News Chief Says Network's Reputation Was at Stake

MSNBC Don Imus appeared contrite earlier this week.

"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," the statement said.

"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. 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."

However, "The announcement does not affect his nationally syndicated radio show, and the ultimate decision on the fate of that program will rest with executives at CBS Corp.," David Crary reported for the Associated Press.

"Don Imus has been suspended without pay for two weeks beginning on Monday, April 16. During that time, CBS Radio will continue to speak with all concerned parties and monitor the situation closely," CBS said in a statement after the NBC announcement, the AP said.

CBS Radio transmits the program to more than 70 stations.

The MSNBC announcement followed a day in which General Motors and American Express said that they, too, will pull their advertisements from his program, Louise Story reported Wednesday on the New York Times Web site.

However, in an appearance Wednesday night with guest host David Gregory on MSNBC's "Hardball," NBC News President Steve Capus said it was not the advertising, but MSNBC's reputation that accounted for the decision.

Speaking of Imus, Capus said, "I think he is a complex man, and I think in many ways, he is a good man. . . . I've listened to him, by the way, over these last couple of days, and heard him loud and clear talk about how truly sorry he is for these comments. And I believe that. I believe— you know, I take him at his word when he says he's not a racist.

But I also believe that those were racist comments. And I believe that it comes —that there have been any number of other comments that have been enormously hurtful to far too many people. And my feeling is that can't — that there should not be a place for that on MSNBC. . . .

"What price do you put on your reputation? And the reputation of this news division means more to me than advertising dollars. Because if you lose your reputation, you lose everything," Capus said. [Text of the interview at the end of today's column.]

The Times story noted that "American Express was the fourth largest advertiser on the simulcast of 'Imus in the Morning' on [MSNBC], spending $1.2 million during the show in 2006, according to estimates from Monitor-Plus, a unit of the Nielsen Company. And the credit card company was also among the top spenders on the radio program aired by CBS Radio.

"The company will no longer advertise on Mr. Imus’s show because of his controversial remarks last week, said Judy Tenzer, a spokeswoman for American Express. American Express will continue to advertise on other MSNBC shows, she said.

Also on Wednesday, Bruce Gordon, former head of the NAACP and a director of CBS Corp., said the broadcasting company needs a 'zero tolerance policy' on racism and hopes Imus is fired, the Associated Press reported.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., became the first presidential candidate to call for Imus' firing on Wednesday when he told Jake Tapper of ABC News he would never appear again on Imus' show.

"I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus," Obama told ABC News, "but I would also say that there's nobody on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group.

"He didn't just cross the line, he fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America," Obama, the only African American candidate in the presidential race, was quoted as saying.

The Boston Globe had run a story Wednesday morning, "Obama's silence on Imus alarms some blacks."

Also, the Radio-Television News Directors Association said late Wednesday it joined the National Association of Black Journalists in condemning Imus' "racist and sexist remarks." However, it did not join in NABJ's call for Imus to be fired. Rather, it called attention to its "diversity toolkit."

The "Imus" show was one of MSNBC's more high-profile offerings but was a consistent runner-up in the ratings race with CNN in its 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekday timeslot, where it attracted 271,000 household viewers compared to CNN's 374,000, Andrew Hampp reported on AdAge.com.

"An NBC News spokeswoman said the advertisers' withdrawal was 'in all honesty, not a factor in today's announcement. It really came as a result of numerous conversations with our employees. It was not driven by dollars. It was driven by integrity,'" Hampp wrote.

"The show's advertisers — which include General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Sprint — collectively account for about 8% of MSNBC's total revenue. The top spender, GM, spent a total of $691,000 on the show in 2006, according to TNS Media Intelligence," the AdAge.com story said.

Gordon, a longtime telecommunications executive, stepped down in March after 19 months as head of the NAACP, the AP noted.

In a telephone interview with the Associated Press, Gordon said, "He's crossed the line, he's violated our community. He needs to face the consequence of that violation." Gordon also appeared on CNN.

He said he had spoken with CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves and hoped the company, after reviewing the situation, would "make the smart decision" by firing Imus rather than letting him return to the air at the end of a two-week suspension beginning next Monday, AP said.

The Times story on Imus' advertisers continued: "General Motors was one of the radio program’s top advertisers last year, but the company stopped advertising on it earlier this year in a decision unrelated to Mr. Imus’s racial insults about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, said Ryndee Carney, a spokeswoman for General Motors. On Tuesday, Ms. Carney said the company would continue to advertise on the MSNBC show.

“'This doesn’t mean that we either agree or disagree with the views that are expressed on the show,' Ms. Carney said Tuesday. 'We are a sponsor.'

