The Howard Stern Show: The Jokeman is Missing Stern

After nearly a two month hiatus from the most popular radio program in broadcast history, Howard Stern's once-faithful sidekick Jackie Martling seems to be willing to return to the show and has expressed some regret about the current situation. Martling left the show after contract negotiations broke down and his absence is rarely addressed by Stern on the show. The Jokeman had served as the primary writer for Howard Stern for years, helping vault the show to unprecedented levels of popularity, which resulted in the launch of The Howard Stern Show on television a few years ago. The self-proclaimed 'King of All Media,' Stern is downplaying the absence of Martling in his usual style, simply plugging in new personalities from his misfit band of regulars to fill The Jokeman's airtime.

It's still too early to tell whether Martling's void will create any real problems for the show from a ratings or popularity standpoint, but chances are it will trudge on without him. Probably realizing that the Stern Show is the sole reason for his semi-star status, Jackie has offered some soft words recently regarding his departure. "My only regret is that I'm not still there, "Martling says. "Nobody believes me, but I haven't listened for one second. I tried for five minutes once and I felt terrible. If it's funny, I feel bad. If it's not funny, I feel really bad." Jackie will be on an upcoming episode of Stern's Baywatch spoof, Son of the Beach, which was filmed before the contract dispute developed.