Fire online: Immolating Imus, catching Couric, Gonzo goes public
update With media stars it can seem the more money they make, the less they operate in the real world--sorta like professional athletes and drunken movie stars: "I can say anything I want. I can always apologize."
Radio host Don Imus seems to have found a sure way to get more blog space than the late Anna Nicole. And it's only getting worse for him. MSNBC has said it will not simulcast his morning radio show, which is also carried on CBS Radio. And now the number of advertisers who've canceled commercial buys on Imus' show: eight. The list now includes Staples, Bigelow Tea, Proctor & Gamble, GM and American Express.
Meanwhile, other media types are taking positions for or against Imus. And the public talkback is intense. You can feel as much heat building in the Imus comments as Web sites already get on global warming or the Iraq War.
There is much speculation about the two-week Imus suspension, which starts Monday. Is that the final shoe? Imus meets with the Rutgers women's basketball team on April 17. It could be crucial for his future. Coincidentally, that's the same day Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez gets his own grilling on Capitol Hill. Any odds on who turns in the best performance? Will either Imus or Gonzo have the same job in three weeks?
Meanwhile, MSNBC is putting a little salt in the wound of rival CBS News, whose $15 million a year anchor, Katie Couric, mouthed words that were plagiarized from a newspaper column. CBS has now fired the producer who wrote Katie's "Notebook," which appears only on the CBS News Web site. Fifteen million a year and CBS can't afford a producer who knows how to attribute content? Who understands copyright? I searched the CBS News site, and they have no mention of the incident.
Imus. Couric. Worth every million?
