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Don Imus Holds Fundraiser at MSNBC Despite Being Dropped From Channel
Thursday, April 12, 2007
NEW YORK - Embattled broadcaster Don Imus pushed ahead with his annual
on-air charity fundraiser Thursday, a day after MSNBC pulled the plug on his
TV show because of his latest racial slur.
"This may be our last Radiothon, so we need to raise about $100 million,"
Imus said at the start of the event, which has raised more than $40 million
since 1990.
"I've been running my mouth for 30 years and I've said some stupid stuff,"
he said. But this time, he continued, his remarks were "really stupid."
Pressure from advertisers and politicians have mounted on the radio host
since he referred to the Rutgers female basketball players as "nappy-headed
hos" last week.
His ultimate fate depends on the CBS Corp., which owns both the radio
station WFAN-AM that is the host's broadcast home, and the syndicator
Westwood One, which distributes "Imus in the Morning" to stations across the
country.
CBS Radio, which has also suspended Imus for two weeks without pay, said it
would "continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the
situation closely."
The 18th annual Radiothon, which has raised more than $40 million since
1990, began Thursday and runs through Friday. It was one of the reasons that
his suspension from CBS does not start until next week.
Imus said Thursday said he had apologized enough and plans to meet with
members of the Rutgers players. "At some point, I'm not sure when, I'm going
to talk to the team. That's all I'm interested in doing."
It emerged Wednesday that a key to pulling the plug on his MSNBC simulcast
was an internal mutiny within NBC. About 30 angry NBC News employees, many
of them black, met with news division president Steve Capus and said they'd
had it with Imus' brand of coarse ethnic humor.
"Within this organization, this had touched a nerve," Capus said Wednesday.
"The comment that came through to us, time and time again, was `when is
enough going to be enough?' This was the only action we could take."
Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP and a director of CBS Corp., told The
Associated Press on Wednesday that he hoped CBS would "make the smart
decision" by firing Imus.
"He's crossed the line, he's violated our community," Gordon said in a
telephone interview. "He needs to face the consequence of that violation."
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has sought Imus' firing, said he will meet
Thursday with CBS officials. And the Rutgers' women's basketball team and
coach C. Vivian Stringer were scheduled to appear Thursday on "The Oprah
Winfrey Show."
A growing list of sponsors - including American Express Co., Sprint Nextel
Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp. - had
said they were pulling ads from Imus' show indefinitely.
Imus' program is worth a total of about $15 million in annual revenue to CBS
Corp., through advertising on WFAN and syndication fees received from MSNBC
and Westwood One. It wasn't clear how much of that total came from MSNBC.
Two black on-air personalities at NBC News, reporter Ron Allen and the
"Today" show's Al Roker, had already publicly urged Imus' firing on Web log
entries.
Allen said he didn't buy the argument that Imus was "edgy" and had hurled
slurs at many others. "Personally, I don't think being an `equal
opportunity' insulter makes this OK," he said.
Roker said he was tired of cruelty that passes for funny, humor at other
people's expense.
"He has to take his punishment and start over," Roker said. "Guess what?
He'll get re-hired and will go on like nothing happened. CBS Radio and NBC
News need 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."
Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first presidential candidate
to call for Imus to be fired. "He didn't just cross the line, he fed into
some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal
with today in America," said Obama, the only black candidate in the race.
Imus has apologized repeatedly for his comments. He also has said that those
who called for his firing without knowing him, his philanthropic work or
what his show was about would be making an "ill-informed" choice.
Imus' program has been the only thing MSNBC has aired on weekday mornings
for the 11 years of the network's existence.
MSNBC loses a morning show personality at a time when his show has been
doing very well. Almost as many people had been watching the telecast of his
radio show than the highly-produced newscast on CNN - leading CNN to dump
its two morning anchors just last week.
Producing its own morning show will also cost MSNBC money at a time it has
been cutting costs, but it doesn't have the threat of an advertiser boycott.
