Imus in the Morning

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Imus in the Morning
Imus in the Morning
Genre	Comedy, News, Politics
Running time	4 hours, 30 minutes (WFAN); 3 hours (MSNBC)
Starring	Don Imus Cast Members
Country of origin	USA
Original channel	WFAN (Radio), MSNBC (television)
Original run	1982–Present

Imus in the Morning is a daily comedy, news, and political program that revolves around the personality of Don Imus. The show is produced by WFAN and syndicated by Westwood One in the United States and airs from 5:30 to 10am. Since September 2, 1996, the show has been simulcasted on cable television network MSNBC from 6 to 9 a.m.

The program's reach has increased substantially from its original Tri-State Region radio audience that was limited to the listening area of WFAN, and is now a truly national program; it is syndicated daily throughout the United States.

While the program originates from the MSNBC studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, certain cast members are based at WFAN studios in Astoria, Queens, New York. When at the Imus Ranch, Imus broadcasts the show from Ribera, New Mexico while the rest of the cast remains in New Jersey and New York.

The Imus in the Morning Program started off on 660AM WNBC in New York City in 1971. After being fired in August 1977 and relocating to Cleveland for some while, NBC wanted Imus back in New York. On September 3, 1979, Imus started off his first program back in NYC with the character/voice/bit 'The Reverend Billy Sol Hargus'.

1 Importance of the show
2 Cast members
3 Controversies
4 Quotations
5 References and notes
6 External links

[edit] Importance of the show

Originally considered a shock jock, Imus has turned his show more towards politics and news and has gained public influence as a result. The show's many guests include prominent politicians such as John McCain, John Kerry, Dick Cheney, J.D. Hayworth and Harold Ford, Jr., as well as reporters and columnists from Newsweek, NBC, MSNBC, and other media outlets.

Imus broadcasts parody songs and voices which comment on national and local New York events.

During the 1990s, Imus in the Morning gained a reputation as a useful, non-traditional platform for politicians to express their views and gain exposure. When Imus has a guest of some fame, he usually asks obvious questions, forcing the guest to impart fundamental information. In 1997, Imus was featured as one of Time magazine's "25 most influential people in America"; he was also on the cover of Newsweek in 1999.

Former U.S. Sen. Al D'Amato (R-N.Y.) was one of the first officeholders to ingratiate himself with "The I-man". Imus was a Bill Clinton supporter, but managed to offend the White House with off-color remarks in front of the Clintons during a 1996 Radio and Television Correspondents Association dinner speech.^[1] In 2000, Imus was a George W. Bush supporter; however, after the Iraq War, Imus became more critical of Bush and supported John Kerry in 2004.

As of 2005, Imus in the Morning is carried by about 90 radio stations across the United States.^[2] Arbitron analysis puts the program among the most listened to radio talk shows in the United States,^[3] and it has about 3.5 million radio listeners per week. Because the show draws more affluent and less politically partisan demographic compared to other radio talk shows, it is able to demand advertising rates comparable to competing radio shows with higher ratings.^[4] This included the former Howard Stern terrestrial radio broadcast. In comparison, Stern attracted more than 8.25 million listeners on half as many stations.

Imus has been able to maintain his demographic cachet despite somewhat declining rating numbers; the Winter 2005 Arbitron book had Imus in a three-way tie for 17th place in New York City's competitive morning drive.^[5]

Imus generally selects country and western songs as bumper music, often playing them at substantial length, and has heavily promoted artists he likes such as Delbert McClinton, The Dixie Chicks, and The Flatlanders. Sometimes when soundbites are played as part of the news, a shrieking "SHUT UP!" sound effect will be played, abruptly ending the soundbite.