"This morning, General Motors issued a statement saying that it will suspend its advertising while monitoring the situation."

Imus has a larger audience for his radio show than he does with the MSNBC simulcast. However, CBS Radio spokeswoman Karen Mateo told Journal-isms on Wednesday the network would not discuss whether advertisers have pulled out of the radio show.

On Wednesday's "Imus in the Morning," the host made reference to sponsor pullouts and declared that "the hypocrisy of most elements of the media, and even among those who know me is obscene. I'm not a right-wing raving nut," he said.

He noted Jesse Jackson's observation on the "Today" show on Tuesday about the lack of African American hosts on NBC News shows.

He also played portions of the Tuesday news conference by members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team, praising them and saying he looked forward to meeting with them so he could apologize in person.

Democratic strategist James Carville, who had said he was torn because of his friendship with Imus but his disapproval of his remarks, told Imus that one reason he created more of an uproar than others who might have called the women "nappy-headed ho's" was that "people don't hold you to the same standards that they hold the rap singers to."

Imus agreed: "I'm 66 years old. I got no business" using language "that I heard on 'Def Comedy Jam' or some rap record or some kid at the ranch," referring to his New Mexico ranch, which hosts young cancer, sickle cell anemia and autism patients, many of whom are of color.

On an NBC "Today" show segment with Al Roker, filmmaker Spike Lee and entertainer Whoopi Goldberg, now a radio host herself, both said Imus should go. Lee added in Imus sidekicks Bernard McGuirk and Sid Rosenberg.

"I'm going to spend $100 in Staples today. I'm buying Bigelow Tea. I'm buying Procter & Gamble," Lee said, referring to companies that announced on Tuesday they were pulling their ads from the Imus show.

Lee cited several examples of others who have been fired for less, and said NBC should have suspended Imus during the upcoming sweeps period, but had made a conscious decision not to do because of the more severe financial consequences.

Goldberg said that when she began her Clear Channel radio show in July, "they were very clear with me. They gave me clear guidelines" about what can be said on the airwaves. "Don has been on for 40 years," so he had no excuse, she said.

On her Time.com blog, Ana Marie Cox, Washington Editor of Time.com and founding editor of Wonkette, the D.C. gossip blog, told readers on Wednesday, "I'll have some more fleshed-out thoughts on the matter in the magazine this week, but for now, since many people have asked: No, I won't be going on Imus anymore. Having said that, it's not like they'll be inviting me back."

Angela Burt-Murray, editor of Essence magazine, called for Imus' dismissal in an appearance on CNN's "American Morning."

• Shilpa Banerji, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: Scholars Weigh in On Don Imus Flap
  
  
• Jessica Durando, Black College Wire: At Rutgers, We Want Imus' Resignation
  
  
• Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting: Rallying Around Their Racist Friend before firing, pundits defended Imus
  
  
• Katti Gray, Newsday: Black moguls, clean those dirty mouths
  
  
• Carol Jenkins, Women's Media Center: The Rutgers Women Speak Out
  
  
• Tony Norman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Confessions of an ex-Imus fan
  
  
• Claudia Perry, Star-Ledger, Newark: Despite advertisers' pullouts, experts see Imus surviving
  
  
• Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star: Imus isn’t the real bad guy
  
  
• Michael Wilbon, Washington Post: Out of Imus's Bigotry, a Zero Tolerance for Hate
  
  

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PBS Gives In, Will Include Latinos in Ken Burns Film

"In a letter released today, PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger reported that, 'PBS, Ken Burns and his co-director/producer Lynn Novick have decided to create additional content that focuses on stories of Latino and Native American veterans of the Second World War.'

"The PBS plan also included the following elements:

• "The additional narratives about experiences of the Latino and Native American veterans of World War II will be integrated into the documentary, the DVD, the Website and PBS’ educational outreach materials.
  
  
• "A Latino producer will be hired by Burns production company, Florentine Films, in consultation with PBS, to be part of the production teams that will create the additional content.
  
  
• "'The War' will premiere on September 23, 2007 (during Hispanic Heritage Month) as scheduled with the inclusion of the new content.
  
  
• "Additional national programming will be aired on WWII that will include and focus on the Latino contributions to the war.
  
  

"You'll recall that NAHJ board members worked on one of the first letters protesting this exclusion and, early on, joined the campaign which has grown and gained much strength across the country. We are now seeing the results," Ivan Roman, NAHJ's executive director, told colleagues.

Based at the University of Texas at Austin’s U.S. Latino & Latina WWII Oral History Project headed by Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, the leadership of the campaign first met with Kerger on March 6 at PBS headquarters in Arlington, Va.

