Imus and CBS go to War!
May 4th, 2007 | by Matthew OKeefe |Don Imus of the former Imus in the Morning radio show is taking on the oppressors of freedom of speech over at CBS Radio and packing some heat with a top notch legal shooter from New York. This is where the road travels when it comes to the shock jock that was loved for the revenue he could bring in to CBS Radio and the definition of a contract meets the judge.
This fan of Imus supports the fight for what is right and if the man had a contract for $40 million then CBS Radio was making ten times that much off of him or would not have signed a five year deal. There are no “But, or what if’s” in a legal contract. As I have said before in this blog, Don Imus is not a fool and the lawyers he hired to review his contract when he signed it were probably smarter than the CBS Radio lawyers that drew it up.
Over at CNN Money they have this to say…
http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/01/news/newsmakers/pluggedin_arango_imus.fortune/index.htm
Imus won’t go quietly
The talk show host has hired a top First Amendment lawyer, and an unusual clause in his contract could give him a $40 million payday, writes Fortune’s Tim Arango.
By Tim Arango, Fortune writer
May 2 2007: 12:48 PM EDTNEW YORK (Fortune) — Don Imus, the tousled and acerbic radio host whose racial remarks engendered a media storm that triggered a swift upending of his career, is not going away quietly even if the imbroglio has all but disappeared from the national conversation in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre.
For Imus, who made a career out of operating in the murky space between sophomoric humor and high-brow political talk, there is the little matter of about $40 million left on his contract with CBS Radio - whose boss Les Moonves fired the shock jock on April 12. CBS’ lawyers contend Imus was fired for cause and not owed the rest of the money.
But Imus has hired one of the nation’s premiere First Amendment attorneys, and the two sides are gearing up for a legal showdown that could turn on how language in his contract that encouraged the radio host to be irreverent and engage in character attacks is interpreted, according to one person who has read the contract.
The language, according to this source, was part of a five-year contract that went into effect in 2006 and that paid Imus close to $10 million a year. It stipulates that Imus be given a warning before being fired for doing what he made a career out of - making off-color jokes. The source described it as a “dog has one- bite clause.” A lawsuit could be filed within a month, this person predicted.A CBS spokesman declined comment, and Imus, through his attorney, also declined an interview. – CNN Money
Tough bastards like Don Imus simply do not fade away because Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson beat the hell out of his bosses at CBS Radio. The network hired him because he is and was always the ultimate controversial entertainer and they ran like school girls when threatened by a couple of bullies. They can run all they want but they can not hide from the fact that they were the ones that signed on the dotted line to put the mouth of Don Imus on the airwave for $40 million bucks over the next five years! The firing of Don Imus was political correctness gone wrong to the ultimate power mathematically and somehow it is okay? It isn’t okay with me.
If the people he insulted had the mercy in their hearts to forgive him when he begged and pleaded for just that then the situation was resolved. In the days of the Salem Witch trials, once you were labeled a Witch you were guilty till they burned you death. Only then was your soul cleansed. If that is America today then we as a nation have something bigger to worry about than a shock jock with idiotic off the cuff racist remarks. Then again we in the media and blogosphere burned, hanged, electrocuted and sentenced to death Don Imus already.
There are so many people out there today in the public spot light that are just out right liars to themselves and to the people and yet they can do no wrong. No matter what mistakes any of us have made it is understandable to hope and pray that your mistakes did not hurt another person. If they did, then Rehab is the easy way out for mega media stars but Imus didn’t do that. He faced his comments and apologized profusely. He did it from his heart and that was not good enough for CBS Radio or his detractors. It was good enough for me and I’m sure that Mr. Imus is comfortable with the forgiveness of the young ladies of Rutgers. As for his battle with CBS Radio…
Go for the jugular I-Man! Go for the jugular!
Cross Posted at Papamoka
6 Responses to “Imus and CBS go to War!”
By Ron on May 4, 2007 | Reply
Good post, Mat. I guess I’ve never been a fan of Imus. He annoyed me when I was a conservative, and annoyed me when I was a lib. You just get tired of a guy who pronounces everything as “stupid” or calls everyone an “idiot”. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I dunno, the cranky old muttering curmudgeon routine never took with me.
By tammara on May 4, 2007 | Reply
mat- just so you know- they didn’t burn witches in salem. they only did that in europe. in salem, they hung them, or crushed them to death under a pile of stones on a board placed on top of them. not so good either. and not the point of your post, but just so you know.
By Lazy Iguana on May 5, 2007 | Reply
I do not know what issue I care less about
1. Rosie leaving The View
2. Donald Trump’s dead muskrat hair
3. Who be the baby daddy of Anna Nicole Smith’s kid
4. Don Imus
By Froenx on May 5, 2007 | Reply
thing is, if I said something that Imus said, I would be fired aswell and told not to come back. And no amount of apologizing would be able to get my job back.
This guy should probably take his lumps like a man and find someplace else to work. or find a different type of work.
By Craig R. Harmon on May 5, 2007 | Reply
Froenx,
$40 million hangs in the balance here. If his contract called for him to say un-PC things, insult people, and say the most outrageous things he could think of to say and also says that while he can be fired, he must be paid the whole contracted amount, you saying he shouldn’t fight for his $40 million? I say nuts to that. I’m not an Imus fan and shock-jocks aren’t my cup of tea. Whether he ever works in broadcasting again is of no consequence to me since I don’t plan to listen to him in the future any more than I listened to him in the past but a contract is a contract and $40 million is $40 million. I say fight for it. He can obviously afford the fight. So can the network. Contracts mean nothing if both sides don’t uphold their obligations and Imus isn’t gonna get his $40 million without a fight.
I say, go for it.
By tammara on May 5, 2007 | Reply
well if it is true that the contract contains the “dog has one bite” clause, then he is clearly correct in sueing for his 40 mil. because he can prove whether or not he was given a warning. if he had not been warned, or if warned and not documented, employment law would say he just had his bite, and they should have warned him and kept him on staff.
now, i just want to know if o’reilly has a “dog can bite at will” clause. otherwise, he should go too.