SiriusXM host Howard Stern has received pushback from his insistence that being called “woke” is a compliment. Many questioned what happened to the former shock jock legend. Fox News host Sean Hannity and radio host Clay Travis have joined that camp.

“I admire him as a broadcaster. And one of the things that was quintessential Howard is he took criticism, dealt with it head-on, and gave an honest answer. That defines his career. I give him a lot of credit for that,” Hannity said during his Fox News program Wednesday.

“I don’t know what happened. The guy that I felt I listened to would have loved an iconoclastic straightforward, hard-hitting guy like Trump,” Sean Hannity continued. “He would not be hiding in his closet afraid of COVID. That’s not the guy that I thought I knew.”

“He is a radio legend. And you and I both do radio daily, so we understand what that requires. But the Howard Stern today would, as you said, hate — absolutely hate — the Howard Stern of 25 years ago and vice versa,” agreed Travis. “And I think he’s an emblematic example, Sean, of what happens when people got broken by Donald Trump and COVID. The combination of the two of them this guy didn’t leave his house for two and a half years.”

Clay Travis continued by noting Stern has gotten away from what made him famous.

“Howard Stern’s popularity was his rebellion against the status quo. Now he’s become a zealous advocate of the status quo and of authority. He’s become the opposite of what he used to be.”

“He’s being honest,” admitted Sean Hannity. “That I can applaud and appreciate. I do. That has defined him his whole career, but I kinda liked the other guy a lot better.”

Earlier this week, SiriusXM host Howard Stern claimed it was a compliment to be called woke. While Fox News host Jesse Watters disagrees, he did defend Stern from the criticism.

During The Five, Watters argued that he’s been a longtime listener of Stern’s, adding that despite accusations to the contrary, Stern is still not politically correct.

“I listened to his show since the 90s. I like him. I think he’s a funny guy,” said Watters. “(Stern) doesn’t understand what woke is. He’s not woke when it comes to political correctness, when it comes to gender, when it comes to race, when it comes to feminism. He’s not woke when it comes to any of that stuff.”

He added that not being politically correct has led to Stern’s continued success.

“He says ridiculous things that if this was said on this channel or on any other cable channel, he would absolutely get in huge trouble,” continued Watters. “But since he’s on satellite and he’s been very successful on satellite, he can say whatever he wants. He’s not doing the same types of things, but he’s changed his way 30 years older, but he’s still pretty edgy.”

After being accused of being a suck-up to Stern, Watters admitted that he would not be a good guest on the show.

“I would never go on that show. It’s too dangerous,” joked Jesse Watters. “Me on that show? Are you kidding me?”

NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt spoke at the 37th Annual NAMIC Conference in New York as part of Diversity Week.

The session, moderated by Holt’s NBC News colleague Morgan Radford, discussed newsroom diversity, accessibility for aspiring journalists, and elevated reporter status.

“It’s so vitally important to have people in the newsroom who have different experiences in life,” Holt said during the conference. “Certainly within the organization, as well as the industry as a whole, I think there is a recognition that people want to turn on the TV and see people that kind of look like them or maybe have had experiences kind of like them. 

“I think from a storytelling purpose, which is what we do every night – we’re storytellers – it’s so vitally important to have people in the newsroom who have different experiences in life.”

Furthermore, Lester Holt noted why he feels being a reporter is a “high calling.” While he now resides behind the desk, anchoring the news, Holt revealed the joy of being out on the field and covering an ongoing situation. 

“To me, the joy in this job is being out and covering stories,” Holt continued. “Sitting at that wonderful plexiglass desk every night with all the monitors and stuff, it’s prestigious. It’s an important job. 

“But I always look back, I think, the most thrilling, interesting, fascinating moments of my career have not been in the studio. They’ve been outside the studio. Being a reporter is the highest calling, not being the anchor, but being a reporter. And so I take that to heart every day, and that’s kind of the principle I think most of us stand on.”