Imus and CBS Radio “have mutually agreed to settle claims that each had against the other regarding the Imus radio program on CBS,” the network said in a statement Tuesday.
The terms of the settlement will not be disclosed, according to the CBS statement.
The settlement pre-empts the dismissed radio personality’s threatened $120 million breach-of-contract lawsuit.
CBS confirmed only that the settlement had been reached. The person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press that Imus is taking steps to make a comeback with WABC. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not been announced, also said the deal with CBS calls for a “non-disparaging” agreement that forbids the parties from speaking negatively about each other.
The settlement and possible comeback come more than four months after Imus created an uproar over his racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.
Just before his dismissal, Imus signed a five-year, $40 million contract with CBS Radio (owned by CBS Corp.). Famed First Amendment lawyer Martin Garbus said in May that Imus planned to sue CBS for $120 million in unpaid salary and damages.
WFAN, the New York radio station that was Imus’ flagship, also announced Tuesday that former pro quarterback Boomer Esiason will take over the morning time slot along with Craig Carton, a New Jersey radio personality.
WABC is a New York talk-radio station that features political and topical shows with such stars Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
Imus, 66, was dismissed April 12 after describing the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos” on his nationally syndicated radio program, which was also simulcast on MSNBC. (General Electric Co.’s cable TV channel now has the “Morning Joe” program with Joe Scarborough.)
Garbus had said Imus would sue for the contract’s unpaid part. He cited a contract clause in which CBS acknowledged that Imus’ services were “unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial.”
The clause said Imus’ programming was “desired by company and … consistent with company rules and policy,” according to Garbus
Don Imus is back—and Rev. Al Sharpton is surprisingly okay with that.
Imus buddy Bo Dietl dropped heavy hints on a radio show over the weekend that the aging shock jock will be back at WFAN no later than September. That would mean a mere five months of wandering in the wilderness for the I-Man, who was fired in April by CBS Radio and MSNBC after calling female college basketball players “nappy-headed hos.”
Sharpton, of course, played no small part in Imus’s downfall, even inviting the man onto his radio show to apologize to viewers only to declare his apology inadequate. Yet the Rev. tells Radar he would not oppose Imus’s return this fall.
“My position is that we never called for him to be permanently barred from being on the air,” he says. “We’ll see when he comes back, and if he comes back, what are the boundaries and what is the understanding. We’ll be monitoring the situation, but we wanted him to pay for being a repeat abuser, and he paid. We never said we didn’t want him to make a living.”
As for the claim that Imus is seeking a black comedian to “take the sting out” of his racial humor, Sharpton says, “A sidekick is not cover. What he needs to give him cover is his own conscience and whether he’ll live up to the apology he gave those Rutgers girls.”
okay with that.Imus buddy Bo Dietl dropped heavy hints on a radio show over the weekend that the aging shock jock will be back at WFAN no later than September. That would mean a mere five months of wandering in the wilderness for the I-Man, who was fired in April by CBS Radio and MSNBC after calling female college basketball players “nappy-headed hos.”
Sharpton, of course, played no small part in Imus’s downfall, even inviting the man onto his radio show to apologize to viewers only to declare his apology inadequate. Yet the Rev. tells Radar he would not oppose Imus’s return this fall.
“My position is that we never called for him to be permanently barred from being on the air,” he says. “We’ll see when he comes back, and if he comes back, what are the boundaries and what is the understanding. We’ll be monitoring the situation, but we wanted him to pay for being a repeat abuser, and he paid. We never said we didn’t want him to make a living.”
As for the claim that Imus is seeking a black comedian to “take the sting out” of his racial humor, Sharpton says, “A sidekick is not cover. What he needs to give him cover is his own conscience and whether he’ll live up to the apology he gave those Rutgers girls.”
MSNBC Anchor Mika Brezezinski ripped her up her producer’s Paris Hilton lead story yesterday on Joe Scarborough’s Morning Joe program. “I am done with the Paris Hilton story,” she exclaimed after attempting to first burn it before tearing it up. All that I can say is,”Good for you.” After turning a blind eye to Don Imus’s racist and sexist banter for 10 years, they bet’ not touch her. They know she is right. This mindless celebrity coverage as news is just plain garbage.
