Style, hard work, newfound maturity drive Howard to top on local airwaves

Paul Howard was a jerk.

And that was one of his better qualities. He also was arrogant, obnoxious, egotistical and aloof. But that's what one might expect from someone who grew up idolizing two other Howards -- Cosell and Stern.

Howard admitted he was all of that when he came to Las Vegas in 2000 to work in sports talk radio. Now 35, he has matured, but not at the expense of the edginess, work ethic and an ability to stay relevant in an ever-changing media world that makes him arguably the city's best local host.

"I'm an entertainer," said Howard, a native of St. Cloud, Minn., who hosts two programs Monday through Friday for Lotus Broadcasting. "I love being on the air. I love talking to people. I love to argue.

"I've always wanted to do this."

And he does it well. Sometimes to his own detriment. In February 2009, despite pulling in ratings and enjoying immense popularity, Howard was fired by Lotus. The word was it was due to cost-cutting as a result of the recession that had hit Las Vegas and the nation hard. The truth was he had become such a diva, he was becoming impossible to work with.

"I think Paul's definitely a talent," said Tony Bonnici, the head of Lotus Broadcasting. "He's emotionally involved in sports and in life. He's going to give you an opinion. He's going to tell you how he feels, and managing someone like that is going to give you gray hairs."

But after being out of work seven months, Howard returned to the airwaves. Since his return, he is posting huge ratings numbers for his "Afternoon Gridlock" show that airs from noon to 3 p.m. on ESPN 1100 AM/98.9 FM and has helped double the numbers on "Monsters of the Midday" from 3 to 5 p.m. on Fox Sports 920.

According to numbers provided by Lotus from the September to December 2011 Arbitron ratings book, "Gridlock" was the No. 1 show on AM radio in its time slot in the male 25 to 54 demographic. The show did a 4.9 share, or approximately 46,700 listeners. Among overall listeners, which ranges from children 6 years old to senior citizens, male and female, the show ranked 19th in its time period among the 40 local AM and FM stations.

The "Monsters" time slot was doing 0.5 before Howard's arrival. Now, it's a 1.0 and climbing.

Doug Marsh, the station's interim co-program director, said Howard's style combined with his preparedness make him a must-listen and have helped drive up ratings at Lotus.

"He's polarizing, and I disagree with him a lot," Marsh said. "I find him outrageous and preposterous at times, which makes me want to listen to him and see what he's going to say next.

"It's not shtick, either. He says what's on his mind, and what you see is really what you get. That's who he is when he's off the air."

And while Howard remains edgy on the air, he also has returned to the radio scene a more humble, nicer person -- particularly when the microphones are turned off.

"I'm very grateful to Tony for taking a shot with me," Howard said. "I still have a problem with being let go. I thought the whole thing was bizarre. I always thought it should have been based on talent who stayed and who got let go.

"People said after the fact I had an attitude problem. I'm not a 'How's-your-day?' kind of guy. I'm there to do a job. But maybe in the end it worked out for the best."

Bonnici said he thinks it helped make Howard better.

"I've seen a change in Paul," Bonnici said. "He's added intelligence to his edginess. He's gained confidence, and he's also gained some humility. The best thing that may have happened to him when we let him go was that nobody was banging down his door with offers."

Howard said he was a finalist for a job in Dallas and was in the hunt for a gig in San Antonio. He didn't get either job. But when he was offered a chance to come back after Bonnici talked to Dr. Richard Rothman of Lasik of Nevada and radio marketing consultant Michele Mosey, Howard took it.

"It took six months of pleading," Mosey said. "But Pauly was one of the best spokespeople, and he was good for the station. He makes money for the station and for the sponsors, and I lobbied hard for him."

Steve Cofield, who with Dave Cokin does a show that follows "Afternoon Gridlock" on ESPN 1100, said of Howard: "I don't think he's changed that much. He's more focused on the air, and he seems to be open to more feedback. But he's always in control.

"He's got a quirky personality, but I think the best radio personalities have that kind of edge. He's also got the gift of being close to the average fan. He reacts like the guys in the sports book or the sports bar."

Howard's return has resulted in him working maybe too much. He's on the air five hours a day, and Howard worries about his health -- another sign he's growing up.

"I don't know how much longer I can do this," he said.

