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Media World: Don Imus returns and so will his media pals

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Once Matt Drudge's report about Don Imus' return to talk radio was posted, his phone probably started ringing off the hook as members of the media elite tripped over themselves to welcome the I-man back to the public airwaves.

The reason is simple: Imus' following is too large too ignore. In this age of declining TV ratings for the network news and declining newspaper circulation, media companies want to reach out to his audience, not turn their back on them. Advertisers will eventually return too once they believe that Imus has really learned his lesson. WABC, the New York station that will be Imus' new home, will have his show on a 40-second delay for that very reason.

The fact that Imus' got a second chance and may even get a third or a fourth one isn't surprising considering the terrible shape of the radio business. Radio listeners of the 1980s and 1990s are today's Internet surfers and iPod users. Stations are desperate for talent such as Imus who already have a following. That's why shock jocks including Opie And Anthony will always have a job in radio waiting for them whenever they get fired for saying something offensive.

Satellite radio might have been a good alternative for Imus but you have to wonder whether Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) is big enough for Imus and his sworn mortal enemy Howard Stern. Can you imagine them bumping into each other on the elevator? It would have been great talk radio fodder.

Imus has only one hurdle to clear before he can begin his public redemption, convincing Barbara Walters that he is a changed man. That should be easy to do provided he's sober and doesn't sound like a man with a persecution complex. Imus should watch Babs' Whitney Houston interview for pointers of what not to do on a Walters' puff celebrity interview.

As I argued before, Imus deserved to be punished for what he said about the Rutgers team. Many readers pointed out, rightly so, that Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, two of Imus' biggest critics, were not without considerable faults themselves. You can bet that these two publicity hounds will also ring up Imus and offer to come on his show.

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Last updated: November 10, 2009: 06:35 AM

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