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Oops, he did it again...

Jimme said:
Imus is funny - sometimes insulting or stirring - but he is still funny. Which of the above would you rather hear.
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George Carlin is funnier right now than Imus.
 
Imus, I hate to say it, has lost the edge that made him a radio legend. They ran his show on KRKO in Everett, WA for a few years and then dropped him for sports.

Nowadays, he's pretty boring. Nobody listened to him in Everett

Now about this latest fracas: In this oft-played excerpt, Imus asked one odd question "What color is he?" (regarding Adam “Pacman” Jones)

I think that's totally irrelevant because stupidity does not discriminate. And if he follows sports as he seems to, he should already know who Adam “Pacman” Jones is by now.

As for sarcasm, there's better sarcasm in the fact it was Jones' sixth arrest since being drafted, not in his race or color. The way Imus made it look today, it still seemed pretty obvious this was the same guy CBS fired last year

But in defense of Imus (something that's getting very hard to do these days), I've heard worse baiting on Michael Savage's show.

I think he's at that age where his spunk is gone, his listeners sound as crabby as he does and it's time to retire.

I agree with the poster who said it was ABC/Citadel's fault for bringing him back. The sad fact is his show is still curmudgeon fodder. The only people who get any kind of laugh out of it are, well, grumpy old men.

Imus had a long and prosperous radio career, but it's time to pass the mike on...
 
This from my very white husband (because some of you know I am a minority even tho I don't think I am).
I played him the recording without preface. This is what HE said, "Anyone who thinks that isn't racist is an idiot."

So if you are defending Imus, well, maybe you should listen to the recording again. Imus thinks he is being funny, but it's not. If he had said that statement because the player was white, you'd be puzzled by it. There is an implication in what Imus is saying and that is that because of his RACE, "there you go." He is essentially saying that his RACE was the reason for all the arrests. With this, he implys that "African-Americans tend to be criminal." Even tho' the statistics would corroborate the statement, by saying so without that statistical attribution, he is being racist. I am explaining this to the people who just don't see why it is so offensive.

He was offensive in calling the women "ho's" (even without the "nappy" part) So do not defend that, you Imus worshippers. Women do not want to be known as "ho's" even if they are white.

I think they should just get rid of Imus. He is not funny anymore. He is old and his views are irrelevant to today's society. He is just an embarrassment.

Time for someone young to get that time slot. It's the circle of life guys.
 
Meanwhile, at least this remark is not as egregious as the one he made about the ladies. It did go by rather fast and even tho' he claims he was being sarcastic, I would say he needed to note that on the air and not say it after the fact.

We all make mistakes. He's had his share and now he needs to start being more careful.
 
And how bleeping anyone make fun of Don Imus... after all he's been through! He loves his ranch, he went through a divorce! All you people care about is listeners, and making money off of him!! HE'S A HUMAN!! What you don't realize is that Don Imus is making you all this money and all you do is say all this crap about him. When he was a disc jockey they made him play Andrea True Connection. All they wanted was "More More More"!!!! LEAVE HIM ALONE!!! You're lucky he even performs for you bastards! LEAVE DON IMUS ALONE!!! Please!! Don Imus is a profesional. Speaking of profesionalism, when is it professional to publically BASH someone who is going through a hard time? LEAVE DON IMUS ALONE, PLEASE!!! LEAVE DON IMUS ALONE RIGHT NOW!!! I MEAN IT!! boo hoo hoo,


Apologies to Chris Crocker.
 
I swear ... I've heard the "clip" a dozen times and it sounds like when Warner Wolf first says "Pacman's" name ... Imus mumbles under his breath, "Moron." I think it was a backpedaling stunt.

Instead of pressing your luck, just because you "can" ... doesn't mean you should.

Radio is a business.

Want freedom of speech in entertainment? Go buy a George Carlin album. Or, better yet, learn a lesson in history and go listen to Lenny Bruce. On vinyl.

Imus is neither.

The "Chris Crocker" post was hilarious! Made me want to go back to YouTube and check out his videos on Britney. So appropriate.
 
