Imus Takes Pay Cut, Accepts 21-Second Delay To Get Back On Airwaves

New York Observer   |  Felix Gillette   |   November 14, 2007 07:35 AM


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"I think I've had some history of defending friends of mine that have been in uncomfortable circumstances," said James Carville. "I defend the speaker, not the speech. If there's no redemption, what are we here for?"

Mr. Carville, speaking by phone to The Observer on Monday, was referring to his former boss, President Clinton, but also to another public figure undone by his own indiscipline: Don Imus, the irreverent, sensitive, occasionally boorish, and strangely compelling radio talker who in April was fired from CBS for referring to the Rutgers women's basketball team as--remember 2007?--"nappy-headed ho's."

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- ming099 I'm a Fan of ming099 7 fans permalink
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....OK...so Imus will be back.....not a big thing in my book as I dont 'get' Imus,never listen to him and could care less about what he has to say because the radio personalities of the 21st century dont carry the weight they did in the 'golden days' of radio ( which,by some estimates were OVER in the Forties)......was he foolish to say the things he said on air?...yes....were the powers that be correct in canning him?....no.....they exhibited their hypocracy,ignorance and allegiance to the almighty dollar......they allowed themselves to be used by the two BIGGEST media whores in the country to push their own 'racist' agenda when a simple apology would have been plenty.....
...I dont doubt that Imus does some good things with his ranch and raising money and working with kids and all but did he really deserve the public pillorying he received for one offhand remark, when, if you listen to todays radio, was FAR LESS offensive than the fart,poop and belch fare that seems to be the stock in trade of almost all who occupy ANY part of the airwaves.....except for NPR...and even then that type of story STILL makes it onto the air sometimes.
....as far as Howard Stern is concerned...Stern is a PIG....the humor on his show is moronic,sophomoric and somewhere between sixth and eight grade humor....he claims to love women but at every opportunity he will debase,humilliate and degrade them for cheap laughs and ratings points.......
...there are so many more serious issues that confront us now that are so much larger than the 'nappy headed ho' comment it isnt even funny anymore...

...Jesse and Al got their pound of flesh and the sound bites they are always on the lookout for so they should be content....for the moment.......

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 11:22 AM on 11/15/2007
- truthyguy I'm a Fan of truthyguy 42 fans permalink

If they did a morning TV deal they would put the last nail in the coffin of Joey the Red Neck, a real bigot with down home KKK credentials that go way back.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 09:46 PM on 11/14/2007

California has been waiting patiently for Imus to come back.

Thank goodness the wait is soon over.

**********­**********­**********­**********­**********­*****

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 08:38 PM on 11/14/2007
- kirkland I'm a Fan of kirkland 6 fans permalink

Imus ( and Charles who is a brilliant essayest, MHO) makes for some great morning rhetoric and buzz. What I appreciate about Imus is that there are no sacred cows in his stable and he is an equal opportunity acid tounged critic. Imus is as likely to ridicule himself as he is anyone else. There is an honesty about Imus that I've yet to find anywhere else on the airwaves. Some of his guests and his bits ( those regulars on his show who performed Charles well tuned and comedically popping narratives) made me fall out in manical glee at an obscenely early morning hour. Anyone who can elicit this deserves my adoration. Imus was a very bad DAWG. No doubt. That said- he was sacrificed unfairly. America needs to get more honest on an individual basis about the racism of one sort or another that honest people of conscience are willing to admit they struggle with , every day. Even Oprah.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 03:29 PM on 11/14/2007
- Blutus I'm a Fan of Blutus 11 fans permalink

There is nothing to "get" about Imus.

He's just like every other swinging
dick on the air.
The man is an opportunist who sticks
that wet finger in the breeze and then
decides on what "ideals" he's to push.

Yeah, sure he was against the Iraqii
war and so was the majority of the country
and most of the planet.
So real show of courage there !



And, when it became "cool" to crucify
the Clintons, he was a sudden Republican
who crawled right up Bushes ass in the
beginning.

Imus is a phoney piss of crap
who deserves to be horse-whipped
for all the crap he has said about
the Clintons, including accusing
Hillary of murdering Vince Foster,
which even the most craven of
pinch-brained right wingers no longer
claim.

A coke sniffing, vodka swilling payola
junkie phoney who taught his young son
how to flip the bird and named him
after a crooked law man.

Yeah, what a man!