I’ve given up on MSNBC. This morning, bleary-eyed and sleepy, I was treated to the most god-awful morning televangelizing from the Church of Don Imus of Latter-Day TV Racists. Yes, Chirren. America heard from a most unholy trinity of unapologetic racists this morning. We heard from Charles McCord, the Father. Craig Crawford, the Son. And Holy Joe, the Host. Yes, you heard me right. MSNBC has recycled Charles McCord, Don Imus’s undercover racist newsreader and straight-man sidekick and thrown him together with Joe-they-found-a-dead-Girl-in-my-congressional-office-Scarborough.
The violins serenaded a juiced up sounding Craig Crawford, as he slurred an unnecessary and mealy mouthed defense of the Anus in the Morning. In between sips of Stoli and Wild Turkey, he said somethin’ about not being a racist and having his e-mail box blowed up somethin’ awful. The kicker for me was some straight up B.S. about not having to cop to the racism that he and the rest of Imus’ defenders so pathetically denied.
To that, I say, ” If the shoe fits, MF-stuff them crusty corns on in it and STFU. I guess good ole’ Craig forgot the part where Mike Wallace caught Don in a boldfaced lie about keeping Bernard McGuirk as his executive producer to do “Nigger” jokes. Y’all remember how I provided the video. Spare me the violin serenade about poor Don. For $10 F******* million a year, I damn sho’ woulda kept that “Nigger” joke s*** to my damnself. MF ain’t got nobody to blame but himself for goin’ out like an alcoholic punk.
Richard McChesney wrote in his book “Rich Media, Poor Democracy,” “U.S. democracy is in a decrepit state – exemplified by a depoliticization that would make a tyrant envious, and the corporate commercial media system is an important factor though not the only or even the most important factor, in understanding how this sorry state came to be.
“The corporate media cement a system whereby the wealthy and powerful few make the most important decisions with virtually no informed public participation. Crucial political issues are barely covered by the corporate media, or else are warped to fit the confines of elite debate, stripping ordinary citizens of the tools they need to be informed, active participants in a democracy.”
“Moreover, the media system is not only closely linked to the ideological dictates of the business-run society, it is also an integral element of the economy. Hence, for those who regard inequality and untrammeled commercialism as undermining the requirements of a democratic society, media reform must be on the political agenda.”
As quiet as its kept, its just like my play Mom told me after the Republicans won control of Congress in 1994, “We’re in Hell,” she said. And the Hell we’re in is a right-wing, sadistic torture chamber where a blasphemous cacophony of sanctimonious B.S. about Don Imus’s victimhood is played over and over and over again.
Radio host Don Imus is going to sue CBS for $120 million, according to a draft copy of the complaint obtained by ABC News’ Law & Justice Unit.
The suit is expected to be filed next week.
Former FCC commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said Imus’ comments were “definitely in bad taste and inappropriate language.”
“But in order to prohibit such language, it has to rise to the level of being legally profane, and I do not think that it rises to that level because of our legal history of protecting free speech.”
A draft copy of Imus’s lawsuit says that the network expected him to be controversial and irreverent under the terms of his contract. And he claims Imus’s show was on a five second delay that allowed the network to censor him if they wanted.
The draft points out that Imus wasn’t fired for two weeks after the remarks were made.
Meanwhile, four former FCC commissioners contacted by ABC News say they do not believe that the speech was actionable under current federal guidelines that prohibit profanity or indecency on public airwaves.
Imus was fired April 12, after he made insensitive remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.
Martin Garbus — a powerful First Amendment lawyer who represented controversial comedian Lenny Bruce — said he would file a complaint against the network in the days ahead.
In a statement released by CBS in response to news stories about the impending lawsuit, CBS said that “We terminated Mr. Imus for cause. Based on the comments in question and relevant contract terms, we believe that the termination was appropriate and CBS would expect to prevail in any attempt by Mr. Imus to recover money for his actions.”
The network is expected to rely on a clause in the radio talk show host’s contract that says he can be terminated for ‘just cause’ if CBS determines that he used “distasteful or offensive words or phrases, the broadcast of which [CBS] believes would not be in the public interest or may jeopardize [the networks’s] Federal license to operate…”
But Garbus, who has successfully defended hundreds of high profile First Amendment cases, said CBS still breached Imus’ contract when the company fired him.
