As shock jock Howard Stern prepares to depart his longtime employer for satellite radio at the end of the year, the industry is waiting with bated breath to see if Stern can make good on his promise to be the first personality to successfully bring a large chunk of audience with him to pay radio. But an ominous sign is already making itself known in the Stern universe: this fall’s ratings book shows Stern with his lowest traditional radio ratings in years. At his Washington affiliate, “Stern’s share of radio’s most lucrative audience (adults age 25 to 54) fell by nearly one-third during the July-September period, bottoming out at 3.4 percent.” Ratings in Stern’s New York home base fell by 15%.