Imus vs. CBS: Imus wins. Settled for unknown sum. Was

[Subdivisions]

seeking $120million in damages.

[Greyskye]

1. Wow.

Get fired for saying disgusting things on air, then win tons of money.

This country is screwn.

[NeedleCast]

3. Disgusting or not

that's what they hired Imus to do...be controversial.

You don't blame a shark for being a shark.

[hfojvt]

7. disgusting that they hired him for big money in the first place

Disgusting that so much of the public finds crap like that 'entertaining'. Crap that sells and covers the world with its smells.

[Kingshakabobo]

8. Yep. He had good lawyers representing him when his contract was written.

The lawyers anticipated this outcome and protected Imus.

[blm]

14. Blame CBS - they hired him to say contoversial and disgusting things and

then fired him because THEY got caught.

[aikoaiko]

2. A contract may have been broken.

[IndianaJones]

4. Good for him...glad he won. nt.

[babylonsister]

5. Good. nt

[KharmaTrain]

6. CBS Bought Him Out

The 20 mil sounds about the amount left due on the deal he signed a couple years ago. The one concession is that it appears CBS waived any non-compete clause that may have been in the contract that would have kept him off the air for the duration of his current deal. In essence they admitted they fired Imus and breeched his contract and not only will they pay him the balance of the money due, but Imus can now go to a competitor.

CNN reported he is talking with ABC/Disney/Citadel WABC. I find this interesting as the station's owners have been in a long, complicated sale/merger between Disney and Citadel and one of the biggest sticking points in this deal has been the salaries the new owenrs would have to assume. ABC's had a hiring freeze in place for a long time and their revenues continue to decline.

Now Imus still has a breeched contract with NBC/GE...his TV deal. That should net him some more cash.

Who said getting fired was a losing proposition?

[LTR]

9. Here's what I hear

- Imus is negotiating with WABC radio. Mel Karmazin said that he would hire him at Sirius.

- There may be a clause in the agreement that prevents Imus from trashing his former employer on the air in the immediate future.

- Citadel is already running ABC radio.

[KharmaTrain]

13. Good Info

Citidel runs the radio, but it doesn't own the stations or really control the purse yet. I had a friend recently interview for a job with ABC...he had to submit duplicate resumes and attend several interviews between the two companies. The ABC folks wanted to hire him, but Citadel kept putting up new conditions or just stonewalled...he took a job with another company.

I'm all but certain there's some clause in there regarding "integrity" (I love that term)...which may prevent Imus from bad-mouthing CBS...Letterman had a similar deal with NBC.

I don't know how liquid Mel is right now. There's still the Sirius/XM merger that drags on and the he still can't justify all the money he's thrown at Stern and others that haven't boosted sales. It'd be a tough sell for him to ask many tapped out and over-patient investors to ante up another 10 or 15 mil. Also, without a major radio signal in NYC, I don't see any upside here for Imus' big ego.

Cheers...

[Bake]

11. It's not always about the money

Imus, I'm pretty sure, was already wealthy enough that he doesn't have to work another day in his life. He's been OFF THE AIR. I'd imagine that's what's been the hardest part for him. So if CBS lost the no-compete clause, he's got their money AND he's free to go back on the air, if he can get someone to put him on (which I don't think will take too long).

If Katie Couric gets the boot, she'll still have plenty of loot. But she won't be ON THE AIR.

Bake

[KharmaTrain]

19. A Second Act Doesn't Always Work

I would think Imus is enjoying his paid vacation, but I agree, his ego looks like he wants to get back on the air to prove he's still some kind of radio god. He's surely a caldron of anger over how his firing came down and needs to "get back in the saddle" to show what kind of a man he is. I've been in a similar situation...having lost a radio gig and it was like going through withdrawls...seeing things going on and not having the ego-satisfication of going on the air and spewing about it.

The downside is how fickle radio can be. Many "legends" have attempted to comeback and the results have been less than stellar. An example is The Greaseman. After his banishment he also settled but now languishes on weak stations. In Chicago, Larry Lujack was the local Imus...he came back several years ago and after the initial hype passed, his ratings were a disaster.

While I think Imus going to WABC would make a big splash initially, I'm sure it would come at a big price...including them hiring Bernard McGuirk and Charles...and I'm sure they won't come cheap. I keep hearing how Citadel, that runs ABC radio now, is tight on the bucks. This will be interesting to see play out.

Cheers...

[amandabeech]

12. Or MSNBC could bring Imus back at some point.

There was a real scramble to replace Imus. Scarborough won, but who knows, Morning Joe may get sick of getting up really early in the a.m. all the time.

I'm thinking that Imus will be back in a few months, with a lesser pay package.

[ComerPerro]

10. wow. Get a job. Act like a bigoted moron asshole. Get fired. Sue. Make millions

[MH1]

18. He got hired to be "a bigoted moron asshole"

he got fired for doing his job. The firing breached his contract.

CBS is to blame here, but no less the bigoted hypocritical moron assholes that jumped on the bandwagon of outrage, after managing to tolerate the guy's style for years.

[ComerPerro]

20. I assume I am one of the hypocrites you mention, since I "jumped on the bandwagon"

even though I have always thought he was an ignorant shithead.

Basically, I can't see why so many here worship him.

[MH1]

22. Please don't assume that

if you were against him always, and told people that you didn't like the garbage he was spewing, then why would you be a hypocrite? If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it.

I don't like what Imus did - but I dislike the coercive imposition of political correctness even more. (Okay I hear the attacks on my liberalism coming now - not necessarily from you but from plenty of people - but one can like liberal ideals and still hate coerced political correctness).

Also, the point was that he was rewarded for years for doing his schtick, and plenty of people bought it. Imus shouldn't have done it, but the crassness of society is because society is crass, not because Imus is.

[H2O Man]

15. No surprise.

His case was solid. I'm not saying that as a reflection of if he was good or bad at his job. But his contract was pretty clear.

[renate]

16. I say good for CBS

They surely knew that they were likely to end up losing a court case and would have to pay him even if they fired him, but they did the right thing (IMHO) by taking him off the air. I mean, good Lord--calling talented and dedicated athletes "nappy-headed ho's" is supposed to be funny? What a turd.

It's good to see a big corporation willing to take a loss for doing the right thing. (Well, and for the P.R. But still.)

[Bake]

21. Good for CBS? Doing the right thing?

CBS is a corporation, entirely amoral (not immoral). It was and is driven entirely by its bottom line. CBS put Imus on, and encouraged him to be exactly what he was, because it thought he would be good for its bottom line. When it appeared that Imus, doing his thing, would begin to be bad for its bottom line, CBS fired him. It did the "right thing" only for its bottom line. CBS was no more willing to "take a loss for doing the right thing" than the man in the moon. It did the calculus and decided that its chosen course of action was the best thing for its P/L.

Same goes for the decision to settle Imus' lawsuit. CBS looked at the potential cost of litigating it, the likelihood of success (slim), and settled to cut its losses. Plain and simple.

Bake

[durrrty libby]

17. He had a contract and it was violated. Seems simple to me.