There appears to be more fallout from the Miami Dolphins to WQAM story we wrote about last week. The Miami Herald reported Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins will be dropped by the sports radio station as a direct result of its deal to reacquire rights to the NFL team's games. The Herald reported the Dolphins asked WQAM (560) to drop the Marlins after this season before awarding them the rights to air their games. As part of the arrangement, the newspaper said, the Dolphins wanted WQAM to air a daily show about the football team on weekday evenings, something it would have been unable to do during the baseball season. WQAM last week reacquired rights to Dolphins games through at least the 2009 season. The station had been the longtime home of the Dolphins up until two years ago when it was outbid by WAXY, better known as 790 The Ticket. According to the Herald, WQAM wants to keep … [Read more...]
Reeling in the big fish
One of the more intense rivalries among sports radio stations can be found in the Miami market between Beasley Broadcast Group's WQAM and Jefferson Pilot Communications' WAXY, and this week the former scored a public-relations touchdown by reacquiring rights to broadcast Miami Dolphins football games. WQAM (560), the longtime home of the Dolphins up until two seasons ago, was granted rights to the team's games at least through the 2009 season. Neither the team nor the station would say how much the new rights package is worth. The South Florida Business Journal quoted some advertising and media executives as saying "they had heard reports" WAXY, also known as 790 The Ticket, was paying the Dolphins an annual rights fee of $4.5 million, compared with WQAM paying an annual fee between $3 million and $3.5 million in its previous deal. Jimmy Cefalo, the former Dolphins receiver who was the … [Read more...]
Another I-mess casualty
More fallout from the Don Imus controversy Friday when his longtime producer Bernard McGuirk was canned by CBS Radio. McGuirk had been producer of the "Imus in the Morning" radio program since 1987. The show was produced by CBS-owned WFAN in New York and syndicated nationally by Westwood One. Known for egging on the host with his often-incendiary comments, McGuirk was the one who first remarked that members of the Rutgers women's basketball team looked like "hos." Imus then added they were "nappy-headed hos." Imus was fired April 12. McGuirk was noticeably absent this week while other Imus contributors were on the air with Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, the popular WFAN sports team that's occupying the former Imus time slot while the station decides on a replacement. … [Read more...]
A day to hold on to
In the very week when Don Imus was fired for making a racially insensitive remark on the air, it was indeed refreshing and uplifting to tune into ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" tilt between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The game itself was secondary; instead, the telecast was dominated by memories of Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of the day he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black to play in Major League Baseball. The culmination of Jackie Robinson Day in ballparks throughout the country, ESPN's telecast was an extraordinary tribute to a man whose cultural significance is unrivaled. While keeping an eye on the game, announcers Jon Miller and Joe Morgan and reporters Stuart Scott and Peter Gammons hosted a parade of baseball luminaries who shared personal stories of Robinson's meaning to them as individuals and to the game as a … [Read more...]
Cleaning up the I-mess
When CBS Corp. board chairman Sumner Redstone told Newsweek on Wednesday he expected network president Leslie Moonves to "do the right thing" in responding to the Don Imus controversy, it was just a matter of time before the shock jock would lose his syndicated radio show. The hammer fell Thursday, not long after Moonves met with Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, two of Imus' most outspoken critics. "There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," Moonves said in a statement Thursday. "That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision." Imus was under fire for calling members of the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos." It was the latest in a series of racially insensitive comments that have dogged the radio host through the … [Read more...]
I-mess: It’s the comedy, stupid
Ever since Don Imus may have slit his professional throat by calling members of the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos," he's been on the defensive by reminding anyone who'll listen that his is a comedy show and as such his comments should be taken in that context. Whoa! Even Michael Richards didn't try to use that kind of lame-ass excuse after his career-crippling performance in which he repeatedly called members of his audience "niggers." Imus may fancy himself a clever satirist, but calling his brand of humor "comedy" is like putting a bag full of excrement on someone's front porch, lighting it on fire and calling that "comedy." MSNBC dropped the simulcast of Imus' syndicated radio show Wednesday, several days after he made the comment about the Rutgers players. While this is a case of better late than never, it also reeks more of external pressures than internal common … [Read more...]
MSNBC drops Imus over racist rap
MSNBC said late Wednesday it will drop its simulcast of the “Imus in the Morning” radio program, responding to growing outrage over the radio host’s racial slur against the Rutgers women’s basketball team. 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." … [Read more...]
I-mess update
It looks like Don Imus is going to keep his job despite increased calls for his dismissal following his remarks last week about members of the Rutgers women's basketball team being "nappy-headed hos." CBS Radio and MSNBC said Monday that Imus' syndicated radio show -- which is simulcast on the cable news channel -- will be suspended for two weeks effective next Monday. Imus continued to publicly express remorse for the remark as he fights to hold on to his radio gig. He appeared on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show Monday and conceded he went "too far." Sharpton is one of several black leaders to call for Imus' dismissal. "Our agenda is to be funny and sometimes we go too far. And this time we went way too far," Imus told Sharpton. "Here's what I've learned: that you can't make fun of everybody, because some people don't deserve it," Imus added. "And because the climate on this program … [Read more...]
I-mess in the morning
Is anyone and anything fair game on talk radio? Has the line between political correctness and inappropriate commentary blurred so badly that we can't tell the difference anymore? Specifically, how does Don Imus get away with calling members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy headed hos" on his syndicated radio show (which is simulcast on MSNBC)? Bryan Monroe, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, is right to ask if Imus "had lost his mind" and call for his immediate dismissal. (Sunday update: Imus will appear Monday on Al Sharpton's radio show. Sharpton wants Imus fired.) Imus subsequently apologized on the air, calling the characterization "thoughtless and stupid." That did not deter NCAA president Myles Brand and Rutgers president Richard McCormick from issuing a harshly worded joint condemnation. "The NCAA and Rutgers University are … [Read more...]
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