[BC] Imus Firing

[Rob Atkinson]

The Wall St. Journal has an interesting take on the Imus thing vis a 
vis the dilemma broadcast radio has in balancing the needs of 
advertisers, listener sensitivities and ratings.   Talent that tap 
dances on the line of acceptable behavior get large 
audiences.   "Safe" personalities do not.
Here's the text from the story....
rob atkinson


Finding a Replacement For Imus Won't Be Easy
By SARAH MCBRIDE and BRIAN STEINBERG
April 16, 2007; Page B1

The demise of disgraced radio host Don Imus would appear to create a 
prime opportunity for some other eager talent to rise up and claim 
his microphone. But in the troubled radio industry, finding popular 
new voices to fill the airwaves -- and attract advertisers in 
multiple markets -- has become a tough challenge.

CBS Corp.'s CBS Radio, where Mr. Imus was based before his firing 
last week, was already struggling to fill the void left by Howard 
Stern, the controversial host who left last year for a lucrative new 
gig at Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. Even with more than a year to 
prepare for Mr. Stern's departure, CBS's attempts to develop hit 
shows in his old time slot have fallen so flat that some of his 
replacements have already been replaced.

Meanwhile, the airwaves are filled with hosts who have made 
outrageous comments; paid for them with suspensions or firings; and 
then returned after a suitable cooling-off period.

Take Bob Lonsberry, a Rochester, N.Y.-based host who in 2003 compared 
the city's African-American mayor to a monkey and an orangutan. 
Station manager Clear Channel quickly fired him. But after months of 
lackluster ratings, the company thought better of the move and 
brought him back. In 2005, New York morning show host Miss Jones 
landed a suspension after airing a song mocking tsunami victims, but 
was soon back in her perch at her Emmis Communications Corp.-owned station.

In another instance, controversial hosts Opie and Anthony were fired 
from a Boston radio station in 1998; rehired at CBS Radio in New 
York; but again fired for airing a stunt involving a couple having 
sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral. They eventually won a gig on 
then-fledgling XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., which later made a 
deal to return them to the CBS broadcast airwaves they had been banished from.

The shortage of bankable hosts couldn't come at a worse time for the 
radio industry, which is fighting to beef up the $20 billion or so in 
advertising revenue the industry garners each year, which has been 
flat in recent years. Broadcasters face competition that didn't exist 
a few years ago -- from the Internet to satellite radio -- and some 
ad dollars are being drained away by old media that have suddenly 
become more attractive, like outdoor advertising.

One problem is radio remains a largely local medium in the eyes of 
advertisers, who often place their commercials on radio to reach 
specific groups of people in a single location.

"There are thousands of radio stations across the country, hundreds 
if not thousands of people who are on-air talent, as well as dozens 
and dozens of formats," says Sue Johenning, executive vice president 
and director of local broadcast at Initiative, a media-buying firm 
owned by Interpublic Group of Cos. "It's very difficult to find 
anybody that's going to cut across all of that spectrum," she says. 
One exception: public radio programming, which has found success 
selling underwriting to some of the country's biggest companies.

Radio also seems limited compared with glitzier rivals. Creating a 
powerful media property "is easier to do when you have sight, sound 
and motion working for you" as is the case with Web video and other 
emerging media formats, says Chris Boothe, a president at Publicis 
Groupe SA's Starcom USA, a media-buying firm. "When you have just one 
of these -- sound -- it's a much more challenging proposition to 
build a personality."

Radio has tried to combat that problem recently by becoming more 
multimedia, with live Web simulcasts of their shows and video clips 
that can be played online. Many popular radio shows run on cable 
television as well as on radio; video podcasts of shows are 
increasingly commonplace.

Regardless, the hosts who usually prove the biggest draws are often 
the ones who are most controversial. "If you are vanilla, you're not 
going to get ratings, so you've got to push the envelope," says Ira 
Berger, director of national broadcast at the Richards Group, an 
independent Dallas agency. But such personalities often attract only 
"the smaller, entrepreneurial kind of companies that couldn't care 
less if cards and letters come in," he says. Vermont Teddy Bear Co., 
for example, has advertised on Mr. Stern's show for years. "I like 
the loyal audience," says Gerry Howatt, the company's media manager.

Still, amid the dearth of radio stars, some marketers have found big 
names among niche audiences. To reach more African-American 
consumers, Procter & Gamble Co. three years ago began sponsoring host 
Tom Joyner's nationally syndicated show, which draws approximately 
eight million listeners every week in 120 markets, according to a 
spokesman for Mr. Joyner's media company, Reach Media Inc. His show 
features PG-rated humor, R&B music and socially conscious feature 
stories. He's an ardent supporter of African-American causes. P&G 
also has sponsored many of Mr. Joyner's philanthropic efforts, 
including "Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day," college scholarships 
and "Tom Joyner's Family Reunion," an annual three-day weekend of 
entertainment and seminars on health and business.

P&G has used Mr. Joyner's morning-show programming to promote several 
of its brands, including CoverGirl's Queen collection, which targets 
women with dark skin tones. The makeup line was written into the 
script of the show's mini soap opera, dubbed "It's Your World."

Whether Mr. Imus will get his return ticket punched is hard to say. 
XM and Sirius, which are in the midst of an attempted merger that 
faces a difficult regulatory path, are unlikely to court him before 
government regulators rule on their proposed combination. But some 
believe a more sensitive Mr. Imus is likely to resurface, says Tom 
Taylor, editor of Inside Radio, perhaps on cable television, perhaps 
on another radio network, or perhaps on video on demand.

"The sinners are always more interesting than the saints," says Mr. 
Taylor. "America is a place of redemption."