Kerger said then that PBS would not be making any changes to the film because it was already completed and it did not want to interfere with Burns' artistic independence.

On National Public Radio's "Fresh Air" on March 15, host David Bianculli asked Burns about the Latino concerns.

"Well, I think the way we constructed it sort of renders a little bit of the protest moot," Burns said.

"I mean, I can understand, particularly in the Hispanic community, after 500 years of having so much of their history marginalized on this continent, how important it is to be told. But we knew going in we weren't going to be able to tell the whole story. And, in fact, we limited the film to four geographically distributed towns and a handful of people from those towns. And we're actually not — with the exception of Japanese Americans and to a much lesser extent African Americans, who had an amazingly different kind of American experience, i.e., they were interned and in segregated regiments, looking for any type of people in the film. We were looking for universal human experience[s] of battle, of what was it like to be in that war and not try to cover every group. We left out lots of people in many, many different kinds of groups because we weren't looking at it in that way."

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Raleigh Paper Names Duke Accuser; Few Follow

In explaining the decision, Melanie Sill, the paper's executive editor, said that in addition to the dropping of charges, the woman's name "also has been widely identified on the Internet, including on mainstream sites such as Wikipedia. Because of these circumstances, and in order to more fully report on the case and its aftermath, we decided to publish her name. Additionally, we will review our standing policy."

The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is not using the woman's name. It's one thing to have a clear policy that names all accusers, said Dori J. Maynard , president of the institute, but to decide to do so on a case-by-case basis "leaves you open to a lot of questions."

A CBS News spokeswoman said the name would not be used on Wednesday's broadcast. CNN used the name during the day, according to transcripts of its programs.

Mike Silverman, managing editor of the Associated Press, said the AP had decided not to name the accuser for the time being.

"AP's policy is not to identify people who say they were victims of sexual assault, unless they seek to have their names publicized. We think it best to adhere to that policy in this case, even though the charges have been dismissed. We are also making every effort to contact the woman and talk to her about the developments," Silverman said.

Likewise, the Los Angeles Times, "will follow its policy of not naming sexual assault claimants," spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan told Journal-isms.

At the New York Times, "We decided today not to do it unless the accuser or the accused take things a step further, as in lawsuits, etc. So at this point the paper tomorrow will not name her," spokeswoman Catherine J. Mathis said.

However, Raleigh's WRAL-TV, a CBS affiliate owned by Capitol Broadcasting Co., Inc., is also using the name.

The News & Observer reported on its Web site Wednesday, "State Attorney General Roy Cooper said today he would dismiss sexual assault and kidnapping charges against three former Duke University lacrosse players, declaring them 'innocent of these charges' and accusing Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong of overreaching."

The decision seemed to conclude a story that began with a March 13, 2006, party at a Durham, N.C., house rented by three of the four captains of the Duke University lacrosse team, after which the rape and kidnapping charges were lodged and a national uproar ensued. One of the women hired as "exotic" dancers accused three white team members of forcing her into a bathroom and sexually assaulting her. She also complained of racial insults.

The next month, New York Times Public Editor Byron Calame, assessing his paper's performance, wrote that "the paper needs to keep an eye on the allegations and reports about the racial insults voiced by various players, and on the lacrosse team's seemingly flawed culture."

Neighbor Jason Bissey said he heard one partygoer yell, ''Thank your grandpa for my nice cotton shirt.'' The two strippers at the party, one of whom charged she was raped, are African American.

"If the rape and kidnapping charges do not hold up, the story doesn't end," Calame said. "The Times should be prepared to continue covering what is done about the racial-insult allegations, given the prominence of the team and the university."

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5,000 Attend Services for Grambling's "Coach Rob"

"An estimated 5,000 people filed into Grambling’s new Assembly Center this morning, grabbing coveted seats for a funeral that felt much more like a homecoming celebration.

"Robinson’s funeral was the first event to be held in the school’s new 7,000-seat Assembly Center. The building wasn’t scheduled to officially open until graduation ceremonies in May.

“'Only Eddie Robinson could open a building like this,' said former Grambling star Doug Williams, who later gained fame as the first black quarterback to start in the Super Bowl. 'The building is great, but the man was greater.'

"Robinson died last week of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 88. The funeral service for the first college football coach to surpass 400 wins attracted a virtual who’s-who of political and sports figures, including Jackson, Landrieu, Williams and NFL Hall of Famers Willie Davis, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner.

"But from the time the casket was closed at 11:03 a.m. until the crowd closed the funeral nearly 3½ hours later with a spirited version of the school fight song, the ceremony was all about the coach who carved out fame for himself despite rarely leaving north Louisiana."

