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Quote:CBS fires Don Imus from radio show

After racist remark, legendary broadcaster couldn't escape growing protest<LINK href="/css/html40.css" type=text/css rel=stylesheet><SCRIPT src="/js/std.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT>var cssList = new Array();</SCRIPT><SCRIPT>getCSS("3053751")</SCRIPT> <LINK href="/default.ashx/id/3053751/" type=text/css rel=stylesheet>


Updated: 2 hours, 19 minutes ago
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NEW YORK - CBS fired Don Imus from his radio program Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation’s most prominent broadcasters.

Imus initially was given a two-week suspension 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 CBS radio show and its MSNBC simulcast, which was canceled Wednesday.

“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.”

Imus had a long history of inflammatory remarks. But something struck a raw nerve when he targeted the Rutgers team — which includes a class valedictorian, a future lawyer and a musical prodigy — after they lost in the NCAA championship game.

Imus reportedly met with the Rutgers team members and coach on Thursday night. New Jersey governor Jon S. Corzine was on his way to attend the Rutgers-Imus meeting, held at the governor's mansion, when his motorcade was [b]involved in an accident[/b]. Corzine reportedly suffered several broken ribs and a broken leg in the crash.

The cantankerous Imus, once named one of the 25 Most Influential People in America by Time magazine and a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, issued repeated apologies as protests intensified. But it wasn’t enough as everyone from Barack Obama to Oprah Winfrey joined the criticism.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves on Thursday to demand Imus’ removal, promising a rally outside CBS headquarters Saturday and an effort to persuade more advertisers to defect.

Jackson called the firing “a victory for public decency. No one should use the public airwaves to transmit racial or sexual degradation.”

Said Sharpton: “He says he wants to be forgiven. I hope he continues in that process. But we cannot afford a precedent established that the airways can commercialize and mainstream sexism and racism.”

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, which owns Imus’ home radio station WFAN-AM and manages Westwood One, the company that syndicates the show nationally.

The news came down in the middle of Imus’ Radiothon, which has raised more than $40 million since 1990. The Radiothon had raised more than $1.3 million Thursday before Imus learned that he lost his job.

“This may be our last Radiothon, so we need to raise about $100 million,” Imus cracked at the start of the event.

CBS announced that Imus’ wife, Deirdre, and his longtime newsman, Charles McCord, will host Friday’s show.

Volunteers were getting about 200 more pledges per hour than they did last year, with most callers expressing support for Imus, said phone bank supervisor Tony Gonzalez. The event benefited Tomorrows Children’s Fund, the CJ Foundation for SIDS and the Imus Ranch.

Imus, whose suspension was supposed to start next week, was in the awkward situation of broadcasting Thursday’s radio program from the MSNBC studios in New Jersey, even though NBC News said the night before that MSNBC would no longer simulcast his program on television.

He didn’t attack MSNBC for its decision — “I understand the pressure they were under,” he said — but complained the network was doing some unethical things during the broadcast. He didn’t elaborate.





Sponsors that pulled out of Imus’ show included American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp. Imus made a point Thursday to thank one sponsor, Bigelow Tea, for sticking by him.

The list of his potential guests began to shrink, too.

Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham said the magazine’s staffers would no longer appear on Imus’ show. Meacham, Jonathan Alter, Evan Thomas, Howard Fineman and Michael Isikoff from Newsweek have been frequent guests.

Video on MSNBC:


http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=fd...00&fg=copy

Yes yes. He said something racist, he got fired, let's get on with our lives. This isn't important.

Moral of the story: think it all you want, but say it and you get in trouble? How nice...

I find it at least slightly ironic that none of the Rutgers players actually had nappy hair.

If Imus said I hate niggers lets kill all the damn spics, hey Hitler come back there's still Jews and lets see if we can get a faggot or a carpet muncher to make my damn dinner as well as a barefoot pregnant bitch in the kitchen or anything like that then yeah, he's got a problem and probably shouldn't be spouting it on the radio.

However he did no different than any sportscaster putting down a team he or she doesn't like. No different than saying the 49ers are a bunch of cokeheads or the florida buckin-queers blew another game, or in general most football players are idiots who didnt finish highschool or whatever. He was making fun of a sports team. Period.

The term nappy comes from blacks over a hundred years ago who would wear a nappy (form of napkin) on their heads while working or slaving for the man in the south. The japanese have the same term for what the sumo wrestlers wear. Today, it means unkept or greasy hair and is used across all races. That's it, it has no "racial slur" what so ever. Anyone and everyone on the radio, TV whatever who talks sports always has something negative to say about whatever team they dont like. This was no different. 'Ho' is just like saying 'bitch' and is used in the same context, this was an all-female basketball team. If it were an all-male white basketball team (like that'll ever happen) he would have called them a bunch of pale idiot wannabes.

I swear to god people go out of their way to find racism just so they can point and say see? racism is still alive! and in the south i'd agree but its no where on television or the radio or films unless its put in a negative light to begin with ie: racism is bad, here is a character depicting how and why racism is bad.

If someone can find a clip of Imus stating he hates blacks then lets see it. The most negative and clearly racist thing he's ever said were about his own producers who he's friends with and are jewish, he would constantly poke fun at how cheap they are and money grubbing, etc. but this was always in fun.

Howard Stern on the other hand, has gone on record stating things much, much worse, using actual terms like kike and nigger on air. "Oh but he's a shock jock" and so is Imus, minus the lesbian midgets.

This is the dumbest thing i've ever seen. We're becoming a nation of pussy farts.

He's allegedly a "repeat offender" so maybe he had it coming. Whatever, since I bought Sirius I hear things ten thousand times worse than this every single day. Howard Stern, Bubba The Love Sponge, Scott Ferrall etc. say things way worse than "nappy headed hoes" pretty much every minute they're on the air. (as an aside, buying Sirius was one of the best investments I've made in recent memory) Don Imus barely said anything offensive and the massive outcry as well as his entire career in broadcasting effectively ending absolutely astounds me. He didn't even do anything that offensive. No matter, other DJs have been kicked off for less on terrestrial radio. I personally think Don Imus is a hack so seeing him get fired doesn't bother me any, but the unfairness of the situation worries me greatly. This is just another step towards terrestrial radio becoming a completely illegitimate form of entertainment.

I didn't even think of that, Imus is probably gonna get a XM station or whatever. He could even have, from 12 to 1, the Nappy Headed Ho Hour.

I just wanna try something to see what happens so everyone please bear with me.

NIGGER

Okay so now i'll just wait and I should be on CNN any minute now.