Much of the incredible amount of exposure surrounding Howard Stern's move to Sirius hasn't just been the fact that he's on uncensored radio - it's how much they paid him to make the move. And the media obsession hasn't ended even two year later...

Forbes recently released it's Biggest Celebrity Paydays Of 2007, and Howard Stern (who topped last year’s list) comes in at Number 3.

Stern earned the honorable position (ahead of Jay-Z and Oscar De La Hoya) thanks to a stock bonus valued at $82 million. The reason? Helping Sirius boost subscription numbers for a second year in a row.

[Forbes]

Fred Norris of "The Howard Stern Show" recently did an interview with Suburbarazzi on a smattering of topics. Nothing earth shattering was revealed, but it's a fun read for fans.

Among the items discussed, Fred gives his view of whether or not Howard would re-sign his contract with Sirius:

"Three years from now is three years from now. You know what? I think he was thinking he was going to leave radio before he went to satellite. He could be a man of his word this time and walk away at the top, but I think he’d be sitting at home for six months and maybe wondering, ‘Hmm, maybe I could just do this show like once a week,’ and before you know it, who knows? We’ll see. The future remains to be seen."

Hey here's a thought: in three years, if in fact we'll be able to get Internet Radio in the car, what's to stop Stern from starting up his own "Howard Radio" stream?

[Suburbarazzi]

Just a quick reminder that Act I of "The History of Howard Stern" kicks off tomorrow, December 17th at 6am on both Howard 100 and Howard 101.

Above is a poster Sirius created for the special. They also launched an interactive website featuring rare audio from Howard’s vault and a timeline of Act I.

There's an interesting article on Gay.com that's been getting some exposure about Howard Stern's impact on the gay community.

It might strike many as a surprise, but the viewpoint isn't that Howard is exploitive or demeaning to gays, but rather has had many positive effects on the gay community at large. The 4,500+ word tome by Jenny Stewart, entertainment editor at Gay.com, talks about how he managed to change the perceptions of lesbians, as well as for gay men.

"Many lesbians can't stand Howard, who in the early '90s focused much of his air time to 'Lesbian Dial a Date' and other questionable antics, and thus began his obsession with gay women. Some were enraged that they were being sexualized by Howard Stern, but I for one liked the idea that Howard was making lesbianism appear glamorous -- I could identify much more with that than the mainstream American image of lesbians as being man-haters who loathed sex and lumbered around in bad haircuts. Did he exploit the idea of the sexy lesbian? Sure -- but like it or not, he was also changing perceptions."

She goes on to talk about how Howard not only has had an effect on the lesbian community, but also on the gay male community as well. Of the several examples, she talks about the hiring of openly gay actor George Takei (who's one of my favorite personalities on the show).

"The result? A cultural demystification of gay life that's having a measurable, meaningful effect on a national audience otherwise completely isolated from gay America."

Oh sure, the writeup is a little gushing (the author admittedly is a Stern fan for 20 years). But it's an interesting take on a show that traditionally has been viewed as bigoted and obscene, all the while being "one of the most pro-gay media personalities in the country."

[Gay.com, via Jossip]

We learned about this last month when Howard was featured in an AP story, but now Sirius has released more details on the upcoming "History of Howard Stern" special.

Set to debut on December 17th at 6am ET on Howard 100 and 6am PT on Howard 101, the epic series will air through December 21st.

Act I, entitled "The Early Years," spans Howard's birth through his days at WNNNNBC Radio in NYC. Act I will debut in five separate original parts, with one installment airing each day that week and replaying continuously all day and night.

"The History of Howard Stern" features a vast array of rare, never- before heard audio footage from Howard's personal vault plus interviews and commentary from Howard, Stern Show staff, friends, family, and former colleagues. Celebrities will also partake in the enjoyment, including a rare interview with legendary late night host, David Letterman. Other entertainers and Howard fans who contributed interviews include Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, Jimmy Kimmel, Joe Walsh, Dee Snider, David Brenner and more.

"It's a complete retrospective of stuff you've never heard -- every piece of history of this show," said Stern. "'The History of Howard Stern' is an incredible listening experience. It's the kind of radio that competes with television and that you'd never hear on terrestrial radio."

Act II will pick up as Howard begins his legendary run at K-ROCK.

Encore broadcasts of Act I of "The History of Howard Stern" will air multiple times, including the weekends of December 22nd-23rd and December 29th-30th on Howard 100.

Check out the History of Howard Stern for more info (which includes a pretty cool interactive timeline).