Against my better judgment, I finally caved in to the wishes of some of WatchDog's more rabid Imus fans and asked WFAN operations manager Mark Chernoff the following:
Will his station's personalities be allowed to appear on Don Imus' new WABC show, which debuts Monday?
Chernoff was kind enough to respond, telling me there have been no such requests from WABC and that thus to this point there has been no need for a policy on that subject.
Comments (27)
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you, Neil.
Good answer for Chernoff..I think that will change. There are some loyal friends of Imus over there, who will want to 'publicly' wish him well, and show their support.
We'll see.
Again, thanks Neil.
It is going to be so weird not having Chernoff truckle to the I-Man. Will be missing you Mark...
Thank you Neil,
I feel confident that WFAN or CBS radio is not going to put a rule in effect censoring their employees.
When not on air they are private citizens I think.
Newsweek is a whole different story. But who is not interested or doesn't fight to speak with the I-Man are the losers. Imus isn't
Neil your the Best
Bruce from Florida
Who is actually watching these morning shows on TV anyway? Don't they have to get up and go to work? No one I know has time to sit around in their 'jammies' and watch 4 hours of TV from 6-10. Imus will not be the hit that he - and his odd buddies - are expecting.
Anyone who has a network contract has a clause about appearing on other networks and that clause says NO.
WFAN has filled that morning hour with two guys - Boomer and Craig who are smart, busy, leading interesting lives and can connect with the morning people who are listening to the radio while they get ready to go to work, and continue listening during their commute. It's a good thing.
Annie:
I know someone who has time to sit around in his jammies and watch 4 hours of TV in the morning. I won't tell you his name, but his initials are Neil Best.
I have three hours each morning to listen to/watch the Imus in the Morning Show. (My house is arranged so that I can get dressed and eat breakfast without missing anything. I always missed the last hour to my disappointment, but now I will be able to pick it up in the evening. My week (work) days will begin and end with Don Imus. Don't really need to watch anything else.
Thanks, Neil, for being in our corner.
I do Annie. I am retired and used to watch Imus every morning while I exercised and did my housework. I look forward to that again. I can't wait for his provocative, interesting, and humorous insights.
Annie,
You may want to point out that contractual clause to all those news, sports and entertainment people from ABC and FOX who regularly appeared on Imus. They may not be aware of the "Annie Clause". Just wait till Charlie Gibson starts pulling away from Brian Williams, we will see what NBC does!
And for all of us working stiffs there is streaming, video on demand, and pod-casts, 'cause we don't have time to sit around in our "jammies". Hey, guess what? my car has a radio in it (tuned to 770 WABC) how convenient for me!
Annie,
Listening to Craig and Boomer in the morning must be very boring. They are very boring. And give nothing humorous to their listeners.
But Neil Best "Knows Best". He wouldn't report this if it wasn't important. And he listens to them and will be listening to IMUS.
Try it, you might like it.
Bruce from Florida
Annie Savoy,
Obviously that's not your real name (cause if its then I'm Crash Davis and ChanX is Nuke Larouche) so is it Mrs Essaison or Mrs Carton because those are about the only two I can think of who could find "Boomer and Bust" interesting.
As for who has 4 hours to spend watching/listening to Imus? I don't have to be at work till 10:30am to open the shop at 11 and it takes me longer to smoke a cigarette than to walk to work.
Thanks again Neil, any chance we'll get to meet you on the third at "The Town Hall." A bunch of us are meeting after the show to grab a bite and maybe indulge in an adult libation or seven. You're more than invited to come along. In fact brin Glauber with you , he can pick up tips on the proper way to bask in the adulation of the multitudes.
PTB
I can just imagine how Norman and the Cartoon's ratings will soar once the I-Man returns.
No policy?
Hey Chernoff, how about a policy that starts with sticking Screech back on the overnight and cleaning up the racist talk (Cartoon, Mike and the Dog) on your station.
I can just imagine how Norman and the Cartoon's ratings will soar once the I-Man returns.
No policy?
Hey Chernoff, how about a policy that starts with sticking Screech back on the overnight and cleaning up the racist talk (Cartoon, Mike and the Dog) on your station????
Thanks for the invite, PTB, but on Monday mornings I have to be a writing coach at my daughters' school. I'd tape the show if I had RFD-TV . . . which I do not.
