Talk:Don Imus

Where is his history of racism?

On Jews, and calling a Jewish guest's black wife a "ho". Etc. Etc. With references: http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200704110004

Lesley Stahl

Lesley Stahl, not Leslie (common mistake). TVBarn, 28 October 2005

Canned

Looks like his show's getting canceled, according to what I saw on Nightline last night. Does anyone care to do the honor of declaring his radio show officially dead in the water? Wandering Star 17:51, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Is it officially canceled right now or are you just being part of the problem? This page needs to be watched for vandals. With all the crap on the TV and radio it is only time before someone starts editing because they have an opinion.Not Wandering Star 18:46, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

It is officially canceled on CBS now. 128.189.175.184 21:03, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Image link

I pulled out the link to the missing image:

File:Imus pic.jpg

. If that image reappears, we can add back in the link to it. Amoore 22:58, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

how did imus grow up listening to wolfman jack as a child? they are the same age.

What crap...he was fired for expressing freedom of speech. PC bullshit.

Removed link

Removed MSNBC apologize for Imus remarks Clicking on it brought up a box with donation request from CAIR not an MSNBC apology. If article is on this website, I hope someone can make the direct link. Sorry, I don't have time to fix it.--FloNight 16:42, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Imus in the Morning

Don't you think 'Imus in the Morning' should have it's own entry seperate from Don's?69.177.150.109 19:21, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

There's pros and cons to doing this, but a couple of people started it without finishing it, so I've now finished it, more or less. Wasted Time R 03:38, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

Other Controversies?

During a broadcast in 2004 sportscaster Sid Rosenberg referred to Palestinians as "brainwashed" and "stinking animals." He also said they were "stupid to begin with," that a bomb should be dropped on them, and that they should be "killed right now". The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission condemned the comments and accused Imus of violating the Canadian Specialty Services Regulations of 1990.

I know this won't be on here long, because it doesn't agree with many. What happened to FREE SPEECH? People should be able to say what they believe. Why is it OK to be walking down the street with your 10 year old daughter, and hear blasting from a passing car, this RAP CRAP that they call music, the N word, F word, HO's, BITCHES, and anything else they choose. When a white person does the same thing, he should be fired. Don't Al Sharpton & Jesse Jackson have anything better to do than run to every talk show on the air..The only time you see them on TV is when they're protesting something. What about this girl claiming rape against the 3 college kids? She's not even being charged with anything. I don't hear Sharpton yelling about her. I'd like to fire him. GALP

If Sid Rosenberg made those comments, why would the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission accuse Imus of violating anything?

--LedFloyd 05:24, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't sound right to me either. Also, the external link doesn't work. This paragraph needs to be verified but, in the mean time, I moved it to Imus in the Morning. It was definately out of place in the Don Imus biographical article. Accurizer 14:04, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Why does this idiot, keep saying Jesus is on his side?????? He is making a mockery of the symbolism of jesus's "dying for our sins" on the cross, Ok imus, so jesus died for your stupid idiotic racist remarks, go get a damn life Imus! until you do stop blabbering about jesus died because you said nappy headed hoes on the air, during a moment in time where imus simply was talking through his anus.

NPOV?

I pulled this quote from the howard stern controversary section "The truth of this dispute lies in the ear of the hearer"....does that sound encyclopedic to anyone?--Alex 01:14, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

No, it is awkward at the very least. I took a shot at rewriting it, please take a look to see if you think it reads better now. Accurizer 14:17, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

Looks good as far as I'm concerned! Thanks! --Alex 00:36, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Extra ball.

Should the article mention that Don Imus has three testicles? -- Cimon avaro; on a pogostick. 19:51, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

Is there a verifiable source for this? If no, then definately not. Accurizer 00:14, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

I don't know where, but there ought to be. I know Imus Himself has talked about it freely enough in interviews. I'd google for it, if I knew what the correct technical term for having three testicles is. (there is bound to be some fancy word) -- Cimon avaro; on a pogostick. 17:57, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Quick googling didn't provide any conclusive referrable sources, but using various combinations for google searches, there were a handful of results (so to speak) in google groups and forum talk, proving that I am not the only person to know about this. ( Here is an example - check the first result. -- Cimon avaro; on a pogostick. 02:47, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

White House press dinner

I've seen several references to Don Imus in comparison to Stephen Colbert's performance at the white house press dinner. I came here to find out more, which I have about Imus, though the article makes no mention of his speech (also considered rude by some).

Transcript to speech: http://imonthe.net/imus/ispeech.htm Barnetto 14:38, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

Imus and Colbert both made their presidents uncomfortable.

