Talk:Andy Rooney

Da Ali G Show

I believe we should add a segmenet on here concerning a very short interview he had with Ali G (Sacha Baron Cohen) in which he made rather silly comments, including trying to correct Cohen's use of the word "racialist," even when Cohen already commented on the differences between American and British English. --70.186.192.13 01:39, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

I agree!

One note on the differences between American and British English. In American English, "the media has" is correct. "the media have" can also be used, but is rarer.

No it's not. "Media" is plural.

I dont understand why this line is included in the trivia section ; In anger, Rooney also claimed that the press could never print election results before the election took place. He isnt claiming anything, he is stating an obvious, logical fact. Unless I am missing the joke (?) I think that line should be removed from the section, as it doesn't make sense.
Perhaps note also in the trivia section that Andy Rooney is the first person to pull Ali up on his terrible grammar, as all of Ali's previous interviewees over a 5 year+ period have just smiled and accepted Ali's mangled English.. As I think this illustrates nicely Andy's professional, investigative and 'I-dont-buy-any-BS' attitude. But also, I think, it should be noted that he does offer to loan Ali G a book on the English language, as this shows that he wasn't just being a prick (for lack of a more encyclopedic appropriate descriptor) in his criticism of Ali's syntax. And lastly, Andy Rooney's page here at wikipedia deserves to be larger than it is.. as he is a deeply respected journalist with a career spanning six decades and has done a large amount of good in his life fighting corruption and evil. Dirk Diggler Jnr 01:59, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

I couldn't disagree more. He was being a prick when correcting his english since ebonics is considered by at the very least to be a dialect of american english by the african american communities that rooney revealed at best to have complete contempt for and at worst to be completely ignorant of. [User:A Hung[ydefined]]

The trivia section, to me, doesn't seem like it holds an awful lot of trivia.--DarthKobold 04:53, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

This section seems quite slanted.

"It has been said that Rooney's appearance on the show is perhaps the best example of this." It has been said? It has been said by whom? This is an old Fox News trick, stating opinions while attributing them to people who only supposedly exist.

How do we know Ali G was making a "thinly-veiled reference to the 1948 US presidential election"? He first talks about a plane crash. Then he mentions putting out the election results "a few days early." The 1948 election featured a paper jumping the gun and putting out election results one day early. I see no reason to assume this is in reference to the 1948 election, and find it much more likely that this example was chosen because this interview aired during an election year, just a few months before the election, if there is in fact any particular reason this example was chosen at all.

Rooney does not "imply" that the word "racialist" does not exist. Rooney said "it's 'racist' not 'racialist.'" Though racialist is a real word, the context in which Ali G used it was not correct. From the very page on racialism which is linked: "While the term racism often refers to individual attitudes and institutional discrimination, racialism usually implies the existence of a social or political movement that promotes a theory of racism." There is nothing in what Rooney said to imply that he's promoting a social or political movement; Rooney's "rudeness" being connected to Ali G claiming to be black would, in fact, be racism, not racialism.

The thing about the "acceptability of ebonics" also doesn't make sense. How is it "accepted," and what reason is there to assume Andy Rooney accepts it? The article on ebonics says it's an American dialect; the Ali G character is from England. -- DondleAtkinson 12:57, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

I again deleted the statement about Ali G. in the trivia section. It may be funny to watch, but it is not really that important. All that was posted in relation to this Ali G. bit (the 1948 election, the word racialist, ebonics) was just to justify that this silly interview should be mentioned here.

I think we should take another look at whether the Ali G appearance deserves mention. I think it's notable, and here's why: Da Ali G show consists almost entirely of efforts to expose prejudice or ignorance of one kind or another by begging the question: To what extent will people accept the idiocy and such of an urban youth, a middle eastern man, or an gay Austrian fashion reporter.

In this case, Rooney is one of a very few people who would not accept that Ali G could be so stupid. Amongst huge names in politics and other areas, Rooney is one of a very few who "passed the test" so to speak. For a lot of people who take seriously the sociological implications of Da Ali G show, the Rooney interview is very important.

I know I personally gained a great deal of respect for Mr. Rooney. Even though he is a bit impatient and could have been nicer, I still admire the fact that he did not simply assume, like most other guests, that urban youth were that stupid and ignorant. RadicalHarmony 15:58, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Dump the whole dated section or move it to the article on the show. Wikipedia's contributors are from such a limited sector of the population that Andy Rooney, who has been listened to or watched or read with respect since World War Two, is known to them principally for his appearance on one of their adolescent comedy shows. Look at the number of entries on this. Why all this interest in Andy Rooney, they wonder. Has he ever even hosted Saturday Night Live?Profhum (talk) 07:01, 18 April 2011 (UTC)

Awards

His Emmy awards are listed under his photo. Since there's an "Awards" section (which currently only shows his 2001 FFRF award) I think the Emmy awards should also be listed there. There are also other awards worth mentioning: a Peabody Award, three or more Writers Guild Awards, maybe others (see biography.com). -- 64.130.10.13 (talk) 05:45, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

In regards to Mr. Rooney's awards, I propose that his award from the FFRF should not be included at all. Doesn't it go against Wikipedia's policy that biographical articles should avoid giving undue attention to an individual's personal beliefs? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.24.66.68 (talk) 15:37, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

It would, if were some long diatribe which gave it undue weight. Merely mentioning the award is fine. Best, Markvs88 (talk) 15:53, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Youth

It is well corroborated that Rooney had no youth. The section should be removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.110.29.238 (talk) 06:11, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Love. Quacks Like a Duck (talk) 00:16, 3 October 2011 (UTC)

"Anti-gay remarks"

I removed the phrase "anti-gay remarks" from the section header about his suspension. The sources don't use the term "anti-gay," and in fact indicate that the remarks were also considered racially insensitive by CBS, while Rooney denied that they were either. The term "Suspension by CBS" is more neutral.--~TPW 01:47, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

It looks like from this article from The Advocate that the suspension came not immediately after the remark about "homosexual unions" but after an interview with the Advocate in which he said “I’ve believed all along that most people are born with equal intelligence, but blacks have watered down their genes because the less intelligent ones are the ones that have the most children. They drop out of school early, do drugs, and get pregnant.” http://www.advocate.com/Arts_and_Entertainment/Television/Did_You_Ever_Notice_Andy_Rooney%E2%80%99s_Homophobic_Comments/ --Larrybob (talk) 05:47, 6 November 2011 (UTC)

Nationality

"a legal relationship involving allegiance on the part of an individual and usually protection on the part of the state" - from Meriam-Webster. I think the editor is searching for "ethnicity", but I am unsure. In any event, the sourced content needs to stay, see the discussion in the body and cited sources. Shajure (talk) 06:07, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

Mostly pointless "Education" section

I mean readers still have no clue what discipline he was taught of. Any clarification on that? 93.80.36.79 (talk) 17:46, 28 May 2013 (UTC)