CBS Cancels Imus in the Morning
By Caroline Palmer and Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/12/2007 12:35:00 PM
Following MSNBC's lead, CBS said it would cease broadcasting the Imus in the Morning radio program effectively immediately and permanently. "I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University, " said CBS President and CEO Les Moonves in a statement.
Moonves said that in meeting with concerned groups "there has been much discussion the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society."
Imus in the Morning was carried on 61 stations in the U.S and was distributed over the Westwood One radio network.
Yesterday MSNBC said it cancelled its simulcast of the Imus in the Morning radio show after an "ongoing review" process of its embattled star beginning with a suspension earlier this week.
The network issued a statement saying: "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."
Imus drew a firestorm of criticism for comments he made on his popular show last week. During the show, he called the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy headed hos."
Activists across the country howled in protest at what they called racist remarks. In the face of some advertisers pulling spots from the show, NBC faced a difficult decision.
"Once again, we apologize to the women of the Rutgers basketball team and to our viewers," the network's statement said. "We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused."
Earlier this week, both MSNBC and CBS Radio said they would suspend the host for his remarks. For now, MSNBC said it will fill Imus' 6-9 a.m. hours with live news.
In public statements throughout the week, Imus has professed regret and embarrassment over the comments.
CBS issued a statement late Wednesday reiterating its suspend/monitor policy, but going no further: "Don Imus has been suspended without pay for two weeks beginning on Monday, April 16. During that time, CBS Radio will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely."--John Eggerton contributed to this report.
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All news orgs seems to forget IMUS has a 5 year contract with CBS signed in Jan 2007 - he is going to continue to get paid no matter what !
fred - 4/13/2007 11:49:00 AM EDT -
Imus will be back. Once all the furor has finally died back down, he will resurface. It's only a question of when and where. He's simply too big an audience draw to remain off the air. Another prediction: while there will be lots of bluster in the weeks ahead about "cleaning up the filth on our airwaves" (or whatever), nothing will change. All the other garbage on the air (and Imus is only the tip of the iceberg) will stay there and be joined by still more garbage. Despite their self-righteous statements to the contrary, CBS and MSNBC both know garbage sells and they will continue to sell it. Ca-ching!
Dave D. - 4/13/2007 9:31:00 AM EDT -
If Imus is eliminated from the public airwaves for his crude, demeaning remarks, then shouldn't those same station owners and/or the FCC eliminate all the MUSIC from the radio that pretty much does the same thing in their music -- especially rap?
Let's not hold a double standard in radio.
T. Jay Dexter - 4/13/2007 9:29:00 AM EDT -
Remember that Imus was fired by WFAN before (then known as WNBC-
AM) in 1977 but he crawled back into his timeslot about a year and a half
later. Imus will not just go away, I'm guessing he'll get an interview show
on Fox Business News to run against Larry King...and maybe an air shift
on XM provided he agrees to some kind of muzzling so as not to
endanger the XM-Sirrius merger.
Eric schatz - 4/13/2007 7:23:00 AM EDT -
Nice to see that you omitted the fact in this Article and with Max Robins on Keith Olbermann's show last night that Imus is in a 2002 Inductee in your B&C Hall of Fame.
In your zeal to protect the first ammendment and freedom of speech, I'm sure you will not print this post.
Floyd - 4/13/2007 7:09:00 AM EDT
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