It seems to me that one of the most interesting and relevant free speech issues is whether or not satellite radio flourishes. Everything, at present, conspires against its continued success. The auto industry -- a cash center for satellite radios -- is in deep turmoil. And paying for radio in this Great Recession economy is a luxury that not too many can afford. Still, satellite radio is a marvelous medium in which nearly anything goes. You'll remember, of course, that shock jock Howard Stern jackrabbited there from the now moribund terrestrial radio medium after Viacom's Sumner Redstone failed to defend him from the slings and arrows of the overly censorious FCC at the height of the Bush administration.

But that was then, this is now. Currently, satellite radio's biggest draw -- whether you love or hate his potty mouth -- is the libertine libertarian Howard Stern. But Stern's contract expires at the end of 2010, which has led to a lot of speculation among the chattering classes. Whatever decision Howard Stern reaches, he would probably not be getting $80 million a year. From Bloomberg's BusinessWeek:

Sirius XM, which averted bankruptcy last year after John Malone's Liberty Media Corp. bought a 40% stake in exchange for $530 million in loans, may not be able to afford to renew the radio talk-show host's existing contract, worth $500 million, said Tuna Amobi, an analyst at Standard & Poor's. "Even if (a new contract) were half of what it was before, it would still be a major financial burden for Sirius," Amobi says. "It's a totally different game."

For realsies! Stern is now in the early stages of contract negotiations. I do not envy Sirius-XM CEO Mel Karmazin, who is going to have one hell of a time navigating Stern's impending free agent status. Howard doesn't strike me as the type of guy who relishes a pay cut. There has already been some high profile courting from terrestrial radio, to which he might return. "We would be the most logical company for him to optimize his exposure and financial return," Clear Channel CEO John Hogan told Bloomberg's BusinessWeek. "We clearly have both the willingness and the financial wherewithal to consider high-profile talent."

If Stern were to bolt back to terrestrial radio, could satellite radio survive in his absence? Howard brought with him more than seven million listeners/subscribers/hard core fans to the new medium -- how many would stay? How many of those loyalists have been impressed enough with satellite radio that they would pay the subscription fees -- or, possibly, a la carte -- sans Howard Stern. Would enough stay that Sirius-XM could remain not only profitable, but the interesting experiment in the outer limits of free speech that it is right now?

[Image: Wikimedia Commons]