Imus Strikes Back.

hearingimpared

I had a feeling it was going to come to this. I wonder if Jesse or Al should also be named in the lawsuit just for **** and giggles.

http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2007/05/03/653432.html&cvqh=itn_imus

F1nut

Bravo!

MrNightly

Yup.. take it to them!

Early B.

I doubt he'll get another dime out of CBS. Aside from the contractual issues, they'll argue that Imus cost (or would have cost) CBS millions of dollars in advertising revenue, and they'll provide the evidence to substantiate this claim.

Shizelbs

Stick it to the man.

SolidSqual

At least his lawsuit is not frivolous like that nappy headed sheisster judge pickin on the korean dry cleaners. That kind of stuff makes me rethink why I am in Law School.

shack

Early B. wrote: »

I doubt he'll get another dime out of CBS. Aside from the contractual issues, they'll argue that Imus cost (or would have cost) CBS millions of dollars in advertising revenue, and they'll provide the evidence to substantiate this claim.

They had a couple of sections stright from the contract on a show last night. The contract specifically called for him to be "outrageous, irreverent, controversial, etc...". The contract even states that CBS understands there will be opposition to his show from various sources...and that it is an acceptable result. They did not set "limits" to the required behavior. It is open to intrepretation...but it could easily be argued that he was simply fullfilling the terms of his contractual agreement. I think CBS may be out some cash on this one.

miner

I wonder if Rev Al & Jesse ever apologized publically to the Duke LaCrosse players; such as they demanded Imus do to teh Rutgers team? My thought is this will get settled between Imus & CBS mainly because CBS wanted him to be controversial in nature.

danger boy

TV/Radio on air personalities always have language their contrac's to protect the station. Trust me, I know.

Highly unlikely he'll ever see the full amount of his contract. He may get some but not all.

liordra

an argument is not evidence. an argument is supposed to be backed by evidence. I don't think he'll get a dime either. those big corporate lawers know how to tight seal a contract. but screw all that, 40 mil? for a guy who stopped being funny in the mid eighties? I'm in the wrong business.

jflail2

A settlement my friend, is blowing in the wind.....A settlement is blowing in the wind.

My guess is that they'll hand him a tidy sum, wipe the suit clean, and he'll live the rest of his days in wealthy obscurity. Sounds like a hell of a deal to me.

Early B.

jflail2 wrote: »

A settlement my friend, is blowing in the wind.....A settlement is blowing in the wind.

My guess is that they'll hand him a tidy sum, wipe the suit clean, and he'll live the rest of his days in wealthy obscurity. Sounds like a hell of a deal to me.

You're probably right.

Isn't Imus about 98 years old anyway? Geez.

hearingimpared

miner wrote: »

I wonder if Rev Al & Jesse ever apologized publically to the Duke LaCrosse players;

No way!!! To be their kind of Liberal means never having to say your sorry!!!!

shack

liordra wrote: »

an argument is not evidence. an argument is supposed to be backed by evidence. I don't think he'll get a dime either.

The argument is that the contract IS eveidence. The interpretation of what that evidence means and/or proves is up to the court to decide. Even the best and so called ironclad contracts are subject to interpretation by the courts as to intent, definitions, enforcement, etc... Contract trial lawyers do quite well...financially speaking.

dorokusai

I've heard that Alec Baldwin will be portraying Don Imus in a Lifetime Network movie, based on his life and career in broadcasting.

schwarcw

CBS will not take their chances in court, he has said much worse in the past and not been fired. They'll want to settle. I don't like what he said but he is protected by the first Amendment. CBS could have to pay him all of the $40M if they risk going to court, plus the legal expenses will be enormous. If it plays out in court, it will be a bonanza for the lawyers. It will get settled out of court.

Bill Ayotte

schwarcw wrote: »

CBS will not take their chances in court, he has said much worse in the past and not been fired. They'll want to settle. I don't like what he said but he is protected by the first Amendment. CBS could have to pay him all of the $40M if they risk going to court, plus the legal expenses will be enormous. If it plays out in court, it will be a bonanza for the lawyers. It will get settled out of court.

CBS did a favor letting him out of his contract...Now they are going to pay him for the remainder of it, and he will either go off into the night or score another gig...