• Editorial, Augusta (Ga.) Herald: Grambling's Grand Old Man
  
  
• Shanna Flowers , Roanoke (Va.) Times: A coach for life as well as sports
  
  
• Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe: Eddie Robinson's winning ways
  
  
• Floyd A. Keith , Black Coaches Association, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: A Tribute to Coach Eddie Robinson
  
  
• Les Payne, Newsday: Here's to you, Eddie Robinson
  
  
• Stan Tiner, Biloxi (Miss.) Sun-Herald: Grambling coach defined greatness
  
  
• Monroe (La.) News-Star: Eddie Robinson: The Legend Remembered
  
  

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NBC News/Lisa Berg Al Sharpton, right, told the "Today" show's Matt Lauer on Tuesday that Don Imus' apology was "too little, too late." NBC News President Steve Capus said Wednesday night, "I hope we don't squander this remarkable opportunity that we have to continue this dialogue that has taken place."

Capus: "This Is About Trust. It's About Reputation"

DAVID GREGORY: The breaking news here on MSNBC is that Don Imus has been taken off the air at MSNBC. The simulcast of the "IMUS IN THE MORNING" program will no longer air. He has also been suspended by CBS Radio, which airs his program around the country from the flagship station in New York, WFAN. He's been suspended for two weeks without pay.

Joining us now is the president of NBC News, Steve Capus, joining us from New York. Steve, hello.

STEVE CAPUS, PRESIDENT, NBC NEWS: Hi, David.

GREGORY: And why don't you take me through why you made this decision?

CAPUS: Well, it's been a week since the original broadcast on the Imus program. And during that time, there have been any number of things that have happened. When I first learned of the comments, we issued an apology and we denounced the comments. They were awful. They were hateful. They were deplorable.

But something also happened right after that, and that is a dialogue that's been going on inside the country, and it's been going on inside NBC News.

I've received hundreds, if not thousands of emails, both internal and external, with people with very strong views about what should happen. I've listened to those people with their comments. And many of them are people who have worked at NBC News for decades, people who put their lives on the line covering wars and things like that.

These comments were deeply hurtful to many, many people.

And we've had any number of employee conversations, discussions, emails, phone calls. And when you listen to the passion and the people who come to the conclusion that there should not be any room for this sort of conversation and dialogue on our air, it was the only decision we could reach.

GREGORY: And Steve, I don't have to tell you. I mean, some of our colleagues, like Al Roker, who did it publicly with a blog on "The Today Show" Web site and others have said essentially that this kind of humor, this platform has been given to — over to Imus for too long now, with this kind discourse and humor.

CAPUS: The Imus program is what it is. And I am proud of some of the things that are on there and not so proud of others. I like that politicians come there to announce that they're running for the presidency. I like what Don Imus has done through the years to help kids with cancer at the Imus Ranch. He has raised awareness about autism. He has done any number of good things. And there is no question about that.

I think he is a complex man, and I think in many ways, he is a good man. I don't — I think this is not — I've listened to him, by the way, over these last couple of days, and heard him loud and clear talk about how truly sorry he is for these comments. And I believe that. I believe — you know, I take him at his word when he says he's not a racist.

But I also believe that those were racist comments. And I believe that it comes — that there have been any number of other comments that have been enormously hurtful to far too many people. And my feeling is that can't — that there should not be a place for that on MSNBC.

GREGORY: What was the tipping point, though, Steve? Because people will look at what's happened in the past day — General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, American Express, Ditech.com, Procter & Gamble, companies — Staples — pulling their advertising from MSNBC. And the obvious question that is going to come up that, you know, we're feeling the heat and we're reacting to dollars.

CAPUS: Look, I understand the people are going to view it that way, and I only say that that — that is not why this decision was made. This decision was made after listening to the people who work for NBC News, who have placed a trust and respect the trust that America has given us.

I ask you, what price do you put on your reputation? And the reputation of this news division means more to me than advertising dollars. Because if you lose your reputation, you lose everything.

And so yesterday, I found out after the fact that some of the advertisers had started to pull their money away. Those types of reports don't land on my desk immediately. And honestly, that is not what is behind this.

This is about trust. It's about reputation. It's about doing what's right.

GREGORY: What happened in between the decision-making about the suspension and then the decision to actually pull him off the air?

CAPUS: The days are running together now. But we announced the suspension, and I believed that Imus took some courageous and smart and appropriate actions, with the level of apology that you saw from him on the air day after day, the fact that he went and sat with the Reverend Al Sharpton and spoke on his radio program. And perhaps more importantly than speaking, he listened, and I wanted that process to continue.