Why didn't Hillary pick up on this guy for her campaign? :) Just kidding. See? That's all he had to do. Say "just kidding" right away! Come to think of it this controversy would be a hotter one if Clinton-Obama were still at it. Imus and Jeremiah Wright wolud be ruling the roost right now.
 
OMG, the Chris Crocker post was hilarious!!
Thanks for the funny.
M
 
Someone paid that guy to get back on the air! He's awful.

It's New York radio however. Just keep bringing back the geriatric crowd i guess.
 
djmimi said:
This from my very white husband (because some of you know I am a minority even tho I don't think I am).
I played him the recording without preface. This is what HE said, "Anyone who thinks that isn't racist is an idiot."

He (Imus) is old...Time for someone young to get that time slot. It's the circle of life guys.
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I'm sure you are aware that it is against the law to deny someone employment because of age.

Therefore, the fact that Imus is old (BTW, "old" is a very subjective term) is not only a poor reason to fire him, it would also be illegal to fire him for that reason. Also, it would be equally illegal to use someone's "youth" as a reason to hire that person for that time slot (if another person with equal or better credentials was denied the job because they were "old"). Out of curiosity, being that you believe it is "time for someone young to get that time slot," what age limit would you place on a person applying for that job? Is 50 too old? How about 40? Do you feel you have the knowledge and/or insight to define at what age someone turns from young to old?

To paraphrase your husband's comment, "Anyone who thinks your comments aren't ageist is an idiot."
 
What a bunch of hypocrits, this is ridiculous. If you do not like what you hear then change the channel. Otherwise at least be balanced and not sit quiet about all the black on white racism on the airwaves and on tv. That which is also comedy just like Don Imus is comedian-shock jock and therefore again if you do not like it change the channel. Besides he did not even say anything racist since his comment was indicating black men are targeted because of profiling.

False accusations of racism creates more racism. For example white people that were normally not racist where pretty up in arms like I had never seen before in my life time because of how Imus was treated over the nappy-headed hoes comedy bit.

This could also serious hurt the Obama campaign depending how far this is taken and whether the Obama campaign satifies whatever Sharptons needs are. If they take care of Sharpton the left will give Imus a pass and likely sit this one out. The whole thing is just disgusting and the media cater to this nonsense.

Last year if anyone hurt those Rutgers girls it was the media and Sharpton by portraying Imus as serious news commentator rather than a morning radio shock jock. Also, what about all the children that were effected because Imus being taken off the air last year and not able to do his fund raiser, all just because a pig like Sharpton and the medias wolves want to event a story. The whole thing is just sickening.
 
HarrytheK1 said:
I'm sure you are aware that it is against the law to deny someone employment because of age.

Therefore, the fact that Imus is old (BTW, "old" is a very subjective term) is not only a poor reason to fire him, it would also be illegal to fire him for that reason.
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Yes, but there is no law saying you have to employ the dead.
 
When somebody has aged to the point where they are unable to do the job properly, then yes, they should be let go. It's not age discrimination - it's good business sense. If Imus was able to stay even half as sharp as he was in his heyday, he could stay on for another 20 years. But that is clearly not the case here.
 
Here in Nashville, where I live, we have "Pacman fatigue." Pacman has been in trouble with the law so many times that we just basically don't give a damn about him anymore! I'm certainly not a fan of the Tennessee tight'uns, or any other NFL team for that matter, but even some of the tight'uns fans got tired of constantly hearing about ol' Pacman in the news! Even they started rolling their eyes every time he had his latest brush with the law! ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

Apparently, Pacman is trying for an image makeover! He has cut off his dreadlocks, and has been traded to Dallas, this despite the fact that he is still on suspension, and his suspension has not been lifted yet. Even Pacman's own friends have tried to warn him that he is throwing his whole future away, and basically pissing away talent that most people would give everything they own to have! Now I see in this article below that he now wants to shed his "Pacman" nickname! Sheesh, the Cowboys can have him! :mad:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3453150

