Watchdog

Neil -

WFAN may love the ratings, but Boomer and Carton have got to stop these adolescent sex jokes and contests. It's easy to see that even Boomer is disgusted with Craigs dirty mouth.

WFAN will lose all fans who can't stand this kind of barroom comedy on national radio. If they can't shut Craig up, kick him out, now.

Filthy language and jokes are no way to sell a sports station.

Cartons voice just annoys the heck out of me.

Neil,

The Wfan's stoking of the flames on issues such as the Delgado non-curtain call is good for business but it is horrible radio. Manipulating the short attention span mouth breathers who comprise the majority of callers to the WFan has apparently worked out well for the hosts but I change the station. The majority of the hosts would over analyze a bowel movement if they had the chance. I wonder if www.firechernoff.com is available??????

John

please there is no other sports station as good. ESPN radio is absolute garbage like ESPN. Hey Annie Savoy I guess Imus's racial jokes are ok. Grow up its the morning. They are trying to make you laugh. Boomer may not like all the jokes but you can tell he is having a lot of fun on the show. Plus its just a show. You cant take it too seriously.

anybody could show up and be the player or the putz.ny radio has turned in to garbage in this time and place.

Following a six-month exile, Don Imus came back on the air last December over WABC radio in New York and a scatter of other stations, and telecast over a jury-rigged television setup anchored by the rural-based RFD-TV. Since he'd been sacked last April by Viacom, CBS, WFAN radio, MSNBC and everybody but the Boy Scouts of America, the National Rifle Association and The Little Sisters of the Poor, there was much drama about his return: yelps of outrage, cheers from Imus cultists, a few shrugs of disinterest and some genuine puzzlement.

Had the man learned his lesson? Would the public buy his "new, cleaned-up act," would the usual suspects, the pols, celebs and authors who'd been sucking up to him for years, and then recoiled in pious horror, once again be scrambling for a piece of his precious air time, and could the ABC folks ever recoup the serious dough they were paying him? Would Madison Avenue boycott the guy and spend its advertising dollars elsewhere or embrace him with touching hosannas and "welcome homes"?

This last factor is key since it was not until advertisers began canceling out on Imus a year ago that the broadcast suits and the ad agents abandoned him for his sins.

On Sunday, Feb. 3, The New York Times' Jacques Steinberg did a favorable piece headlined: "All Forgiven, WIMUS Is On A Roll." Wrote Steinberg: "Mr. Imus has moved with relative ease from transgression to redemption." The Times reporter also ticked off the major advertisers, the celebrity names and the additional media (such as the huge Comcast (nasdaq: CMCSA - news - people ) cable system), that have now apparently returned to or newly listed themselves in Imus' corner.

I was a guest on one of those early shows the second week in December plugging my new non-fiction, the tenth book of mine he'd allowed me to flog on his show since 1990. Imus was still sporting the cowboy hat and boots, but had recruited two new African-American on-air talents. Longtime producer and on-air wit Bernie McGuirk (also sacked with Imus), was back on the show but at work across Seventh Avenue producing from an ABC studio, along with veteran engineer Lou Ruffino, while Imus newsman and sidekick Charles McCord and comedian Rob Bartlett worked the show onstage with Don and the cast in a mini-theater of sorts. TV cameras sent a video version of the show to RFD-TV in the Midwest.

On air, Imus appeared delighted to be back, but acknowledged still being sore at some of his former "friends" for their lack of support during his (self-created) crisis. "I like Tom Brokaw, but you don't share a foxhole with him," was typical of his remarks. Since then, I've continued to listen (Jesse Jackson was on recently, all bonhomie and guffaws, with the two men promising to have lunch), as Imus seemed to be getting up to speed, while from time to time reporting the positive news that yet another station or major advertiser had signed on. But that was Imus talking. What were the facts?

Last Friday, I called WABC radio honcho Phil Boyce in Manhattan to get some specifics. "We've got him on about 40 stations now," said Boyce. "The old show (the one based on WFAN) claimed about 62, but we've only been able to confirm 47. So we're getting close to level. New stations are in D.C., and Atlanta, both of them FM stations we own, and an FM in Boston and stations in Providence and Tampa. Ratings from February are good. In the 12-plus category, he's No. 3 in morning drive, behind WINS at 6.8 and ZOO100 at 5.7, with Imus in the Morning at 5.6."

Being a troublemaker, I asked about WFAN, Imus' old station. In those ratings that placed Imus at No. 3, WFAN's new morning drive team was in 19th place in the count at a 2.3, Boyce noted with what I suspect was some pleasure. In another rating system based on average quarter-hour listenership, Imus scored 105,700, while WFAN had only 44,000. "We're trending up," concluded Boyce.