[edit] Cast members

Imus in the Morning has a regular cast of members who supply news, comedy, and act as foils to Imus. Featured cast members include:

Charles McCord,^[6] his newsman, often playing a sycophant. Writes many of the comedy bits featuring voice over personalities Larry Kenney and Rob Bartlett (below).
Bernard McGuirk,^[7] his producer, often playing an antagonist, whom Imus sometimes refers to as a "bald-headed stooge"; a few character voices ( Ray Nagin, Cardinal Egan, Cardinal O'Connor, Maya Angelou,...)
Larry Kenney,^[8] various character voices (Richard Nixon, George Patton, Ted Kennedy, Andy Rooney, Jack Nicholson, Jerry Falwell...)
Rob Bartlett,^[9] more character voices (Bill Clinton, Rush Limbaugh, Scott Muni, Dr. Phil, Brian Wilson, Omar Minaya, Alberto Gonzales, Vicente Fox, Al Gore, Blind Mississippi White Boy Pig's Feet Dupris, Liza Minnelli...)
Chris Carlin,^[10] his sports reporter; gimmick is "The Fat Boy Lock of the Week!"
Tracy Burgess,^[11] "scum reports" of gossip and entertainment news, also Shadow Traffic(as "Rear-end Rhonda") for WFAN local breaks
Lou Rufino,^[12] program engineer

Part of the appeal of his cable show is the overt display of office politics: cast members are frequently the butt of Imus' sarcasm, largely because of their outspoken points of view, while McCord works very hard at being neutral and thus staying out of Imus' line of fire.

Previous sports reporters have included Sid Rosenberg (fired in May 2005 for comments made regarding Kylie Minogue's battle against breast cancer), Warner Wolf, Patrick McEnroe, Don Criqui, Mike Breen (valued for his deadpan delivery of false sports news), and Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo (whose career was helped immensely by this role).^{[citation needed]} Previous "scum reporters" have included Janice Dean and Christy Musumeci, who departed for Fox News Channel and MSNBC, respectively.

Imus has regular guests on the program to discuss upcoming sporting events. Typically, these guests appear only during the season of their respective sport. Such guests include Jim Nantz and Phil Simms (of CBS) and Terry Bradshaw (of Fox) for football, and Darrell Waltrip (of Fox) for NASCAR. During an interview with Boomer Esiason, after ridiculing him, Imus chided Esiason with a trademark phrase "get off my phone," insisiting he hang up. Esiason shot back with "no, you get off my phone."

[edit] Controversies

Imus has had a long-standing rivalry with Howard Stern. It most recently boiled to the surface in 2003, when Stern called Imus while both were on the air to demand an apology for a comedy skit that Imus had aired. After exchanging insults, Imus cut Stern off.^[13] In late 2005, Imus commented that he wished Stern would do well at Sirius satellite radio, as Imus held Sirius stock.

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".^[14] The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission found that the comments, as broadcast on MSNBC Canada, violated Canada's Specialty Services Regulations.^[15]

Beginning in February 2005, MSNBC featured Amy Robach, and then afternoon regular Contessa Brewer as news readers on Imus in the Morning. Brewer held the position for over two months. Brewer was never a comfortable fit, and Imus subjected her to constant ridicule, which was initially dismissed as typical show fodder. On April 29, 2005, the New York Post published a gossip item where Brewer called Imus a "cantankerous old fool." Imus responded by calling her "fat" and "painfully stupid," and hurled countless personal insults. Brewer was immediately removed from the morning program. Imus insists that her position on the program was terminated after she insulted cancer patients who attended the Imus Ranch.^[16] Brewer also questioned the policies of the Imus Ranch, feeling it may not be fun for the children.

[edit] Quotations

"Quack quack" -- sound effect played during intro after commercial breaks.
That'llllll be fine" -- said in response to provocative descriptions by other cast members.
"I luv yar Fred ...Who do you like in the car race?" -- Imus speaking to brother Fred via phone.
"Aw man it don't get much better than that" --used to describe musical acts either played on tape or performing in studio.
"Haaave muy-see" --similar to the previous quote.
"My man Richard Santouli started this (Net Jets Inc.) over there on Wall Street doodling when he should have been doing work."