April 15, 2007
Revisiting Don Imus
Amid The Current Controversy, Mike Wallace Looks Back At His 1996 Interview With Don Imus
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Photo
Don Imus appeared on Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show in New York on April 9, 2007. (AP)
Produced By Tom Anderson
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See all 313 CommentsSure, the man's humor was often rude, crude, and juvenille. However, if he was so bad, why didn't you fire him A LONG TIME AGO?
The reason you let him go was still wrong. You wussed out, and gave in to the pressure of a couple of race-baiting hacks.
I'm no Imus fan, and never was -- but still think that if his show was to go, it should have been based on ratings, not an effort to be PC. If his listeners were offended, and turned him off, so be it.
CBS was once respected... but every year, you keep going further and further in the wrong direction. It's sad.
I was a shame that in your destructive piece on Don Imus you didn%u2019t mention that you where one of his guest (frequently) to his show. Also, what about the $3,430,683.00 that was raised on his Radiothon last Thursday and Friday. The outcry should have included the removal from MSNBC and CBS Radio during his Radiothon, but that was doing good and your piece was created to only show the bad.
Shame on you,
Shame on CBS,
Shame on Mike Wallace.
Shame on you for misrepresenting the truth, you know Imus, you know who he is and who he is not.
You and CBS (with your convenient editing) should be ashamed of yourselves.
Looks like you you were looking for justification for something someone in the front office did...cannot take credit for the following, but for sure it is true:
Imus will have a nation-wide syndicated program by Sept'07. and the person responsible for firing him will fired themselves...for not replacing the revenue lost...but this really does not tell the story...you should be ashamed of yourselves for not telling the truth about Don Imus...as they were fond of saying when people called in: "I've been a long-time viewer (listener) but this is the first time I've bother to write (call-in)...you're news show is pathetic...goodbye and good-luck.
Gerry
stephanie
Harrisburg, Pa.
After all, who is calling the shots.....I am absolutely ashamed to be a liberal who supported CBS after all these years,,,and to see you handle a delicate situation, that is very complex, in a simple manner that you have. It says that you have little regard for integrity.
We get a review of their report from more than 10 years ago but no details or opinions on the current travesty. No wonder CBS's ratings are abysmal.
If you are supposed to reort the news why don't you. Every poll and blog indicates the unfairness of CBS's and NBC's actions and you completely ingonre it.
You are unbelievable, your story was incredibly one sided. Why not report on the many charities Don Imus has raised money for or the time and millions of dollars he has contributed. Mr. Wallace you have appeared on the Imus show. You sir are a hypocrite. I hope that any time you make a mistake on the air someone takes up a cause to get you fired and destroy your career. I also would like you to think about what kind of world we live in, where we try to destroy someone who makes a mistake. I find it very despicable that people who were dying to get on his show are now treating him like he is an evil man. You make me sick!
You want a healthy does of shame? Cruise on over to FNC...those gutless turds don't know the meaning of it.
Imus is more than a shock jock - he is an American institution. Imus has great taste in music, books and is a champion of the environment, sick children and disabled veterans. My favorite thing about Imus, however, is his fearless and courageous attitude and willingness to discuss his recovery from drugs and alcohol. When Imus talks about what a grateful alcoholic he is has shows he is human and more than a talking head. His willingness to admit his mistake should be forgiven because nobody is perfect and making amends is something everyone can learn something about.
I hope that they bring Imus back on satellite and if so - I plan to subscribe. Shame on CBS for firing him. He made a mistake and the Rutgers team forgave him so why can't CBS reinstate him?
Imus is more than a shock jock - he is an American institution. Imus has great taste in music, books and is a champion of the environment, sick children and disabled veterans. My favorite thing about Imus, however, is his fearless and courageous attitude and willingness to discuss his recovery from drugs and alcohol. When Imus talks about what a grateful alcoholic he is has shows he is human and more than a talking head. His willingness to admit his mistake should be forgiven because nobody is perfect and making amends is something everyone can learn something about.
I hope that they bring Imus back on satellite and if so - I plan to subscribe. Shame on CBS for firing him. He made a mistake and the Rutgers team forgave him so why can't CBS reinstate him?
Imus is more than a shock jock - he is an American institution. Imus has great taste in music, books and is a champion of the environment, sick children and disabled veterans. My favorite thing about Imus, however, is his fearless and courageous attitude and willingness to discuss his recovery from drugs and alcohol. When Imus talks about what a grateful alcoholic he is has shows he is human and more than a talking head. His willingness to admit his mistake should be forgiven because nobody is perfect and making amends is something everyone can learn something about.
I hope that they bring Imus back on satellite and if so - I plan to subscribe. Shame on CBS for firing him. He made a mistake and the Rutgers team forgave him so why can't CBS reinstate him?
Imus is more than a shock jock - he is an American institution. Imus has great taste in music, books and is a champion of the environment, sick children and disabled veterans. My favorite thing about Imus, however, is his fearless and courageous attitude and willingness to discuss his recovery from drugs and alcohol. When Imus talks about what a grateful alcoholic he is has shows he is human and more than a talking head. His willingness to admit his mistake should be forgiven because nobody is perfect and making amends is something everyone can learn something about.
I hope that they bring Imus back on satellite and if so - I plan to subscribe. Shame on CBS for firing him. He made a mistake and the Rutgers team forgave him so why can't CBS reinstate him?
If you want to be timely, why not mention the Imus Ranch, Tomorrow's Children's Fund, the Greening Products along with Imus' advocacy for our troops, our children with Autism, etc.?
Mike, it's really time for you to go... let's not forget your kissing up to your good friend - President of Iran.
Bye, bye. We're watching Charlie Gibson....