Look at Howard Stern....They canned him, and it turned into a year long commercial for sat. radio....They could have taken him off of the air and not let him out of his contract...He would have faded away by the time his contract ended....They decided to let him turn it into a circus, taking away the audience to sat. radio....I doubt IMUS would change over to sat. though....

krabby5

miner wrote: »

I wonder if Rev Al & Jesse ever apologized publically to the Duke LaCrosse players; such as they demanded Imus do to teh Rutgers team? My thought is this will get settled between Imus & CBS mainly because CBS wanted him to be controversial in nature.

sure they did:rolleyes:

two of the biggest frauds in America

danger boy

I want to know the details of the settlement. What kind of barrel did Imus have CBS over?


NEW YORK (AP) - Don Imus overcame a major obstacle Tuesday in his widely expected comeback bid, reaching a settlement with his former employer that allows him to return to the airwaves at a new station four months after he made a sexist and racist remark about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Imus and CBS Radio agreed to a settlement that pre-empts the fired radio personality's threatened $120 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS, the company and Imus' attorney said in a statement Tuesday.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Just before his dismissal, Imus signed a five-year, $40 million contract with CBS.

The announcement essentially makes Imus a free agent, and broadcast industry experts say he will be back on the air soon enough.

"I've been comparing this to a divorce. Now both parties are able to move on," said Tom Taylor of radio-info.com, a sounding board for news and information about the radio industry.

Where Imus might land next is still up in the air.

A person familiar the situation told The Associated Press that Imus has had informal talks with several broadcasters, including WABC in New York, about a possible comeback. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks, and it is unclear how serious the discussions were - given the fact that Imus' CBS contract was still under dispute.

"I've had no conversation with Mr. Imus and no one at Citadel or ABC has had any negotiation with him," said Steve Borneman, general manager of WABC radio. WABC radio is owned by Citadel Broadcasting Corp. (CDL), which owns more than 140 radio stations as well as ABC Radio Networks.

The person familiar with the situation said the deal with CBS also calls for a "non-disparaging" agreement that forbids the parties from speaking negatively about each other.

Meanwhile Tuesday, Rutgers basketball player Kia Vaughn sued Imus, CBS and others, claiming the offensive comments damaged her reputation. A spokeswoman for CBS Radio declined to comment, and a lawyer for Imus did not return a call about the suit.

One radio hire that did become clear Tuesday was the naming of Imus' replacement on WFAN, the CBS-owned New York radio station that was Imus' flagship.

Former National Football League quarterback Boomer Esiason will take over the morning time slot along with New Jersey radio personality Craig Carton, who has been known to push the boundaries of taste during his broadcast career. Carton and his co-host at times offended minorities and women, once nearly coming to blows with former Gov. Richard Codey in 2005 over comments about the widely publicized battle with postpartum depression by the governor's wife.

Esiason has built a long broadcasting resume since retiring from football a decade ago, including stints on "Monday Night Football" and CBS' NFL pregame show.

The fact that Imus is taking steps toward a comeback might have seemed unthinkable at the height of the uproar caused by his comments about the Rutgers women's team. He referred to the squad as "nappy-headed hos" on his nationally syndicated radio program, becoming the target of heated protests led by the Rev. Al Sharpton.

But industry experts say broadcast executives can have a very short memory if it means boosting ratings - something Imus can still deliver.

"He's more valuable now than before the controversy. He was such a focus of media attention for so long that his career has been reinvigorated, and he's in a position to sort of reinvent himself - to make himself more pertinent and even more interesting," said Michael Harrison, founder of the trade publication Talkers magazine.

Sharpton issued a statement Tuesday saying the settlement is a "a legal matter between a former employer and employee."

But he added that it is "also a testimony to the movement of people that raised their voices to fire Imus that CBS would rather pay him off than keep him on. ... To the rumors that Imus may resurface, wherever he resurfaces we at National Action Network and other groups will be watching and monitoring him."

Kim Gandy, head of the National Organization of Women, said it was disappointing to hear Imus may be making a return to radio.

"After the heartache he caused untold thousands of young women, I find it disheartening that he would have another platform so soon on the public airways," Gandy said.

As for Carton - one of Imus' replacements - New Jersey Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo said that the radio personality is "a guy who's managed to insult almost every community around."

"You would have thought that after the Rutgers incident that a lesson would have been learned. But I guess they figured that this guy would get some ratings for them," he said.

Codey told the AP on Tuesday that he has put the episode involving his wife behind him and that he has since been a call-in guest to Carton's show to discuss sports.