Don Imus Holds Fundraiser at MSNBC Despite Being Dropped From Channel
Thursday, April 12, 2007
NEW YORK - Embattled broadcaster Don Imus pushed ahead with his annual
on-air charity fundraiser Thursday, a day after MSNBC pulled the plug on his
TV show because of his latest racial slur.
"This may be our last Radiothon, so we need to raise about $100 million,"
Imus said at the start of the event, which has raised more than $40 million
since 1990.
"I've been running my mouth for 30 years and I've said some stupid stuff,"
he said. But this time, he continued, his remarks were "really stupid."
Pressure from advertisers and politicians have mounted on the radio host
since he referred to the Rutgers female basketball players as "nappy-headed
hos" last week.
His ultimate fate depends on the CBS Corp., which owns both the radio
station WFAN-AM that is the host's broadcast home, and the syndicator
Westwood One, which distributes "Imus in the Morning" to stations across the
country.
CBS Radio, which has also suspended Imus for two weeks without pay, said it
would "continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the
situation closely."
The 18th annual Radiothon, which has raised more than $40 million since
1990, began Thursday and runs through Friday. It was one of the reasons that
his suspension from CBS does not start until next week.
Imus said Thursday said he had apologized enough and plans to meet with
members of the Rutgers players. "At some point, I'm not sure when, I'm going
to talk to the team. That's all I'm interested in doing."
It emerged Wednesday that a key to pulling the plug on his MSNBC simulcast
was an internal mutiny within NBC. About 30 angry NBC News employees, many
of them black, met with news division president Steve Capus and said they'd
had it with Imus' brand of coarse ethnic humor.
"Within this organization, this had touched a nerve," Capus said Wednesday.
"The comment that came through to us, time and time again, was `when is
enough going to be enough?' This was the only action we could take."
Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP and a director of CBS Corp., told The
Associated Press on Wednesday that he hoped CBS would "make the smart
decision" by firing Imus.
"He's crossed the line, he's violated our community," Gordon said in a
telephone interview. "He needs to face the consequence of that violation."
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who has sought Imus' firing, said he will meet
Thursday with CBS officials. And the Rutgers' women's basketball team and
coach C. Vivian Stringer were scheduled to appear Thursday on "The Oprah
Winfrey Show."
A growing list of sponsors - including American Express Co., Sprint Nextel
Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp. - had
said they were pulling ads from Imus' show indefinitely.
Imus' program is worth a total of about $15 million in annual revenue to CBS
Corp., through advertising on WFAN and syndication fees received from MSNBC
and Westwood One. It wasn't clear how much of that total came from MSNBC.
Two black on-air personalities at NBC News, reporter Ron Allen and the
"Today" show's Al Roker, had already publicly urged Imus' firing on Web log
entries.
Allen said he didn't buy the argument that Imus was "edgy" and had hurled
slurs at many others. "Personally, I don't think being an `equal
opportunity' insulter makes this OK," he said.
Roker said he was tired of cruelty that passes for funny, humor at other
people's expense.
"He has to take his punishment and start over," Roker said. "Guess what?
He'll get re-hired and will go on like nothing happened. CBS Radio and NBC
News need 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."
Democrat Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first presidential candidate
to call for Imus to be fired. "He didn't just cross the line, he fed into
some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal
with today in America," said Obama, the only black candidate in the race.
Imus has apologized repeatedly for his comments. He also has said that those
who called for his firing without knowing him, his philanthropic work or
what his show was about would be making an "ill-informed" choice.
Imus' program has been the only thing MSNBC has aired on weekday mornings
for the 11 years of the network's existence.
MSNBC loses a morning show personality at a time when his show has been
doing very well. Almost as many people had been watching the telecast of his
radio show than the highly-produced newscast on CNN - leading CNN to dump
its two morning anchors just last week.
Producing its own morning show will also cost MSNBC money at a time it has
been cutting costs, but it doesn't have the threat of an advertiser boycott.
