- All it takes is a good lawyer
The big news today is about shock jock Don Imus returning to radio, starting Dec. 3, but none of this would be happening were it not for Martin Garbus, a partner at Davis & Gilbert who Imus hired last spring to handle his dispute with CBS. A tough-as-nails litigator, Garbus has a client list that’s included Lenny Bruce, Michael Bloomberg, Nancy Reagan, and Public Enemy. Imus, of course, had been fired from CBS because of his not-so-polite comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team, but Garbus threatened to sue over his dismissal. Terms of the settlement were not announced, but the rumble is that Imus received $20 million - amazing when you think about the ruckus he stirred up. And now, he'll make millions more in his deal with Citadel Broadcasting's WABC (plus syndication through ABC Radio Networks). Here's a session Garbus had last May with CNN's Anderson Cooper:
COOPER: CBS claimed that it fired Imus because he violated the just cause portion of the contract. I want to read part of it to our viewers, which says that Imus could be terminated, if, and I quote, "any on-air use by artists of any distasteful or offensive words or phrases, the broadcast of which the company believes would not be in the public interest." It also states that any act by the artist which offends the community or brings outrage or offends the community or brings the company into public disrepute is also just cause. So why are you saying they don't have cause?
GARBUS: Well, the contract says something else. You've picked out two sentences. The rest of the contract says that the company, CBS, is familiar with the reviews and comments that Imus has gotten, both favorable and unfavorable, that it wants him to be extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial, and deal with personal character, and that they know the kind of show that he's done in the past, and they want him to continue the kind of show that he's done in the future. So that what you have here, those little clauses, try and just muddy up the water. CBS has said two things today. First, they have tried to bring up those other clauses. And, secondly, what they said today is they didn't have a delayed button or a bump button on the Imus show.
COOPER: Well, MSNBC has said that they didn't have a delay button. I don't think CBS has said anything about that, to my knowledge.
GARBUS: No, CBS today said that they didn't have a delay button. Now, the fact is, as your reporter just pointed out, they had a delay button. They used the delay button with respect to Chris Matthews, and they could have used the delay button also with respect to Imus, both on MSNBC and on CBS. So what happened was, CBS heard the remarks, knew it was OK, because he's been saying that before, didn't say anything to him in day one, day two, day three, day four. Then, controversy starts. They fire him, ultimately, 15 days later. Now, the contract says he has to be fired within five days, and the reason for that is CBS knew that what he said did not breach the contract.
COOPER: And are you -- if this ever did go to court, would you basically go back to old Imus episodes and show times that he said similar words or those exact same words?
GARBUS: Of course. Their contract says they know what he does. They want him to do it. Listen, Imus is a unique talent. He had an extraordinarily broad demographic. He spoke to President Clinton. He spoke to Bush. He spoke to McCain. He spoke to Kerry. He also had another demographic, which got him a very wide audience that paid attention to other issues. In that, he really was unique, with respect to the depth of the audience that would tune in, with the depth of the audience that would buy products. And that's why he's such a substantial portion of CBS's income.
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| 02:15 PM Nov 1, 2007 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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