Bernard McGuirk: the rest of the story
Former Imus sidekick Bernard McGuirk will be helping out Tom Finneran on the WRKO airwaves next week, and possibly landing a permanent role as Finneran's co-host. Here's the Globe's write-up; here's the Herald's.
Unfortunately, both papers omitted a key detail.
In 1997, Imus told a 60 Minutes producer that McGuirk was around to do "nigger jokes."
When Mike Wallace confronted Imus about this during an interview, Imus first claimed he hadn't said it, then whined about the remark being off the record, then said he was just kidding around.
You can watch the interview here. The aformentioned exchange between Wallace and Imus takes place around the seven-minute mark, shortly after Wallace asks McGuirk about jokes he'd made about the Ebola virus and Africans eating monkey carcasses.
Let's also remember that coaxing from McGuirk preceded the comment that eventually cost Imus his job.
Wouldn't it be nice if Finneran told his bosses at WRKO that he doesn't want McGuirk's help?
ADDENDUM: Dan Kennedy offers a similarly pessimistic take here.
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