Howard Stern's Broadcast of 9/11 from 2001

Not known for his on-the-spot news coverage, the Howard Stern Show broadcast of the tragedy five years ago remains one of the most compelling accounts of that infamous day.

For years the shock jock was the most popular morning radio show in Los Angeles, and on the morning of 9/11 Stern got the news while talking about Pamela Anderson. The show broadcast about four miles away from the World Trade Center and as soon as his then-General Manager came into the studio to alert him of the initial plane crash, the comedy show immediately turned serious.

Calls from all over the NY area came streaming in and the Stern show became a switchboard of sorts of first-hand reports from ordinary citizens and friends of the show. The range of emotions that ebbed and flowed from the staff and even Howard himself mirrored those of many Americans.

No matter how you may feel personally about the King of All Media, or his brand of humor, what made his show different than others that day was the immediacy and honesty of the callers, hosted by a man who was born and raised in the city.

Over the years many websites have preserved the show via mp3 or streaming media that can be found through a simple Google search.

photo via AP.