The Opie & Anthony gag order (part 2)

April 5, 2000:

The genesis of the gag order that Howard Stern placed on Opie and Anthony when they both worked for Infinity Broadcasting. This is Howard's show the morning after Opie and Anthony ruined the surprise concert that Howard was to announce.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMBvtD26S7s

New York Post

Wednesday, July 12, 2000

HOWARD HAS HIS RADIO RIVALS GAGGED

By John Mainelli

Radio blabbermouth Howard Stern has gotten fellow shock jocks to do something totally out of character - shut up.

The entire staff of rowdy new talk station WNEW - FM (102.7) is banned from even uttering Howard's name - because Stern whined to top management and threatened to quit over "copycats" and "dirty tricks", The Post has learned.

WNEW is owned by Infinity Broadcasting, the same company that owns K-Rock (92.3), the flagship for Stern's wildly popular - and hugely profitable - syndicated wakeup show.

Stern's main beef is with Opie and Anthony, NEW's fast-rising, risque duo. He got especially angry in April, when Opie and Anthony blew the whistle on a much-touted "surprise" rock concert announcement Stern was to make the next morning.

Without naming names, a furious Stern delivered an on-air ultimatum (I offered my resignation") and protested to top bosses.

The gag order is strictly enforced by censors operating digital delay machines.

"We've all been told that nobody can mention other [company] shows, especially one of them," said Ron, of NEW's new night-side Ron and Fez team. "We can talk about Opie and Anthony, because they don't care and they won't panic.

But there's one especially that we can't talk about."

Callers, too, can't talk about Howard. Midday producer "Butchy" recently had to stifle Leslie "The Radio Chick" Gold when a caller tried to discuss Stern, warning that "the corporate suits" forbid it.

Howard also isn't talking about his rivals.

"They're dying to get some attention from me." Stern said on the air. "The imitators like to bash me - 'We're the young guys. We're the new guys. We're the future.'

"You're the future of what? You've got me down even to the way I talk. It's like the Howard Stern Handbook."

Neither Stern nor Opie & Anthony would comment on the gag order.

Stern has a reason to fear his rivals. Opie & Anthony are No. 1 with men in the lucrative afternoon drive time - and could threaten Stern if they moved to mornings.

"If they were to go up against him, it would force him to do what he should have done years ago," says Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers Magazine.

"And that is to begin moving away from the strippers and lesbians and turn his genius toward communicating with an older, more sophisticated audience...[Opie & Anthony] are much better at talking to goofballs than he is."

Category:

Comedy

Tags:

• Opie
• Anthony
• Howard
• Stern
• gag
• order

[jkellyx1yahoo]

Howard, O&A got under your skin once again... deal with it. bitch

O&A fuckin rule

[powermasterjazz]

They were only jokin

[MrMichaelMyers99]

howard sucks dick, fuck you and you're horseface wife and lezzie daughter.

[kennyd722]

Howard Stern is such a Biatch..... This was the start of his long roll down the hill to suckism

[unclestaco]

My FEELINGS! D8

[Da55Moose]

Howard : "they don't care about my feelings anymore" he has turned into a massive pussy.

[iamnotdanny]

What are these ratings you speak of? Didn't know there were rating books for SATELLITE! You F'ing TOOL.

[Vebinz]

The funny thing about this that that just 5 years earlier Stern would have ripped into any other radio host who said these same whiny words.

[Pulpedtoafiction31]

@boobs510 are you pissed?You do know its 2011 dont you?

[boobs510]

@Pulpedtoafiction31 how did they defeat the stern? look at the ratings howard is still number one in the ratings

[DarthCormac]

@madmike1971 - You're missing the obvious. Opie and Anthony almost drove "all-mighty" howard off the air with this bit. He says it right fucking here in this clip "I should quit, wah wah." What a pussy Howard is. O&A rule!

[madmike1971]

i am sure o & a get 100 million a year too. Ha Ha O and A suck and have yet to have an original idea