Dan Rather was manning the CBS newsdesk this morning, trying to piece together the information coming in about the Columbia tragedy. NASA had issued a warning about falling debris, and hope for the astronauts was in short supply. Rather announced that there was a call from "Dan" from Texas who was reporting a piece of debris had fallen onto his property.
Right away, I sensed something was wrong. No last name? What part of Texas? What kind of debris? The non-specifics were obvious.
Then "Dan" got on the line. His fake politeness toward Rather was obvious and he was talking way too fast...and I knew. I KNEW it was a Howard Stern fan calling in a crank.
"Yeah, I heard this big explosion and now there's this big piece of debris in my backyard!"
And I begged: pull the plug, pull the plug, can't you hear it in his voice? PULL the PLUG!
"It looks like one of Ba-Ba-Booey's teeth."
Unbelievably, EVEN AFTER THIS, they didn't cut off the crank caller. Rather started to ask him questions and the caller said "You really are an idiot!"
Well, I'll tell you what. I've always been a fan of Howard Stern. I bought his book and saw his movie on opening night. But then he divorced his wife and continued to encourage this kind of behavior even after 9/11. So, maybe at 34 years old, I'm too old for Howard. He can make fun of me, make fun of Dan Rather and CBS - tell us we don't get the joke. And I don't anymore. Melrose Larry will be speed-dialing Howard on Monday morning to play the audio - I'll be listening somewhere else.
One final note: Israel lost their first astronaut today. As a Jew, does this mean anything to Howard Stern? Does religion? Family? Country? Or does Howard measure his "popularity" solely by how many sacred cows he slaughters? No more.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
I think what I find so grating about Howard is that he thinks he can have it both ways: be both the crudest of exploiters and get the sympathy vote for being a clueless schlub. We have Howard's success to thank for much of today's media content. Thanks Howard.
2 - Paul
Actually, the guy who called in did give a last name. It was Mike Walker or something similar from "Euleff, TX". The guy addressed Dan as "Mr. Rather" and Dan told the guy to just call him Dan.
The guy starts rambling on and mentions Ba-Ba-Booey's teeth, and you could hear the guy co-anchoring with Dan say, "It's a crank".
Moment of silence.
Dan, "So, where would you say Euleff is? Is it Southeast or west of Dallas?"
Caller: "Dan, you're an idiot."
Zoom-out to include co-anchor: "Yeah, it's a crank caller."
Dan mumbles something about live TV, "We move on"
I'm wondering why no one in the control room cut the guy off right after the Bab-Ba-booey thing. The co-anchor knew it was a prank right there, but they sat for a moment and let Rather just keep talking to the guy.
3 - Eric Lindholm
Yeah, that's right, I did hear the co-host say "It's a crank" - but still they kept him on the line.
I realize things must be hectic during these events when everyone is scrambling for information, but CBS should have 1.) been on the guard for something like this and 2.) cut the audio as soon as it was obvious to ANYONE that it was a prank.
4 - Dawn
Far be it from me to stick up for Howard Stern, but unless he made that call, or told someone to call, he can hardly be blamed for the actions someone else took.
Quite honestly, the whole debris thing is an excellent example of how little respect this country has for science and NASA.
JEEBUS PEOPLE, why would you pick this crap up and try to sell it on Ebay - it's evidence, it's historic, and most importantly it is more likely than not TOXIC.
People are stupid, and now we know that Dan Rather doesn't get out much.
5 - Eric Lindholm
True, except Stern encourages this kind of behavior so the morons go and do it.
6 - RJ Elliott
I agree that Stern encourages it, then tries to pretend like he's completely innocent. But worse than that is the sickening laughter of that horrible woman, Robin. Ugh.
7 - Eric Olsen
I can't believe anyone still pays attention to that used-up old act.