CBS Evening News, ABC's World News failed to note Imus' history of racially charged insults

Reporting on the suspension of MSNBC's Don Imus, the April 9 broadcasts of the CBS Evening News and ABC's World News described Imus as "outrageous," "provocative," and "inflammatory," but did not note that Imus in the Morning has a history of racial slurs.

On the CBS Evening News, anchor Katie Couric asserted that Imus has "made a career out of saying the outrageous" and that he "admits he went too far when he made racially charged remarks about a woman's college basketball team." The report that followed, by CBS correspondent Richard Schlesinger, asserted that Imus has "said outrageous things before, about people like Hillary Clinton, who was referred to as 'an old bag.' " Similarly, a report on World News by correspondent Dan Harris quoted University of Southern California professor Todd Boyd asserting that Imus "has a history of provocative, inflammatory comment."

However, as Media Matters for America has documented, Imus' remarks are part of a history of not just "outrageous," but racially offensive comments. For instance, Imus told the Mexican-American governor of New Mexico, "besa mi culo," or "kiss my ass," and executive producer Bernard McGuirk suggested that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) would pander to African-Americans by wearing "cornrows and gold teeth."

Additionally, as noted in an article in the July 18, 2000, edition of The Village Voice, Imus has referred to former Defense Secretary William Cohen as "the Mandingo," and his African-American wife "a ho." As The Boston Globe noted in a March 27, 2004, article, " 'Mandingo' is also the title of a 1975 movie in which a black male slave is paired intimately with a white female slave master." That article reported that frequent Imus guest Mike Barnicle had apologized for similarly using the term on his own radio show to refer to Cohen's wife, Janet Langhart. The Village Voice article described other racially charged insults that Imus has made about specific individuals:

The muckraker Philip Nobile has been tracking Imus's racist rap in a series for the webzine tompaine.com. When you take this patter out of laff-riot context, it's strikingly similar to the drollery of David Duke. Imus and his buds have called O.J.'s lead attorney "chicken wing Johnny Cochran," Sammy Davis Jr. "a one-eyed lawn jockey," Patrick Ewing "Mighty Joe Young," Defense Secretary William Cohen "the Mandingo," and his black wife "a 'ho."

In an appearance on the April 9 edition of CNN's The Situation Room, Cohen noted that "at one point when we married -- they played 'Jungle Fever' " on Imus in the Morning and that Langhart "was referred to as 'brown sugar' " on the program.

A May 26, 2000, article in The Washington Post reported that "sometime around 1995, when the New York Times hired black journalist Gwen Ifill to cover the White House, Imus reportedly said: 'Isn't the Times wonderful? It lets the cleaning lady cover the White House.' " The article stated that Imus "doesn't deny the Ifill comment, but says he can't find a record of it," and added, "Whether he said it or not, Imus apologized to Ifill on the air after he was criticized." On the April 10 edition of Imus in the Morning, Imus asserted, "I never said anything about Gwen Ifill. This was a comedy routine where we make up the news which we've been doing since 1968 on the radio." Later in the program, Imus said "it was intended to reflect the absurd philosophy we perceived of, I guess it was the Reagan administration -- not that we thought the Reagan administration was a bunch of racists, that's not the point." On the April 9 edition of the program, Imus said that "I did not say that, and obviously there are ways to check that. I didn't say that."

By contrast, the report on the April 9 broadcast of NBC's Nightly News noted that Imus in the Morning "has come under fire before" and that in 2000, Imus pledged to Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page that he would "stop using racially insensitive language." That report also quoted Page asserting that Imus "keeps saying racist things."

From the April 9 edition of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson:

HARRIS: Imus interviews leading politicians and journalists. He did so before the comment and has done so since. [Rev.] Al Sharpton says Imus is mainstreaming racism and should be fired.

[begin video clip]

HARRIS: For you, this is not so much about Don Imus, this is about everybody else and what can be said in public?

SHARPTON: That is exactly right. This has nothing to do with Don Imus. It has everything to do with federally regulated airwaves, radio and television, and what advertisers will subsidize and pay for.

BOYD: I don't think he's gonna lose his job. No. He's too profitable to too many people for a comment like this to derail him, particularly when you have someone who has a history of provocative, inflammatory comment.

[end video clip]

HARRIS: He may not lose his job, but tonight, there is this: NBC is now saying it will suspend its simulcast of the Imus in the Morning show for two weeks. They simulcast it on MSNBC. CBS, which syndicates the show, has criticized his comments, but Charlie, as of yet, there is no talk of canceling the show.

GIBSON: ABC's Dan Harris, reporting tonight.

From the April 9 edition of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric:

COURIC: Hello, everyone. The limits of what you can say and what you should say on radio and television are once again the subject of a national debate tonight, a debate involving race and taste.

Don Imus, who's made a career out of saying the outrageous, admits he went too far when he made racially charged remarks about a woman's college basketball team.

Imus works for CBS. His national radio program is simulcast on cable by MSNBC.

Amid calls for his firing, Imus went on the Reverend Al Sharpton's radio show today to apologize and explain himself.

We have two reports tonight, beginning with Richard Schlesinger. And a word of caution -- you may find some of the language offensive.

SCHLESINGER: Don Imus has always had the reputation as the thinking man's shock jock, a smart aleck who's actually smart.

IMUS [video clip]: Please stop it. Stop talking. Go home.

SCHLESINGER: But this time, the edgy talk-show host might have gone over the edge with his remarks about members of the Rutgers women's basketball team, who made it to the NCAA finals.

[begin audio clip]

IMUS: That's some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and --

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That's some nappy-headed hos there. I'm gonna tell you that now --

[end audio clip]

SCHLESINGER: That exchange could end Don Imus' career. He has spent days apologizing for it.

[...]

SCHLESINGER: This is a show that has said outrageous things before, about people like Hillary Clinton, who was referred to as "an old bag." But Imus said repeatedly the Rutgers players did not deserve his ridicule.

From the April 9 edition of NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams:

ELLIS: Imus has been praised for his work with several charitable organizations, including his ranch for kids with cancer. But his show has come under fire before. That led to Imus publicly pledging to columnist Clarence Page in 2000 to stop using racially insensitive language.

PAGE: What do you say to somebody who you don't think is a racist and yet keeps saying racist things? That's what we're seeing with Don Imus right now.

ELLIS: But he's not just a shock jock. Over the years, Don Imus' program has become a major stop for politicians and journalists, leading some to wonder if that will change.

BOB STEELE (Poynter Institute): For a journalist to be part of that shtick is irresponsible and unethical.