In this midst of a tirade about Michelle Obama's comments that "for the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country," the ever-so-enlightened Bill O'Reilly had this to say:
"I don't want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that's how she really feels -- that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever -- then that's legit. We'll track it down."
I've pretty much given up on being shocked by anything O'Reilly says anymore, but I am shocked that he hasn't been fired -- or at least suspended -- over this blatantly offensive and inexcusable remark.
Don Imus was fired for something that was, in my opinion, far less offensive -- and he's an early morning radio shock jock!
It's interesting that News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox News apparently has lower standards for its anchors than talk radio.
"Unlikely" is how the New York Times termed today's reported partnership between returning radio pariah Don Imus and RFD-TV, a 24-hour network celebrating the early-rising country life, broadcasting shows called I Love Toy Trains and The Johnnie High Country Music Revue. I wouldn't be so sure.
Launched in 2000, RFD is reportedly already available in some 30 million American homes, about 10 million fewer homes than HBO. And you can expect that to change. This deal is obviously a major coup for RFD -- whose audience will likely be fairly forgiving toward Mr. Imus -- and gives the network much stronger leverage as it pursues carriage through Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC).
Terms of the arrangement have not been disclosed, as the final deal has yet to be struck. One Times source expects RFD to pay as much as $5 million annually for the five-year deal, which, along with Imus' radio contract with Citadel Broadcasting Corporation (NYSE: CDL), would nearly match his earnings from CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) Radio before the network yanked him this spring.
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.
Shares of the Las Vegas-based company have tanked more than 55% this year because the company is in the radio business which continues to suck wind. Excluding the acquisition of ABC Radio from Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), the company's revenue fell 2 percent in the second quarter. Net income was a tiny $3.8 million, or 3 cents per share. The acquisition made Citadel the proud owners of New York's WABC, Imus' possible new home.
Imus seems to be a good fit with the rest of WABC's lineup which includes Sean Hanity and Rush Limbaugh, both of whom can be at least as offensive if not more so. The I-Man's legion of fans, many of whom responded to my posts on their hero, will no doubt flock to his new show. He will be hailed as someone who got beaten down by the forces of political correctness and lived. Advertisers will be attracted to the program like moths to a flame.
The question is will this new Imus be much different than the old one. If he's too nice, people won't listen. If he's too much like his old self, people won't think he's learned his lesson and advertisers will be turned off.
Interestingly, Craig Carton who is replacing him at CBS Corp.'s (NYSE: CBS) WFAN is no slouch in the controversy department himself. As the more talkative and funny half of the "Jersey Guys" radio show, Carton grabbed huge ratings and controversy for offending politicians and members of minority groups.
Back in April, I suggested that he would make a good replacement for Imus. Someone emailed Carton the post which he read on the air. I called into the "Jersey Guys" and spoke with him briefly. He promised to send me token of appreciation. I'm still waiting.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) needs hits and needs them now.
The company today reported lackluster first quarter results. Profit from continuing operations was $213.5 million on revenue of $3.66 million. Excluding one-time items, profit was 33 cents, beating the 32-cent average profit forecast and $3.61 million revenue forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Operating income excluding some costs at the company's television business, its largest, fell 6% to $399 million, while revenue rose a mere 2% to $2.57 billion. As Bloomberg News points out ratings at the company's flagship network excluding sports are down 12% in the 18 to 49 year old demographic. Though CBS' "CSI" shows remain popular, the company is losing ground to ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and Fox's "American Idol."
The FCC's regulations for acceptable broadcast language doesn't include a checklist of forbidden words, but in the aftermath of the Janet Jackson areola incident, radio and television stations have been more mindful of criticism. However, the FCC regulations (caution: link contains strong language) consider sexual and scatological references, not cultural and racial slurs.
What Simmons is proposing is a voluntary self-regulation of cultural/racial slurs commonly used by black musicians in reference to those of their own race. Supporters of the initiative point to the degrading impact of such references on both those described and the much-wider audience for hip-hop. Simmons should also expect a backlash from artists who see this as a restriction of their artistic freedom.
I suspect that in the hip-hop world these words have been used so long and often that their stigma has been blurred. However, it's obvious that outside that community, they still can be very hurtful. And when fools like Don Imus start casually adopting these terms, perhaps it is time that artists consider the damage such words can cause to the image of black women.
Let me first make my stance completely clear. As a member of the proud, yet possibly coarse foundation of American society I wish to make an open declaration based on my First Amendment right of free speech: Don Imus has made himself a broadcast journalistic wimp of the highest order.
I DO NOT condone the words that Imus chose to spew in regard to a specific class of athlete, but I do support his right to open his mouth and forcefully insert his own foot. But somewhere along the line Imus must have missed the memo which clearly explained that it's one thing to denigrate a class of athletes with whom you do not associate and who are in no position to immediately refute you and it's a completely different thing to tell someone like Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) CEO Rex Tillerson to sit down and shut up. (Umm, yeah I blogged that).