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 02:25 PM on 11/14/2007

OK, if you die hard fans want to be technical
1. He was a major drug addict and maybe still is
2. He has a wonderful track record of marital infidelity and some children that he won't own up too
3. He is a bigot and racist jerk who claims to have better sense then the rest of us
4 Like bush he thinks he is a cowboy which means he just hasn't grown up

All quality character traits we can look up to.
Lets make sure our kids listen to him.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:58 PM on 11/14/2007

Those of you who don't 'get' Imus, don't watch or listen. I outgrew Howard Stern years ago when I grew up. I don't really want to hear about naked lesbian strippers but if you dig Howard, fine with me. I get and dig Imus in the Morning. I'm so glad the pc police didn't win this battle. The man should never have been fired and how Steve Capus and Les Moonves still have jobs is unbelievable but it's time to move on - 12/3 6 am can't come soon enough

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:54 PM on 11/14/2007

Not an Imus fan BUT he never should have been canned. That was the phoniest termination in air wave history. You hear not one word from the pc hucksters about the rap and crap allowed daily in some other venues.

Stern, yeah he was an inovator and really fun back in the 80's and early 90's but his thing jumped the shark 10 years ago when the best left the show.

His latest stuff is frankly terrible. Had to leave Sirius. I would have to be paid by the minute to listen to Robin, his goofy vapid sidekick and thee most annoying voice in modern day radio.

Opie and Anthony are much more fun if you enjoy that type of humor and such. A lot like the golden Stern days actually.

Good luck to Imus. You don't hear one word about 9-11, this administration or of marches to end the Iraq war from Jackson and Sharpton. It's all about easy money, greed and press.

Imus should have never been hassled over such silliness.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:28 PM on 11/14/2007
- dba I'm a Fan of dba permalink

It is clear that the critics had never listened to the entire content of the show and don’t know what they are talking about. If you do not find a radio or television program to your liking – then TURN THE CHANNEL. If you don’t find that Imus has anything of value to offer, that is your prerogative but such an opinion is irrelevant. Political correctness is to the left what sexual puritanism is to the religious right.

And yes, I can’t wait for the return of the I-Man, hopefully with his entire crew intact, unchastened and unleashed, not a kinder, gentler, PC-Imus-lite. Yes, the joke about the Rutgers team was insulting, and he apologized. But given the context of the show, which has always been an eclectic unpredictable mix of satire, juvenile comedy and serious politics (which is why it was so entertaining to his listeners). the humor was not malicious in its intent, and certainly not “reprehens­ible”,“des­picable”,“ speech”, and other hyperbolic characterizations
I have nothing against Joe Scarborough but his show has actually gotten more dull and boring than when he first took over the slot. Mika is incredibly lame and has absolutely nothing intelligent or witty to say on any subject. Willie was initially enjoyable, but has also descended into the doldrums of humor. Their so-called banter is so tedious, homogenized and redundant. And finally, those "must read" highlighted newspaper segments are so infantile -- we did this in the 6th grade! If they at least had something provocative or insightful to comment, may be it would be worthwhile. It seems that they need to rely on these "must read" segments because they themselves do not possess the intellectual resources to make the show interesting and compelling. The show may get high profile guests, but the quality of the interviews are as fluffy the Today show.

The “market” did not fire Don Imus since we, the listeners/consumers are the market, and Capus and Moonves did not consult with us.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:23 PM on 11/14/2007

Imus sucks if you want real radio get over to Sirius the Home of Howard Stern the originator and innovator... the only thing Imus has done successfully is steal from Howard Stern.

This article fails to mention how the current show Imus is replacing Curtis and Kuby got higher ratings than Imus did when he was in direct competition with them.

Please keep failing upward Iman

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 01:10 PM on 11/14/2007

Oh, he is back. Big deal, I had the smarts and good taste not to listen to this ego maniac before his vacation. If it wasn't for msm I wouldn't have known that he made the racial comments. Same as the fat pill popper. You must like abuse to tune in right wing stooges. Maybe your the one with the problem.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:30 PM on 11/14/2007
- MajorKong I'm a Fan of MajorKong 386 fans permalink
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I guess I just don't "get" Imus. To me he comes across as a 67-year-old frat boy.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:27 PM on 11/14/2007

You can spin it how you want but Imus is coming back so I'm a happy camper. I hope he takes it to the back stabbing weasels right out of the box. Keith Olbermann and Al Roker, you lost you big losers.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:23 PM on 11/14/2007

Victory!

Thank you Citadel. Thank you RFDtv. I can't wait to find out who the sponsors will be. The fans of Imus will be putting their money where their mouth is. Can't wait.

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:13 PM on 11/14/2007

I just read the show will be rebroadcast at night, now it really doesn't get any better. I applaud Citidel and RFD-TV for correcting this massive wrong, the firing of Imus

    Favorite    Flag as abusive Posted 12:08 PM on 11/14/2007
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