At the same time, internally, we were having conversations about what all of this meant. Some of those conversations led to some very interesting reporting on "Nightly News" and "The Today Show" and MSNBC, on NBC stations all across the country — in fact, on every media outlet. There has been an opportunity to have a very important dialogue about race relations and everything — everything that goes under that broad umbrella.

And what has been going on is a lot of conversation, a lot of listening and a lot of talking, and we came to this conclusion. I take no pride — I take no joy in this. It is not a particularly happy moment, but it needed to happen.

GREGORY: Steve, what struck me as I read your decision, since there has been so much conversation about the meeting that is apparently going to happen — although Coach Stringer wasn't certain it was going to happen — between Imus and the basketball players at Rutgers. Why not let that meeting go forward and get some feedback from that before making a decision like this?

CAPUS: I don't believe that it should be the Rutgers women's basketball team that decides Don Imus' fate. I hope that meeting still takes place. I think that Imus has things that he wants to say to them, and I believe that that team has things that they want him to hear.

That news conference yesterday by that basketball team and by Vivian Stringer was extraordinary. And that was one of the other things that took place between the time we announced the suspension and when we've made this call.

And I would say that when Vivian Stringer spoke there for about 20 minutes yesterday, from the heart, and she said that she was going to put a human face on this entire situation, many of us took note. I think the entire country did, and appreciated her words and her actions. And to just to watch the members of that team talk about losing their opportunity to celebrate their remarkable achievements on and off the court this year — those comments really hit home.

GREGORY: Defenders of Imus, people close to Imus, other observers like Mike Lupica this morning, who is a columnist for "The Daily News," as you know, and is a frequent guest on the Imus program, said, you know, the worst thing you do in your public life should not be the last. And if that's the case, then how does Jesse Jackson, who called Jews in New York — or called New York Hymietown, or the Reverend Sharpton in the way he divided New York City over the Brawley case, how can they be able to apologize and move on, but in this case, Don Imus cannot apologize and move on, especially given his pledge to change his program.

CAPUS: I take no delight in what has happened to Don Imus. Again, I believe he is a good man. But what I would say is, it's going to be up to him to decide whether this is his final act. I don't think this needs to be the last act for Don Imus. But I can't also ignore— and this is what I've heard time and time again from so many people who work for me at NBC News — I can't ignore the fact that there is a very long list of inappropriate comments, of inappropriate banter, and it has to stop. It needed to stop. There shouldn't — there just should not be a place for that.

And I take no delight in this. I really don't.

GREGORY: As the president of the news division, and as a media figure, what do you think the lesson is going to be of this?

CAPUS: Well, look, I'll tell you what I don't — what I hope doesn't happen. I hope we don't squander this remarkable opportunity that we have to continue this dialogue that has taken place, to continue the dialogue about what is appropriate conduct and speech, to continue the dialogue about what is happening in America.

I think we have, as broadcasters, a responsibility to address those matters.

This— for the people who were involved in this, from the Rutgers team, this isn't a situation, this isn't an incident. This is life. And that's why when you listen to Vivian Stringer speak yesterday, and the members of that team speak, you understand why those comments came from the heart.

This is not some incident that has happened. This is someone's life that we're talking about here. And so when you get — when you touch something that deeply, we have a responsibility in our reporting to continue this remarkable national dialogue that has begun.

GREGORY: Steve, what can you say about your conversations with Don Imus today and in the last few days?

CAPUS: I've not spoken with him today, and I intend to. And — I—- look, I'm one of the people who consider themselves an Imus fan. I listen to him every morning, and I think very highly of him. I really do. And I— but I needed to make this call, and I believe this is the right call.

GREGORY: Have you talked at all to CBS, and do you have a feeling about what CBS Radio will do about the future of his program?

CAPUS: I don't — I have not. My boss has. And I know those conversations took place. We called to inform them that we were going to do this. But I don't know what is going to happen with the radio program.

GREGORY: Do you have an opinion about what should happen?

CAPUS: No. That needs to be their call. I — my focus is on NBC.

GREGORY: All right. Steve Capus, the president of our news division and the president of MSNBC as well, making the decision to take Don Imus off the air.

Steve, thanks very much.

CAPUS: Thank you, David.

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Richard Prince's Journal-isms originates from Washington and is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (Full disclosure: Richard Prince works part-time at the Washington Post and is editor of the Black College Wire.) It began in print and would like to be referred to as a "column." For newcomers: The words in blue (on most computers) are links leading to more information. The Web site BugMeNot.com provides passwords and user names to some registration-only news sites.

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