What exactly was the purpose of showing a nearly 10-year-old interview with Imus as it applies to what happened last week? Is this supposed to solidify CBS%u2019 decision to can him? Mike Wallace should be ashamed of himself.
Sour grapes, Mike? Imus hasn't invited you on his show lately?
This segment was totally devoid of the normally well-reported, context-rich programming 60 Minutes is famous for. If Mike is too old to chase bad guys, don%u2019t insult our intelligence by blowing the dust off of an old segment and making him look like he%u2019s still part of the team. I was expecting at least a follow-up report with more interviews. But you left it at that. Lazy and inexcusable.
I%u2019m not watching anymore. This is worst than what Imus did. It%u2019s sucking up to the lynch mob that held a dangerous sway over this issue over the last two weeks.
Shame on you.
You both should be ashamed, one for your deliberate attack from 10 years ago; the other for your lack of courage; and both for not mentioning how many times you used him to promote your adgenda. What he said was WRONG and a two week suspenion fit the crime. Don't you think Imus was sincere when he said he would make amends. Who do you have now, the power hungrey Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson who do more to develop hate between races?
Lead an effort to take over CBS....start now...
when some famous investor tried to buy Chrysler 10 year ago, it was ten times the price he will buy it for today....perhaps CBS will realize it's future value now, and sell....and I will buy in
Now, obviously most of us would agree that the I Man's use of the "three dirty words" you can't say on television are socially unacceptable, particularly if they are expressed with a malevolent intent. Don Imus did not utter these words with such intent. He made a living out of offending all of us equally. This was his
shtick.
However,the words Imus spoke and worse are frequently expressed in the hallways of middle schools, high schools and colleges across the country. What Imus said was also no different that what comics and rappers also use as part of their routines. Moreover, they have crafted the use of the these words and other racially derogatory epithets into a multimillion dollar art form.
Imus was the victim of selective enforcement of a newly adpoted an ex post facto politically correct standard, that before Imus, had not been enforced against anyone saying the same thing.
Alas, the hypocrites prevailed. Will we soon see the air ways, television screens and comedy clubs entertain us with a "kinder and gentler form of humor and music"? Do we all feel better about our cultural future because Don Imus has been terminated? If you answered yes to either of these questions, the danger of more hypocrisy descending upon you is closer than you think.
Cut the man some slack; he used a term commonly
used by too many African Americans to
describe themselves, to wit, Whoopi Goldberg's One Ho productions. And of course Ms. Goldberg immediately called for his dismissal. Get real.
Judy Caldwell - Sarasota, FL
Imus may have apologized to keep his job, but CBS fired him for the same reason: economics. If this language had really been offensive to you, Imus would have been fired long ago.
How many radio stations owned by CBS play Gangsta Rap and Hip Hop music. Although CBS pretends to be outraged by the language common in this kind of "music," corporations like yours cannot afford to come out against it. Most of the people making money from Gangsta Rap and Hip Hop are Black artists. Are you willing to pull it off your airwaves and fire those responsible for it?
Even with all this outrage nothing will come of this as far as getting rid of offensive Rap and Hip Hop, it will be forgotten like O.J. Simpson looking for the %u201Creal killer,%u201D and no one in the media, will care.
Did you even give a second thought to the children at his ranch, and the disabled veterans at Walter Reed who will suffer because he is not there to promote their cause? I guess CBS will just consider them collateral damage.
You are not fooling the viewing public with this report. Everyone knows you caved into the terrorist-like demands of charlatans like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson who have no credibility of their own.
You proved that the President isn't the only one who is willing to lie and twist the facts to save his ***.
BLACK PEOPLE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF BEING THE "VICTIMS" THAT JACKSON AND SHARPTON CLAME THEY ARE...THE PEOPLEP I TALKED TO DIDNT CALL FOR THE FIRING OF MR. IMUS... ...IF YOU REALLY WANT THE PUBLIC OPINION OF IMUS THEN TAKE A DAMB POLE...BECAUSE HERE IN BOSTON THERE WOULD BE MORE PEOPLE ON HIS SIDE THAN YOU MAKE IT OUT TO BE...HELL, DONT LISTEN IF YOU DONT LIKE IT...ISNT THAT WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT RAP MUSIC?...SO I DONT LISTEN TO DIRTY RACIST SEXIST RAP MUSIC WHICH IS TEN TIMES WORSE THAN ANYTHING IMUS HAS SAID...AND DONT PLAY THE "OH IT'S AND ART" NOT A TALK SHOW...GIVE ME A BREAK SNOOP DOG!! I MISS IMUS.
BLACK PEOPLE ARE SICK AND TIRED OF BEING THE "VICTIMS" THAT JACKSON AND SHARPTON CLAME THEY ARE...THE PEOPLEP I TALKED TO DIDNT CALL FOR THE FIRING OF MR. IMUS... ...IF YOU REALLY WANT THE PUBLIC OPINION OF IMUS THEN TAKE A DAMB POLE...BECAUSE HERE IN BOSTON THERE WOULD BE MORE PEOPLE ON HIS SIDE THAN YOU MAKE IT OUT TO BE...HELL, DONT LISTEN IF YOU DONT LIKE IT...ISNT THAT WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT RAP MUSIC?...SO I DONT LISTEN TO DIRTY RACIST SEXIST RAP MUSIC WHICH IS TEN TIMES WORSE THAN ANYTHING IMUS HAS SAID...AND DONT PLAY THE "OH IT'S AND ART" NOT A TALK SHOW...GIVE ME A BREAK SNOOP DOG!! I MISS IMUS.
Mike Wallace quote from the interview:
"I listen to Imus and I have to admit that I find him irresistable."
Mike, you sold out to the media lynch mob.
http://ukiahcoachbrown.blogspot.com/
Power To The People!
Thank you CBS for "drawing" the line!
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