CBS cancels the Imus radio show effective immediately
Steve Safran April 12th, 2007
CBS has announced it is canceling Don Imus’s “Imus in the Morning” radio show immediately, over the comments he made about the Rutgers women’s basketball team. Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson had met with CBS Corp. Chairman Les Moonves to ask for Imus’s firing. This comes after MSNBC pulled the simulcast of his show off their air, and after advertisers had pulled their spots from his show. From the AP:
Losing Imus will be a financial hit to CBS Radio, which also suffered when Howard Stern departed for satellite radio. The program earns about $15 million in annual revenue for CBS… In a memo to staff members, Moonves said the firing “is about a lot more than Imus.”
“He has flourished in a culture that permits a certain level of objectionable expression that hurts and demeans a wide range of people,” Moonves said. “In taking him off the air, I believe we take an important and necessary step not just in solving a unique problem, but in changing that culture, which extends far beyond the walls of our company.”
On Thursday, Imus’s annual Radiothon raised $1 million for charity. It was scheduled to be a two-day fundraiser, but it turned out to be his last show. Meantime, the speculation is already beginning about whether satellite radio will offer Imus a home.
NOTE: I will be on the radio Friday morning in Richmond, VA, discussing the Imus story. I’ll be on Newsradio 1140 AM WRVA with Jimmy Barrett at 7:05am ET. You can listen live online. What I will add to this story, I have no idea. UPDATE: Finished interview. Jimmy was great, as always. I sounded like another silly media analyst, as I predicted.
6 Comments Add your own
1. charlie | April 12th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Knuckling under is knuckling under no matter what kind of icing one applies to it. Sending Imus off like this is sad commentary on the state of radio… Suspend, fine, reprimand. Sure. BUT FIRE? Sorry. This is one of those glad-I’m-out-of-that-business moments for me.
2. El Dangeroso | April 12th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
You sure Sharpton and Jackson were promising a rally outside *NBC* headquarters Saturday?
3. Julie Moonves | April 12th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Why weren’t Al & Jesse in NC for the AG’s press conference about the Duke players being vindicated?
What is most overlooked in the Imus saga is the number of athletes who receive scholarships, don’t graduate, then go on to make boatloads. When all is said and done, let’s see how many of the Rutgers basketball players graduate. If they all do, then great, let’s see that reported. If Imus had used the word “dykes” instead of “hos,” he would still have a job. It seems very little is said about the number of women college players who are gay. It has to be the most of any collegiate sport.
4. Alyssa | April 12th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Let me play Devil’s Advocate:
Is what Imus said worse than the things some women are called by rappers?
5. Alyssa | April 12th, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Oh, and if CBS was so deeply offended by what Imus said, they would’ve fired him the day he said it. Seems like the amount of ad $$$ lost is what really put the nail in his coffin.
6. John | April 13th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
However damaging Imus’ words may have been or seemed is irrelevant. The comments were made on the morning of Wednesday, April 4. This became a fiasco on Sunday and Monday — FOUR OR FIVE DAYS LATER. It was not about offensiveness but about opportunity. Al and Jesse were able to get involved, which meant big corporate had to start paying attention. And once those sponsors pulled out, suddenly the nets could say nice things like “we don’t condone Don Imus’ comments.” It’s amazing how big this has become. The bottom line is that a guy doing his job used terrible judgment and should have been punished, then had a chance to go back to work after a few weeks.
Oddly, on the same day he was suspended, the NFL handed down severe punishments to two notorious troublemakers, people who committed real illegal acts that had the potential to cause serious harm to other people. But they’ll be playing in front of sold-out crowds again in no time because they sure can run fast.
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