Nixon Fan

It should be mentioned, in greater detail than I know, that Imus is a fan of the Nixon problems. Notably, Charles McGord's outburst on Imus having said he'd stop talking about it, and then talking about it more. The date of this is December 3, 1997, because the clip (my favorite of Charles) was played recently. So, can anyone else support this? Rockhound 15:18, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

This entry needs a section on Imus' political beliefs. --70.150.12.98 16:54, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

I think you are mistaken. McCord's outburst had to do with Imus's incessant references to The Whitaker Chambers book by Sam Tannenhaus. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.37.125.218 (talk • contribs)

Charities / politics new sections

It would be good to add a section on Imus' support for charities especially the large amount he helped raise for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund building in San Antonio. Also, a section on his political beliefs. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.13.87.114 (talk • contribs)

Sid's firing

It was my understanding Sid Rosenberg was let go because of a continuing cocaine addiction. Also, considering other comments made by the rest of the staff, it seems ludicrous to fire someone for some off-color remark from this show. I'll look into it.

Rosenberg was indeed fired from Imus in the Morning for the comments regarding breast cancer. He continued to be employed by WFAN on his own midday talk show with Joe Beningno until failed to show for a scheduled show from a remote location, reportedly on a cocaaine binge. He subsequently found work in Miami, and was recently rumored to be returning to WFAN before deciding to extend his contract in Florida.

Rutgers controversy

There are two different dates listed for the Rutgers controvery. One is listed under the racism, homophobia category and the other is listed under the Rutgers headline. Someone might want to fix that, I'm not sure of the exact date or I would do it myself. kc12286 22:16, 7 April 2007 (UTC)kc12286

Correcting date for the Rutgers controversy

The original offensive remarks occurred on Wednesday, 2007-04-04, not Thursday 2007-04-05. Sources:

• the [media matters] article that broke the story,
• the [New York Times],
• the [Larry McShane article] cited in this Wikipedia article.

The WNBC source which claims Imus made the initial remarks on Thursday is wrong; please do not revert to it.

Actual timeline:

• Wednesday, 2007-04-04 Imus makes offensive remarks
• Thursday, 2007-04-05 Imus says people should not be offended
• Friday, 2007-04-06 Imus apologizes

Baileypalblue 00:16, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Protected

Because of the recent controversy and some questionable WP:BLP edits, I'm protecting the article for a week. I'll watchlist the article and see if anything develops. Cheers, alphachimp 04:36, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Popular

"His popular radio show, Imus in the Morning, airs daily." Is his show actually popular? Maybe this adjective should be removed? --The Lone Bard 19:29, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Where have you been. His show is one of the most popular on MSNBC and his share of the Arbitron ratings, while certainly not what they were before the advent of the new media and oversaturation of television channels, is consistently high. Not to mention the types and quality of guests he has on his show and the influence his show can have on shaping national opinion.

Mister Jinxy 22:32, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

Ah sorry. I had heard he had a weak 1 share with 96% of his audience being in the 65-100 age group. --The Lone Bard 22:19, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

sites suggesting antisemitism

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2535 http://www.forward.com/articles/imus-cbs-bosses-money-grubbing-jews/

Women's Media Center?

This was added earlier "In addition on April 9th 2007, the Woman's Media Center (WMC), a non-profit women's media organization, also spoke out against Imus' comments in an exclusive article on their website. (see article)" I'm sure lots of groups have come out against Imus, but I'm not sure this one is notable. Should it be removed? They might just be trying to get more web traffic. --AW 17:47, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Anyone? --AW 15:15, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Neutral?

I think the section about his comments on Al Sharpton's Talk show should be changed. it currently states that [he stated I cannot win with "you people" likely referring to black people] It is very presumptuous to say what he meant with such a vague comment, he may have meant that he cannot win against reporters or talk show hosts or even arguing with other men. The way it is currently worded barely falls short of calling him a racist. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.100.0.42 (talk) 19:17, 10 April 2007 (UTC).

agreed, i took "you people" to mean the Al Sharpton's and Jesse Jackson's of the world

Didn't Don Imus once said that Venus Williams and Serena Williams (the famous tennis sisters who happen to be black) should pose in National Geographic and not in Playboy? If so, that should be mentioned.Fclass 21:00, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Like wise I'm deleting "Some say that this recent controversy may be the "straw that broke the camel's back" and ultimately lead to the firing of Don Imus." No quote, no purpose or reason for it, and as far as I know he's still working. Kinglink 22:27, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Should Rutgers controversy be its own article?

