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(AP) - CBS fired Don Imus from his radio show Thursday,
the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most
prominent broadcasters.

      Imus initially was given a two-week suspension, to start Monday,
for calling the Rutgers women's basketball team "nappy-headed
hos" on the air last week, but outrage continued to grow and
advertisers bolted from his programs.

      "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," CBS President and Chief
Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision.
"That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we
made our decision."

      Rutgers women's basketball team spokeswoman Stacey Brann said
the team did not have an immediate comment on Imus' firing but
would be issuing a statement later Thursday evening.

      Time Magazine once named the cantankerous broadcaster as one of
the 25 Most Influential People in America, and he was a member of
the National Broadcaster Hall of Fame.

      But Imus found himself at the center of a storm after his
comments. Protests ensued, and one by one, sponsors pulled their
ads from Imus' show. On Wednesday, MSNBC dropped the simulcast of
Imus' show.

      The Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson met with Moonves to
advocate Imus' removal, promising a rally outside CBS headquarters
Saturday and an effort to persuade more advertisers to abandon
Imus.

      Sumner Redstone, chairman of the CBS Corp. board and its chief
stockholder, told Newsweek that he had expected Moonves to "do the
right thing," although it wasn't clear what he thought that was.

      The news came down in the middle of Imus' Radiothon, which has
raised more than $40 million since 1990 for good causes. The
Radiothon had raised more than $1.3 million Thursday before Imus
learned that he lost his job.

      "This may be our last Radiothon, so we need to raise about $100
million," Imus cracked at the start of the event.

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CBS fired Don Imus from his radio show Thursday,
the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters.
Don Imus's inflammatory remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team provoked a storm of protest and a round of apologies -- which weren't enough to save his job.

Don Imus's inflammatory remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team have provoked a storm of protest and a round of apologies. Midmorning examines the line crossed by Imus, and why similar comments are still tolerated in some forms of media.

CBS fires Don Imus

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