He cited a section of his client’s employment contract today that says Imus’ “services to be rendered … are of a unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial and personal character … and … these components are desired by Company and are consistent with Company rules and policies.”
While the lawsuit focuses on the contract, hovering above the dispute is the question of whether Imus’s comments put the network in jeopardy with the FCC – which has been uncharacteristically aggressive in policing the airwaves in recently years.
One former FCC commissioner who spoke to ABC News suggested that CBS had gotten exactly what it had bargained for.
“The issue is one more of extremely poor judgement than it is an FCC issue,” said ex-commissioner Harold Furtchgott-Roth. “That’s what Imus’ schtick has been for years.”
Former commissioner James Quello concurred, telling ABC News that he thought “it was a mistake and that [Imus] had a First Amendment right to be wrong.”
And former commissioner Gloria Tristani said she did “not believe that what [Imus] said would rise to the level of what [the FCC] has found profane of late. … But they are very fact-specific inquiries.”
Was Imus Warned?
Imus’ contract also stipulated that he must be given a warning in writing before being fired for stepping over the line.
It’s unclear whether CBS had privately warned the radio talk show host about his language. Garbus says Imus wasn’t warned. And it’s also unclear whether the FCC would actually penalize CBS and/or its affiliates over Imus’ comments remains unclear.
Current FCC chairman Kevin Martin told a congressional panel last month that “Imus’ comments were obviously very, very offensive and were indeed more offensive than some of the indecency remarks that have been made that the commission has fined people for in the past. But I think it’s important to understand that the commission doesn’t fine any broadcaster for anything related to how offensive what they say is.”
However, Martin also indicated that these kinds of issues could be raised in the context of a station’s license renewal.
“When stations have their license coming up for renewal, the community that they serve has an opportunity to complain about the broadcasters and how they’ve used their license,” he said.
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.
“The majority of Negro political leaders do not ascend to prominence on the shoulders of mass support. Although genuinely popular leaders are now emerging, most are selected by white leadership, elevated to position, supplied with resources, and inevitably subjected to white control. The mass of Negroes nurtures a healthy suspicion toward these manufactured leaders.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A tsunami of outrage has been blazing in the last ten days since Don Imus, Radio Shock jock and Harold Ford, Jr benefactor singled out the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team with a racist and sexist epithet.In the midst of the firestorm, Tennessee’s black prince, corporate whore and senator-in-waiting, released the following obligatory and gutless statement:
I don’t want to be viewed as piling on right now because Don Imus is a good friend and a decent man. However, he did a reprehensible thing.His comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team were hurtful and wrong. Moreover, the comments robbed these young women of an important time to celebrate a magnificent and positive moment in their lives.
I am a big believer in redemption, and I understand that Don has done many good deeds in his life.Yet, no amount of philanthropy gives anyone the license to offend innocent people—particularly when it comes to matters of race and gender.So I’m going to follow the lead of those brilliant and gracious women of the Rutgers basketball team and wait and see how the next two weeks unfold. I certainly hope Don can come to understand better the pain he has caused these young women and their families, and I will leave it to others to decide how his future in media should play out.
Is it any wonder that I have lampooned Harold as”Harold Whore, Jr” and “the Whore?”
The statement is brilliant in the way it deftly positions him as an acceptable House Negro and corporate servant, unlike Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.Its brevity is telling and its faint praise and politically expedient criticism of Don Imus was not what the Anus in the Morning was hoping for. The Anus in the Morning needed a lifeline and instead, the Whore pushed his head under the water until he drowned.Harold Ford, Jr doesn’t intend to sacrifice a seat in the world’s most exclusive club for Don Imus.While grateful for the endorsement and exposure Imus provided, and God knows he enjoyed his time as Imus’s nappy-headed Ho, Harold has no use for a John that can’t pay.
Cavorting with the Anus in the Morning and his merry band of on air racists allowed Harold Ford, Jr entrée and unfettered access to the media elite of this country also prominently featured on the program as guests.He could rub shoulders with those elitist D.C. journalists and New York Media powerhouses in the green room.Most importantly, he could shamelessly appeal to a white demographic that was entertained by the Anus in the Morning’s racist satire and confirmed in their bigotry.
Before all the contretemps, everything was smooth sailing for corporate whore extraordinaire Harold Ford, Jr.After 10 years of metaphorically swinging around a pole in the House of Representatives doing nasty favors in exchange for corporate cash in his g-string, the Whore felt that his apprenticeship was done and that he was ready for the big time.
