Posted by: skepticalbrotha | May 3, 2007

Imus to sue CBS Radio

 

HAT TIP: MSNBC

Shock jock Don Imus reportedly plans to sue CBS Radio in an effort to collect the $40 million balance left on his contract, according to Fortune.com. Imus was fired by CBS on April 12 after making racially insensitive remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.

According to Fortune.com, Imus has hired Martin Garbus, a New York-based First Amendment attorney. The report says that Imus’ five-year contract, which was signed in 2006, paid him $10 million per year. A source told Fortune.com that Imus’ lawsuit will be based on language in the contract that encouraged the radio host to be confrontational and irreverent on the air. The source said Imus’ contract stipulates that the host must receive a warning before being fired.

CBS and Imus both declined to be interviewed by Fortune.com.

Posted in CBS, Don Imus, Politics, Power Games, Race, Rutgers University Women's Basketball, racially insensitive remarks

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Responses

The contract didn’t just encourage him to be “confrontational and irreverent .” It expressly said it DESIRED him to be controversial and irreverent. It even went so far as to say that CBS is aware of criticism of his brand of humor, language, and past controversial statements but nontheless desired that he continue it. I bet you every media personality is hoping to get on the client list of the lawyer who negotiated that contract. That has to be the best damn contract in history!

By: NMP on May 3, 2007
at 11:10 am

NMP,

Sistah, sounds like you’re saying the Anus in the Morning is about to get PAID!!!!!

By: skepticalbrotha on May 3, 2007
at 11:14 am

I bet you every media personality is hoping to get on the client list of the lawyer who negotiated that contract. That has to be the best damn contract in history!

That’s what Roland Martin said on Anderson Cooper’s show last night. He wants the name of that attorney.

LOL

I don’t care how this turns out, and I’m not boo hooing for either side. It’s America. If your legal representation can get you $$$$$, then you get the dough.

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 11:25 am

Absolutely without a doubt! In this case, hate the playa (Imus) and the game (corporate entertainment and media). CBS paid Imus to be a racist and a sexist, and he fulfilled the terms of his contract. This worse part of this I-mess is that CBS has come out unscathed when they should be held accountable for creating and fostering an environment for Imus. Legal analysts predict that CBS will want to settle FAST, but I hope it does go to court just so we can find out how complicit CBS was. BTW, you didn’t note that Martin Garbus is most famous for defending Lenny Bruce, so I suspect Imus wants to take this court to try to make this out of free speech issue.

By: NMP on May 3, 2007
at 11:41 am

Garbus penned an autobiography titled:

“Tough Talk: How I Fought for Writers, Comics, Bigots, and the American Way.”

By: dblhelix on May 3, 2007
at 12:16 pm

OT:

From today’s WP: Obama Reaches Out w/ Tough Love”

My very quick comment on this article. No doubt that I agree on issues like not voting, but I’m concerned that this line of discussion cements the perception of “problems of their own making.” It’s the lack of balance — if you are going to table these issues for national consumption, then balance is required.

By: dblhelix on May 3, 2007
at 12:24 pm

Read the article, dblhelix. Isn’t the balance pointing out that social programs haven’t had the funding that they should have had,which is what he did in Los Angeles this past week.

But, folks talking about ‘Obama having to understand the complete culture of hip hop’, um…well, I suppose my feelings about the modern day minstrel show known as hip hop is well known.

I, um, don’t think he goes far enough. The only one who was willing to call out the elephant in the room with regards to the education gap was Bill Cosby, and you see what happened to him. I don’t doubt that there’s racism in America. I don’t even doubt that majority Black schools don’t get the funding that rich White schools get. BUT…what we DO get, ‘we’ don’t do enough with it. I was in the ‘inner city’ for nearly 5 years. What I observed there was disheartening, because nobody wants to place the blame for what’s happening to our children where it belongs - with the parents. It’s the 800 pound gorilla that everybody sees, but nobody wants to touch.

I’ve read routinely your posts about being involved in local politics and what has upset you. I just went through an election cycle where even though all the insults done to the Black community were well documented, the Black community overwhelmingly voted back the mayor instead of choosing one of the 2 qualified Black candidates.

There’s a local talk show host here who consistently says that he’s for REPARATIONS.
But, for him, REPARATIONS is EXTERNAL & INTERNAL.

And, if we took care of our INTERNAL reparations, then the EXTERNAL reparations wouldn’t loom so large.

So, what is Obama supposed to do, go around in front of Black audiences and talk about how our lives would be perfect, IF ONLY, these programs were funded?

It’s like he’s damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t.

But, you and I both know if every program we could ever think of was fully funded…

There would still be serious problems within our community.

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 12:46 pm

Et tu, dblhelix?

