Roker interview: Ambush or Fair Game?

[MacVittie]

Do you think Al Roker was right to say that he was ambushed, or do you think he ought to have answered Jim's questions, even though they had nothing to do with what Al was calling in to promote?

[RAAMONE]

http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=77424

or maybe this is different...i dont know

anyway...he should have acted like a professional and not hung up

[MacVittie]

I just wanted a poll up to see where most people stand.

[Freitag]

Already said it in the other thread, but a complete ambush, brought on by an emotionally disabled man who held a grudge for 2 years over a blog post when he wasn't even a major player in what happened, using hypocrisy as a crutch when he himself is a hypocrite.

(Never mind the close of Al's blog post - that Imus would get hired again and we'd all go about doing our own business - which was 100% spot on, especially since Imus got a settlement from CBS radio)

If Al knew going in about Jim, we might have gotten some better radio.

[OGC]

I think it was fair game but definitely an ambush.

[Serpico1103]

Already said it in the other thread, but a complete ambush, brought on by an emotionally disabled man who held a grudge for 2 years over a blog post when he wasn't even a major player in what happened, using hypocrisy as a crutch when he himself is a hypocrite.
(Never mind the close of Al's blog post - that Imus would get hired again and we'd all go about doing our own business - which was 100% spot on, especially since Imus got a settlement from CBS radio)
If Al knew going in about Jim, we might have gotten some better radio.

You said in another post that Jim was weak. Now, you say he is emotionally disabled. What is the basis for these categorizations?

[tiny e]

"What is the basis for these categorizations?"

Editor's Note: This sounds even goofier when read with a nasal, North Eastern speech pattern.

But to answer the question...Oh, you're right. There is never a basis on which to disagree with you.

[Serpico1103]

"What is the basis for these categorizations?"

Editor's Note: This sounds even goofier when read with a nasal, North Eastern speech pattern.

But to answer the question...Oh, you're right. There is never a basis on which to disagree with you.

Northeastern. One word. What is goofy is an editor with such a lack of editing skills.
Sorry. Is this better? Why do you say these mean things about Jimmy, douchebag.

[Fezticle98]

I missed it.

I record the midnight replays and listen the next day, so I got fucked when they pulled the replay.

Maybe there will be a replay of the show this weekend. Fuckin Sirius pussies.

[ToiletCrusher]

who cares anymore?

[keverlast]

How pathetic, Jimmy used the RF platform to grill that ole Rooker dude. The worse thing about Jimmy's questioning, it was completely non of his business. No replay last nite, thanks jimmy, you poor child.:annoyed:

[instrument]

Who gives a fuck about roker or anything ronald mxdonald has to say.

[TheCableNazi]

How pathetic, Jimmy used the RF platform to grill that ole Rooker dude. The worse thing about Jimmy's questioning, it was completely non of his business. No replay last nite, thanks jimmy, you poor child.:annoyed:

Who's the child?

[denko]

al was a dick for telling jimmy to shut up and listen.

[underdog]

How pathetic, Jimmy used the RF platform to grill that ole Rooker dude. The worse thing about Jimmy's questioning, it was completely non of his business. No replay last nite, thanks jimmy, you poor child.:annoyed:

Who's Rooker?

[sailor]

not an ambush. jim was just a caller. i don't think ron/fez planned it out with him and that is needed for it to be an ambush.

[Dan G]

not an ambush. jim was just a caller. i don't think ron/fez planned it out with him and that is needed for it to be an ambush.

If you heard Mondays PS, you'd know this was all set up. Originally Roker was supposed to be in studio, but the next day Sirius notified Fez that Roker wanted to do an interview via ISDN so it would sound like he's there.

[West.Coast.Skippy]

this isn't even a matter of opinion. on the post show the day before the 'interview' with al, ron and fez explicitly discussed jim joining in to confront al on the imus / free speech topic. there was fez trying to figure out if al would be in studio or not, on and isdn line or not, if jimmy really wanted to do it... it was a total ambush. ron wanted the two of them in studio to make sparks. now was it fair or not (i don't know)... was it good radio or not (not in my opinion but some/many no doubt enjoyed it)....

[Knowledged_one]

Who's Rooker?

keverlast is asian

[Slumbag]

Who's Rooker?
Michael Rooker
He was in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.
http://www.comicsvalley.com/articles/images/criminals/12.jpg

[sailor]

If you heard Mondays PS, you'd know this was all set up. Originally Roker was supposed to be in studio, but the next day Sirius notified Fez that Roker wanted to do an interview via ISDN so it would sound like he's there.

i only subscribe to xm, i don't get any post-show. i don't see how what you're posted means they set roker up.

ah, the next guy explained it better. ok, so it was a complete ambush and no need for this thread.

