I don't know that much about the radio business, but a lot of ink has been spilled regarding Howard Stern moving from the publicly regulated airways to privately owned Serius radio, which is unregulated. Stern signed off and had many well-wishers as he stated that he was very excited about thi new opportunity. At one time, Stern wished the head of the FCC a painful death from cancer. He stated that regulations were ruining his show. To him, it's about the freedom to be the best that he can at what he does.

Debate questions:

1.)Will satellite radio like Serius or XM run regulated radio stations out of business?

2.)How bad will Stern's departure hurt "normal" radio stations?

3.)Is satellite radio for real, or is it a gimmick?

4.)Is this a monumental decision or a something to be remembered akin to the Edsel?

1.)Will satellite radio like Sirius or XM run regulated radio stations out of business?

I don't think Satellite radio will ever put public radio out of business, but it certainly stands to put a pretty big dent in their listener base. Anytime a new form of media has come along there have been arguments made that it would put some previous form of media out of business, it hasn't ever happened to my knowledge. It does fundamentally change the media form though.

I think that we'll see an increase in popularity of satellite radio in the coming years.

2.)How bad will Stern's departure hurt "normal" radio stations?
Well I think they'll recover but it is going to cause quite a stir. First of all Stern is going to be taking with him a huge audience. Secondly, many radio stations don't have their own morning shows, they exclusively broadcast his program in the morning and just interrupt for local commercials and traffic/weather updates. That means that if they want to continue to attract morning listeners and advertising dollars they'll have to come up with a good morning show.

Initially that is going to take a lot of money and time to develop and listeners will flee to other stations that already have a morning show. I suppose there is a chance that this might be enough to push a few stations over the edge but I doubt it.

3.)Is satellite radio for real, or is it a gimmick?

I think its for real personally. I doubted it for a long time until I actually tried it. I always though, who the heck would pay $15 a month or whatever it costs to listen to the radio. Last winter I rented an SUV to head up to Tahoe to go skiiing and it happened to have Sirius radio installed. Anyone that knows about the geography knows that for a good portion of that trip you are in a complete black hole as far as radio goes. I'm sure many of you have areas like that where you live too.

There are also areas where there is nothing on worth listening to, driving through the middle of nowhere Georgia you have a choice of country, God or NPR. Many parts of the country are like that.

With satellite you get access to some really good programming that is for the most part commercial free - for example a whole channel dedicated to Blues. You also have a lot of radio personalities on there you can't find on the radio dial or you can only find on low quality AM stations. You've got sports, comedy, pretty much anything you could want.

The best part about it is that it is all un-regulated and uncensored. I'm pretty sure that will change though and Stern will probably be the catalyst.

1.)Will satellite radio like Serius or XM run regulated radio stations out of business?

This is too new to tell. Give it a generation or two, like with cable. Then we might not be able to tell satellite from commercial, as commercialism will likely come into the medium.

2.)How bad will Stern's departure hurt "normal" radio stations?

I'm not a fan, so my ears won't be missed. I suppose every little bit lost hurts, but for all his popularity, I still don't think one lost personality will make much of a commercial difference.

3.)Is satellite radio for real, or is it a gimmick?

It's a gimmick right now to gain audience, then as with cable, the commercials will creep in. I've thought of it for the reception improvement, but for now I don't listen to enough radio to justify the expense.

4.)Is this a monumental decision or a something to be remembered akin to the Edsel?

The remarkable think about the Edsel is that the car was good for the period. It was a styling and perhaps naming goof up. With Stern, he is good for this period, although I personally don't like him. I don't think his humor is intelligent enough to survive period popularity.

One thing that'll be curious: Will his entertainment value be any good without censorship? In fiction, this is like having a hero without a villain. No conflict, no story. Stern might have to sell something to make money.

Now that could be long-lasting humor.

I'd have to agree that satellite radio will hardly wipe out the industry as we know it today. They will undoubtedly be staggered, but by no means, be put of business. It may just mean that they get leaner and meaner, adapt to the circumstances as needed. In regards to trends towards the future, I don't know if commerical advertising will be used for satellite radio. A large selling point of that service is precisely because they cut out advertising. I would imagine that they make their money just on customer subscriptions, rather than advertising. I wouldn't doubt that one of the companies would dabble in commercials to make more money, but I think their business would be seriously harmed by the other satellite radio companies that dedicate themselves to having no commercials on their programming.

I completely agree with you there, I think that traditional public radio will be forced to adapt. The draw of satellite is pretty compelling if 1) you have the disposable income and 2) you spend a lot of time in your car commuting or otherwise. No one likes listening to commercials and no one likes the words of their favorite song being bleeped out and then there are new things to consider such as genres that aren't even played on the radio.

Satellite will definitely change the industry.

The momentum has been building on that since the two services launched and I think Stern's move will be a catalyst because he commands such a large audience. Some of that audience won't follow him for various reasons but a large number of them will and they'll start listening to other stations, and influencing friends and family.

3.)Is satellite radio for real, or is it a gimmick?

Although I was SUPER skeptical at its inception, after going on a road trip with a friend that had Serius I am a big covnert. Satellite radio and most def. real and, for someone that uses often, totally worth the monthly fee. Howard Stern made a very convincing argument when he was interviewed recently. He said that for $12 most people can't even purchase a single CD. Yet for that price you have an amazing amount of talk radio genre's and music genre's at your fingertips. I mean after listening to a CD a few times one tends to get a bit burned out...but with Satellite it is nearly impossible to not find something enjoyable to listen to.

while I don't have enough time at my disposal for satellite radio to be worth it for me, personally...I def. think it is perfect for certain people...esp those that have long drives to work.