Come on you have to know that the media is skewing this. Bill Clinton has been lecturing Black folks for years, and Black folks have nothing but appreciation for the “White overseer” giving guidance to the colored folks All last month, he’s been touring Black churches and group lecturing on our eating habits and parenting, but he’s celebrated by the press for lookin’ out for the Black folks. The speech Obama gave in LA focused far more on the lack of recovery in LA, poor services, police abuse, etc., than criticizing Black folks, but of course the media is ONLY going to focus on one aspect that serves their overall objective to divide and conquer. Even Al Wynn said that candidly this morning on MSNBC. I think we are being far too gullible.

By: NMP on May 3, 2007
at 12:54 pm

OT:
Wolfowicz is on the hot seat. Those folks want him GONE.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269732,00.html

OT:
The Real QEII, Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II, is coming to town.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050202844.html?hpid=topnews

OT: Hugo Chavez has all but taken over the whole dang country

http://aaenvironment.blogspot.com/2007/05/chavez-changes-oil-environment-in.html

OT: You haven’t commented on the DC Madam story. I think it’s hilarious.

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 12:54 pm

The Democratic Party has a page outlining the GOP Candidates:

http://www.democrats.org/gopcandidates.html

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 1:14 pm

rikyrah,

Naw, Girl. I’m holdin’ back until a song hits me on that Wolfowitz and D.C. MADAME THING.

By: skepticalbrotha on May 3, 2007
at 1:28 pm

“what we DO get, ‘we’ don’t do enough with it.”

rikyrah,

You have to wonder if social integration was the worse thing that ever happened to us. When we had no rights and limited opportunities–from slavery to jim crow–we valued education above all else and had a sense of shared community and responsibility that the subequent generations did better than the past. I know we’ve all heard our grandparents talk about how they had to walk 5 miles to school and rolled our eyes, but it’s true. They were willing to make sacrifices just for an opportunity to share one book with 50 other kids. You’re right! We shouldn’t stop striving for equal educational resources and opportunities, but we also have to continue to take full advantage of what we have until things improve.

By: NMP on May 3, 2007
at 1:37 pm

You have to wonder if social integration was the worse thing that ever happened to us. When we had no rights and limited opportunities–from slavery to jim crow–we valued education above all else and had a sense of shared community and responsibility that the subequent generations did better than the past.

Well, my mother and her group think so.

I know we’ve all heard our grandparents talk about how they had to walk 5 miles to school and rolled our eyes, but it’s true. They were willing to make sacrifices just for an opportunity to share one book with 50 other kids. You’re right! We shouldn’t stop striving for equal educational resources and opportunities, but we also have to continue to take full advantage of what we have until things improve.

I wasn’t a teacher, but it was my responsbility to ‘get the stuff’ for the school. We needed books, I got them. A teacher wanted a library, I got them. They wanted a computer lab, I got them. I was in the inner city, and while they might not have had new books every year, none of their books were older than 3 years old. So, it’s not an issue of books. There is so much ‘ stuff’ out there that if you write and write again,you can get for these schools. Sure, the computers might not be brand new, but you can get pretty decent ones, with brand new software, all the time. You needed afterschool programs for the kids? Could get that too. The schools were clean, and there wasn’t a physical threat for the kids while they were IN school.

I can, without a doubt, tell you, that the single largest determining factor about whether a kid was excelling or not..

IS AN INVOLVED PARENT.

Doesn’t matter if they’re ‘PO. Doesn’t matter if they don’t know how to read. Doesn’t matter. What matters is if they are involved in their child’s life - POSITIVELY. That, if called by the school, they actually come up in a timely fashion. That, when they get there, they listen to the problem, and even if they disagree with the teacher, DO NOT CURSE OUT THE TEACHER in front of the child. That, if the teacher asks you do to something with your child, you don’t get an attitude.

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 1:47 pm

“DO NOT CURSE OUT THE TEACHER ”

Did you catch the week long series on Nightline that aired shortly before Ted Koppel’s departure? It chronicled a week in the life of first year teacher in the NYC school system. It was heart-breaking to watch the battles this poor endured–against unruly students, parents and unsupportive administrators. One mother who had not participated in any parents’ activities or parent conferences came to school only to curse the teacher out because her daughter claimed (falsely) that the teacher had cursed at her. The mother cursed that poor teacher out in front of her daughter, the principal and the cameras. It was one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen. The teacher, lacking support from the school and the community, quit by year’s end to teach in an affluent suburb.

My son knows that the biggest mistake he could ever do is pit me against his teachers. I meet and correspond with them regularly, and they truly value my participation. There is NOTHING that he could say to convince me to undermine their authority. I’ve had some minor disagreements with their actions/decisions, but my son has never been privy to any discord. That’s essential to imparting an understanding that they are his extended parents during the day, and I demand that he shows them the same respect that he shows me.

