Posted on 09/11/2005 12:07:13 PM PDT by Panerai
Is 96.9 FM Talk ready to send morning man Don Imus back to the ranch?
Rumor has it the conservative yak station is fed up with the cranky cowboy's tired schtick and might send him packing next April when his contract with WTKK-FM is up.
And there's already buzz on the radio wire that Imus ``will be available'' when his gig at 'TKK is up.
``I don't see how that's possible,'' station GM Matt Mills told the Track. ``We'd obviously like to renew his contract when it ends in April. We plan to do that.''
Now, we know Imus fans won't be surprised to hear that there's no love lost between the talk station and its 5:30-to-10 a.m. yakker.
In fact, last St. Patrick's Day, the Big Apple blarneyman balked at blowing into Boston for 'TKK's annual ``Kiss Me I'm Imus'' live broadcast for advertisers and listeners. And it wasn't until station management got on the blower to Imus' syndicator, Westwood One, and talked tough that Imus finally showed at Fenway's .406 Club.
``It was him playing his games,'' Mills said. ``But he did show up and we all had a great time. It's the station's premiere event.''
Ratings-wise, ``Imus in the Morning'' isn't exactly a powerhouse for 'TKK in that all-important male 25-54 age group.
In the last five ratings books - Spring 2004 to Spring 2005 - the perennially PO'd morning man weighed in after WEEI's sports yakkers Dennis & Callahan; Howard Stern's strippers-on-parade on WBCN; and all-news WBZ-AM. Classic rock WZLX even beat him a few books back.
Perhaps 'BCN - which will be down a morning man when Stern takes his boob-athon to Sirius next year - will be interested? From Baba Booey to Bo Dietl? Do stay tuned!
Thanks for the ping. McGruff had the best suggestion - Imus should offer up his Ranch for the Katrinia refugees.
I agree, Russert went over the top on his own show and on Imus' show, and the I-Man was wrong when he continued to blame the debacle in NO on race and on the Bush administration. For me, however, there is rarely anything better on morning TV than Imus, unless it is a good guest on C-SPAN or a good movie on TCM. I really get all the news I need here on FR.
That said, Imus is 66 or 67 years old and he may just be thinking about hanging it up before someone puts a note on him at the dog track.
Yes, he did endorse Kerry. That went well, didn't it?
"I've had to go to FNF in the morning, which is not great, but the Iman finally got to me with the racist take on the hurrican."
I am absolutely convinced that @nus is projecting his attitudes about blacks onto Bush and FEMA. There is absolutley no evidence that race impacted the federal response, but the old A-hole is sure it did.
I thought he did. So much for credibility..
Other than Brian Lamb, for my money Imus can still do the best interview in the business. His guests tomorrow:
Monday's Guests:
6:29am-Jonathan Alter
7:29am-Caroline Kennedy
8:29am- Bo Dietl
I am quite sure you are right.
I wouldn't expect anything less from Imus. He is truly a hateful man.
LOL.
>>Which station in Boston if any carries him is nearly insignificant.
He ran for years on sports talk WEEI in Boston (highest rated sports talk station in the country). They decided to put their own team, Dennis and Callahan, on instead, leaving Imus to go to WTKK (Mike Barnicle, Bill OhReally, Severin, Hannity,
Ingraham). 'EEI ratings soon ballooned with their local guys.
He had GHWB and Barbara on last year and he had Dick and Lynn Cheney on on election day in DC.
He makes my hair hurt.
That's because he is the only morning host a normal person can listen to without diabetic coma.
About half of us are not morning people and we want to hear someone suitably dour.
The rest are all disgustingly cheerful chatterers.
So9
Bond traders who would listen to Howard Stern except they'd be be embarrassed.
The LAST time that I listened to him was last year right before the election when he was interviewing (or performing an unnatural act with, it was hard to tell) John Effin Kerry and I was trying to wrap my brain around something that Kerry said that made absolutely no sense. I drove right through a speed trap that I knew about at 25 over or at least that's what the cop said. Anyway, I haven't listened to Imus since. It was definitely worth the price of the ticket to see Kerry defeated, at least.
Lord, I hope so. His show is the biggest waste of air time I've ever heard. If I happen to have WTKK on in the morning when I'm driving our son to school, I catch his show. Usually I change channels to the local station or a Classical station, but sometimes I listen in spite of my better judgement. I've never been rewarded by stellar radio for doing so.
Always this commuter's choice of last resort, Imus is frequently NOT LIVE! Of whom does he have pictures? How does anyone, in any market, sell REPEATS in AM drive?
Never mind that most vile of self-references, the ranch.
As charity parody, it's the only funny part of the show aside from Bernie and Sid.
Please TKK, put him to sleep.
Imus already has one foot in the grave. Highly unlikely he will make it to April.
Anus (I thought I was the only one who called him that) really started changing alot when Slik Kaplan from CNN took over, he was getting bad enough before that...Chuck kisses his rear, Bernard I liked til he got sooo righteous about the war, but entitled to his own opinion...but all guest are toooo liberal, arrogant and have never been right about a damned thing in the end and way over inflated of their own self-worth. On top of that I don't like the way they constantly take the Lord's name in vain and other profanities when they could use other words to express theirselves to attempt to be funny.
First thing I told my husband when he came back on the air a week after Katrina, why does he not take a bunch of the homeless and put them up in his guest houses he has...and that wife of his is another story...self-appointed know it all on the enviroment, cleaning products for us all and cooking...which she does none of it in reality. They have hired help.
I wished he would ride off into the sunset along with MSNBC...but then C-Span has gotten so bad in the last years I switch it back and forth and to Fox and Friends...oh well..I do love Rob Bartlett, he is talented.
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