2 News Outlets Said to Be in Talks to Bring Host Back
Two news organizations said to be negotiating with radio host Don Imus to return to the airwaves should end such “unimaginable” talks, the National Association of Black Journalists said on Tuesday.
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â??NABJ remains outraged after the racially inflammatory insults made by Don Imus last spring. He used his free speech to broadcast hate speech. To put him back on the air now makes light of his serious and offensive racial remarks that are still ringing in the ears of people all over this country,” Barbara Ciara, NABJ president, said in a statement.
â??It seems inconceivable that less than a year after Imus was dismissed from CBS Radio and MSNBC for his vicious insults upon the [Rutgers] basketball team, that Citadel Broadcasting and Fox News would consider putting him back on the air,â?? added Ernie Suggs, NABJâ??s vice president of print, in the news release.
[Later Tuesday, NABJ amended its statement, saying, “In a telephone conversation with NABJ president Barbara Ciara today, a Fox News spokesman said his company has not made a deal or been in discussions with Imus to simulcast the radio program on television.”]
In the Washington Post on Saturday, Howard Kurtz reported that, “the Imus team is confident that he will be back on the air around Dec. 1.
“A source familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, said the contractual details would likely be finalized within a week. Although the deal, which would pay Imus millions of dollars, might hit a last-minute snag, the Imus team is confident that he will be back on the air around Dec. 1.
“Citadel Broadcasting, which owns 243 radio stations, including ABC Radio Networks, plans to put the I-Man in the morning slot on the powerhouse New York station WABC, the source said. The program would be offered in syndication to other stations around the country.”
Kurtz continued:
“Imus is also seeking a television outlet to simulcast the show, but that is less definite. Imus has discussed the possibility that Fox Business Network, a new channel that Fox News is launching next week, would carry the radio show. The informal talks with Imus came at a lunch with Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, according to a Fox executive, but there have been no serious negotiations.”
In the same day’s New York Times, Jacques Steinberg quoted Farid Suleman, the chief executive of Citadel Broadcasting, saying in a telephone interview. “He did something wrong. He didn’t break the law. He’s more than paid the price for what he did. I think he should be evaluated by what he does going forward.”
NABJ was the first organization to call for Imus’ removal in April after the radio host called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy headed ho’s” on the air. As criticism of Imus mounted, Imus was removed first from MSNBC, which simulcast his radio show, then from CBS Radio, which transmitted the show on its network.
However, Imus’ most visible opponent during the controversy, the Rev. Al Sharpton, has said, “My position is that we never called for him to be permanently barred from being on the air. . . . We never said we didn’t want him to make a living.” Some columnists, such as Clarence Page at the Chicago Tribune, agreed.
At the NABJ convention in August in Las Vegas, NBC News President Steve Capus said of Imus, “Whether he deserves another shot on somebody else’s airwaves, someone else will decide. I’m not going to bring him back to MSNBC.”
Before he was ousted, the radio host said he would “make an effort” to add a black person to his radio show and have more black guests.
Tuesday’s NABJ statement said, “NABJ questions why any responsible broadcast company would give Imus a forum to continue his history of racial insults on his program. Citadel Broadcasting owns 243 radio stations including ABC Radio Networks, and powerhouse radio station WABC in New York.”
â??It is our hope that Citadel Broadcasting and Fox News will put decency and good broadcast practices ahead of a dysfunctional alliance,â?? Ciara added in the news release.
- Karen Angel, David Hinckley and Corky Siemaszko, New York Daily News: Shock jock Don Imus poised for Dec. return to radio
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson, syndicated: Better Imus on The Air Than Off