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From DallasVoice.com Radio Dallas' best talk-show jock signed off in January, but he's back at a new station, seizing control where David Lee Roth so miserably failed
Over at 105.3, which had recently changed its call letters to FREE FM, aging rocker and free-form blabbermouth David Lee Roth was desperately trying to fill the Stern void. The experiment was an instant failure. Jagger's contract with KDGE had a 45-day non-compete clause. At the end of that time, Jagger quickly hammered out a deal with CBS Radio for a new show with FREE FM. He hit the 105.3 airwaves on April 10 following Roth's broadcast, which concluded at 9 a.m. Without much fanfare, Roth's show was abruptly cancelled on April 21. After some initial program shifting with CBS Radio, Jagger now hosts a four-hour slot, from 8 a.m. to noon without music. Earlier this week, we caught up with Jagger to see how he likes his new digs. Are you a fan of Howard Stern? Jagger: Yes. Always have been. But for the last eight years, I heard very little of him because we were competitors. He has been, and will continue to be, one of the best in the business. Did you listen attentively when David Lee Roth took over? Not at first. I had heard it was pretty bad, but thought people were rushing to judgment. And then I listened. What the fuck were they thinking at CBS when they said this was the guy to replace Howard? It was just awful, and the ratings proved it. He came off like he wanted to be some great intellect. It's show business, and people want to be entertained in the morning. He wasn't doing NPR. In fact NPR is more entertaining than anything he did. What topics are you able to delve into at 105.3 that you couldn't touch at KDGE? The only thing I can do here that I couldn't do there is show my age a little more. The Edge is targeted very young, so it was an issue if any of us ever made references to anything that might have dated us that the younger audience wouldn't get. I never thought it was that big a deal, but management used to think so Describe your show on 105.3. What is it, and what is it definitely not? It's a lot like Maxim magazine. That is sort of our target. Guy stuff not a lot of heavy issues, not very conservative and hopefully unpredictable. It's defiantly not your typical AM talk format. The whole station is like a rock station without the music. Same great attitude just not the same 20 songs over and over. Stern was always testing the boundaries of free speech and what he could get away with: What would you like to do that might be too much for 105.3? I don't know that there are any new boundaries left. They have been stretched as far as they will go. The president is about to sign new legislation that ups the indecency fines from $32,500 dollars per incident to $325,000. That's a tenfold increase in fines and that has every one's attention. So I think we pretty much know our limits, even though it remains a really gray area. You're never sure that you violated the standards until after they tell you that you did. It's never black-and-white with the FCC. How GLBT is the show? That hasn't changed much from my days at the other station. I am out, it's part of who I am, but only one part. The listeners have always been very supportive over all these years and continue to be so. I hear from so many GLBT listeners that thank me for being out and representing a big part of who we are. On most radio shows, it seems that the gay guy is a token character and has to lisp and be a big drama queen. One of the new shows on 93.3 The Bone is a good example of this: One of the hosts plays the part of the gay character on the show, and it's just awful. It's insulting to any GLBT person. If it was funny or entertaining, I wouldn't take issue. God knows we have some big ole funny queens out there. But that's what you get when you have a straight guy pretending to be a gay guy and knows nothing but stereotypes that are neither funny nor interesting. Ultimate wish: You can line up any three guests and, without any FCC limitations, conduct a broadcast. What would you do? I have an obsession with the Mafia, so it would probably be three former godfathers with the ultimate tell-all show. By the way, you can join the Jagger Mafia. For details, visit www.myspace.com/JaggerRadio or www.Jagger Radio.com This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, June 16, 2006. © Copyright by DallasVoice.com |
