That said, the blueprint is essentially the same. The humor may be substantively different (deadpan irony vs. off-color remarks), but otherwise the tone and substance of the two shows is remarkably similar. Both offer a serious-absurd, high-low critique of America’s ruling class and the people who document it. Each features a cranky paternal figure, surrounded by adoring colleagues, alternating between praise and trepidation over America’s place in the world. Both are enlivened by a recurring cast of journalists, authors and political operatives matching minds in an unscripted arena.
In past interviews, Mr. Scarborough has acknowledged the debt. “Imus laid a lot of the groundwork, where people expected serious interviews,” Mr. Scarborough told The Observer earlier this year while reflecting back on the early days of Morning Joe. “But I wanted to do three hours of hard news without the frat-Imus interviews or the imitations.”
As of Oct. 5, for the first time since the debut of Morning Joe, fans of the form will get to select from two choices: Don or Joe? At the same time, the band of pundits who now regularly appear on Morning Joe will face a choice of their own—if invited, will they appear on Imus? In recent days, The Observer reached out to a number of the key members of Mr. Scarborough’s salon to see whether they felt proprietary loyalty to Joe and MSNBC. For the most part, they dodged us. Through a spokesperson, Mark Halperin declined to comment. Rick Stengel, Jon Meacham, Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy did not respond to emails. Which is perhaps not surprising. Why signal one’s willingness or unwillingness to appear on the show without yet knowing whether a significant audience will materialize? For the time being, it would appear that most everyone is lingering on the sideline, keeping close tabs on the shifting sands of self-interest and self-promotion.
ONE OF THE pleasures of listening to Mr. Imus is the sudden and unpredictable ferocity of his critical mind. Not knowing when or where the next haymaker will land adds to the suspense. In the end, Mr. Imus might do some damage to his former employers at NBC, but he is also likely to land some jabs inside the halls of Fox. Friendly fire, after all, is part of the proven formula.
On Monday morning, Mr. Imus referred to his guest, regular Fox News pundit Monica Crowley, as a “requisite right-wing nut.” He said that over the weekend, he was planning on watching Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, but then realized that they had nobody important on. He joked that he was going to kill Sean Hannity’s kid’s puppy for losing a tennis tournament that Mr. Imus had bet money on. And he suggested, a couple times throughout the morning that Neil Cavuto, a top executive at FBN, was off taking a nap.
Whatever the short term complications, Mr. Imus’ arrival is likely to help FBN extend its distribution around the country. Until recently, Imus in the Morning was simulcast on RFD-TV—a cable network, based in Omaha, Neb., which serves “the needs and interests of rural America.” The partnership, which was recently aborted so that Mr. Imus could join FBN, was originally supposed to last several more years. Recently, Patrick Gottsch, the head of RFD, told The Observer that with Mr. Imus’ help, his media company had achieved in 18 months what it had hoped to achieve in five years—namely, increasing its national distribution by more than 10 million households.
Despite the expansion, however, ratings for Imus were lackluster on RFD-TV. According to the Nielsen Company, during August 2009, Imus in the Morning averaged a mere 31,000 households. Mr. Gottsch acknowledged that as good as the simulcast was for RFD, it was never the perfect fit for Mr. Imus. “Quite frankly, I think we were holding Don back,” said Mr. Gottsch. “We get it. The move is good for everybody involved. It’s a better deal for Don. I’m sure it’s going to be a win for Fox.”
Mr. Gottsch pointed out that Fox Business is in position strangely similar—if diametrically opposed—to the one RFD-TV was in when he originally signed up Imus. Whereas RFD had a strong rural distribution and was looking to break into urban markets, Fox Business currently has a strong urban presence and is looking to expand into the heartland. In both cases, having Mr. Imus in the lineup gives executives a strong bargaining chip with cable operators around the country.
“For most people, FBN simply doesn’t exist right now,” said Mr. Barnhart. “The I-man, right there, is a huge boost for FBN. For many households, this is going to literally put that channel on the map”.
“You got to call your cable company,” Mr. Imus told his radio audience on Monday morning. “Get this thing hooked up, baby.”
fgillette@observer.com
More from Felix Gillette:
Fox Business Network to Simulcast Imus; Chief Critic Not Amused
MSNBC Rebrands Itself as ‘Obama Network‘
Joe Scarborough Touts New Book, Knocks Rush Limbaugh
Follow Felix Gillette via RSS.
