Imus on vacation?

[IADEMO2004]

[ChairmanAgnostic]

1. physically or mentally?

[Skidmore]

2. He and his crew should be permanently retired.

When are people going to tire of that vitriolic schtick they engage in?

[KharmaTrain]

3. He Spends His Summers In New Mexico

At his "ranch" that while helps children with terminal illnesses is also a big tax write off for him. Word is the folks at MessyNBC can't stand him and his hyenas since they moved the show to the Fort Lee studios...just like the WFAN people couldn't be happier he moved the show out of their Astoria studios.

I used to watch him every morning. As a "student" of radio, Imus was a great "jock" in the Top 40 days and even was a trailblazer in the conversion of radio from music to talk, but when he and his GOOP buddy Chuck McCord and racist, sexist jackass Bernard McGuirk come on the tube now I can't find the remote control fast enough.

[IADEMO2004]

4. Olberman is on now Hardball next

Imus usually appears from the ranch till Labor day.

[GCP]

5. Hardly a trailblazer

Howard Stern tells the story of his WNBC days in NYC when he was astounded that Howard just spent his whole air-time talking, he didn't realize what was possible until Howard did it then he jumped on the bandwagon.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Imus Was There Long Before Stern

I've read Private Parts and have known several friends who worked at W-NBC in the 70's and they all give Imus credit for building that place into a powerhouse that made it possible for NBC to hire Stern and into the biggest radio moneymaker in the country. Stern was only there for a short time and I give Stern more credit for pioneering in FM talk and reaching to a whole different generation (Steve Dahl eat your heart out...LOL). Stern's WNBC days, even by his own admission, was a disaster and it wasn't cause of Imus, fortunately Mel Karmazin brought him over to K-Rock and that's really where the Stern legend and audience grew.

Yes, like it or not...and as stated above, I'm no Imus fan, but the man deserves credit for his longevity in a business that spits them up faster than they can find them. Imus was the man created the "wheel"...where he plays the center of the action around a cast of characters long before Stern ever met Fred and Robyn and still keeps the show moving...a tough deal to do when you do morning drive with the heavy load of commercials, news and other junk thrown in.

Sadly, I look around for the next generation of radio innovators and I don't see any.

[vi5]

14. Huh?

I listened to Imus on NBC before Stern got there back in the day, and then that is where I also started listening to Stern. Prior to Stern's arrival Imus was much more of a wacky morning zoo type DJ. It's really not at all an exaggeration to say that prior to Stern's 75% talk to music ratio, Imus mostly played records and occassionally in between say some stupid catch phrases ("How's your donkey kong", whatever the hell that meant).'

Having listened to that station heavily back then and following that stuff through until recently, there's no doubt in my mind that Imus was a follower and not a pioneer in any way. If he was doing stuff that your friends said behind the scenes then whatever, but he sure as hell didn't do anything pioneering on the actual radio shows until Stern came and broke the new ground. He may have been NBC's most popular DJ, but he wasn't really innovating anything.

[KharmaTrain]

15. I'm Speaking Technique

We're talking different generations and genres. I haven't refered to Imus in his WFAN days...and yes, agreed, he copied others...but so did many others. Yep, I'm refering to the Morning Zoo concept that was an Imus innovation...first in Cleveland then in New York in the late 60s and early 70s...and did it on some of the most stale radio stations/operations around. Call the content stupid...and I'll agree with you, I never found him to be particularly insightful or funny in the way Stern is...but Imus did come into New York and blow WABC out of the water and his format...as I mentioned early...the "wheel"...with the "wacky" characters and pre-recorded bits (that sounded like phony commercials) were innovative at that time...and some of it Stern employed.

Stern deserves his props for bringing a new dynamic and generation into radio. He brought a sense of reality (the media dubbed it "shock") into radio that owes a lot to George Carlin, National Lampoon and Lenny Bruce. Steve Dahl in Chicago constantly bitches that Stern stole his concept, but Stern did it in the #1 radio market in the country and got in the ear and faces of the media...using the negative publicity to build upon...the "say good, say bad, just say" attitude.

One really can't compare Imus & Stern...it's depending on your personal preference. However, I did hear Mel Karmazin speak several years ago...he was head of Infinity Broadcasting and was both Imus' and Stern's boss and he differentiated the two by saying something close to "Stern is the most interesting person to listen to on the radio, Imus was the most popular and profitable".

[Olney Blue]

16. Kharma, just want to let you know that I enjoyed your analysis of

radio history today.. as this thread rides off into the sunset!

:yourock:

[durrrty libby]

6. Don’t you love asking a question, then getting a bunch of sarcastic

comments.

Anyway, I don’t know what’s up, but I’m wondering if this is part of a shake-up at MSNBC.

Dan Abrams recently took over and he wants to make changes.

Edited to add...I just hooked up to WFAN radio on-line and they are broadcasting

So far there has been no explanation. I'll let you know if he gives one.

I can't tell if it is even live yet.


Now I see from onceupon, it is a vacation.Thanks

[IADEMO2004]

11. Its not bad here, mostly civilized

How else can you get 1000's of posts.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

7. Looks like a vacation.

c&p
Imus and gang are off on a scheduled vacation from Monday June 26, 2006 through Tuesday July 4, 2006. "Imus in The Morning" will return live on the radio and on MSNBC on Wednesday July 5, 2006.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3226997/

[IADEMO2004]

13. Thank you

I haven't been able to open msnbc-tv page

[vi5]

9. However will we DU'ers survive?

Especially without the fluctuating
"Imus is hammering Buschco!!!"
"Imus is being a right wing shill!!"
...updates every 5 minutes on the "latest" page.

[Olney Blue]

10. Hardball and Countdown are on this morning, and I'm confused

myself. This is highly unusual. When Imus isn't on, they usually have straight
"news" by their regular crew. I wonder if the re-programming has started with Dan Abrams in charge.

[izzie]

12. I do not think Imus is very well, and I watch him a lot

Sometimes they get onto body parts and I give up on him but on the whole I sort of like the man. He is just sort of average in his thinking. I know he has a lot of money but I really like what he did with the kids. It looks like a nice program. And we all have faults which I am sure he has, like we all do. I get a kick out of how he gets mad at someone and then changes his mind. That is so like a lot of people. I once knew a man who would not vote for JFK because his wife talked funny and was skinny. Now that makes me laugh but how some people do think.