The Whore understands how power operates in this society and in whose interests. Ours is a capitalist society that comes with all of the attendant drawbacks and moral compromises, which stratify our society along, racial and class lines. He understands that for him to ascend to higher office, he must first genuflect to power and service it better than a crackhead ho on his knees. Dr. Michael Parenti, author of “Land of Idols” has eloquently written, “The problem with capitalism is that it best rewards the worst part of us: the ruthless, competitive, conniving, opportunistic, acquisitive drives, giving little reward and often much punishment-or at least much handicap-to honesty, compassion, fair play, many forms of hard work, love of justice, and a concern for those in need.”
Ruthless, competitive, conniving, opportunistic, and acquisitive are all adjectives, which couldn’t be better in describing the essential character of the Whore.In short, he loves the game and doesn’t give two sh$ts about anybody but himself.Ain’t no way in hell he intends to be sidetracked by compassion or pushing some good-government crap designed to help those in need.
Any whore who doesn’t understand the art of seduction is not really a professional but an amateur.The Whore is anything but amateurish; he is a consummate professional.He set his sights on Don Imus and the Media elite that surrounded him and he conquered them all. Don Imus’s unapologetic racism was a minor peccadillo that the Whore ignored because the D.C. and New York power elite shared the same views.For the Whore, its all about the acquisition of power.
Jack White of Time Magazine told TomPaine.com’s Philip Nobile, “Imus will be untouchable as long as influential journalists and politicians turn a blind eye to the tide of racism and sexism that passes for satire on his program.Their tolerance of his nauseating brand of humor raises serious doubts about the mainstream media’s sensitivity to a range of racial and social issues.The problem isn’t really Imus; it’s his collaborators, who go along with him to flack their books and stoke their egos, selling out whatever principles they claim to believe in for personal profit. To hell with all of them.”
MSNBC wants to spin what they’ve done in suspending and subsequently firing Don Imus from his morning simulcast on the network. They’ve patted themselves on the back and claimed that internal pressure from unnamed African American and female staff, and not external outrage and the termination of major corporate advertising on Imus’s program dictated the decision to discharge Imus by the MSNBC News president Steve Capus.
Parenti has noted, “With command over organizational structure, personnel, and budget comes command over the practices and content of the institution.Those who call the tune may not be able to exercise perfect control over every note that is played, but individuals who stray to far from the score, who create too much cacophony, eventually find themselves without pay or position.” MSNBC News President Capus said that his decision “…was about trust. It’s about reputation. It’s about doing what’s right.” BULL****.
The truth of the matter is that Philip Nobile at TomPaine.com has been crusading against Imus for the last seven years. Every single one of Imus’s heavyweight journalistic regulars has been contacted and confronted about his racism, sexism, and homophobia.They have been asked point-blank to disavow Imus’s bigotry and to stop appearing on the program.Objectionable content was no secret to those who regularly appeared on the program or any network executive who ever freakin’ listened to the program; they never felt the need to confront it or him.
Parenti postulates that, “One widely accepted myth is that we have a free and independent press in the United States. In truth, the print and broadcast media are giant profit making conglomerates, owned and controlled by powerful banks and rich, conservative individuals.The reporters and editors who work for them learn to see the world with much the same blinders as owners, advertisers, corporate heads, and White House and Pentagon officials.Journalists think twice before delving into sensitive areas.They worry about having their copy cut and rewritten, and about being removed from choice assignments, passed over for promotion, or fired. The consequence is that coverage is limited and certain questions never get asked….”
Don’t let anybody fool you about the Anus in the morning’s tactics and battle plan.He intended to do his show his way and anybody who believed anything different was delusional and as far as he was concerned and could kiss his ass.After too many over-the-top skits and one of his producers calling the Williams sisters “animals” more suited to National Geographic than Playboy, he needed a good little sycophant and lawn jockey like Harold Whore, Jr to chat up, promote, and serve as window dressing.After being called out in 1997 for using the N-Word by Mike Wallace on 60 minutes, you’d think the Whore woulda steered clear.Naw, because the Whore ain’t got no shame.Never had and never will.
