Posted on 05/04/2007 3:40:42 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
Radio host Don Imus is going to sue CBS for $120 million, according to a draft copy of the complaint obtained by ABC News' Law & Justice Unit.
The suit is expected to be filed next week.
A draft copy of Imus's lawsuit says that the network expected him to be controversial and irreverent under the terms of his contract. And he claims Imus's show was on a five second delay that allowed the network to censor him if they wanted.
The draft points out that Imus wasn't fired for two weeks after the remarks were made.
Meanwhile, four former FCC commissioners contacted by ABC News say they do not believe that the speech was actionable under current federal guidelines that prohibit profanity or indecency on public airwaves.
Imus was fired April 12, after he made insensitive remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team.
Martin Garbus -- a powerful First Amendment lawyer who represented controversial comedian Lenny Bruce -- said he would file a complaint against the network in the days ahead.
In a statement released by CBS in response to news stories about the impending lawsuit, CBS said that "We terminated Mr. Imus for cause. Based on the comments in question and relevant contract terms, we believe that the termination was appropriate and CBS would expect to prevail in any attempt by Mr. Imus to recover money for his actions............."
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Not a pleasant thought : )
I never listened to Imus and only watched a few minutes of his program on MSNBC - but I hope he takes a chunk out of the hide of CBS for caving in to th likes of Sharpton.
Rather, Katie, and Imus. It’s the trifecta that will destroy CBS.
Triple damages... ain’t it beautiful. It was meant to be a joke....a misplaced joke.....but a joke none the less. CBS and NBC are going to pay out the nose, and they should. They knew damn well what they were getting. Even enumerated the very irreverence they demanded in his show.
Wow earlier I saw an article saying he was going to sue for $40 million, now it’s $120 million.
Hey, a great week for CBS eh? Katie Colon has almost a 50 percent unfavorable view from the public, her numbers continue to lag in 3rd place, and now CBS is getting hit with legal action by Imus.
If they tried to sell a quality product rather than a biased point of view they wouldn’t have these problems.
Oh you are absolutely right regarding John Rocker, and the same principle applies here, albit in a different manner.
Were the comments in either case objectionable?
Of course they were. But as you pointed out, Rocker’s words gained greater import due to Sports Illustrated’s decision to run with it, and the rest of the media (of course) piled on.
In Imus’ case, while his comments were rude and crude, they were not in reality ‘obscene’ as defined by the FCC, and it has already been reported that several past commissioners have stated that what Imus said probably didn’t rise to the level of an actual ‘obscenity’.
The fact is, CBS and MSNBC chose NOT to mash the delay switch because ANY broadcasting organization hates to blot out comments because the dead air that results is all but screaming to the public “WHOOOOOPS! WE screwed UP!”, in addition to the fact that when dead air is heard by many listeners, it is a mental cue to them to switch stations, and that means ‘lost advertising revenue’, so the decision to NOT bleep out Imus’ comments may have been based on a financial factor as well.
But the prize winner for MOST hypocritical is the non-Reverend Al Sharpton (who isn’t really a reverend as defined by the term), who has the blood of innocent people on his hands (his role in inciting a riot), in addition to destroying (or nearly destroying) the reputation of innocent people in the disgraceful Tawana Brawley scam.
Sharpton of all people, has no room to talk when it comes to immoral or questionable behavior.
But talk he does, ye gawds that clown never shuts up!
Imus’ lawyer said that they wanted money for his ranch too.
hehehe
Just guessing but by the time Imus and his associates are finished with CBS...they will get a total package of $30 million...of which I’m guessing Imus himself will get $20. He will be satisfied with that. As for Couric...I think she will get the seat at 60 Minutes offered and no cash...and be very happy to leave CBS news as simply a failure. She can’t improve her numbers. Word is...they are bringing Christine Amoupour from CNN...who will have a nightly foreign news segment. This might bounce the ratings up five percent but its a temporary thing. Couric is still the issue there.
I believe you are right. I've heard Schieffer telling that story on a couple of occasions, and I think that's what he said.
That certainly explains why Sharptongue was so hot after Imus, he was trying to remove a clintoon critic from the airwaves (undoubtedly taking orders from her thighness). He couldn’t have cared less about the Rutgers team.
This is exactly what will happen to those networks and sponsers who are rabid to hire Rosie. They know what she’s like and how wild her mouth is and still they want to take the risk.
The Clintoon Broadcasting Net is like the Titanic, except they have hit more than one iceberg.
As Johnny 7 noted, it is really great when liberals sue each other.
His wife was about to promote her new book. Her book sales must be terrible.
Not only will the liberals waste alot of their own money suing each other but also time.
hehehe
They owe him $40 mil on his contract. Looks like he’s going for punitive. I hope he gets every last penny. I’d like to see him go after MSNBC too. This couldn’t happen to a more rotten group of people. They all deserve what they get.
Even if he doesn’t win, the network will have to spend millions on their defense. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of slimeballs.
No sorry , black “leaders” are exempt from ever doing anything wrong .
When big bad MSNBC heard that Sharpton and Jackson were gunning for them they crapped their pants and fired Imus. Thats the whole story right there .Hope Imus takes them to the cleaners on this one .
Bill Clinton Gets Cut Off (On Imus SHow)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEF8LvsqYh4
Cardinal Egan 4-6-07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flgrxMsJlT0
I miss the Cardinal Egan bits!
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