For several years I reveled in listening to Imus in the Morning during my 25-minute trip to work each morning. His fascinating assortment of guests–politicians, reporters, columnists, authors–tended to be far more candid than they would be on any other talk show. Imus ruled over the true “no spin zone.” He didn’t let his guests degenerate into their talking points. And so, people who bore me silly with their predictability on other talk shows–Chris Dodd, Pat Buchanan, John Kerry, John McCain, and a slew of others–actually provided enlightenment. Nobody else that I’ve found, on TV or radio, gets that level of candidness—and fun–out of guests. If they wouldn’t be candid and good-humored, he wouldn’t invite them onto the show.
Some years ago, the local radio station that carried Imus discontinued the program. My life has been lessened because of it. Now I listen to ESPN. From an intellectual standpoint, Mike & Mike is not an upgrade.
The type of comments for which Imus is now being chastised unmercifully were not the heart of the show. Yes, inappropriate utterances dotted every show, usually sexist things (in no way can you call Imus racist). I blame producer Bernard McGurk as much as anything; his on-air statements were usually crude, and he often prompted Imus to take things further (as was the case with the Princeton basketball team comment). But the heart of the show was the call-in guests and their commentary on current events. And he had an amazing cast of guests–Tim Russert, David Gregory, Tom Brokaw, Buchanan, Andrea Mitchell, the various presidential historians, Frank Rich, Kinky Friedman…on and on. No show on TV or radio matches what Imus did. He was a voice of reason amidst hurricanes of spin. Unfortunately, he also lapsed occasionally into being a voice of Really Stupid and Gratuitous Idiocy.
Should he have been fired? Yeah (I say reluctantly). I dislike the hypocrisy and showboating of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and crew, but I can’t fault NBC. And I won’t fault CBS if they drop his radio show.
Could the Imus show have been redeemed? Sure. He doesn’t need the Shock Jock stuff. Stick to interviewing guests and keeping them honest and candid. That’s why I listened.
If CBS drops the Imus radio show, there’s a possibility that Imus could move to satellite. That’s what I hope happens. Then I can once again listen to him–a clean-up Imus–as I drive to work.
