Has it been seven months already? That’s how long shock jock Don Imus has been off the air. Did you miss him? If so, start counting down the days–on December 3rd Imus will return to the airwaves and his well-paid hiatus will be over.
I should say well paid and self-inflicted hiatus will be over. You’ll recall CBS Radio silenced Imus’ broadcasting career last April after he uttered a racist and sexist remark about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. The incident sparked a national furor and numerous civil rights leaders and broadcast journalists called for Imus’ resignation.
Imus fans can thank Citadel Broadcasting Corporation for bringing him back to the radio. The company announcement today that the veteran radio personality will be back hosting morning drive time on New York-based WABC-AM.
Joining Imus will be his longtime newsman, Charles McCord, and other members of his morning team. However, Citadel execs neglected to mention if Bernard McGuirk, the producer who instigated Imus on the Rutgers comment and was fired as well, would be returning to the airwaves in December.
Also, there was no mention from company big wigs regarding the financial details of Imus’ return. Though, at this point the sardonic broadcasting icon may have settled for peanuts just so long as he was provided air time. Then again, this is Imus were talking about here. Given his track record of resurrecting after past firings, bad publicity, and a high-profile drug and alcohol addiction, perhaps, he figured it was just a matter of time before he was reunited with his loyal listeners.
Citadel Broadcasting’s CEO defended his move to hire Imus, telling The New York Times in a recent interview: “He didn’t break the law. He’s more than paid the price for what he did.”
But, the shock jock’s return is not garnering the same response from his critics, including the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Organization for Women, who said the idea of the icon returning to the airwaves months after he was fired is “nearly as insulting as the comment that took him off the air.”
What do you think about Imus’ return?
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