Sunday morning talk shows are nothing more than televised salons constructed to seduce the viewer into watching and receiving the conventional wisdom that is at its core a pernicious form of corporate propaganda. Once entangled in the web of deceit, the viewer’s mind is paralyzed and sucked dry like a dangerous spider that devours its prey. The viewer, now intellectually anesthetized is no longer a threat to the white power structure that rules this country.
Salons, from their inception, were meant to be social devices where the elite could gather in the drawing rooms of their aristocratic peers to discuss the various issues important to their class in a less formal atmosphere more conducive to free flowing dialog. It is customary for the host to lead off the discussion and insure that everyone has a crack at the question at hand. Good hosts always assemble a diverse guest list with people of various opinions and stations well represented, along with a few decorous women thrown in to keep it lively for good measure.
Nobody was better at assembling the power salon than former Ambassador to France, and Democratic Party doyenne, Pamela Harriman. A British born daughter of aristocratic privilege, Mrs. Harriman made her mark in Washington and Europe as a courtesan of power.
Courtesan, a French term which essentially means socialite whore, is an appellation used frequently by biographers of Mrs. Harriman. She learned her skills at the feet of her idol, the Duchess of Windsor, the former Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee’ who met and married the King of England, Edward VIII, in a salacious scandal which led to his abdication of the throne in 1936 to wed the woman he loved.
The Duchess imparted to her pupil the art of the salon and her unmatched ability to cocoon and control powerful men. Mrs. Harriman used her skills to land a wealthy third husband, former Ambassador to Russia and New York Governor Averell Harriman, with whom she had an elicit affair during World War II. After the death of their respective spouses, they hooked up in 1971.
The marriage led Mrs. Harriman on a grueling quest for power and recognition in Washington power circles. She resurrected and honed the gimmick of the salon to ensnare official Washington into her drawing room to raise money for Democratic Senators. She was rewarded for her dutiful service to the white neo-liberal power structure with an ambassadorship to France in the Clinton Administration.
Like the late Pamela Harriman, Tim Russert is a courtesan of Washington power. His televised salon, Meet the Press, is a seductive forum of corporate propaganda. Like a good socialite whore, he knows how to run a salon, cocoon powerful men, and wield their power as his own. He reigns supreme among his fellow television brethren for his singular ability to use his program to confer the imprimatur of power on those fortunate enough to be tapped by his fraudulent benevolence for a coveted cameo appearance.
Frequent appearances on Meet the Press are status symbols of cachet, relevance, and prestige among the Washington power elite. They are the hottest tickets in town and analogous to seats at a Washington National Cathedral Presidential Funeral. The appearances signal to anybody observant enough to keep score that the recipient has arrived.
In keeping with the ethos of privilege and exclusivity, Tim would have you to believe that his choice of important topics and important newsmakers represents the cream of the crop. Like cream, Tim’s idea of cream is almost all-white. This past Sunday was the last straw. We were treated to an all white parade that is so commonplace among the Washington Sunday Talk Shows. We heard absolutely nothing from those people that was insightful or even remotely newsworthy.
We heard from the same Bush Administration hacks that gave us No Child Left Behind and the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit. Neither Secretary Spellings or Secretary Leavitt have the capacity to think their way out of a paper bag much less come up with policy recommendations likely to avert another tragedy like Virginia Tech. They had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO SAY.
We shoulda heard from the Surgeon General, or a Mental Health expert or somebody, anybody with some muthafreakin’ expertise. All we got was the same beltway B.S. we always hear. In the past 18 months, Meet the Press has had 19 non-white guests which represent an eclectic mix of diplomats, heads of state, the same two reporters, and a few stray uncle toms like John McWhorter an Michael Steele. When we do hear from a big cheese, it is a Republican with a disappointing perm like Condi.
Apparently, Meet the Press has only three black people on speed dial: Gwen Ifill, Eugene Robinson, and Barack Obama. It was no surprise then that Gwen Ifill handed Tim his ass last week for coddling Don Imus or that this week’s talking head roundtable guests were all Imus alums gathered together in silent protest and all spouting conventional wisdom.
My favorite moment this Sunday was the irony of a roundtable of whitefolks celebrating diversity. Jon Meachum of Newsweek made the following observation of the Virginia Tech victims “One, one of the things I found so striking was the diversity of the victims. As you mentioned, the Holocaust survivor, professor who tried to—tried help and save people, the, the number of international students there in the middle of Virginia. It’s, it’s a snapshot of what the country is. And it’s, it’s a diverse country and it’s a good country.”
