Split from CBS causes static, from stem to Stern.(TV)(Howard Stern)

WHEN HOWARD STERN LEFT CBS' Infinity Radio in 2005, there's no question he wounded the radio powerhouse. Yet as the evidence continues to mount, the case of the missing radio personality increasingly looks like a media murder-suicide.

Sirius Satellite Radio made a bold, attention-grabbing maneuver by committing $500 million over five years to Stern and his posse, but the high-profile host didn't fully solve Sirius' underlying economic challenge. Perhaps foremost, though, Stern himself has been marginalized.

Granted, Stern is being handsomely paid to ogle strippers and B.S. with his cast of idiots. But far fewer people are listening. And while Stern's voice …