The death of radio host Don Imus has received a fair amount of attention today. For those of you unfamiliar with him, here’s a quick news blurb.
THR:
Don Imus, the radio personality whose insult humor and savage comedy catapulted him to a long-lasting and controversial career, has died at 79. His three-hour radio program, Imus in the Morning, was widely popular, especially with the over 25-male demographic.
Imus died Friday morning at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in College Station, Texas, after being hospitalized on Christmas Eve, a representative said. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Mike and the Mad Dog host Mike Francesca tweeted Friday, “Shocking news on the passing of my friend, Don Imus. He will long be remembered as one of the true giants in the history of radio.”
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough added, “Morning Joe obviously owes its format to Don Imus. No one else could have gotten away with that much talk on cable news. Thanks for everything, Don.” Morning Joe started as a fill-in for Imus in the Morning after Imus was fired from MSNBC in 2007.
Imus in the Morning, which debuted on WNBC-AM in New York in 1971, most recently reached radio listeners via Citadel Media and was simulcast on the Fox Business Network.
Imus was loved or hated for his caustic loudmouth. Outspoken in an age of political correctness, his often coarse satire offended sensibilities. Yet his listeners included those whom he often ridiculed. His call-in guests included President Clinton, Dan Rather, Tim Russert, Bill Bradley, David Dinkins, Rudy Giuliani and political analyst Jeff Greenfield, who once remarked, “He’s out there talking the way most of us talk when we’re not in public.”
He sparked national outcry in 2007 when he made derogatory, racist remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. CBS Radio and MSNBC then dropped his show.
I was never a fan of Imus and never understood the appeal of his show, but he was a significant figure in the radio business for decades.
The 2007 incident when he called a bunch of niggers on the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy headed hoes” is worth a quick mention. Simply because it was one of the first times a fairly major public figure was fired for making a politically incorrect joke. The entire situation was stupid and the media ginned up all sorts of artificial outrage against Imus over the joke. His joke literally became a major national news story.
He even appeared on a show with Al Sharpton to tell people how he was not a horrible racist.
It was almost like they did a trial run on Imus to see if they could get away with firing someone of his prominence over some random comment.
Of course, we have seen this agenda accelerated in the age of social media with all sorts of people getting fired from their jobs and having their lives ruined for politically incorrect posts on the Internet.
Oh well, at least Imus doesn’t have to worry about catching grief for making fun of ugly niggers now. That’s of little concern when one is dead.