To bring this post full circle, the true test of a salon is its diversity and its ability to both inform and enlighten. On this score, Meet the Press fails as do the rest of Tim Russert’s white brethren. Hey, Tim, how bout a new closing? How bout, “ If it’s Sunday, It’s Meet the White Press.”
Kerry is the first high-profile Democrat not to support Imus’ ouster – who was fired last Thursday after making remarks about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.
Here is a transcript of Kerry’s remarks:
Kerry: “I think that the…you know the punishment has to fit the crime so to speak. I think a long suspension, or a strong suspension met with his appropriate level, given that the team forgave him. To me it was in the hands of the young women. They made the judgment that they thought he was genuine and they felt they could forgive him. And I think it was appropriate to pay a price on the airwaves but I’m not sure that it was appropriate to say you’re off forever.”
Dominic Carter: “If Mr. Imus has a show in the future would you appear on it?”
Kerry: “It would depend on what the context of the show was obviously. If he goes back to doing the same old same old I’d have trouble doing that, but if it’s a different show and he says it’s going to be different sure.”
Imus initially was given a two-week suspension, to start Monday, for calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and advertisers bolted from his programs.
“There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society,” CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. “That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision.”
Rutgers women’s basketball team spokeswoman Stacey Brann said the team did not have an immediate comment on Imus’ firing but would be issuing a statement later Thursday evening.
Time Magazine once named the cantankerous broadcaster as one of the 25 Most Influential People in America, and he was a member of the National Broadcaster Hall of Fame.
But Imus found himself at the center of a storm after his comments. Protests ensued, and one by one, sponsors pulled their ads from Imus’ show. On Wednesday, MSNBC dropped the simulcast of Imus’ show.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves to advocate Imus’ removal, promising a rally outside CBS headquarters Saturday and an effort to persuade more advertisers to abandon Imus.Sumner Redstone, chairman of the CBS Corp. board and its chief stockholder, told Newsweek that he had expected Moonves to “do the right thing,” although it wasn’t clear what he thought that was.
NEW YORK – Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP and a director of CBS Corp., said Wednesday the broadcasting company needs a “zero tolerance policy” on racism and hopes talk-show host Don Imus is fired for his demeaning remarks about the mostly black Rutgers women’s basketball team.
He’s crossed the line, he’s violated our community,” Gordon said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “He needs to face the consequence of that violation.”
He said he had spoken with CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves and hoped the company, after reviewing the situation, would “make the smart decision” by firing Imus rather than letting him return to the air at the end of a two-week suspension beginning next Monday.
“We should have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to what I see as irresponsible, racist behavior,” Gordon said. “The Imus comments go beyond humor. Maybe he thought it was funny, but that’s not what occurred. There has to be a consequence for that behavior.”
Imus triggered the uproar on his April 4 show, when he referred to the Rutgers players as “nappy-headed hos.” His comments have been widely denounced by civil rights and women’s groups, and two sponsors, Staples Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co., have pulled their advertising from the radio show.
Gordon said that as a matter of principle, firing Imus should be an easy decision to make, though he respects the right of CBS leadership to consider all factors, including legal and financial repercussions.
“When I look at it from my position as a director, where my responsibility is to represent the best interest of the shareholders, it’s more complex,” Gordon said. “But at the end of the day, the image of CBS is at risk. … the ad revenue of CBS could be at risk.”
“What I expect is for management to take the next two weeks to do their homework,” he said. “I hope that the result of their due diligence is to terminate Don Imus.”
The CBS board has 13 members. A corporate spokesman declined comment on Gordon’s remarks.
The radio show originates from WFAN-AM in New York City and is syndicated nationally by Westwood One, both of which are managed by CBS Corp. MSNBC, which simulcasts the show on cable and is a part of NBC Universal, says it will watch to see whether Imus changes the tenor of future programs.
Neither Bruce Gordon or Sumner Redstone will be ignored. Imus will be gone before his suspension is up. The pressure from the bailing advertisers alone is enough to kill his show, and his $10 million paycheck dead. But if that isn’t sufficient, perhaps scrolling through TOM PAINE. COM’s Imus Archive is. They have been crusading for his ouster and recording his bigotry for the last seven years.