I'm certainly no fan of Imus (can't even get him here in Nashville!), but since it is Pacman that he criticized, I say give him a pass! Most of us are sick to death of what I call "faux racism"! :mad:
 
An older article, but this one details all the brushes he had with the law while he was based in Nashville. Pacman is not the victim of racism! He brought all of this on himself! And now even his former Tennessee tight'uns fans won't come to his defense anymore!

http://bumpshack.com/2007/03/02/pacman-jones-criminal-record/

Note that he still had his dreadlocks in the photo accompanying the above article! And notice how he was rolling his eyes! ::) This was in night court here in Nashville a couple of years ago.
 
Barbara Walters is ten years older than Imus and I would never call her views "old and Irrelevant" She is amazingly in sync with the times.
But Imus's views are both "old and Irrelevant" and he doesn't belong on the air. He belongs to an era that doesn't exist anymore.

So yeah, call me ageist if you want. But he has not kept up to the current times. Nowadays, if you are hip, you don't even bring up a person's race.
 
mjb1124 said:
When somebody has aged to the point where they are unable to do the job properly, then yes, they should be let go. It's not age discrimination - it's good business sense. If Imus was able to stay even half as sharp as he was in his heyday, he could stay on for another 20 years. But that is clearly not the case here.
Click to expand...

Your point is well-taken, but I don't think this situation is as black and white (no pun intended) as you're making it.

If, indeed, someone can no longer do their job properly because of age, then certainly the demands of business do call for something to be done about that. However, I do not think that is anywhere near clear in the case of Imus. If you go back to as recently as the day before he made his comment about the Rutgers women's basketball team, you will find that the commentators, the media, and even the management of WFAN, CBS radio, and MSNBC had nothing but praise for Imus. He hosted the highest-grossing radio show in NYC, he brought stability and direction to the morning programming for a major cable network, and was a much-sought after guest on the cable TV talking heads shows. Then he made his fateful remark and everything came crashing down.

But, only a few months later, another major broadcasting chain offered him millions of dollars to host a syndicated morning show (and they knew how old he was when they made the offer). Your statement that he is clearly not half as sharp as he was 20 years ago is nothing more than subjective, if not downright inaccurate. Did his ability, his mind, his sense of humor, and his interviewing skills, decrease so substantially in barely a year? You certainly have the right to not like his show and, for that matter, to not like him, but I think you're way off base in your comments. Imus may not always have made the best decisions, but, overall, he's had a career that eclipses 99.9% of all those who have ever worked in radio...and that continues right through to today. Just look at the national attention he's getting this week. People who aren't very sharp don't get this kind of attention.

I don't think he's lost a step. In my opinion, he's just changed his style from 20 and 30 and 40 years ago (and even from last year as well). Any professional broadcaster would do that in order to survive in the ever-changing industry of radio. Someone like Imus, who has been at the top of his profession as long as he has, will know (and/or be told by those he respects) that it's time to hand over the reins. Certainly Citadel and WABC radio don't agree with your assessment. They're not in the business of throwing away money by giving it to those who can't cut it anymore.

Citadel is to be praised for judging their personnel on the basis of ability and talent (or lack thereof), rather than on how old they are.
 
When CBS-FM wanted to cut Big Dan's hours and he decided to quit instead, the major issue was age in that Dan Ingram clearly sounded way out of his prime. He was not the same dj he was in the 60's or 70's, or even the 80's. The same thing happened with Hy Lit in Philadelphia. It is no different on radio than in baseball. At some point you are so far off your game, its time to go.

Imus is clearly not at that point. His interviews are just as good, and he is one of the best radio interviewers.

It is possible that this week's unfortunate remark was a "senior moment". I agree with David Hinckley in today's column that if you have to explain a joke, something is wrong. But when you are on the air 20 hours per week with a talk show, something is going to be said that needs explanation.
 
yay,verily, peace will come upon the waves that undulate through the atmosphere, for Pacman will pray for the shameless Imus.

So it was reported, so let it be done.
 
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