I could end this rant right here and consider myself fulfilled in chastising Mr. Imus but I really haven't brought this full circle yet. It's not enough that I simply rake him over the coals for his poor choice of wording. For me, there's yet a larger issue.
Does the end of Imus' career on the public airwaves mean that freedom of speech is dead in America?
That's an interesting question raised by several people who commented on my post last night. The simple answer to that is no. Freedom of speech has always been limited in the U.S. -- you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. And you can't utter words that lose companies money.
I estimate Imus made about $18 million in profit for his corporate overlords. According to the Wall Street Journal [subscription required], Imus generated $25 million a year for CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) and $8.3 million for Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) joint venture, MSNBC. Imus reached two million radio listeners every morning and 350,000 television viewers. And The New York Times [registration required] estimates that Imus made $10 million a year and I arbitrarily added in about $5 million in production costs, which is probably on the low end.
The point is that CBS and MSNBC wagered that the firestorm generated by Imus' remarks would cost them that $20 million in profit as corporate advertisers fled -- fearing that consumers would stop buying their products if they kept supporting Imus' show.
It was crossing the line from profit to loss that cost Imus his spot on the public airwaves. Sometimes there is such a thing as bad press.
Don Imus is now officially unemployed having been dumped from CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) after losing his television gig on Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) joint venture, MSNBC.
My bet is that Imus will land another talk radio gig. The medium is starved for advertisers and needs all of the stars it can get -- even controversial ones. Plus, there are far bigger clowns on talk radio than Imus. But before he makes his triumphant return on either Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) or XM Satellite Holdings Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR), Imus fans need to take a chill pill.
Imus got what he deserved. He didn't just cross a line, he pole-vaulted it. Yeah, people like the Reverends Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton aren't without considerable faults of their own. AOL's Jason Whitlock, an African American, finds the pair embarrassing and recently wrote: "I'm calling for Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the president and vice president of Black America, to step down."
This has nothing to do with political correctness -- which I detest as much as anybody -- either. There's just no way to defend what Imus said and how he said it. Sure, black comedians say similar sorts of things and get huge laughs. But context is everything.
The message is just as important as the messenger in this case. Free speech is never totally free. You can say quite a bit without fear of prosecution but you can't say anything you want. Some things are better left unsaid and unfortunately for Imus, he said them.
Sources involved with the process reported that Viacom Inc's (NYSE: VIA) music publishing catalog Famous Music is attracting a lot of interest from major music labels to former music executives backed by private-equity, reported the New York Post.
France's Thales and American aerospace giant Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) are reportedly looking to make a joint bid for a new $31.7B contract to supply the British Army with 3,000 new medium-weight armored vehicles, reported The Business.
The Independent reported that scientists have discovered a technique for "pain-free, highly effective chemotherapy," a huge breakthrough in cancer treatment.
WEBSITES:
DigiTimes.com reported, citing industry sources, that Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation has lowered its DRAM spot prices almost 15% due to fierce price competition, but the sources noted that the low prices have not been able to stimulate demand in the DRAM market.
What should MSNBC do now that its dumped Don Imus?
According to the New York Times, Imus generated $50 million in revenue through his shows on CBS Corp.'s (NYSE: CBS) radio division and on the General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) cable television network. Plus, Imus' program was dirt cheap for MSNBC to air. Imus probably won't lose his job in radio given the sad state of the medium.
MSNBC has got to come up with something. Morning television is a cash cow for both broadcast and cable networks. It can't just keep broadcasting a never-ending supply of prison documentaries. Seriously, MSNBC must have filmed every maximum security penitentiary in the country.
Let me offer a few suggestions for replacement for Imus.
1) Keith Olbermann -- He's smart, opinionated and under contract with the network. Moreover, he would regularly outrage Republicans which would make for entertaining viewing. I don't care that no one agreed with my suggestion that the network should promote him more prominently on its ratings-challenged "Nightly News with Brian Williams."
2) Craig Carton -- One of the "Jersey Guys," the top-rated afternoon talk show that manages to entertain, offend and educate residents of the Garden State. I'm sure Gov. Jon Corzine, a regular Carton target, would be happy to see him leave New Jersey. He got women to make plaster casts of their breasts that were later decorated and sold to raise money for breast cancer research. It was called "Cans for the Cure."
3) Greg Gutfeld -- I learned about this guy in a recent New York Times story that described him as a "compact but enormously animated man." He sounds awesome and I plan to DVR his show and write up a post on it.
4) Jeanne Moss -- This CNN reporter has cornered the market on off-the wall stories. Why not make her a star? Still, she's been at the Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX)-owned network for 20 years and probably has a sweet deal.
