Still not buddies.
Al Sharpton was on "The Today Show" this morning, and he didn't sound like he was bubbling over with joy at the prospect of the new Don Imus babblefest on WABC. (It's expected to launch Dec. 3 but still no official word.) He was especially bugged with Citadel Broadcasting which (per our report last week) had still not met with the National Association of Black Journalists about its plans. He told Meredith Vieira that "we'll have to see where the arrangements with Citadel are in terms of the contract and whether there's a safeguard." He went on to say, "we've always said he has a right to work but we've always said we had a right not to support advertisers who support people who offend us. If they don't meet [with the NABJ] we can only assume they have a reason for not being forthcoming. Why wouldn't they meet if Mr. Imus was sincere...redemption comes with...full disclosure. We'll see if they're willing to fully disclose."
Mere asked, could it be good for race relations (or something like that) if he came back? Said Al: "Especially if they start off on a good foot, but right now they're flatfooted...They're not meeting with NABJ and they're not answering questions and we can only ask why..."
While not entirely certain, I think this is Rev. Al's first broadside at the new show; he may be saying the same thing on his daily radio outlet, but he's been noticeably reticent on Imus elsewhere in recent days - leading me to speculate here last week that he might even secure an ambassadorial host role on the new show. Hey - why not? Crazier things have happened, and it'd be a smart move by Imus/Citadel. But I'm starting to wonder whether Imus isn't in a conciliatory mood either.