[Vision2020] Imus Looses His Job

[keely emerinemix]

All such language, regardless of who uses it, is deplorable.  The difference is that Imus spoke about a real group of real women who should not ever have been the focus of any of his verbal sewage.  keely> From: privatejf32 at hotmail.com> To: vision2020 at moscow.com> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:54:32 -0700> Subject: [Vision2020] Imus Looses His Job> > > This is what happens when all that is done is a comment is made.  I am NOT > saying the comment was a good one or should be allowed; but this guy should > NOT have lost his job over it, especially given rappers, actors, and other > blacks/negros/"African Americans" use even worse terms and language and THEY > ARE PAID for it.> > This is just wrong!  Suspend the guy for a couple of weeks without pay, but > taking his job away is just not right.> > > > 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.> ADVERTISEMENT> > 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.> > "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.> > 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 as protests intensified. On > Wednesday, MSNBC dropped the simulcast of Imus' show.> > Losing Imus will be a financial hit to CBS Radio, which also suffered when > Howard Stern departed for satellite radio. The program is worth about $15 > million in annual revenue to CBS, which owns Imus' home radio station > WFAN-AM and manages Westwood One, the company that syndicates the show > across the country.> > 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 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.> > 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.> > Volunteers were getting about 200 more pledges per hour than they did last > year, with most callers expressing support for Imus, said Tony Gonzalez, > supervisor of the Radiothon phone bank. 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.> > He acknowledged again that his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball > players a day after they had competed in the> NCAA championship game had been "really stupid." He said he had apologized > enough and wasn't going to whine about his fate.> > Sharpton and Jackson emerged from a meeting with Moonves saying the > corporate chief had promised to consider their requests.> > "It's not about taking Imus down," Sharpton said. "It's about lifting > decency up."> > Sheila Johnson, owner of the WNBA's Washington Mystics and, with her > ex-husband Robert, co-founder of BET, called Imus' comments reprehensible in > an interview with The Associated Press. She said she had called Moonves to > urge that CBS cut all ties with the veteran radio star, and was worried that > what he said could hurt women's sports.> > "I think what Imus has done has put a cloud over what we've tried to do in > promoting women's athletics," she said.> > Several sponsors, including American Express Co., Sprint Nextel Corp., > Staples Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., and General Motors Corp., have said they > were pulling ads from Imus' show indefinitely. 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.> > Imus has complained bitterly about a lack of support from one black > politician, Harold Ford Jr., even though he strongly backed Ford's campaign > for Senate in Tennessee last year. Ford, now head of the Democratic > Leadership Council, said Thursday he'll leave it to others to decide Imus' > future.> > "I don't want to be viewed as piling on right now because Don Imus is a good > friend and a decent man," Ford said. "However, he did a reprehensible > thing."> > Imus' troubles have also affected his wife, author Deirdre Imus, whose > household cleaning guide, "Green This!" came out this week. Her promotional > tour has been called off "because of the enormous pressure that Deirdre and > her family are under," said Simon & Schuster publicist Victoria Meyer.> > People are buying it, though: An original printing of 45,000 was increased > to 55,000.> > Imus still has a lot of support among radio managers across the country, > many of whom grew up listening to him, said Tom Taylor, editor of the trade > publication Inside Radio.> > Yet he's clearly became a political liability for a major corporation — CBS. > (General Electric Co. owns NBC Universal, of which MSNBC is a part.) NBC > News said anger about Imus among some of its employees had as much to do > with ending the MSNBC simulcast as the advertiser defection.> > Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and > vice president and editor director of Ebony and Jet magazines, met with > Moonves on Wednesday. It seemed clear Moonves and his aides were struggling > with a difficult decision, he said. He urged them to take advantage of an > opportunity to take a stand against the coarsening of culture.> > "Something happened in the last week around America," Monroe said. "It's not > just what the radio host did. America said enough is enough. America said we > don't want this kind of conversation, we don't want this kind of vitriol, > especially with teenagers."> > Rutgers' team, meanwhile, appeared Thursday on "The> Oprah Winfrey Show" with their coach, C. Vivian Stringer.> > At the end of their appearance, Winfrey said: "I want to borrow a line from > Maya Angelou, who is a personal mentor of mine and I know you all also feel > the same way about her. And she has said this many times, and I say this to > you, on behalf of myself and every woman that I know, you make me proud to > spell my name W-O-M-A-N. You've really handled this beautifully."> > Imus said earlier Thursday he still wants to meet with the team.> > "At some point, I'm not sure when, I'm going to talk to the team," he said. > "That's all I'm interested in doing."> > Rev. DeForest Soaries, who is Stringer's pastor and has been helping > negotiate the terms of the meeting with Imus, said he had not yet talked > with Imus or coach Stringer but said: "Right now, as far as I know, the > meeting is still on."> > Soaries said the fact that Imus was off the air on both MSNBC and CBS took > some pressure off of the upcoming meeting with the Rutgers women.> > "This removes the burden from Rutgers women to determine the status of Imus' > employment," Soaries said in a telephone interview.> > ___> > Associated Press correspondents Karen Matthews, Warren Levinson, Seth Sutel, > Tara Burghart and Hillel Italie contributed to this report.> > > J  :]> > _________________________________________________________________> Interest Rates Fall Again! $430,000 Mortgage for $1,399/mo - Calculate new > payment > http://www.lowermybills.com/lre/index.jsp?sourceid=lmb-9632-18679&moid=7581> 
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