[Knowledged_one]

i only subscribe to xm, i don't get any post-show. i don't see how what you're posted means they set roker up.

they told norton to call during rokers segment and confront him

[sailor]

they told norton to call during rokers segment and confront him

as i previously edited it, i got that from the next poster. thanks. :)

[spainlinx0]

The ripples are already being felt. Sam Champion has declined Fez's invitation for a night out in Chelsea. :(

[Melk]

How pathetic, Jimmy used the RF platform to grill that ole Rooker dude. The worse thing about Jimmy's questioning, it was completely non of his business. No replay last nite, thanks jimmy, you poor child.:annoyed:
I don't completely agree, but I agree with part of your point. Jimmy's question started off connected to the idea that when Al wrote that "I cannot tell you how many people were asking [him] about Don Imus's comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team." he meant, "[His] bosses were asking [him] his opinion about the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team."

Roker defended himself saying that he was not including his bosses in the many people comment. He went on to say that he spoke out about Don Imus because Imus's comments about Rutgers were part of a pattern of hate speech and not an isolated incident. He defended himself on the Epileptic response to the new London Olympic Logo saying it was an isolated incident and not a pattern of hate speech.

As a guy who hates looking at Al Roker and loves listening to Jimmy Norton, I felt that Jimmy's angle during the interview was flimsy at best. Jim was trying to verbally attack something bigger in scope than the formerly bigger than life Al Roker; he wanted to come out of the discussion looking righteous. Unfortunately, he failed. Sure Al ran like a child, but Jim was not able to let his anger subside enough to make a clear comment about the situation.

Keith Olberman was the one who expressed the specific message that he confronted Imus's bosses about the situation. Roker may have, but never copped to it. He merely posted an article saying that Imus had to go, whether he quit or was fired.

I would have gone on the air and ambushed him into booking an interview on Opie and Anthony to discuss the issue. If he refused, then I would have asked the questions.

Roker looked like a coward, Norton was ill-prepared for the ambush.

[ralphbxny]

Somewhere in the middle...Like vaginas.

[Death Metal Moe]

I just wanted a poll.

Mod Quote plz?

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Mod Quote plz?

Nobody honors our requests, Moe. I say we kill a few of their precious listening threads just to show 'em we mean business.

[Death Metal Moe]

I voted somewhere in the middle. It was a complete ambush set up by Ronnie but it was fucking great. I'm sure Ron had his own opinions about what Al was saying during the Imus controversy so he gave Jimmy, someone who was very public about his opinion the time to ask Al about it.

Al needs to be prepared to stand behind his public positions, I thought he was a professional broadcaster.

[FUCKTWATtheCLOWN]

In a sense, I suppose it was an ambush, but not in the cheap shot way. No matter what the circumstances, i think Al would have unable to defend himself, because he is incapable of having an honest debate on his own opinions and stances. It wasn't a sucker punch by jim, it was just Al dropping his hands and sticking out his chin

[Philip]

I picked somewhere in the middle. He was set up, but if Al Roker will only address this matter on a blog, he forces people who are passionate about this issue to reach him through alterior means.

There is a correlation between what he said and what Imus said, and if he called for a firing in one case, and keeping his own job in the other, he should be called out on it.

[Devo37]

ambush. i couldn't give a sh!t about Al Roker, but Mr. B interviews loads of people without others who have a gripe with the interviewee being given equal air time.

much as l'il jimmy had a point about Roker being a hypocrite, it was an ambush. it was setup days in advance. it made R&F seem like "shock jocks". unnecessary.

[FUCKTWATtheCLOWN]

ambush. i couldn't give a sh!t about Al Roker, but Mr. B interviews loads of people without others who have a gripe with the interviewee being given equal air time.

much as l'il jimmy had a point about Roker being a hypocrite, it was an ambush. it was setup days in advance. it made R&F seem like "shock jocks". unnecessary.



i dont see how it wouldve been different if it were set up days in advance or if jim had just heard him on live and called in. jim had a stance on the topic that he had expressed publicly, and al did as well.

[made cummsies]

You said in another post that Jim was weak. Now, you say he is emotionally disabled. What is the basis for these categorizations?
The question you directed to Freitag could just as easily be asked of you and your continued characterizations that Ant is mentally unstable.


I missed it.
thanks to Big A you can listen to the entire interview on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVmd9VBhAL8


al was a dick.....
you nailed it in the first four words


I thought he was a professional broadcaster.
No, al's a hacky weatherman who managed to fall ass backwards into fame despite his excessive douchebaggery.

[sailor]

i dont see how it wouldve been different if it were set up days in advance or if jim had just heard him on live and called in. jim had a stance on the topic that he had expressed publicly, and al did as well.

because setting up a secret attack in advance is a key element of an ambush.

