormous existing fan base," Clayton said, "all we need is for Howard to bring in a small fraction of his weekly audience for this agreement to pay for itself."

When Stern begins his contract with Sirius on January 1, 2006, his program will be broadcast in every market across the country.

• Howard Stern

Howard Stern (file)
Photo: CBS News

The Federal Communications Commission lobbed another volley in its war against Howard Stern on Thursday, levying almost half a million dollars in forfeitures against Clear Channel Communications for broadcasting allegedly "indecent" material from Stern's syndicated daily radio show on its stations.

The FCC hit Clear Channel with $495,000 in proposed forfeitures for content broadcast in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Cocoa Beach, Florida; Louisville, Kentucky; Honeoye Falls, New York; San Diego; and Pittsburgh.

In its ruling, the FCC said it determined that material that aired as part of Stern's April 9, 2003, broadcast included "repeated, graphic and explicit sexual descriptions that were pandering, titillating or used to shock the audience."

A listener in Ft. Lauderdale complained about the show, and although the complaint only involved that station, the commission determined there were three indecency violations during the program. Clear Channel was penalized for all six of its stations that aired the show, for a total of 18 citations.

Thursday's move prompted Clear Channel to permanently pull the plug on Stern's show. Earlier this year, the broadcaster had shelved Stern's show in the six markets where Clear Channel was carrying it, calling it a suspension that would last until Stern cleaned up his act.

"Mr. Stern's show has created a great liability for us and other broadcasters who air it," said John Hogan, president and CEO of Clear Channel Radio, in a statement issued Thursday. "The Congress and the FCC are even beginning to look at revoking station licenses. That's a risk we're just not willing to take," Hogan said.

"We had hoped to return Mr. Stern's show to the air free from indecent content [after the suspension]," the statement continued. "Unfortunately, the FCC's latest action, combined with deafening silence from the Stern show on their future plans to comply with the law, leave us no choice but to abandon the program for good."

Stern's show is carried in more than 30 markets around the country. The total penalty represents the maximum $27,500 fine for each of 18 separate violations.

"For the first time, the commission assesses a fine against more than a single utterance, rather than counting an entire program as one utterance," FCC Chairman Michael Copps said in a statement announcing the ruling.

In a statement published on his Web site, Howard Stern said, "This is not a surprise. This is a follow-up to the McCarthy-type 'witch hunt' of the administration and the activities of this group of presidential appointees in the FCC, led by 'Colin Powell Jr.' and his band of players. It is pretty shocking that governmental interference into our rights and free speech takes place in the U.S. It's hard to reconcile this with the 'land of the free' and the 'home of the brave.' "

Technically not a fine, an FCC "proposed forfeiture" asks a company to forfeit money for violating FCC regulations. A company has 30 days to challenge a proposed forfeiture, and if the company fails to act within that period of time, the FCC enlists the aid of the Justice Department to collect the requested funds.

The latest penalty comes on the heels of a ruling last month in which the FCC hit Infinity Broadcasting, which produces Stern's show, with a forfeiture of $27,500 (see "FCC Reverses Ruling On Bono Profanity, Hits Howard Stern With Maximum Penalty"). MTV's parent company, Viacom, also owns Infinity.

Thursday's ruling is just the latest exchange in Stern's ongoing battle with both the FCC and President George W. Bush's administration. Stern claims the FCC has never set clear guidelines for determining what is offensive, and he accuses Bush of "pushing the agenda of the religious right" (see "Does Howard Stern Have More Political Muscle Than Ralph Nader?"). The FCC states that it uses "contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium" in determining what is offensive.

The FCC ruling comes as Congress weighs legislation that would increase the maximum penalty for indecency violations from $27,500 to $500,000 per incident.

This story was updated on 04.09.2004 at 11:25 a.m. ET

• Howard Stern

Howard Stern supporters gather in Los Angeles
Photo: MTV News

LOS ANGELES — It might have looked like a typical protest rally if not for the legion of men in long curly wigs and circular sunglasses.

Hundreds of Howard Stern listeners and free-speech supporters gathered in front of the Federal Building on Friday (March 19) to protest the Federal Communications Commission's indecency crackdown and support the shock jock's radio assault on President George W. Bush.

More than 500 demonstrators held signs and chanted "Free Howard." Hours earlier, Stern had been fined $27,500 by the FCC for a July 2001 broadcast deemed "lewd" (see ).

Stern, who has supported Bush in the past, is blaming the fine's timing on his recent verbal onslaughts criticizing Bush for his stand on such issues as same-sex marriage (see ).

