Talkers Magazine every year comes out the with their "Heavy Hundred" list of talk radio hosts, and two of satellite radio most listened to talkers are in the top 20.

Last year Howard was #1 (even from "outer space") and this year he dropped down to #12 - a point that David Hinckley found to be very important. Still, Talkers refers to Stern as "the original hot talk superstar" and "the face of satellite talk entertainment."

Meanwhile Opie & Anthony have made the jump to #6 (I don't even think they were on the list last year). Talkers calls them the "leaders of the new generation of hot talk" and as "satellite pioneers now in national syndication."

Also of note, Neil Boortz ranked as #9, and Rusty Humphries placed #41. 

[Talkers Heavy Hundred 2007] 

Sirius is opening up the archives of The Howard Stern Show and showcasing the most memorable musical performances from the past 25 years.

Starting on Friday, February 16th at 3pm ET and running all weekend long, Howard 101 is airing performances from music's biggest names, with commentary from musicians who have stopped by the show, along with memories from Howard and his cohorts, plus bits from inside the studio and off-site parties and road shows.

You'll hear the in-studio performances by legends such as James Taylor, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, AC/DC, Jethro Tull, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, and Willie Nelson as well as classic performances by superstars like Dave Grohl, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows, and Stone Temple Pilots, among many others.

Recorded musical performances from 25 years of birthday shows, international shows and road shows will also air. Highlights include songs from Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie, Tom Jones, The Wallflowers, Sting and Bryan Adams.

And to add to the coolness, over the past 2 months interviews were conducted with artists (like Jon Bon Jovi, Dave Grohl, Steven Tyler, Rob Zombie, and Perry Farrell) to accompany their performances, and their commentary about their songs and experiences will also air.

Howard will also share which musicians and moments stood out to him from this remarkable collection. Robin, Fred, Gary, Artie, Scott the Engineer and Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling are just a few of The Howard Stern Show crew that will also reveal their favorite stories and memories.

There have been some truly great performances over the years, and this sounds like something that shouldn't be missed by any past or present Stern fan.

[Press Release]
Thanks Lee!

Related:

• A look at Stern's deal with Sirius
• Bubba The Love Sponge to air Friday mornings
• Howard Stern engaged to Beth O

There's a really nice piece on the financial blog Information Arbitrage about Howard Stern's deal with Sirius, and the full implications of it. What I really like about it is that the author takes us from Stern's early days at Infinity, through the signing of his Sirius contract, into to the present; and breaks down the financials in a very effective and clear way.

Interesting excerpt:

"Bottom line: all the chatter about Howard's big deal at Sirius ($100 million+ per year plus the $225 million of stock) is really not the point. The Sirius business model contains a massive amount of leverage that represents a virtuous cycle between subscriber growth and ad rates, and Howard is the engine to help the Company reach its inflection point and to begin generating gobs of cash. A few notable problems exist, however [...]"

Information Arbitrage goes on to discuss Sirius' dependency on Stern - despite Karmazin declaring that they're not - and even uses a post, and comments, from Orbitcast to back up his point. (Congrats to Pockpie and jkdillard1 for spearheading the debate. Despite some of the mindless banter in the comments here, many people do read them, and especially when intelligence is brought to the table.)

It's a long piece, but well worth the time to read and there's some pieces of info in there that you might find surprising.

[Information Arbitrage]
Thanks Robert!

Hey now! Last night Howard Stern popped the question to long-time girlfriend Beth Ostrosky, Stern announced the news this morning on his show.

The very naked Howard produced to (an also very naked) Beth O a 5.2 carat emerald-cut diamond ring, after which she said "yes" to his proposal. No wedding date has been set as of yet (we should prepare for a very long engagement). 

More details and discussion on Stern Fan Network here.

Congrats to both Howard and Beth! 

UPDATE: Check out a sketch of Beth O's ring, as rendered by the talented Lisa G. 

So says Forbes in their The Best-Paid Talking Heads feature. The $302 million payout for Stern of course includes stock, bonuses, and salary all lumped together in a big ball of cash.

That total figure beats out Oprah Winfrey's meager $225 million over the course of last year, which includes the money she made from her XM deal in 2006. Further down the totem poll is David Letterman, raking in $40 million, who still earns more than rival Jay Leno. Sadly, neither Letterman or Leno have anything to do with satellite radio.

24/7 Wall St. is quick to suggest that Stern's pay may not be worthwhile since Sirius earned $167 million in revenue last quarter, has an operating loss of $154 million and is still walking around with over $1 billion in debt. (Something tells me that 24/7 isn't very bullish on SIRI.)

There's no question in my mind that 2006 was a rocking year for Sirius, and Stern obviously deserves his due credit for contributing significantly to this feat. I'm just curious about the year ahead (and an earnings call might help).

We all know who the King of All Media is, but Howard Stern wants to make it official. So what better way than to trademark the term?

Last September, Howard applied for the trademark, and yesterday it was approved for publication. In about two months, the trademark for "King of All Media" will be published for opposition.

It ain't over yet, there's a long arduous road ahead in becoming the true and official "King of All Media." Thank goodness too, because we'd likely see "King of All Blacks." "the Limo Driver" and "the Stockbroker" all up for trademark as well.

[via Satellite Radio TechWorld]