It just so happened I had met Denise when I was in broadcasting school, and had stayed in touch with her over the months of my career. So, when she got this guy coming in from Detroit, she decided she wanted him to hear me. She kept calling me and asking me for tapes. I had been moving around the country for about two years at a clip of about every six months, and I was tired of it. I had a good job; I liked it and I thought I could see myself growing in that station and in that position, and it was a good market. I’d always hang up the phone from her and say, "Well, that was very flattering, but I just don’t want to go anywhere." Finally, after two or three tries of getting me to send in a tape, she had one of her friends at another station in Baltimore tape me on the air, and she played that tape for Howard. He listened to it and said, "Yeah, she sounds okay, get her." Then they started wooing me and I really didn’t want to go anywhere. Finally, after three or four lunches, dinners, whatever she could think of, she said, "Come visit me at the station in Washington." I came, and I said, "Nice building; it’s very nice, but I really don’t feel like changing my situation right now." She then said, "Let me play you a tape of this guy I want you to work with." I said, "Okay, fine. Do whatever you want, it’s really not going to work," and she put on a tape of Howard and he was interviewing prostitutes. I had never heard anything like it, and I lost my mind at that point. I just said, "Where do I sign? I’ll do anything just to meet this guy!"

How would you describe your role on the show?

It’s very hard to talk about the mechanics of a thing that comes so naturally and automatically; it’s been years that I’ve been doing this. I would say I perform several different functions on the show. At any given time I can be a listener, a co-host, a newsperson. It really isn’t any one thing.

As the show continues to evolve, how much daily input do you personally have in the show’s direction?

Well, we don’t have a direction! (Laughs) It’s just one of those things where we get on the air and we see where it goes. That’s part of the fun. That’s why we’ve been doing it for so long.

Are you involved in the writing process as far as the bits and the recorded parodies?

It depends on whether that’s something I want to do. On the "Alive" bit that we just did recently, I was the one who gave them the concept, and then I just happened to be around at the writing session. Usually I’m not in the bits. That’s when I take on the role of a listener; he (Howard) wants to see my reaction. So, I don’t really sit in on writing sessions. I might sometimes be there at the start of something, and then they’ll go away and write it because they want to try it out on me. I’m the only one they can actually see a response from. A lot of times that’s what happens with bits. I don’t even sit in on the writing sessions, I might propose them or I might come up with the idea. Then again, when it’s something like questions for Stuttering John, if I’m around I’ll do something. I’m always there for background information when they’re trying to decide what to do with a particular guest who’s coming in, and things of that nature.

Do you see yourself taking more issue with some of Howard’s opinions than maybe you did early on in your relationship?

No, I don’t see that happening at all. In fact, sometimes I agree with him 100 percent; he just doesn’t say anything to rile me. And other times, I’ve heard him say something so many times and it’s so ridiculous that it doesn’t even require a comment anymore.

I think what a lot of people appreciate about your role on the show is the fact that you do stand up to Howard when it comes to certain things that you believe in and say, "Yo, Howard, you’ve gone too far."

Sometimes people will say, "You let him say that?" and I say, "Last week when he said that I called him to task." Then after a while I’ll say, "You know what, I haven’t addressed this in a long time. I’m going to address this right now, that’s ridiculous, Howard." It’s a feeling-out kind of a thing. I do it when I feel like it, when I feel it’s appropriate or necessary or I just want to do it that day.

When you get on each other’s collective cases on the show, it’s for showmanship, we understand that. What’s your relationship like away from the microphone?

They’re the same! (Laughs) I’m the worst culprit, and I usually get accused of not realizing the show’s over!

I’m not sure how detailed you’re going to be able to answer this question and I understand why, but how do you feel about all the FCC hassles?

I don’t feel good about it. Nobody wants to be hassled. I basically feel that we are entertainers; we’re not people who are trying to destroy our society or corrupt radio or the minds of little children. I don’t understand it, quite frankly, that someone gets so concerned with what we’re doing that the government starts to come down on us. That has always shocked me because I think, well, these are intelligent people. They should realize that we’re just kidding around and having fun and that we’re here to make people laugh, and that, quite frankly, this is rather adult entertainment. Kids aren’t particularly interested in it. This is the time of the day that kids are more supervised by their parents than any other time of the day. If they are listening, it’s because their parents want them to and have consented to their listening. I don’t think there are that many kids who are interested in what we’re saying or who get what we’re saying. So, I don’t really think it’s an issue at all.

In your heart, what do you think the final outcome will be?

In my heart I have faith in the Constitution and the actual branches of government, and I really think that in the end, we’ll win.

The Howard Stern network continues to grow by leaps and bounds. You’re adding new markets, it seems, every month. Is world domination your ultimate goal?

Absolutely! (Laughs)

The huge success of Howard’s network has come companies scrambling to sign big name talent to their own "network."

What would that be?

Well, like Greaseman.

You said big name talent; I’m very upset. I thought you meant like Madonna or Al Pacino, those are big names!

Okay, we’ll do it your way… So these companies are putting some of these "no-talents" together for simulcasting to other cities. Do you feel this is the new wave in radio broadcasting, something that you and Howard have pioneered, and would you have any cautions for those wanting to take that plunge?

I don’t have any cautions for them, and I don’t know whether this is a new wave in radio. I do know we’ve been able to do it. That’s not to say this is what people expect from radio, it’s just that we’ve been able to do it because of the performers we are. If you just take some guy, put him on the radio and let him talk, people will tune in, and it has nothing to do specifically with Howard Stern or Robin Quivers or who they are as performers. So, to say this is a new wave in radio, I can’t say until somebody else manages to achieve the same thing.

