Charles McCord

On Top Of The WorldTwo other news jobs would follow before McCord was invitedto become part of the team at WTOP/Washington’s soon-tolaunchall-News format. “I took the place of someone whowent to Vietnam and was told I’d probably be out of a job whenthat person came back,” he points out. “They did not howeverget rid of me [when he returned]. It was an interesting time tobe in Washington. I covered all sorts of stuff there [including]anti-war protests and the Poor People’s march.”When WNBC came calling in 1970, it wasn’t a slam dunk Mc-Cord would leave for the Big Apple, as the newsman confideshe endured consternation and self-debate before ultimatelyaccepting the offer. “This goofy person from Cleveland, JohnDonald Imus, arrived [approximately one year later],” recountsMcCord, who fielded and accepted a string of radio job offersleading to the NBC flagship. “I swear it was a series of lucky[breaks] and good fortune that happened over the years. I’venever really had to apply for a job which is very weird. I don’tthink that could happen in the current environment. To this day,I absolutely love and adore the business.”From the very outset and with no prior history with the giftedmorning talent, McCord found Imus to be extraordinary andobviously quite funny. “He did unusual and outrageous thingsbut wasn’t scatological,” McCord explains. “I’d write someoffbeat items for him and, as I look back on it, they were reallygoofy and dumb. Nevertheless, he wanted more of that kind ofthing. From those humble beginnings, we’ve wound up workingtogether for a long time.”www.InsideRadio.com Monday, December 8, 2008INTERVIEWPage 2 of 3Amiable chemistry notwithstanding, there have been feisty onairexchanges between “The I-Man” and McCord.Among the most memorable occurred approximately two yearsago when McCord could no longer stand Imus’ deliberate substitutionof the word “erection” for “election” and exhibiteda mini-meltdown although he insists, “I really can’t think ofanything that would represent a fracture in our relationship.There hasn’t been anything like that. The whole thing is first,foremost and always entertainment. That has to be the guidingprinciple.”Supreme SlipupWriting political/satirical commentary has given him more ofan outlet. At the same time though, McCord remarks, “I canpreserve whatever journalistic integrity I might have. People cantake me seriously even when I’m wacky with him. I provide thevoice of reason and pull him back. It’s all calculated but most ofthe time, I can bring him in before he goes out on the brink.”Operative words here are “most of the time,” since that certainlywas not what eventuated on April 4, 2007.Disappointingly it couldn’t be attributed to a tardy April Fool’sDay bit that turned sour.Faster than one could say “That’s right, I need 1200 hamburgersto go,” or, “This is the right reverend Billie Sol Hargis comingto you from Del Rio, Texas,” certain words flew from Imus’mouth he still must live with.In comparison to the program’s nascent days, more castmembers presently contribute content with McCord proudlybeing the longest-tenured. “I would wear the term `sidekick’as a badge of honor when you’re talking about this guy,” heproclaims. “When you think about it, he is one of the mostimportant and [impactful] broadcasters. It is very interesting towatch his evolution. Don’s gone from a supposedly outrageous[on-air talent] to what he has become today, which is a veryimportant and influential figure on the national scene. You don’thave much of a political campaign unless it goes through DonImus’ front door. It sounds crazy but he really is a figure to bereckoned with for anyone with high political aspirations.”As Diana Ross, Mary Wilson & Florence Ballard so perfectlywarbled in 1967, “Suddenly – it just happened” and McCordadmits when Imus uttered his now infamous statements aboutsome members of the Rutgers University women’s basketballsquad, “We got into an area we couldn’t correct. It didn’t strikeme at the time as something that was going to be as profoundas it turned out to be. We’ve goofed on many different people.At that very moment, it didn’t feel to be any different.”It’s the height of understatement to mention that assessmentdidn’t prove accurate since Imus was stripped of his CBS Radiodeal with WFAN/New York and syndication through Westwood— Sponsored by ASCAP INSIDE RADIO Personality Interviews by MIKE KINOSIAN