The 80s has to be the decade where shock jocks dominated morning radio. Howard Stern, Bob and Tom, Mark and Brian, Don and Mike, Mancow, etc. The end of "music" radio as we knew it. How do the "smutty" skits and jokes told in the 80s hold up today? Do they still shock listeners, or are they just relics in a brave new world?  

I don't know if it shocks these days, but I can tell you that I refuse to listen.  I find it distasteful.  Oh well, guess I am getting old. ;)

I think it really depends on what the listener is looking for in radio entertainment, not to mention their definition of entertainment.  Ratings-wise, shock radio dominates men 18-34 but it's a certain button-pusher for females 18-34, which is statistically a more desirable demographic for marketing.  Syndication of shock-radio is somewhat economical in that the satellite station can pay some board-op a minimum wage to push a few buttons for 4 hours rather than 4 local morning-jock's salaries.  But it comes down to what the listener wants.  I've always been a music-intensive jock, and that's the service I tend to expect from radio.  For others, radio is just an entertainment box so as long as it's entertaining, they are served--- whether it's strippers, porn stars or the latest from the Foo Fighters.  Some folks like all three.   :)

Stern, Don and Mike, and Mancow have tried to find an audience here in Indy, and none of them had even come close to putting a dent in Bob and Tom's ratings, because of course, B & T work right here in Indy. I used to find them ha riot when they first came here in the 80s, but I don't listen to them anymore. And I wouldn't listen to other shock jocks either.

Yeah... it would be tough trying to import someone else when you already have an established duo like B & T right there.

They have Bob & Tom at the last station I worked at and while I think they have their moments, I don't find them that funny; sometimes they can really border on sophomoric, which is what really  turns me off of "shock radio".

IMO-- if Opie & Andy never find another gig-- no big whup.

I always liked Dennis Erectus on 98.5 KOME in San Jose, California, across from the Winchester Mystery House.

98.5 KOME is no more!

And Dennis is doing internet radio shows now.  Poor guy!

Anyone else hear ever listed to Dennis Erectus???

I never heard of Dennis Erectus, but I have heard of KOME when it beat out WFBQ as the top medium market station in America, according to Billboard or Rolling Stone. I remember one of the slogans was "Don't touch that dial. It's got KOME on it!"  :D