But what about the advertising? "It's coming in," said Phil, "and we're getting much higher rates, and we're getting closer to sellouts." And the man himself, a good coat, clear eye, is he behaving? Said the ABC exec, "He's sounding well and seems at peace with himself. And I think he's in a better place. He was doing issue talk on a sports station and now he's doing issue talk on an issue talk station."

Early in May, Don will also host his annual radiothon with the bucks going to several different charities, mainly for kids. Contributions and pledges this year should be another yardstick by which to measure how far the guy has come back. Stay tuned.

KUDOS to Norman and The Cartoon for bringing tedium, racism, misogyny, and adolescent POTTY humour to WFAN.

The egomaniacal former footballer and the Jersey racist have polluted tri-state airwaves with nonsensical trivia, boring 'contests' and self-flagellating claptrap for the last months now.

Cartoon singing "Ebony and Ivory" yesterday ...
Norm talking about how he understands what it's like to be POTUS because he was a Quarterback ...
Cartoon talking about the rat in his apartment. Could it have been a mirror?

They've no hope of getting national syndication and, one hopes, it's only a matter of time before these two blowhards take their unprofessional and wholly adolescent fantasies elsewhere

AS the wise man says, There's a reason Chernoff rhymes with TURN OFF THE FAN!

There is hope of them getting national syndication because CBS radio's division is losing tons of money and firing people left and right, including on-air talent. So why wouldn't CBS radio want to cut costs more and fire some morning hosts and replace them on CBS-owned stations around the country with these 2 guys? They will sell it on Boomer's name alone.

Neil:

You mention that Boomer and Carton were 5th in the ratings. Just out of curiosity, what about 1-4?

Big Lou:

I predict a Friday Comment Contest winner award long before Friday.

when will jerkoff(chernof) be held responsible for the 2 buffons?

Neil,

This was interupted last year on WFAN, Al Sharpton et al couldn't wait one day. The annual Imus radiothon for Children's charities is coming up.

http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/imus-radiothon-auction/

What is Sharpton doing today, well he isn't call for civil unrest he is angry that Obama is calling for peaceful demonstrations following the wake of the Sean Bell verdict.

Neil,

Maybe the racist, misogynist Carton will buy you a sandwich now!

It's funny, where are all the Imus will crush the FAN rants now?

He is washed up.

the strength of the signal at 660 cannot be overstated. I think if they put Alice and Bobby Brady on they would get a decent rating.

I like Boomer.. but Carton stinks.

The way Boomer goes on, you'd think he's Marino or Elway. Get that ego in check!

And Carton is just a punk and there's a reason why I'm sure everyone on the station can't stand him.

ESPN Radio 1050 really needs to look at themselves and wonder how they continually lose to a station that is constantly having a merry-go-round of hosts at certain time slots, hosts that go into Mays-Mantle debates, and talk about the women of WWE. Honestly driving down to Jersey, the signal was not that bad. But the issues for some people are geographical and perhaps they need to do what the Boston ESPN radio affilliate did by get an FM feed to counter the signal problems in certain areas.

My first word of advice would be to get the Mets to come over here when their contract is up with The Fan at the end of this season (Raissman reported this months after Neil wrote about it). New York is a baseball town and any sports station that wants to be taken seriously needs to carry baseball since it's one of the few sports that sounds good on radio. WFAN can survive by just moving the Yankees from their sister station so they have the upper-hand on negotiations really.

My second words of advice are once bringing the Mets over I would offer Howie Rose a show in Tirico's current time slot. In order to make the Met fan welcome on a station full of Yankee fans, they need one of the most knowledgable Mets fans and announcers on the air.

Lastly, I would really try to find any personality to get rid of Mike and Mike from the station. Sid Rosenberg, Freddie Coleman, Adam Schein, Chris Carlin, I really don't care I just want a real alternative since I think WFAN is really at their wit's end on some shows, though not necessarily Boomer and Carton.

Great post CMG.

One correction, though: If Norman and "Craigie" had a wit between them, the FAN would certainly be at the end of it.

i isten to npr because bummer and cartoon suck

my son would be perfect for the morning drive,he would smash imus in the morning.

Mrs. Roberts, let's remember if it were not for Imus your would have never made it on DynaMets.

Howie Rose couldn't wait to get off his nighttime show on WFAN what makes anyone even think he'd be willing to do another one? He did just about anything he could try to avoid taking calls from the listeners.
Why would ESPN take off their flagship program from 1050, their flagship station? Mike and Mike are there to stay no matter what.
1050's biggest problem is they aren't WFAN. The people who listen to WFAN have for 20 years and aren't about to change. You don't hear too many of the familiar WFAN callers ever calling in to the local 1050 shows, they don't listen. Plus there aren't a helluva lot of sports-talk listeners to share between 2 different stations. The market is pretty saturated. Looking at the ratings today at another website, you can't even get a measurable rating for 1050 and after so long to have so little impact in the market just goes to show that any of the programming they have really isn't needed.

cmg,you seem bitter that my son is the rising star at wfan,he will be in drive time prime time when m&m call it a day. he also is in talks to have his on talk show on hbo to replace bob costas.the network ex have been grooming him behind the scenes.