A controversy of this magnetude should have its own article. There's precedence with Mel Gibson's drunken racial tirade and the mistaken terrorist threat caused by ads for the television show Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I was watching a thorough "Anatomy of a controversy" segment on ABC News that pretty much outlined how every thing occured, from the first first day when the comment was made, to the complaint e-mails to Imus's apology to his appearance on Sharpton's show to the Rutgers team press conference and on and on. Does anyone support this idea? I wouldn't mind compiling the info. - Throw 09:51, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Not unless/until the section becomes so large that it needs to split, per WP:SUMMARY. I don't think it's there yet. It might not get there. Of course, if you do compile that stuff and make the article so large it needs to split, well then there you go. — coelacan — 09:54, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

This controversy is important to Imus but otherwise it is a tempest in a teapot and gets way too much attention as it is. The current section should be deeply edited and trimmed. But wait until after the furor dies down.--Blue Tie 10:56, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

No thanks. A controversy that made him lose his TV show? There's nothing to trim. — coelacan — 11:18, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

We'll see. I think that much of what is there can be moved to footnotes and summarized in the article. Right now it reads like a diary not an encyclopedia. --Blue Tie 11:33, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

No separate article is needed at this time Ecostaz 12:09, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Gwen Ifill statement is not correct

Allegations of racism, misogyny, and homophobia Imus and his crew, Charles McCord and Bernard McGuirk, have been repeatedly accused of racism, misogyny, and homophobia. For example, Imus referred to African American sports columnist Bill Rhoden as a "New York Times quota hire" and PBS anchor Gwen Ifill as a "cleaning lady" over twenty years ago.[5]

This statement is in gross need of correcting because for the most part it is at least in part not correct. I have listened to Imus for years going back to when C-SPAN used to come by his studios once a month and film the show. I have seen several news outlets use the Gwen Ifill "cleaning lady" statement to prove Imus's history of racism. Both Al Sharpton and Matt Lauer cited this incident which Gwen Ifill herself wrote about in the New York Times. She was informed by New York Daily News columnist Lars-Erik Nelson that Imus had said "Isn’t the Times wonderful, It lets the cleaning lady cover the White House.” what nobody ever reports is that the qoute aired during a political parody segment that the Imus Show used to have Imus in Washington which featured various characters in a roundtable like discussion such as David Brinkley and Richard Nixon voiced by Larry Kenney with Imus serving as the announcer for the segments. Rob Bartlett also appeared on many of these segments as Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh. The Ifill comment came during one of these segments and was not said by Imus himself though Imus has said repeatedly over the years that since his name is on the program he is solely responsible for the content. So yes the Ifill comment did go out on Imus's air but as he explained on his show and on Al Sharpton's radio program it was a political satire and was not stated as his personal opinion. When he spoke on the Today show on April 10, 2007 Matt Lauer mentioned the Ifill comment and when Imus tried to explain Lauer cut him off and Imus never got to finish his answer as he had done on the Sharpton show. I have heard FOX, CNN, and MSNBC commentators all site this qoute as if Imus said it himself and never mention it's true origin. It has also appeared in the New York Times and various other reputable new outlets as a direct Imus qoute. If this article is going to have the Ifill comment it should have more details. This happened so long ago that it has become part of the "Imus Legend" and if you tell a story long enough it becomes the truth. Maddhatt 12:48, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

First, do you have a citation (preferably contemporaneous) that contradicts the commonly understood perception? I've clarified the text a bit and added better citations for what is widely reported. You could certainly be right about the context, but something more than his self-defense, and a listener's recollections, would be helpful. And I don't know that it changes anything anyway - the words were said. Any time Imus gets caught by his words, or words on his air, it seems he tries to cover it by either saying it was political satire or that it's not his personal opinion. But I would assume these segments were scripted, so presumably someone intended to say that - if someone else said it on his live show he could have said after the segment something about it being a joke, or satire, or said in fun or any of a number of things. But it appears, like this latest episode, that his first reaction is to find it funny and then to stand by it as not really significant. Only when the furor begins does he own up, or apologize, or defend. That sounds a lot like someone who meant it in the first place. Just my opinion, but read the Mike Wallace bit in that section. I think the article needs a reasonable citation in order to change the Ifill graf - the current text has reliable sources, even though I take your point that they could all be reporting the same mistake. Tvoz |talk 18:40, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Howard Stern Controversies

It should be noted that Stern has repeatedly state since he parted ways with Imus' old flagship home of WNBC that Imus mistreated employees at the station, including calling some of the black female office workers the N-word. JRNYC 13:32, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Two questions

Hello, I have two questions.