"We're here to support Howard because what's going on with the FCC is completely wrong," said Gary Garver, a correspondent for "The Howard Stern Show" and Los Angeles' 97.1 KLSX-FM, who organized the protest. "Howard has a real intelligent audience. It's not just derelicts and kids. They know what's going on. And look around, it's an eclectic crowd."

Eclectic indeed. Stern advocates of various sexes, races and ages — from toddlers to elders — were lined along Wilshire Boulevard on Friday, listening to Stern's show on small radios and encouraging drivers-by to honk in support.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jay Leno impersonators joined the Stern look-alikes. There was a man in Kiss makeup and a dog covered in "Free Speech" stickers. A group of entrepreneurs sold T-shirts bearing the slogan "Got Freedom of Speech?" and Stern's mug on a milk carton.

The equally diverse picket signs ranged from "Freedom of Speech," "F the FCC" and "Howard Is a Hero" to paragraphs comparing Janet Jackson's boob to "the boob running the White House."

An older man held two signs, one completely blank. "I had the cure for AIDS on my other sign, but George Bush stifled me," read the other.

A woman named Socorro picketed on a high-traffic corner while her two daughters looked on from their stroller.

"I'm here with my kids because I want them to know we were out here trying, that we did our part to protest," she said. "I don't think it's going to stop with Howard Stern. He's just a stepping-stone. Next thing you know, we're going to have to listen to what they consider right. They're nobody to tell me who I can and can't listen to."

Socorro was one of several protesters attacking Bush, whom Stern has accused of "pushing the agenda of the religious right."

"Bush went to Iraq to protect those people from having their country run by religion, and now he's doing that to us," she said. "We're being run by his religion. Whether or not I agree with his religion is not the point. We're not a country run by religion."

As Rock the Vote workers registered voters, numerous Stern supporters said they planned to go to the polls against Bush.

"There's a lot of people out there, including myself, who probably wouldn't vote," said Garver, who has worked for Stern's show for 12 years. "But now — guess what? — we're all gonna be voting. There's going to be a snowball effect. It's only March. Come November, watch out."

Tanya Volz, a 20-something Republican from Orange County, said she's considering voting Democrat in the election.

"The separation of church and state is really important, and the fact that Bush is bringing so much church into the government is ridiculous," she said. "We need to get out and vote and save our First Amendment."

"It's getting pretty scary," added college-age Jeff Oderlin. "There's a religiously oppressive government trying to impose their morals on us through the FCC. I'm ready to fight as long as I need to."

Rachel Godfrey, who took the day off from work to join the protest, shared her solution to the FCC's decency outcry.

"I'm a longtime listener, and I admit Stern pushes the envelope," she said. "But like my mom said, I can turn the dial. What I find indecent are these Christian stations talking about the devil and how I'm going to hell."

Congress is weighing legislation that would up the maximum penalty for indecency violations from $27,500 to $500,000 per incident.

• Howard Stern

Howard Stern (file)
Photo: CBS News

As the race for the White House gathers steam, there's a segment of voters suddenly drawing more attention than soccer moms or NASCAR dads: Howard Stern fans.

"[The Howard Stern vote] will have more of an effect than the Nader vote," said Matthew Felling, media director for the Center for Media and Public Affairs.

In recent weeks, the syndicated radio icon has launched an all-out assault on President George W. Bush, calling on his loyal audience of millions to vote Bush out of office in November.

Stern, who had applauded Bush for his decision to launch military action in Afghanistan and Iraq, began criticizing the president several weeks ago for the controversy surrounding his National Guard duty and his opposition to gay marriage and stem-cell research.

The jock's criticism intensified when the Federal Communications Commission placed Stern at the center of its investigation into broadcast indecency. (Coincidentally, Stern was last fined by the FCC in December 1992, when Bush's father, George Herbert Walker Bush, was in the final days of his presidency.)

The jock then became irate when late last month radio giant Clear Channel Communications dropped his show from its six stations that had carried the program, citing a self-imposed crackdown on indecent material. Stern argued that Clear Channel's move was motivated not by indecent content, but by his anti-Bush statements. Clear Channel chairman and CEO Lowry Mays and his family have made significant financial contributions to Bush's campaigns dating back to his days as governor of Texas.

Following those moves, Stern has cranked up the volume, claiming that the FCC investigation is another example of Bush "pushing the agenda of the religious right" and telling his audience, "Payback is a bitch. Everyone who loves this show should vote Bush out of office."

The usual Stern parade of freaks, oddballs, and wannabe Playboy Playmates has dried up over the past four weeks as Stern devotes increasing amounts of his airtime to what he has called his "radio jihad." At his kindest Stern has called Bush a "religious nut" and a "Jesus freak," and at his worst he has likened Bush's administration to the Taliban.