In a statement, NBC News announced “this decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees. What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible.”
For those of you who question the morality of MSNBC’s decision to kill Imus’s program, read the following.
“In 1997, during a “60 Minutes” profile, Mike Wallace confronted Imus and a former producer who quoted Imus as saying he’d hired a staffer to “do nigger jokes.” When I mentioned that earlier this week on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, Imus responded on his show that it simply did not happen — though I see it in a 2000 issue of the Columbia Journalism Review and had a producer access it through a transcript (also the audio version) on National Public Radio.
Wallace: “You’ve told Tom Anderson, the producer, in your car coming home that Bernard McGuirk is there to do nigger jokes.'”
Imus: “Well, I’ve . . . I never use that word.”
Wallace: “Tom?”
Tom Anderson: “I’m right here.”
Imus: “Did I use that word?
Anderson: “I recall you using that word.”
Imus: “Oh, okay, well then I used that word, but I mean . . . of course that was an off-the-record conversation . . .”
Wallace: “The hell it was.”
So, you’ll excuse me if I dismiss Imus’s apology as bogus. He’s apologized in the past, told veteran black journalist Clarence Page on the air he would “promise to cease all simian references to black . . . black athletes.” That was before Imus went back to the ape references, probably within a week.”
“Aside from public condemnation, there are new signs of trouble for talk show host Don Imus — dollar signs.
Two major advertisers — Proctor and Gamble and Staples — said they will pull their ads from his show, which will be suspended by CBS Radio and MSNBC for two weeks starting Monday. Bigelow Tea said it may do the same, and more companies are reportedly considering pulling ads.”
“Who but an old-fashioned racist would look at Gwen Ifill on PBS and say that she reminds him of a “cleaning woman?” Who but a racist would see those amazing Rutgers b-ball players and see “nappy headed whores?” Who but a racist would repeatedly liken black athletes to “apes” and deride brilliant black journalists as “quota hires?”
“Unless I live on Planet Liberal (it’s possible), I find it impossible to believe that anyone but a serious racist even has these thoughts about African Americans. I know there are plenty of racists. I know that a liberal Jew like myself is far from typical of white America.”
“But, at the same time, I think I know enough about this country to believe with all my heart that Imus is a throwback to a time in this country we want to forget: a time when successful African Americans, women, gays, Hispanics and Jews were constantly denigrated because of innate and immutable characteristics (race, religion, sexual identity, ethnic background).”
“The serial apologies of Mr. Imus, who was suspended yesterday by both NBC News and CBS Radio for his remarks, have failed another test. The sincerity seems forced and suspect because he’s done some version of this several times before.”
“The contrast between Ifill and the white boys Jeff Greenfield, David Gregory, James Carville, Bill Maher and Ham Jordan (all of whom are rallyng behind Imus) could not be more stark. Cannot the old bigot come up with a single African American to support him. What about some Clarence Thomas type? Surely, there has to be some thoroughly discredited African-American who will stand with Imus. If not, wow.”
“But there’s nothing rare about Imus’s vile attacks. This is what he does as a matter of course. Imus and his studio cohorts have painted black people as convicts and muggers and worst of all, apes. Not only do they find it funny, they expect everybody else will as well.”
“Sid Rosenberg, whom Imus once fired, then rehired, said one morning in 2001 that Serena and Venus Williams would be better off posing in National Geographic than Playboy. He knew he was saying Serena and Venus are closer to wild animals than women.”
I cannot tell you how many people have asked me about my thoughts on Don Imus. As a student of broadcasting, I know Don Imus was one of the original “shock jocks.” I listened to him growing up in New York City in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
He is a radio icon.
That said, it is time for him to go.
I, for one, am really tired of the diatribes, the “humor” at others’ expense, the cruelty that passes for “funny”. Don Imus isn’t the only one doing this, but today he’s the one in the hot seat.
What he said was vile and disgusting. It denigrated an entire team and by extension, a community and its pride in a group that had excelled.
This controversy started and grew during the week. At first under the radar, we even had Don’s wife, Deidre, on the program, talking about “green” cleaning. I thought she was so good I wanted to talk to her about a television program for my production company.
Don and his wife have done a lot of good things—raising money for charity, including a ranch for children suffering from cancer and blood disorders.
