Don Imus doesn’t have a lot to lose – he has prostate cancer, in case you hadn’t heard.
Don Imus has been around in radio forever – he was working at WNBC-AM in New York when a young buck in his 20s named Bob Pittman (now CEO of iHeart / Clear Channel) kicked Imus to the curb in 1977. He would be rehired in 1979, and ultimately would go to work for Mel Karmazin, the most hated man in Radio, who went on to kick radio’s ass by creating Sirius and hiring Howard Stern, the King of All Media.
Imus unloaded on Cumulus yesterday on the air, especially the Dickey brothers. If Mary Berner really wants to have a serious talk with someone who knows a ton about radio, she has a volunteer very close by. She might also want to invest in having lunch with Sean Hannity.
The plane is spiraling toward the ground, and Mary has the controls. Saying fluffy things and holding listening tours only goes so far. Imus has raised the ante – do you listen to him, or do you fire him? Ball is in your court, Ms Berner.
I don’t usually listen to Imus, but as a Cumulus investor, it probably will be interesting to listen. I wonder if Imus agrees that Mark Levin should quit radio to become Speaker of the House.