It’s a co-operative effort and shared responsibility. Unfortunately there are too many kids because of drugs, AIDS, imprisonment, etc. that don’t have even one responsible parent to provide that stability, so we ALL have to step up. There is nothing I hate more than to hear Black folk say “that’s not my child.” BS! They are the future of our race, each and every one of them, and we all can be doing more to extend a helping hand.

By: NMP on May 3, 2007
at 2:12 pm

“There is nothing I hate more than to hear Black folk say “that’s not my child.” BS! They are the future of our race, each and every one of them, and we all can be doing more to extend a helping hand.” - NMP

this goes back to a related point you made earlier - one also made by Cornel West in his book “Race Matters” - that in the past, parents sent their children to historically black colleges to “serve the race.” Now many aspire to send their kids to Harvard, Yale and Princeton to get “high paying jobs.”

there’s of course nothing wrong in my opinion to going to a PWI (predominately white institution), as I have gone to two PWIs myself. the problem, as I see it, is that so many black professionals don’t reach back to help the next generation to make it from where we came from. sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get collegues to volunteer/get involved in the lives of our youth. that is what breaks my heart the most (especially when some of my non-black brothers and sisters seem more willing to get involved…IN OUR OWN COMMUNITIES)

By: Rick on May 3, 2007
at 2:40 pm

NMP: Et tu, dblhelix?

Come on you have to know that the media is skewing this.

That is exactly my point. It is not the substance of Obama’s discussion (which I agree w/ for the most part) that I have issues with, but rather that the door is open for the mainstream media to take ownership.

I did not know about BC touring the churches — well, if he’s doing it again during presidential season, then Obama might as well take his ’special license.’

rikyrah: Isn’t the balance pointing out that social programs haven’t had the funding that they should have had,which is what he did in Los Angeles this past week.

yes — but you didn’t get that from this article, did you? What I mean is that the discussion on this subject need to provide the right balance. Here we find,

You know what would be a good economic development plan for our community would be if we make sure folks weren’t throwing their garbage out of their cars

I want to hear it pointed out that social programs are not funded in front of a general audience, like the debate last week.

Instead we had Richardson setting the tone (his role, I believe) that Democrats spend/tax too much.

By: dblhelix on May 3, 2007
at 2:54 pm

Rick: the problem, as I see it, is that so many black professionals don’t reach back to help the next generation to make it from where we came from. sometimes it’s like pulling teeth to get collegues to volunteer/get involved in the lives of our youth. that is what breaks my heart the most (especially when some of my non-black brothers and sisters seem more willing to get involved…IN OUR OWN COMMUNITIES)

Thank you for saying it.

By: dblhelix on May 3, 2007
at 2:57 pm

I wonder if Imus can rely on that language “confrontational and irreverent” to save him when the effect of that language caused the show to lose sponsors? And remember, one of the Rutgers girls said Imus’ comments caused her harm. Scarred her for life.

The whole point of the show is to make money, not lose it, and I can’t see enforcing a contract where CBS didn’t get what they paid for.

By: yogo on May 3, 2007
at 2:57 pm

rikyrah: Isn’t the balance pointing out that social programs haven’t had the funding that they should have had,which is what he did in Los Angeles this past week.

yes — but you didn’t get that from this article, did you? What I mean is that the discussion on this subject need to provide the right balance.

No, I didn’t get it from this article, but I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t of read it in the Los Angeles Times.

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 3:00 pm

OT: Florida moves its Primary to January 29th

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Florida-Primary.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

By: rikyrah on May 3, 2007
at 3:20 pm

rikyrah: No, I didn’t get it from this article, but I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t of read it in the Los Angeles Times.

I would still like it on center stage.

I was at a meeting last week where I heard a comment about a neighborhood in the vicinity of a metrorail station:

“substandard housing stock targeted for property aggregation.”

In our society, to be ’successful,’ you should jump on this tip and get yours. This goes to Rick’s comment. There’s too much taking and not enough giving back. It’s more of a general American pathology, and it crosses racial lines.

By: dblhelix on May 3, 2007
at 3:21 pm

dblhelix: In our society, to be ’successful,’ you should jump on this tip and get yours.

some have mentioned a breakdown in families as playing a key role in this mentality, and I agree. But also note that by 2008, the last 20 out of 28 years would see americans under the Presidency of Reagen and the Bushes. 20 out of 28 years. The 80s was the “Me, Myself, and I” generation; Bush Jr. put that into overdrive. The paper chase continues, while the foundations of our culture that have always preserved us — the family, community, black churches — stay under constant pressure, if not outright attack.

By: Rick on May 4, 2007
at 8:06 am

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