5) Gwen Ifill -- She deserves a bigger audience than PBS. She's a seasoned journalist who keeps those troublemakers on "Washington Week" from getting out of hand.
This list is far from comprehensive.
Who would you like to see on MSNBC? Send in your suggestions and I'll pass them along to the network and they will be promptly ignored.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) has its hands full with sinning talent.
The Washington Post Co.'s (NYSE: WPO) Newsweek reports that CBS Evening News anchor, Katie Couric -- who is dating a 33-year-old cougar -- plagiarized in her Notebook segment from a story by Dow Jones & Co.'s (NYSE: DJ) Wall Street Journal [subscription required] reporter Jeffrey Zaslow's March 15th Moving On column. Newsweek alleges that Couric's segment on the decline of libraries copied Zaslow's article in nine places. In response, CBS fired the Notebook segment producer.
And earlier in the week, Don Imus, whose radio program is carried by CBS Radio, suspended his show for two weeks after his comments on the Rutgers women's basketball team. So far Imus's remarks have cost his show two advertisers -- Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) and Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLS). If enough cancellations follow his show will be dropped altogether.
I don't watch any CBS programming and I would avoid CBS stock. With a P/E of 17.5 and earnings expected to grow 13% in 2008 to $2.00, CBS trades at a Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio of 1.35. This seems expensive for a company whose $14.3 billion in sales have shrunk at a five year compound annual rate of -9.2% and whose net profit margin of 10.3% trails the industry average by three percentage points.
Don Imus' boorish behavior would have gotten him fired long ago if he were in any other line of work.
After a firestorm of controversy, CBS Corp.(NYSE: CBS) and General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) MSNBC yesterday decided to suspend the controversial radio host for two weeks for making racially insensitive comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
What would happen to someone at your office who like Imus used the phrase "nappy-headed ho's?" Would people complain? Would the boss talk to them? Would they have a chat with human resources? If they continually showed that type of attitude, would they be fired?
Imus is lucky that he works in the media.
He tried to mend fences by apologizing at an almost Bill Clinton-like rate. He's apologized to the team, apologized to the Rev. Al Sharpton and would probably apologize to any African-American he meets on the street.
This is a pretty big deal.
Media and political bigshots are regular guests on "Imus in the Morning." Publishers send their top authors there to flog their books. It's kind of amusing that these people love Imus and hate his rival Howard Stern when the only difference between them is that Stern actually is witty.
Along with Stern, Imus has inspired a generation of shock jocks and talk show hosts who think that they can say whatever they want, whenever they want on the air. But instead of being provocative, most of them just sound boorish.
Imus is vowing to change the "tenor" of the show. I guess he deserves another chance, or is it the fifth one? I'm not sure.
In his hit song Wasn't Me, a friend seeks advice from Shaggy about what he should tell his girlfriend after she caught him cheating on her. Shaggy's advice is classic: Just say it wasn't you.
When Jim Cramer went on Don Imus's show on Thursday to discuss comments that he'd made in an interview on TheStreet.com, he borrowed a line from the Shaggy playbook. Last week, in a widely publicized interview, he described spreading false information to a "bozo reporter" at the Wall Street Journal to drive the share price down in stocks he was short. He described using manipulative trading techniques to create the appearance of movement, which he said was blatantly illegal, but that the SEC didn't understand it. "No one else in the world would ever admit it," he said of the methods, "but I don't care."
On the Imus show, Cramer's backtracking was pathetic. He said he had misspoken, refused to name the "bozo reporter," and said he had never done any of the things he said he'd done in the interview, and didn't believe what he had said. Huh?
There are two possibilities here. The first is the Cramer was far too candid in the original interview and is backtracking to try to save his career and avoid offending people. Makes sense. The second possibility is that Cramer really didn't mean any of what he said -- he just went into some weird psychological state where he claimed to have broken the law but really didn't, and just made the whole thing up. In the words of Johnny Cochran: "That does not make sense."
In my opinion, Cramer's backtracking hurts his credibility. He should have stuck with his story, and said that he was sorry for what he'd done and was making up for it by educating the masses about how it works.
In this midst of a tirade about Michelle Obama's comments that "for the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country," the ever-so-enlightened Bill O'Reilly had this to say:
"Unlikely" is how the New York Times termed 
Citadel Broadcasting Corp.
In the wake of Don Imus' "nappy-haired ho's" faux pas, 
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In his hit song Wasn't Me, a friend seeks advice from Shaggy about what he should tell his girlfriend after she caught him cheating on her. Shaggy's advice is classic: Just say it wasn't you. 
The week in preview: Chicken soup (or a doughnut) for the recession-weary soul?
Comfort Zone Investing: Oil's down, which is a start, but not good enough
Stocks have their worst week in six years