1. He's sometimes being quoted as having referred to the female players as 'jiggaboos'(I have no clue how to spell that). Is this true, or one of those distortions that gets passed on?
2. The article mentions allegations of "homophobia", but I'm not actually finding the specific allegations? Bladestorm 15:52, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

A quick Google search says yes he did. And here's the direct video on the top right corner: [1]. Homophobia is kind of sketchy and is probably assumed from this clip: [2]. Other than that, I can't find anything else homophobic. 128.227.51.234 16:02, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

He constantly referred to various people as "half a fag". - Nunh-huh 21:04, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

editorialized comment

is it really nescessary to accuse Opie and Anthony of being Howard Stern immitators under a subject heading relating to Imus' sobriety? please delete... Meatwad666 15:58, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Someone removed the "imitators" comment. — coelacan — 18:56, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Atlanta Child Murders

I grew up in Central Jersey and listened to "Imus in the Morning" on WNBC (am) back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I am 100% certain that he played Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" during the Atlanta Child Murders -- 29 young African-Americans were killed between 1979 and 1981. There was an uproar about it and I believe Imus was reprimanded. I have been scouring the web for in the last week or so to see if anyone else remembers this and have found some comments on blogs, but those are not necessarily good references. Anyone else have any information about this? Any good sources? I do think it's worth mentioning on the "controversies" area of the Imus page, since it shows his LONG history of racism and inappropriateness.

Ottseetotsee 17:36, 12 April 2007 (UTC) Christine Ott

That's interesting, since the song wasn't released until August 22, 1980. dposse 21:17, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

WP:Recentism and WP:LEAD

Ok, as folks are no doubt aware of this article's getting a lot of attention currently. As a result this section is going to be large. This is normal. Over time the essential aspects of that section will remain and the non-essential bits will be sorted out. I would recommend that editors not make too much effort to curtail good faith editing in this section for now and let things play out. As things settle down this section will be ripe for paring down. Also the fact that his show has been canceled stemming from these events merits mentioning in the lead of the article. WP:LEAD spells this out. See the Michael Richards article for a good exmaple of this. It is true that he has been involved in good number of controversies in the span of his work but given that he's essentially been fired stemming from this latest one makes the weight of it a bit more than the others. (→Netscott) 21:34, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

"racial and sexist"

the use of "racial and sexist" is confusing... "racist and sexist" or "racial and gender-related" work just fine. im sure the imus-defenders would push for "racial and gender-related" while the imus-bashers would pick "racist and sexist", but the fact is that either works but theres no room for compromise. pick one or the other, not in between. as is, the use of "racial and sexist" leaves open a HUGE elephant in the room: people reading the page will automatically wonder "hmmm, so its racial, but is it racist? cuz it is sexist..." and in the end it will only read like the wiki community has been painstakingly calculating the right "spin" on the race and gender issues. thats unprofessional, so lets pick between "racist and sexist" or "racial and gender-related".... if nobody has any feedback, i'll simply flip a coin to decide, since i am impartial. i just want wikipedia to look a lot less like people were prudent and calculating for the sake of political technicalities.

perhaps this would be a good place to discuss the difference between racialism and racism... has Imus been accused of both?

160.39.211.133 21:37, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

I would recommend avoiding the words "racist" and "sexist" as such terminology falls afoul of Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy. (→Netscott) 21:40, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Since when? The language has been characterized by dozens of wpeople including those who fired him as being recists and sexist. Tvoz |talk 21:46, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

It is true that sources are using such terminology... but sources are not obliged to abide by a neutral point of view. If you have a look at the Michael Richards article you won't find any mention of the word "racist" (and what he said was arguably more inflammatory than what Imus said)... (→Netscott) 21:48, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Violates NPOV to call them "racist" or "sexist". We can only point to verifiable information that (notable) individuals have called them as such. Wikipedia does not decide if they were sexist or racist. We only point to facts that say others have called them as such. --75.21.179.121 21:50, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict with above) Tvoz you should read some basic wikipedia policy. It was never allowed to state something as fact coz "dozens of people" said it. At most you are allowed to write it as an opinion of the source. Dozens of people won't make it into a fact ,sorry. Ecostaz 21:52, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm afraid you lost any points you night have been making, Netscott, when you entered the line "he apologized pubically" here in the midst of your complaint about "racist". Grow up, won't you? Tvoz |talk 21:54, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Just following the Michael Richards example... you'll note that it mentions that he apologized in the lead of that article. In the grand scheme of his show's cancelation the apologies merit mentioning there for balance. If you're thinking I'm trying to whitewash this article, you're mistaken... I'm editing/discussing from a very very long and protracted experience working on the Richards article where I encountered folks who did their best to downplay the whole Laugh Factory incident. (→Netscott) 21:57, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

(edit conflict with netscott above) The talk page should be about discussion of the article not personal attacks on other editors. The solution could be to put a direct quote in the lead and avoid any 'remarks about the remarks'. Ecostaz 22:00, 12 April 2007 (UTC)