BOB HERBERT: Paying the Price

[kevinmc]

You knew something was up early in the day. As soon as I told executives at MSNBC that I was going to write about the “60 Minutes” piece, which was already in pretty wide circulation, they began acting very weird. We’ll get back to you, they said.

In a “60 Minutes” interview with Don Imus broadcast in July 1998, Mike Wallace said of the “Imus in the Morning” program, “It’s dirty and sometimes racist.”

Mr. Imus then said: “Give me an example. Give me one example of one racist incident.” To which Mr. Wallace replied, “You told Tom Anderson, the producer, in your car, coming home, that Bernard McGuirk is there to do nigger jokes.”

Mr. Imus said, “Well, I’ve nev — I never use that word.”

Mr. Wallace then turned to Mr. Anderson, his producer. “Tom,” he said.

“I’m right here,” said Mr. Anderson.

Mr. Imus then said to Mr. Anderson, “Did I use that word?”

Mr. Anderson said, “I recall you using that word.”

“Oh, O.K.,” said Mr. Imus. “Well, then I used that word. But I mean — of course, that was an off-the-record conversation. But ——”

“The hell it was,” said Mr. Wallace.

The transcript was pure poison. A source very close to Don Imus told me last night, “They did not want to wait for your piece to come out.”.....

http://freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2007/04/bob-herbert-paying-price.html

[DeepBlueC]

1. wow

finally, the tipping point.

[dchill]

2. I've often wondered...

why McGuirk was there. Well, not often. Once or twice.

[Grandrose]

3. Oh. My. Goodness!

I hope the Imus sympathizers/enablers will read this article! :kick:

[barb162]

4. Time to get rid of Imus

[peacetalksforall]

5. This Herbert touched on something that has had me remembering

constantly ever since I witnessed it. It's this from the article:

"But some of the most telling and persuasive criticism came from an unlikely source — internally at the network that televised Mr. Imus’s program. Women, especially, were angry and upset. Powerful statements were made during in-house meetings by women at NBC and MSNBC — about how black women are devalued in this country, how they are demeaned by white men and black men.

I am no fan of female and male so-called newscasters on the NBCs or any other of the networks. I rant against them because their networks are spewing WH Republican Party propaganda and keeping the important news analysis from us.

But I have never been able to forget how I squirmed watching them be abused by Imus when they went through this period where they were going to have the female news people do the news instead of Charles. He was totally repsonsible for the incredible abuse. I didn't know how he got away with it. And as I remember, McQuirk had nothing to do with that abuse. They were all white females. Just raw live in your face sexist abuse of co-workers - in our living rooms.