Imus at FBN: 'I'm More Likely to Believe Shep Smith than Katie Couric or Brian Williams'

Don Imus is back on TV. (Yes, he was on RFD-TV, but even he says his move to Fox Business Network is, "the difference between being on television and being on an Etch A Sketch.")

Imus talked with WaPo's Howard Kurtz about joining a team that includes Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, even though his politics aren't necessarily theirs. "People think I'm more liberal than I am conservative, which I probably am," says Imus. And about Fox:

"The perception is that even their news is skewed toward opinion -- not when I watch it. It's a fair news organization. It's not my job to defend them. But I'm more likely to believe Shep Smith than Katie Couric or Brian Williams. Their news is advertiser-driven."

And Fox's isn't? "We're better people and have a much closer relationship with our Lord," Imus deadpans.

His 11-year run on MSNBC came to an end in the spring of 2007 after a racial remark he made about the Rutger's women's basketball team. FBN EVP Kevin Magee tells Kurtz, "Don has more than paid his price for that. He was censured by the marketplace."

One of the NBC anchors who replaced Imus on MSNBC before the slot was given to "Morning Joe," was David Gregory who Kurtz reminds us asked then-Sen. Barack Obama if Imus should be fired. "I've got two daughters who are African American, gorgeous, tall, and I hope at some point are interested enough in sports that they get athletic scholarships," said Obama. "He would not be working for me."

Imus says that Obama "was kind of duped into that... He was being interviewed by that backstabbing, pigeon-looking, gut-sucking weasel David Gregory."

Says Gregory: "Imus used to say those things about me even when he was being affectionate. I always tried to be fair to Don."

Don't expect Gregory or any other NBC Newsers on Imus anytime soon. But Imus has kept up with some of his other TV regulars, including ABC's George Stephanopoulos and CBS' Bob Schieffer.

"I think it's an older and wiser Don Imus," says Schieffer. "Don learned something from that experience, and at heart Don is a fine person. We all make mistakes, and he made a beaut."

"I had a fairly decent career up to that point," Imus says. "I didn't want to end on that note. I'm a great believer in karma and naively think things will work out for the best."


new on mediabistro.com

The Future of Social Media with Chris Anderson

The editor of Wired explains how to create a social network that works.
Watch the video

Email This Post

Fill out the following information and click on the Send button in order to send this post, Imus at FBN: 'I'm More Likely to Believe Shep Smith than Katie Couric or Brian Williams', to a friend.
Friend's name
Friend's email address
Your name
Your email address
Note to your friend (optional, max 200 Characters)

Read more on TVNewser >

And Now the News...About TV News
TVNewser in Your Inbox
Mobile Version
RSS Feed
Our Blog Network

BayNewser

WebNewser

PRNewser

TVNewser

MediaJobsDaily

AgencySpy

GalleyCat

FishbowlNY

FishbowlDC

FishbowlLA

UnBeige

MobileContentToday

TVNewser Staff
Managing Editor:
Chris Ariens

Editor:
Kevin Allocca

Contributors:
Gail Shister
Alissa Krinsky


Email

Twitter

About
Anonymous Tips

  TVNewser twitter feed loading...

View twitter directly

Follow TVNewser on Twitter



Internsmall9-17.jpgIntern at TVNewser

Archives

November 2009

October 2009

September 2009

August 2009

more...


Links

Broadcasting & Cable

BuzzMachine

FTVLive

Inside Cable News

The Live Feed

Media Decoder

NewsBlues

NewscastStudio

Newslab

Romenesko

TV Barn

TV by the Numbers

TVNewsCheck

TVSpy Watercooler

TVWeek

Variety

Z on TV

Topics

ABC

Al Jazeera

BBC

Bloomberg

CBS

CNBC

CNN

FNC

Fox Biz

HDNet

HLN

MSNBC

NBC

truTV


Awards & Accolades

Cable News Wars

Couric Watch

Exclusives That Aren't

Events

Funny

Generalities

Evening News Ratings

Morning Cable Ratings

Morning Media Menu

Morning Show Ratings

Morning Show Wars

Network Newsing

Now & Then

Ratings

Revolving Door

Site Announcements

State of the News Media

Studies & Research

Sunday Shows

The Ticker

Top Stories

WebNewser

Year in Review


09/11/06

2008 Conventions

A Year Of Katrina

Bird Flu

Court Cases

Hurricane

Iraq

NAB-RTNDA

Obits

Olympics

Politics

The Pope

Questions

Supreme Court

Job Listings

Featured Listings

Executive Assistant to the President & CEO
WNYC Radio
New York, NY

Assistant to the CEO
Fast Growing Firm
New York, NY

HR Generalist
WNYC Radio
New York, NY

Account Executive - Denver
The Bump
Denver, CO

ADVERTISEMENT


mediabistro.com l Member Benefits l Jobs l Freelance Marketplace l Courses l Events l Forums l Content
mediabistro Blogs: Media News l TVNewser l GalleyCat l UnBeige l FishbowlNY l FishbowlLA l FishbowlDC l PRNewser l AgencySpy
MobileContentToday l WebNewser l BayNewser l MediaJobsDaily l mbToolbox
Site Map l Advertising/Sponsorships l Partners l About Us l Contact Us/Help

internet.commediabistro.comJusttechjobs.comGraphics.com

Search:

WebMediaBrands Corporate Info

Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, Permissions, Privacy Policy.
Advertise | Newsletters | Shopping | E-mail Offers