Neil, let me ask you this, more of a general question. Deputy dog can respond as well. As employees of wfan, can mike and chris just call into Imus monday and say "hello" or is that something that they would need "permisson" for.I am just curious how it works. Chernoff was talking about wabc requesting personalities. My premise has someone like francessa calling in to Imus around 9am on Monday morning. Would he be prohibited?
its funny, chernoff is a huge imus supporter. i am sure the halls of wfan monday will quietly have Imus on instead of Boomer/Carton.
Best, you research the stories we ask you to. We all appreciate that.
Excellent point above. Chernoff talked about WABC requesting WFAN people. He doesn't address this issue about WFAN people (namely mike and dog) just calling in to say hi to their old friend.
Great job by Neil (as always!)
Total dodge by Chernoff!
i don't think m&md will be allowed to even call into the imus show to say "hello". abc and fan's management - not so hot with each other. notice that wfan doesn't even air wabc's pbp cuts. that should tell you something.
p.s. i'm a sports fan. i enjoy boomer & carton in the morning.
Well if they won't be allowed to call in over to &&WABC then they will just have to disguise their voices. Laughing...these are radio folks after all.
Neil you need some way to record the first show...then you know bootleg it GRIN.
Well if they won't be allowed to call in over to &&WABC then they will just have to disguise their voices. Laughing...these are radio folks after all.
Neil you need some way to record the first show...then you know bootleg it GRIN.
Let's put it this way ... if FAN management doesn't allow Mike, Dog and anyone else from the station on with Imus, I don't ever want to hear anyone on FAN complaining that they can't get ESPN analysts on their programs.
Personally, I think Mike and Dog would go on regardless of what Chernie says. That said, I don't expect Imus will be doing as much sports-related stuff as he used to.
Also, any word on who will be doing sports on Imus, if at all? Anything on the rumored co-host?
Hi Nick,
Glad you like Boomer and Craig in the morning. You and Annie should get together and have a party.
Frankly no one would tell me who I could talk to when I am not working. If they did they would be my former employers.
If you think in the box. Your in a box and will never get out. Better call CSI (CBS show) to find your captors.
4 days everyone. I love the I-Man.
i don't think m&md would risk losing their jobs - just to show imus their loyalty. also, the imus show is going to be doing less sports - so there is no comparison between the fan morning show and the imus show. folks, go to your corners. no one is forcing imus fans to listen to wfan's current morning show - so why is there so much bashing? grow up.
Annie, check out NPR, I think that's where you ought to be hangin' out.
For millions of people, WABC just gave us our mornings back. Now I have something to look forward to upon waking up, something to enjoy while savoring the early morning before the rest of the house wakes up, something to laugh with while I get ready to go into my sweatshop job, something to howl at while I drive in hideous Boston traffic to go to work.
I will once again be able to listen to what are TRULY fair-and-balanced interviews, sprinkled with levity, something that doesn't compute with the PC crowd.
How's this for a deal? I promise not to listen to and bitch about NPR if you'll promise not to listen to and whine about Imus. And I'll even throw in Boomer and Craig as a bonus.
Jeff: Fair question. I don't know the answer.
Let's put it this way, people: I would be shocked if Mike or Chris played any part whatsoever in Imus' debut show. But I know Mike and Imus still are close and I'm sure he privately has conveyed his congratulations about the comeback.
Annie said, "Who is actually watching these morning shows on TV anyway? Don't they have to get up and go to work? No one I know has time to sit around in their 'jammies' and watch 4 hours of TV from 6-10."
I do! I am a middle-aged woman, married to a wonderful husband, that made it possible for me to quit my job in order to be a full-time Mom to our Daughter, 20 years ago. It's not been easy living on a single income, with my husband earning blue collar wages, but, we've made sacrfices and it's paid off! Our Daughter is now almost 25 years old, has a fantastic job doing what she loves, after graduating from a very prestigious college that was financed with scholarships, part-time jobs and student loans, that we will be paying for the next 20 years. Don Imus was/is, my link to, the "real world"! On the days that I didn't have 3 hours to spend watching TV in the morning....ever heard of a new thing called TIVO, or VCR???? Technology is wonderful, you should check it out!
And Annie, it was only 3 hours, you might want to get your facts straight before posting your "opinions" online. I'm in the Central Time Zone, and Imus In the Morning aired from 5-8 a.m.,...at 8 a.m., that left me more than enough time to get on with the rest of my day!