I’ve always felt that you were the link that held the show together. You’re the one who brings it back to the center when it’s drifted too far left or too far right. Do you find that to be a constant struggle every day?

It’s not a struggle, why would I be struggling? People are always asking me about the difficulties of my job. If my job was difficult, I don’t think I’d still be doing it for this long, at these hours. I’d get a better job! I’ve worked hard, why would I stay somewhere that was a struggle all the time?

What kind of show preparation do you go through?

I watch all the newscasts. I watch tons of talk show. I read tons of magazines and I try to read four or five newspapers every day.

Movies seem to be a real hobby of yours.

It’s a personal hobby and something I do for the show as well.

You and Howard especially seem to always be up on all the current movie releases…

Yeah, because that’s our major form of entertainment. We don’t get to go out.

Do the movie studios set up screenings so you can talk about them?

Yeah, and that’s quite fun for us. It’s one of the perks we actually get to take advantage of that go with the job. A lot of people would want to go to the parties or the openings, or that sort of thing, but we’re dedicated to our jobs. We don’t stay up and tire ourselves out because we have to perform the next day, and we think we have a certain responsibility to be there. So, these screenings have been the one thing that we’ve been able to get out of being in the business.

Speaking of responsibilities, how involved are you in client meetings and sales ideas?

Ideas, when we’re doing the live commercials and so forth, ideas are a great part of my responsibility. It’s very hard to do live commercials day-in and day-out for the same product all the time and expect one person to come up with a new slant on them every time you come out-of-the-box, so I think that is a great part of my responsibility. I’m always looking for the angle or the new thing or something else to highlight in the copy. I don’t have any copy in front of me, but I listen to these commercials so much that I know what’s in the copy. So obviously, I know what a struggle it is to make them fresh every morning.

A lot of people may not know that you’ve done some national voice-over work. What are some of the things that you’ve done?

I’ve done some regional stuff, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a major national commercial. I did a lot of local stuff.

You’ve done some work for VH-1, right?

Well that was national, wasn’t it? I forgot! Yes, I was the disembodied female voice for VH-1 for about a year or two.

Do you miss doing the weekly TV show with Howard?

No, I don’t miss it, because it was grueling. It was fun; the final product always turned out to be fun. The idea of having a TV show on the air every weekend was fun. The reaction on the street from people was really very rewarding. But in terms of the impact on our lives, it was very difficult to do, and incredibly time consuming. It was always a love/hate kind of situation with the TV show, and I enjoyed having the experience of it, but I’m not especially sorry that we’re not doing that particular TV show any more.

Could you see yourself going through the grind in the future?

Not that grind; I don’t want that grind! I would love to do another TV project, but I don’t want to have to do what we did at Channel 9 ever again.

Who is your all-time favorite guest on the show and why?

Quite frankly, when you say favorite guest of all time, I would have to say Sam Kinison. I was just talking about him the other day, and we’re all constantly remembering moments with Sam which are absolutely priceless and wonderful. No one else will ever duplicate them.

Has Howard ever embarrassed you with the way he’s grilled a guest? I understand it’s in fun and jest, but have you ever wanted to crawl underneath the table?

No. I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t get embarrassed. Sometimes I feel for the person involved, because they get embarrassed. They can get a lot of sympathy from me simply for that reason, that they’re so uncomfortable, but I’m not embarrassed.

Has all of your increased notoriety affected your personal life at all?

Sure it affects me. I’m more visible, and people recognize me on the street. But, I’m not Madonna or Elvis. That’s why I got into this business.

A funny story that you told on the air the other days was the incident in the cab. Do you mind relating that story? It seemed like a wild experience.

I call that my Isadora Duncan story. I was meeting a friend at the theater and I got into this cab. Taking cabs in New York is always an adventure. If you do it two or three times a day, you get two or three different stories. But anyway, this particular day I think it was an Oriental cab driver and he was driving along and we needed to stop at 59th and 5th. There’s this big street right in front of the plaza there, and this black guy messenger was on a bike. The cab driver was just driving wildly, and he had his car headed right for the guy’s front wheel. So the guy had to hop out of the way and drag his bike back, and he starts screaming at the top of his lungs and calling this guy names, but it was right at the corner where we were supposed to stop. It wasn’t like the cabbie could just scare this guy to death and then keep driving, he now had to stop where this man was screaming. So I got out of the cab and slammed the door. The cabbie was so anxious because of this screaming that was going on behind him that he took off immediately, and I realized at that point that my scarf was still in the door of the cab and now it was tightening around my neck. I kept my wits about me and said "get this scarf off your neck immediately." I started to unwind it, and got it off and let the cab drive my scarf down the street – and then I started to scream. The driver heard me, he stopped, and I went and got my scarf. I was sitting there thinking "this could be the end." I could see the headlines in the Post.

Are there other mountains that you want to climb in this industry, or are you very comfortable in this role?

I’m comfortable in this role, and this is a fun job to do, but I’m always looking to grow. I would hope that even if I’m in this role, it becomes something else. So, even if we’re still on radio, we’ll be on national radio, or we’ll be on international radio, or I’ll also be contributing to other media. I’m never looking to just stop and just do this. No, that doesn’t appeal to me at all. I mean, I love to do this and I could do this forever, but I also want to do other things too.