His two shows might have a common thread with sports talk, but the presentation couldn't be more different. On "Gridlock," he and co-host Seat Williams argue like two guys at the bar ready to take it outside and settle things. It has gotten personal at times.

On "Monsters," which is co-hosted daily by Jimmy Tuma and has Review-Journal sports columnist Ed Graney on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it's like listening to three guys shoot the breeze sitting on someone's living room couch on Saturday afternoon. The banter is light, and busting chops is done in a good-natured fashion.

Mention Williams' name to Howard, and he pauses before he speaks. It's one of the rare times he's not spontaneous.

"We're complete opposites," Howard said. "But he's changed, and I've changed. We get along."

Williams, who has been at Lotus since 1982, said he notices the difference in Howard.

"When we first did a show together seven years ago, he didn't care who he hurt," Williams said. "Now that we know each other better, we get along better. When my dog, Pepper, died recently, Pauly came over and hugged me. He would never have done that the first time around. But I think when he was let go, it humbled him. When he came back, it was a different Pauly."

They still go after each other. One day, Williams was bragging about the $100 tip he left at Michael's, the gourmet restaurant at the South Point, after getting comped on his birthday. It was all the opening Howard needed.

"You cheap bastard!" Howard sniped at Williams, who suddenly found himself backpedaling. "You get comped a $400 dinner and you leave only $100?"

Howard proceeded to make it a topic of discussion, and the phone lines lit up and the texts came pouring in, some defending Williams, some agreeing with Howard.

"The key to doing good sports talk radio, especially in this town, is to not talk exclusively sports," Howard said. "You have to mix it up. And you have to keep things moving."

For the next 25 minutes, callers, some who work in the restaurant and bar industry, told stories about good tips and bad tips and gave advice for others who might find themselves in a similar situation. Howard said on a typical day, they'll receive more than 400 texts and generate dozens of calls in the show's three hours.

When the segment ended and the show went to commercial, Howard said, "That was good stuff."

Later on "Monsters," Howard and Tuma spent their two hours talking everything from Tim Tebow to the viability of Andrew Luck as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft to UNLV basketball to the Los Angeles Clippers, Howard's new favorite team. They broached eight topics without the aid of callers, texters or guests.

"He keeps me on my toes," said Tuma, 24, who played basketball at Silverado High School. "He's taught me a lot about having a good work ethic. Nobody works harder at being prepared than Pauly. When he goes on the air, he always knows what he's talking about. You may not always agree with him, but he always has his facts straight."

Howard loves having Graney on the air. They argue all the time, albeit good naturedly.

"It's my favorite time of the week when he shows up," Howard, who is single, said of Graney, who is 12 years his senior and married with two children.

Howard begins his day at 8 a.m. surfing the Internet for topics for his shows. He said being prepared is a matter of professionalism.

"If you don't have credibility, you have nothing," Howard said. "People will stop listening."

A former high school hockey goalie, Howard grew up rooting for the Chicago Cubs in baseball the Minnesota Vikings in football and the NHL's Minnesota North Stars. Each team has broken his heart, the North Stars particularly when they moved to Dallas in 1993. Ironically, as knowledgeable as Howard is about hockey, he almost never talks about the sport on the air.

"People would turn us off," he said. "Nobody would listen."

He got his communications degree from St. Cloud State in 2000. After spending a few months working as a producer and sound engineer at KFAN Radio in Minneapolis, Howard came to Las Vegas to work at the fledgling Sportsfan Radio Network, which had begun in 1994 and was trying to stay on the air. For Howard, his dream of talking sports had come true.

"I'm 23, I'm on my own in Vegas, and I'm living next to Club Paradise," Howard said. "I was making $35,000, and I thought to myself, 'This is the life.' "

Howard didn't want to say how much he makes today. But if there's an indication to how successful he is, he's driving a Mercedes, a considerable step up from the Pontiac Grand Am he rolled into town driving 12 years ago.

"I'm happy with how I'm doing," he said in characterizing his current salary.

Though Las Vegas is the 32nd-ranked radio market in the United States, it feels larger because of the big events that come through town. And while Howard believes he could thrive in a top-10 market such as New York or Los Angeles and make more money, he's not sure he wants to leave Las Vegas anytime soon.

"I listen to these national guys in these big markets, and I know I'm as good, if not better," Howard said. "I still love living in Vegas, but I'm not done dreaming."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.