Howard Stern

The seventh season of NBC's proclaimed "biggest talent show on earth" began with some pretty impressive but puzzling shots of Nick Cannon yelling atop a desert mesa, then watching a random man get shot out of a cannon. There's an opportunity for a pun, but we won't go there. Then cue the news and talk show clips announcing Howard Stern as the new judge, and some comments from fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandell (Howard and Howie … this could get confusing) about how Stern is the best person to fill David Hasselhoff's empty judge's chair.

I will admit it, I came to the season premiere of "America's Got Talent" to rip Howard Stern. But I walk away after two hours with nothing but admiration for Stern and the producers of this potent franchise. And I'm not simply praising AGT as a slick or skilled production. "America's Got Talent" connects with some of the deepest currents of American life today. For all its sideshow, freakshow silliness and weirdness  at times, it also speaks to a huge slice of American life that our politicians don't seem to know or care about one little bit any more as they move from fund raiser to fund raiser and TV studio to soundstage in their cocoons of media and million-dollar isolation from the masses.

A year into his new gig at Sirius Satellite Radio, Howard Stern has a lot more money, a fiancee and what he says is far greater peace of mind. What he doesn't have, according to trade magazine Talkers, is his former stature as the most important talk radio host in America. Talkers' annual "Heavy Hundred" list drops Stern from the No. 1 spot last year to No. 12. "He's still doing very well," says Michael Harrison, editor of Talkers. "But this list is about what's hot - and you just don't hear about Stern the way you did before he went to satellite.

Beer festival The lowdown -- Diehard beer lovers and milder fans interested in sampling new suds will come together this weekend at the Belgian Beer Festival. Held at Max's Taphouse, the event includes more than 50 drafts and 100 bottled beers. Drafts range from $3 to $9, and bottles are $5-$50. You can also indulge in authentic Belgian food. If you go -- The festival is 11 a.m.-2 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday at Max's Taphouse, 737 S. Broadway. For more information, call 410-675-6297 or go to maxs.

Startled fans of National Public Radio stations and Christian broadcasts at the low end of the FM dial are complaining that satellite shock-jock Howard Stern has burst in on their morning drive-time listening. "Usually they're upset, because they don't know what's going on. This isn't what they tuned in to [hear]," said Charles W. Loughery, president of the Word FM Radio Network, a group of "contemporary Christian" stations in eastern Pennsylvania. Normal car radios can't pick up signals from satellite-based subscription services such as Sirius, which carries Howard Stern's show.

Can millions of listeners just disappear? That's a question troubling Howard Stern and one with vital implications for radio itself in the wake of the shock jock's heralded and hyped switch from free to satellite broadcasting. The self-proclaimed King of All Media once commanded a national audience of 12 million daily listeners before jumping to satellite in January. But since then, his kingdom has shrunk to a small fraction of that size. Meanwhile, the shock jock's main replacements thus far have failed to hold much of the former flock.

New York -- Howard Stern said yesterday that "a personal vendetta" was behind a $218 million lawsuit from his former employers in terrestrial radio. CBS Radio is suing Stern, his agent and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., accusing them of "misappropriating millions of dollars" of CBS airtime by promoting Stern's move to satellite radio before he made the shift. (CBS Radio had formerly been known as Infinity Broadcasting, part of the Viacom Inc. conglomerate before CBS split up with Viacom at the beginning of this year.

Anna Benson is on the phone from Atlanta, and if you have to ask "Who's Anna Benson?" you should probably pick up the morning paper once in a while or at least turn on the 11 o'clock news. If you did, you'd know Anna Benson is the neck-snapping, poker-playing, pistol-packing ex-stripper-turned-model-wife of pitcher Kris Benson, who was just traded to the Orioles by the New York Mets and who may become the answer to the question "Who's that guy with Anna?" if his wife keeps saying all these outrageous things every time there's a TV camera, microphone or notebook around.

NATIONAL Alito hearings begin Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. declared yesterday that no person in this country - no matter how high or powerful - is above the law, as the Senate opened confirmation hearings expected to focus heavily on the scope of presidential power and the secret domestic eavesdropping operation at the National Security Agency. pg 1a MARYLAND Bush opposes national test Visiting a Glen Burnie elementary school yesterday, President Bush said he remains firmly opposed to creating a national test and curriculum for children across the country.

Shock jock Howard Stern, who has earned a living - and the wrath of the FCC - with his foul mouth and sexual humor, is taking his act from the commercial airwaves to satellite radio. There, the government won't be able to regulate what he says, but his listeners will have to pay to hear it. In a deal announced yesterday, and valued at $500 million over five years, Stern will broadcast exclusively on Sirius Satellite Radio, which charges subscribers to listen to its 120 channels. Off the public airwaves, Stern will be freed from regulation by the Federal Communications Commission, which has repeatedly found his show indecent and has fined radio stations for airing it. "I'm done with this kind of radio," Stern said on the air yesterday in announcing his decision.