No offense to the first poster but I don't think WFAN is worried about the old lady demographic.
They obviously want all of Stern's old listeners. Men like sex and sports. It's nothing earth shattering.

I always thought Boomer was a straight laced bore as a CBS analyst and want to forget the years he's played for the Jets so I've never once listened to the show.

Now with endorsements like the first post I'm defiantly going to give them a listen when Stern is on Vacation.

mrs roberts,you go girl

cgar,what are you smoking?listen at your own peril.

Best, you are lost, *lost*. This idea that Boomer and Carton are a success is patently ridiculous. They would be selling pretzels if it wasn't for me !

Sandy,
I know ESPN would never have the cajones to dump the biggest media market of their radio darlings but in this big a market, you have to have 95% of the programming be concentrated in that area. Gamenight is actually the only national show I would say is passable to have on 1050. The rest are meh at best. Titico's show is a total bore and I have already wrote about my contempt on Mike & Mike. Honestly if Greenberg was not a Jets/Yankees fan they probably would no be on the air on 1050.

no mikey.it is my influence,say something funny mike

ahhhhhhhhhh. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I got nothing Dog. But Best is still lost.

Dear Mrs. Roberts,

With all due respect, the day Screech went live on-air was perhaps the saddest day in the history of WFAN.

Having said that, I'm delighted that HBO execs are grooming him behind the scenes.

I just don't understand why he still looks like a pimply-faced low-rent Ralph Malph.

Neil,

Considering that males in the key demo group didn't listen to the fan when imus had on boring guests it is not a shocker that their demo group would find the fan when you mix sports and sex. most of my friends are not in to doris kearns goodwin or the guy from nbc tim russert. but i guess they are into sports--- mix in some sex and you have ratings.

stony

Just to throw my two cents in: I don't listen to Carton/Boomer or Imus..my car has a CD player and when I listen to radio in the morning it's someone of class and intelligence like Gary Walker on WBGO. As far as CMG identifying Mike Greenberg of 1050 as a Yankee fan, that is wrong. He is a Mets fan who like his idol Mike Lupica (talk about poor choices in role models) will slam the Yankees every chance he gets. He is a Mets/Jets fan.

Any true New Yorker CANNOT 'get' this Carton and his schtick, PLUS his voice makes u want to do bodily harm to him .... grating

send him back to philly/joisey or wherever da hell he is from

when has carton been racist?

Carton ticked off some chicanos when pretending to have a fake Catch an Illegal Immigrant contest on Cinco de Mayo of all days. The first time I was ever introduced to Carton was him and his partner trying to explain their comments live from their studio on CNN.

Jim: He's a Yankees fan. When Willie Randolph became Mets manager he congratulated one of his childhood favorites as a kid from his Yankees. He never talks about the Mets. Ever. Jets, yes. He may have grown out of being a Yankee fan and just start rooting for the Chicago Cubs since he went to Northwestern and started covering the Cubs in Chicago. Perfect fit for that yuppy loser!

"In a move akin to firing Bobby Knight and replacing him with Woody Hayes, CBS Radio has at last settled on a successor for Don Imus’s old morning drive slot.

He is Craig Carton, and his proudest moment on the New Jersey airwaves probably came in 2005, when a sitting Governor threatened to beat him up after Mr. Carton said that women like the Governor’s wife, who suffered from postpartum depression, “must be crazy in the first place” and needed medical marijuana to keep themselves from “putting their babies in the microwave.”

"At the end of the day, the integrity of our company and the respect that you feel for CBS becomes the most important consideration," CBS C.E.O. Les Moonves said when he fired Mr. Imus back in May, a noble sentiment that he apparently didn’t actually mean, given the primitive on-air caricaturing of minority groups that helped Mr. Carton make his name in the Garden State—and attract the kind of ratings that caught CBS’s eye.

But what is most dispiriting about Mr. Carton’s hiring is not CBS’s hypocrisy or even the fact that so vile and calculating a character has been rewarded with a top-market job and a lucrative contract. It’s that CBS’ decision marks the death of quality political conversation in a prime venue. "

ARTICLE CONTINUES at http://www.observer.com/2007/chuting-downmarket-imus-replacement-jersey-buffoon

Folks you are LOST ! First of all Boomer and Carton are called 'the morning guys', ok? They will not be called by name, understood?

Secondly, regarding this morning show guy who spoke ill of a Governor and/or his wife, I can't comment as I didn't hear it.

Lastly, Best is still lost on this. I wave my hand in his general direction and he knows what that means. If he doesn't then I direct him to my website (linked in my name).