Whatever Imus decides to do next, everyone is in agreement that he better be careful.

"All eyes will be on Imus, so he'll have to watch his back, Taylor said.

shack

danger boy wrote: »

I want to know the details of the settlement. What kind of barrel did Imus have CBS over?

Last night one of the talking heads was reading "supposed" excerpts from Imus' contract with CBS where the contract specifically urges him to be "controversial and irreverent". CBS was going to have a hard time proving that Imus' comments were grounds for firing when his contract required him to make such comments.

jdhdiggs

Looks like he got right around $20 Million.

Now how can I get that job and then get fired...?

aaharvel

i'm glad imus got what he did (settlement), especially if CBS encouraged him to act like this. I mean it's not like the guy's as bad as Al Franken or Michael Weiner Savage.

Bill Ayotte

Well, now that there is news of a comeback, one of the Rutgers girls decided it was a great time to sue.....Because when this first came about, she was too busy going on Opera playing victim. Now that I can't get any more publicity, I guess I'll play it up again and file a lawsuit....Oh, it just happens that his settlement and potential comeback the day before......

bobman1235

Yeah this whole thing really besmirched her name. She could stand in front of me and yell her name, and I would still have no idea who she was, and neither would 99.99% of America.

Bill Ayotte

The conversation would go like this:

HER: I'M _______!!!! I'm ________!!!! (I actually don't know her damn name)
ME: Ok.....The point being?
HER: I'm one of the girls that Imus called a nappy headed ho!
ME:OH yeah.....Who gives a ****? Get a life!

Rivrrat

Why can't somone with money make an offhanded disparaging remark about me?

I wanna be rich too.

schwarcw

For those of you that didn't think he wouldn't get anything, read a entry book about contract law.

I think he could have won all the money in court, but the lawyers would have taken too much. Despite what you think of this man or the things he said, CBS/Viacom had no legal basis to fire him.

He will become even popular now on satellite. If you found him offensive before the Rutgers incident, stay away from your XM/Sirrus tuner.

schwarcw

Bill Ayotte wrote: »

Well, now that there is news of a comeback, one of the Rutgers girls decided it was a great time to sue.....Because when this first came about, she was too busy going on Opera playing victim. Now that I can't get any more publicity, I guess I'll play it up again and file a lawsuit....Oh, it just happens that his settlement and potential comeback the day before......

She should go to school and forget about it. She'd be better off to write a book. The lawyers will take all her money if she tries to sue Imus or CBS. They have the US Consitituition to defend them. It's pretty hard to claim damages from a reference to her hairdo and words that are used in just about every hip hop song on the charts.

F1nut

Another product of the entitlement mind set. The judge should lock her up for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Bill Ayotte

F1nut wrote: »

Another product of the entitlement mind set. The judge should lock her up for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Exactly....The timing of this is VERY suspect.....This **** will drag out, and she will get some sort of undisclosed settlement for a no admission of guilt judgment....It is sad, and man am I angered and disappointed in my generation.....There are so many people my age that feel that they are entitled to the world, yet do nothing besides exist and waste oxygen....Maybe I feel this way because of my former profession.....I don't know. It just pisses me off to see so many people that are that stupid and ignorant.....I really think the title of a current hit by John Mayer says it all: "Waiting On the World to Change"....."Lets just see what happens, I don't want to actually participate" seems to be a real scary montra of this generation.....Maybe "It's too hard, they're too strong, so maybe later....."

schwarcw

Bill Ayotte wrote: »

Exactly....The timing of this is VERY suspect.....This **** will drag out, and she will get some sort of undisclosed settlement for a no admission of guilt judgment....It is sad, and man am I angered and disappointed in my generation.....There are so many people my age that feel that they are entitled to the world, yet do nothing besides exist and waste oxygen....Maybe I feel this way because of my former profession.....I don't know. It just pisses me off to see so many people that are that stupid and ignorant.....I really think the title of a current hit by John Mayer says it all: "Waiting On the World to Change"....."Lets just see what happens, I don't want to actually participate" seems to be a real scary montra of this generation.....Maybe "It's too hard, they're too strong, so maybe later....."

I was never a big fan of Robert Kennedy, but he said the following which is very insightful:

"Just because we cannot see clearly the end of the road, is no reason for not setting out on the essential journey. On the contrary great change dominates the world and unless we move with the change, we will become it's victims."