Selasa, 04 Desember 2007

Can black cast members help Imus' image? (AP)





NEW YORK - Don Imus' critics assailed him for a racially charged

on-air remark that got him fired. On his return to the airwaves, he

brought with him some young black cast members.



It remained to be seen whether his newly diversified lineup and his

pledge to foster a dialogue on race relations would quiet his critics

and soften any future blows dealt in a show that Imus himself said is

built in part on making fun of others.



"I can only wait and see if his deeds will follow up his words,"

said the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the strongest voices calling for

Imus' firing after the shock jock called the Rutgers University

women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."



"The fact that he now has a black sidekick and that he's on delay

clearly may speak of some of the measures that his new employers have

put in to make sure that there's not a repeat offense," Sharpton said.





Phil Boyce, WABC program director and a Citadel Broadcasting Corp.

vice president, said he could not say whether race played a role in

hiring black comedians Karith Foster and Tony Powell because Imus

himself chose the new additions. Citadel owns WABC and four of the 21

other stations broadcasting the show, which premiered Monday, eight

months after Imus, 67, was fired from CBS Radio and the MSNBC cable

network.



Also returning was Bernard McGuirk, the producer who instigated the

Rutgers comment and was fired as well.



Calling herself Imus' "new sidekick," Foster said after the

broadcast that she hoped those who were most angered by his comments

could feel represented by her on the air.



"They want change, and what better way to incite change than from

the inside?" she said.



Foster said her work on the show would be influenced by her

experiences growing up in Plano, Texas, which she describes on her

Web site as an "affluent suburb north of Dallas with the ethnic

diversity of a Klan rally."



"I think I can speak from the viewpoint of an African-American, and

especially one who can see and understand both sides," she said. "I

grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood but obviously my family

is black. I have black friends, and I live in Harlem. I see and can

understand where everybody's coming from, which I think makes for a

great mediator."



Powell, whose stand-up credits include "Showtime at the Apollo,"

said his hiring was not a token gesture.



Imus "actually wanted to improve the quality of his show, and so he

went out and he got talented individuals to help him improve the

quality of the show," Powell said. "The proof is in the pudding and

the proof is in the product."



But Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women,

remained skeptical.



"Why comedians?" she asked of the new hires. "That's the only thing

women and blacks can do is be funny? I don't find that encouraging."



But, she added, "We have to wait and see what their contributions in

fact are."



Boyce countered that Foster was more than a stand-up comic. Before

appearing on NBC's "Last Comic Standing" and other shows, she was a

production team member on ABC's "The View," he noted.



Besides, he said: "We're doing a radio show. Our job here is to be

interesting and entertaining."



Michael Harrison, publisher of industry trade journal Talkers

magazine, said the presence of a black man and a woman on the show

could help soften the impact of any future comments Imus makes. For

example, he said, sidekick Robin Quivers had helped shock jock Howard

Stern with perceptions among women.



Foster, who said she was appalled by Imus' Rutgers comment, said

she wouldn't give the host any undeserved soft landings.



"I'm not going to be a sycophant," she said. "If and when I need

to, I will speak up. That's who I am. That's how I was raised."



In an apologetic 15-minute monologue before a live audience, Imus

promised to use his second chance to discuss race relations. People

paid $100 a ticket to see Monday's show, with the proceeds going to

Imus' charity.



"I will never say anything in my lifetime that will make any of

these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they

accepted my apology and forgave me," he said.



Even after all the uproar, it appeared Imus could still draw

high-profile guests. Monday's lineup included noted presidential

historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and presidential hopefuls Chris Dodd

and John McCain.



In the end, Harrison predicted, the spotlight on Imus will simply

fade away, while the host continues "to be the equal opportunity

offender which people know he is."



"The people who are interested in this issue will lose interest in

Imus because they have bigger fish to fry," he said.



___



AP Radio correspondent Warren Levinson contributed to this report.



___



On the Net:



Citadel Broadcasting Corp:



http://www.citadelbroadcasting.com/



WABC:



http://www.wabcradio.com/

 
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