Stern: "I'm Next"

Stern may follow his mentor out the door

Now that Viacom president and chief operating officer Mel Karmazin has left the company, will shock jock Howard Stern be close behind?

Karmazin stepped down yesterday for "personal and professional reasons" after more than 20 years with the company that includes nearly 180 radio stations across the country as well as radio personalities Stern and Don Imus.

Karmazin had been Stern's strongest supporter in the syndicated jock's ongoing battles with the Federal Communications Commission over allegedly indecent programming on Stern's syndicated morning show, carried locally on WBCN-FM (104.1).

Even last week, Stern said on his show that when Karmazin left the company, he would, too.

But yesterday Stern sounded more like a man who expected to get pushed off the air, not one who was ready to jump.

He told his listeners he has a contract and can't just leave Viacom because his longtime protector and mentor did.

But Stern also said he is now certain his days are numbered because he doesn't believe he will get the same support from the new Viacom execs including Les Moonves, chairman and CEO of CBS television.

"Between the FCC and Mel leaving the company, I've got to be on shaky ground now," he told listeners.

Stern expects to be taken off the air the next time the FCC comes down on him. He added that he won't mind. He claims he's ready to move on to the next phase of his career, and it just might be on satellite radio. Stay tuned.