"There's only one thing you can do," said Stern. "Remember me in November when you're in the voting booth. I'm asking you to do me one favor. Vote against Bush. That's it."

The radio personality has even taken the fight to his Web site, which previously contained only a solitary photo but now includes a "required reading" list of articles about the indecency crackdown and columns in support of Stern.

Some dismiss Stern's statements as whining or a ratings stunt, but he insists his motives are genuine. And while that may be debatable, his impact can't be denied. The jock's daily morning show is syndicated to more than 30 markets, and a reported 8 million listeners tune in each week (reps for Stern and his show would not confirm the size of his audience). Most of those listeners are white males, a voting segment that recent polls show is cooling on President Bush.

"For these guys, the issues haven't been framed in a way that makes sense to them," Felling said. "If he asks his listeners to go out on election day, they will go. These guys are highly suggestible. They'll strip for a 12-pack of Powerade."

There's no doubt that Stern's audience is dedicated, and the controversial jock has proven his clout in the past. Both New York Governor George Pataki and former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman got a boost in their campaigns thanks to Stern's support.

This time out, he's found supporters in Congress, including Democratic Representative Gary Ackerman of New York, who weighed in on the House floor, saying, "The issue is that he is beginning to speak out against the president and the administration, and he is paying the price because of the pressure on the media by the president and his media cronies."

So far, however, the Bush camp — at least publicly — isn't making much of Stern's attacks. The Republican National Committee would not comment when contacted by MTV News.

The Bush campaign may not be paying much mind, but Stern's loyal army of followers seem to be getting the point. Each day, another wave of listeners calls in to his live broadcast to announce that they are rethinking their position on the president.

It's the same type of voter sway that has many Democrats concerned about Ralph Nader's effect on the upcoming election. In 2000, some Democrats believe, Nader pulled enough votes from nominee Al Gore to swing the election in favor of Bush. This time around, many Kerry supporters have tried to negate the Nader effect, and Felling of the Center for Media and Public Affairs said Bush supporters might want to take a similar tack with Stern.

"They're going to have to start a 'stop the Howard vote' [initiative]," Felling said.

It remains to be seen, however, if fans will still be tuned in to Howard's message when the polls open in November. Stern has vowed to carry his fight until voters hit the polls this fall, if he can hold on to his platform until then.

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that would increase fines for perceived indecent material to as much as $500,000 (up from $27,500) and would broaden the targets of those fines to include not only broadcasters but on-air talent as well. Stern has said he will quit his show should the bill become law.

For more political news, insight into the 2004 presidential election and information on registering to vote, check out Choose or Lose.

• Howard Stern

Four years ago this week, Alanis Morissette was receiving some uninvited attention from morning radio kingpin Howard Stern.

The infamous talk show host was miffed that Morissette declined to appear on his syndicated program during her tour's two-night stopover in New York, where Stern's show originates from K-Rock, WXRK-FM. Stern took his displeasure straight to K-Rock program director Steve Kingston, calling Kingston at home to demand, on-air, that the station stop playing Morissette's music until she paid him a visit.

Kingston agreed to comply with Stern's wishes, calling Stern "a very vocal and passionate" Morissette fan. The Morissette camp meanwhile had no comment on the situation.

The incident mirrored a similar move Stern made a year earlier, when the shock jock had the Goo Goo Dolls removed from the influential station's playlist until the band agreed to perform on his show. When the group did, Stern and other members of his show danced around the Goo Goo Dolls in thongs.

Down South, Usher had just returned home to Atlanta after wrapping up a role in the feature film "Light It Up" with Sara Gilbert and Vanessa Williams. But the R&B crooner's time off would be short, because he had to fly out to Los Angeles a week later to reprise his role on Brandy's UPN sitcom, "Moesha."

In between upcoming live gigs, including a visit to South Africa, Usher also planned to sponsor a talent search in Atlanta as part of his fan appreciation conference. He said he was starting a music and film production company and that he hoped to sign some of the aspiring acts he discovers.

That is, if he could figure out what he wanted to delve into first. "I'm losing my mind here," he said. "I just bought a house in Atlanta, Georgia. I couldn't decide whether to put an editing studio into it, because I want to get over into films and directing eventually, but I also have a [recording] studio downstairs, so I don't know."

Proto-metal outfit Sevendust don't have their own studio, but four years ago they were booking some time at one to work on the follow-up to their 1997 self-titled debut.

Toby Wright, who co-produced Korn's Follow the Leader, was due to join them at Boston's Longview Studios, along with Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French, who produced Sevendust's first LP. After laying down tracks in Boston, the band planned on heading to New York to mix the album with Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine).

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• Alanis Morissette
• Usher
• Sevendust
• Howard Stern

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