Stern says goodbye, Stern says hello

Howard Stern signed off broadcast radio Friday and is taking a 2-week vacation before doing his thing, FCC-free, on Sirius satellite radio. We aren't regular listeners, but the LA Times' Meghan Daum, who says she flips back and forth between NPR and Stern in the mornings, sure appreciates him. When we wrote about Stern's decision to jump to Sirius in 2004, one LAist reader was skeptical about the company lasting this long. Well, stranger things have happened.

Today the NY Times biz section writes about "The Stern Effect" buoying both Sirius and XM satellite radio. Other satellite radio boldfacenames, with shows on or in development, include Martha Stewart, musician Bob Dylan, former democratic Senator and NBA player Bill Bradley, Ellen DeGeneres and Snoop Dogg. Sounds like a mindbending holiday party to us.