He began his broadcasting career as an intern at Florida's WFLZ, and later became a producer for noted Tampa Bay radio personality Bubba "The Love Sponge" Clem. Mike Calta's first job in radio came at a station called The Power Pig. The public broadcasting waves were a filthy haven. It's not shocking."Īnd he should know: Calta got his start in radio back in the glory days of shock jock-dom, the early '90s, when drive-time radio shows - often called "morning zoos" - were playpens for grown men looking to make prank phone calls, embarrass their less talented sidekicks, and ogle strippers in the studio. "It's not cool if you call yourself a shock jock. "The worst term ever," he jokes as we sit down at a table near the conference's ample lunch buffet. (The conference occurred in May, and months later, the first presidential debate was held at the university.) Attending an industry gathering where many of the older, suit-wearing attendees resemble Sean Hannity clones - and the actual non-clone Hannity stops by for a breakfast meet-and-greet - Calta looks like an affable guy who might sell really cool Jet Skis. Or be a shock jock. Mike Calta bristles at the phrase "shock jock." With his short black hair, carefully cropped beard, small earring, and dark jeans, the Tampa Bay radio personality sticks out at the TALKERS 2016 talk-radio conference at Hofstra University in Long Island. Seriously, what the hell happened? Mike Calta Show/YouTube Instead, I found myself watching "how to get laid" horndog Tom Leykis hawk his "Pedal to the Metal" red wine from a stage in a college auditorium. So, what ended the once-all-powerful reign of the radio shock jock? I went looking for answers, hoping to find a resurgent generation of young shock jocks ready to take over the airwaves. Just last weekend, in the wake of the Access Hollywood scandal, CNN released audio of Trump on Stern's show back in 2006 when the mogul gave the OK for Howard to call his daughter Ivanka "a piece of ass." Trump making a series of degrading remarks about women on The Howard Stern Show. In February, BuzzFeed unearthed recordings of Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Want proof? The most hotly debated radio shock-jock controversies of the last year have all been tied to the past. They don't generate headlines like they used to. While popular shock jocks exist in markets across the country - like Erich "Mancow" Muller in Chicago or The Billy Madison Show in San Antonio - many of the genre's biggest stars now lurk behind the paywalls of satellite radio (Howard Stern) or have their own lucrative podcast networks (Adam Carolla). It's tough to shock people who can't hear you. According to a recent Edison Media Research Infinite Dial study, one-third of people 18-34 years old have no AM/FM receiver in their home. In fact, they might not even have radios. For one thing, the young men and women who used to worship cranky shock jocks as gods aren't as glued to their radios as they once were. Being an edgy, rule-breaking radio host isn't what it used to be.
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