[OtisCampbell]

Roker made a past comment, Norton got the chance to question him on it. Big deal, it's a radio show. Why all the micro-analyzing by the self proclaimed radio guru's about what happened?

Anybody still looking to hear the call, Big A has it on YouTube.

[Melk]

Roker made a past comment, Norton got the chance to question him on it. Big deal, it's a radio show. Why all the micro-analyzing by the self proclaimed radio guru's about what happened?
Why not micro-analyze? For example, why make the plural of "radio guru" a possessive?

We enjoy the show and comment about it from time to time. Considering that Jim Norton asks his critics to be specific about their criticisms, I think it is the least we can do is be specific. I would include micro-analysis under the umbrella of being specific.

I liked the setup of the Roker/Norton confrontation. I consider it an ambush. However, my objection was just that Norton had over a year to craft a rebuttal to Roker and it wasn't as biting as it could be. In his book, Norton referenced reading the Roker's blog post several times. But, he led off with Roker's opening comment:

I cannot tell you how many people have asked me about my thoughts on Don Imus.

Norton pressed Roker on the point that by saying "people" Roker meant "The suits at MSNBC." I think Norton let his anger with Keith Olberman bleed into his anger with Al Roker. I think that extending Roker's use of the word "people" to mean "bosses" was the same as extending "nappy-headed hos" to mean something more than it meant.

[Serpico1103]

The question you directed to Freitag could just as easily be asked of you and your continued characterizations that Ant is mentally unstable.


Because Jim is "weak, emotionally unstable, and an addict" that leads him to "ambush" weathermen.
Got it.

[FUCKTWATtheCLOWN]

because setting up a secret attack in advance is a key element of an ambush.

Yes, and the advantage that a secret attack is that your enemy is left defenseless. Al was not defenseless, all he had to do was defend his opinions. I'm not expecting you to reply to my post but if you counter my point with your own I wont lose my cool and not post here anymore.

[evolution5v1]

Already said it in the other thread, but a complete ambush, brought on by an emotionally disabled man who held a grudge for 2 years over a blog post when he wasn't even a major player in what happened, using hypocrisy as a crutch when he himself is a hypocrite.

Why trash Jimmy? Wasn't the whole reason Ron 'booked' Jimmy was that so he could call Roker out on the Imus thing?

[sailor]

Yes, and the advantage that a secret attack is that your enemy is left defenseless. Al was not defenseless, all he had to do was defend his opinions. I'm not expecting you to reply to my post but if you counter my point with your own I wont lose my cool and not post here anymore.

whether they succeeded or not doesn't change their intent. and i don't care if they ambushed him or not, but going by the definition of the word that's exactly what it was. "to lie in wait (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambush[1])" for (or as a noun - "a trap in which concealed persons lie in wait to attack by surprise"). they set a trap for him (having a plan for someone to attack him unexpectedly). really it's no different than on jerry springer or such when the jilted lover runs in from the wings with fists a-flailing.

and again, al's a douche who deserves to be ambushed. heck, i was one of like 15 or so folk who protested outside of the today show right before imus lost his job.

[esdhater]

Fair Game. When Al can get away with the crap he said and the othe hypocritical things he does the more he gets ambushed the better. Like I posted in another thread about him saying "everyone deserves a second chance" when asked about Dog The Bounty Hunter and his family being on Al's show Celeb Family Feud. I'm sure the fact the show may get a ratings boost having Dog and his family on had nothing to do with Al's decision to forgive Dog.

[Sloppy2nds]

That was awesome:thumbup: Too bad they couldn't get him to come to the studio:innocent:

[FUCKTWATtheCLOWN]

whether they succeeded or not doesn't change their intent. and i don't care if they ambushed him or not, but going by the definition of the word that's exactly what it was. "to lie in wait (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ambush[1])" for (or as a noun - "a trap in which concealed persons lie in wait to attack by surprise"). they set a trap for him (having a plan for someone to attack him unexpectedly). really it's no different than on jerry springer or such when the jilted lover runs in from the wings with fists a-flailing.

and again, al's a douche who deserves to be ambushed. heck, i was one of like 15 or so folk who protested outside of the today show right before imus lost his job.

Okay, by definition, sure, i guess you could say they ambushed him, but that didn't give them any advantage over him so it was useless. If anything, it was necessary because Jim had wanted to discuss this on O&A with him ever since it happened, but Al wouldn't go on.

[Zark]

Roker is a no talent fuckstick, who wants to limit the freedom of speech when he deems it offensive, but wants to be forgiven when he offends. What could we have possibly learned had the interview not been blown up by Jimmy? That fat shit bag can't even do his primary job and get the weather right, so we're supposed to hang on his every word to find out his secret on how to produce mediocre TV programs? Fuck Al Roker. Way to go Jimmy, ambush or not, you gave that hypocrite a few moments of discomfort, and the listeners some great radio.