http://mediamatters.org/items/200704140004In an April 13 article about the cancellation of Don Imus' radio show by CBS Radio and its simulcast by MSNBC, the Los Angeles Times reported that "over the years, Democrats such as (former Rep. Harold) Ford (TN) came to count on Imus for the kind of sympathetic treatment that Republicans got from
Rush Limbaugh or (Fox News host) Sean Hannity." It was not until near the end of the article that the Times noted that not all Democrats could "count on" such "sympathetic treatment" from Imus: The paper informed readers that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), whom Imus vowed never to allow on his show, was "a frequent target of Imus' jokes." Moreover, while the Times noted that Republicans, such as Sen. John McCain (AZ), have also appeared on Imus in the Morning, it did not note that Imus said in January, "I'm going to vote for McCain at this point," or that he subsequently expressed support for former New York City Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.
In addition, the Times offered only thin evidence for its assertion that "some Democratic strategists are worried about how to fill the void" left by Imus. Of the two strategists the Times quoted suggesting that Imus' firing posed a problem for Democrats, one -- Dan Gerstein -- worked for Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (CT) in 2006 when Lieberman ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to challenger Ned Lamont:
With Imus' show canceled indefinitely because of his remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team, some Democratic strategists are worried about how to fill the void. For a national radio audience of white men, Democrats see few if any alternatives.
"This is a real bind for Democrats," said Dan Gerstein, an advisor to one of Imus' favorite regulars, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). "Talk radio has become primarily the province of the right, and the blogosphere is largely the province of the left. If Imus loses his microphone, there aren't many other venues like it around."
Not until the 11th paragraph of the 15-paragraph article did the Times acknowledge:
Not all high-level Democrats were drawn to the self-styled "I-Man." Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), a party presidential front-runner and a frequent target of Imus' jokes, said she never had the desire to appear.