Boston black leaders protest Imus return


A group of black community leaders angry with the decision to bring back Don Imus protested at WTKK-FM's office Friday, three days before the radio host returns to the airways after being fired for making racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

"We as black men could not sit idly by while you reinstate an individual (Imus) who has insulted the black community and in particular black women," Sadiki Kambon, the director of The Black Community Information Center at Roxbury Community College said, speaking of the station. "Yes, we cannot stop the Imus return, but can express our anger at your decision, which in the very least is racist in nature."

The group had hoped to meet with a representative of the station's parent company, Greater Media Boston, but were turned away.

Spokeswoman Heidi Raphael said the station wants to meet in a few weeks, after everyone had a chance to listen to the show.

"Then we could sit down and talk about it and listen to their feedback," she said. "We welcome everyone's thoughts."

Kambon said he already knows how he feels about the show -- and Imus.

CBS Radio fired Imus on April 12 amid a firestorm of controversy over a "nappy-headed hos" remark he made about the Rutgers team. Citadel Broadcasting Corp. announced Nov. 1 that Imus would return to radio Monday. His show will air in Boston on WTKK, as it had before Imus was fired.

Kambon said his group would now would focus on asking companies to pull their advertisements off the station.

Boston black leaders protest Imus return

IMUS COMING BACK WITH BLACK SIDEKICK


December 1, 2007 -- Crusty shock jock Don Imus has hired a black cohort in an effort to quell lingering racial tension from the debacle that got him booted off the airwaves last spring, The Post has learned.

"The reasoning is obvious," an ABC insider said cryptically of the new addition to Imus' crew. The new show will kick off Monday at 6 a.m. on 77-WABC talk radio.

The identity of Imus' new black colleague is still under wraps and WABC management is guarding the information as if it were a state secret.

His longtime sidekicks Charles McCord and Bernard McGuirk are also expected to join the new "Imus in the Morning" show.

Yesterday, a statement from the show promised Monday's 6-to-10 a.m. broadcast - which will originate from Town Hall - would feature "the rest of the show's longtime cast and new additions to the team; plus a performance by The Levon Helm Band."

Imus sparked an uproar on his show last April when he called the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed ho's" after their loss to Tennessee in the NCAA championship game.

At the time, black community leaders called for Imus to be fired. After issuing apologies and meeting with the Rutgers basketball team, he was dumped first by MSNBC and then by CBS-owned WFAN radio.

Starting Tuesday, Imus will broadcast the first three hours from a rented television studio in a building near Madison Square Garden.

It will be videotaped and carried as part of an unlikely partnership between Imus and RFD-TV, a 24-hour cable network - not available in New York City - that celebrates the country lifestyle and usually features shows like "I Love Toy Trains" and "The Johnnie High Country Music Revue."

For the final hour of his four-hour daily show, Imus will run across the street to ABC's radio studios at 2 Penn Plaza.

The two-studio shuffle is part of a five-year deal that reportedly pays him between $5 million and $8 million annually.

Meanwhile, Imus' return to the air does not sit well with some critics, including the National Association of Black Journalists, which in October urged WABC owner Citadel Broadcasting not to hire him. Also, longtime advertisers, such as GM, have said they will evaluate the show before making a decision whether to buy ad time. But the cantankerous shock jock is not expected to command the same premium ad dollars that he once did.

And while his national presence it a plus for the Citadel-owned station which will syndicate the new show around the United States, it is still unclear if his New York ratings will be up to snuff.

The morning team of Curtis Sliwa and Ron Kuby - whom Imus replaces - consistently scored better ratings locally than Imus did on WFAN.

IMUS COMING BACK WITH BLACK SIDEKICK