--- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "votomguy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Just saw on the news that msnbc will no longer be carrying Imus's show. > NEW YORK - Talk show host Don Imus' situation worsened Wednesday, when MSNBC announced that it would no longer simulcast the "Imus in the Morning" radio program.
In a statement, NBC News announced "this decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees. What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible." The network statement went on to say, "Once again, we apologize to the women of the Rutgers basketball team and to our viewers. We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused." (MSNBC TV is wholly owned by NBC Universal. MSNBC.com is a joint venture between NBC Universal and Microsoft). Imus' show originates on the New York radio station WFAN, owned by CBS Corp., and is distributed nationally on radio by Westwood One. CBS owns an 18 percent stake in Westwood One and also manages the company. For its part, CBS has not announced plans to discontinue the show. Before the announcement was made, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) had appeared on the MSNBC program "Hardball," where host David Gregory asked the senator and presidential candidate if he thought Imus should be fired. "I don't think MSNBC should be carrying the kinds of hateful remarks that Imus uttered the other day," Obama said. He went on to note that he and his wife have "two daughters who are African-American, gorgeous, tall, and I hope, at some point, are interested enough in sports that they get athletic scholarships. ... I don't want them to be getting a bunch of information that, somehow, they're less than anybody else. And I don't think MSNBC should want to promote that kind of language." Obama went on to say that he would not be a guest on Imus' show in the future. Imus and his producer had referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." The 10 members of the Rutgers team spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday about the on-air comments, made the day after the team lost the NCAA championship game to Tennessee. Some of them wiped away tears as their coach, C. Vivian Stringer, criticized Imus for "racist and sexist remarks that are deplorable, despicable, abominable and unconscionable." The women, eight of whom are black, called his comments insensitive and hurtful. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17999196/