Yet, Don Imus needs to be fired for what he said. And while we’re at it, his producer, Bernard McGuirk, needs to be canned as well. McGuirk is just as guilty, often egging Imus on.
The general manager of Cartoon Network resigned after a publicity stunt went wrong and caused a panic in Boston. He did the right thing. Don Imus should do the right thing and resign. Not talk about taking a two-week suspension with dignity. I don’t think Don Imus gets it.
He has to take his punishment and start over. Guess what? He’ll get re-hired and we’ll go on like nothing happened. CBS Radio and NBC News needs to remove Don Imus from the airwaves. That is what needs to happen. Otherwise, it just looks like profits and ratings rule over decency and justice.
Brotha Al said what I was incapable of saying and without the profanity. My hat is off to him.
So, if there are children in the room, you might wanna send them out and have this conversation with em’ later.This post is about one, and only one thing: Don Imus, the racist and ignorant dry-drunk mutha MSNBC insists on poisoning every morning with from 5:30-9:00.Ain’t nothin’ like some gratuitous racism to start the day off right.
Don Anus and his merry band of morning show Klansmen have offered another disingenuous apology for the umpteenth time for their racially charged insults against black folk.Last week, Anus called the sistahs on RutgersUniversity winning basketball team some “nappy headed ho’s.”They referred to the game between the Rutgers girls and their opposing team as a championship match of “jiggaboo’s and wannabee’s.”
He done apologized because the brothas and sistahs who comprise the National Association of Black Journalists strongly denounced his cracker ass and that constitutes a serious threat to his check. The sh*t was really funny Wednesday but apparently, the outraged fallout ain’t been too cute.Amy Robach announced on MSNBC that the Anus has “reached out” to “black leaders” and will appear this afternoon on Al Sharpton’s radio show to do an all too familiar mea culpa.
I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve had it with the mea culpa bullsh*t.I really don’t know what Al Sharpton gains from this-oh, silly me, he gains RATINGS, which end up culminating in a bigger check. To that, I say this:F#*K YOU, DON.F#*K YOU.Ain’t no need for you to apologize, cuz y’all meant every word y’all said.The only reason I’m writing this sh*t is that you had the audacity to invite that bitch-ass MF, Tom Oliphant on the today’s program to insult our intelligence and defend your cowardly ass.Man up, Bitch.
We don’t need to hear about the wonderful camp for terminally ill children you run.We don’t need to hear about the wonderful things your wife does.I like children and old people too and my Mama and Grandmama are saints but if I knock over a damn bank, me and the biggest MF in the pen are gonna be lovers for 15 to life. None of the good I’ve done will matter to anybody. If yours really meant anything to you, you woulda reigned in your Klansmen and kept that shit to yo damnself.
To the ladies of RutgersUniversity’s basketball team, I’m sure y’all are aware that there ain’t much distance between Rutgers and Paramus, NJ where MSNBC does its taping.Carry your big, beautiful black selves over there and confront Don Anus. Tell him to say that shit to your faces. Tell him, “No, No Muthafu*#a, we don’t accept your apology.
There is a beautiful thing called the telephone ladies.Use it to dial all of the advertisers of the tournament y’all just played in and demand that they issue a curt letter of denunciation of Don Anus’s conduct.Then call all of the Advertisers on MSNBC and tell them the same thing.Hell, get the NAACP in on the game and threaten them all with a friendly boycott just like we did back in the day.
Ladies, y’all big, beautiful sistahs are big business and your school, your coach and all of the advertisers know it.I am quite sure that the WNBA is sweatin all y’all-HARD.Show the world that you understand how the game is played and make damn sho’ that er’body knows it by taking Don Imus’s racist ass out. The bottom line is that Don Anus’s program has about as much worth as what I flush down the toilet every morning.It ain’t nothing but a radio and televised bitch session like the View, except it’s only for white men. The world looses nothing by kicking his bitch-ass to the curb. He and his Klansmen loose a very big check. Make him pay for his gratuitous racism.
There was a time in all of our lives when “I’m sorry, Mama” didn’t cut it.“I promise I won’t do it no more, Mama” didn’t work either.Mama had to whoop that ass.This is one of those times ladies.Whoop that ass and whoop it good. If you feel as I do, let somebody know.
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(By Al Roker)
Skeptical Brotha 