Imus Hires a Legal Heavyweight

The former CBS radio talk-show host has retained a high-powered lawyer. Is a lawsuit pending?

by Jon Fine

Don Imus, the most famous former radio DJ in America, has hired renowned attorney Martin Garbus.

Garbus, a partner in the Manhattan law firm Davis & Gilbert, confirmed to BusinessWeek on Apr. 20 that the deposed radio host has retained his services, but he declined to discuss why. Garbus also declined to discuss whether Imus was plotting any legal action against his former employers at CBS (CBS) and MSNBC (MSFT, GE). A brief sentence on Garbus' personal blog, late Friday afternoon, noted that Garbus "represents Don Imus in a dispute with CBS"—a sentence that was later removed from the blog.

A ferocious litigator who has received numerous media citations as one of America's leading trial lawyers, Garbus has represented clients as diverse as the comic Lenny Bruce, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Nancy Reagan, and pioneering rap group Public Enemy.

Imus, 66, could not be reached for comment.

A CBS spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter. But Imus recently signed a five-year deal with CBS, which was set to pay him just shy of $10 million annually. The company's abrupt dismissal of its high-profile star also has led to speculation in the press about what his departure will mean to the company. A spokesman for MSNBC also declined to comment.

A Quick End to a Long Career

Imus' lengthy radio career imploded in rapid and dramatic fashion after his widely criticized on-air remarks Apr. 4 about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. His characterization of the basketball players was met with public revulsion. In the fiery aftermath, a string of high-profile advertisers—including Procter & Gamble (PG), General Motors (GM), and American Express (AXP)—canceled ad buys. On Apr. 11 MSNBC announced it would stop simulcasting the program, and CBS canceled the show entirely the following day.

Imus' radio career began in 1968. In the 1970s, he launched his enormously successful "Imus in the Morning," show, which was later nationally syndicated. Eventually he carved out a unique niche in the media firmament. The show's humor was often sophomoric, and —to put it as gently as possible—ill-nuanced on matters of race and sexuality. But Imus managed to craft a media venue that became beloved by leading Beltway figures—Presidential candidates were frequent guests—and authors promoting fairly serious books.

The way in which he flitted between those cultural poles, and the influential friends who depended on his show for exposure to a massive national audience, likely helped inoculate him for a long time against accusations of racial insensitivity. In a Web-connected and thoroughly YouTube'd (GOOG) environment, though, Imus' inflammatory remarks were replayed and discussed endlessly, creating a furor that proved impossible for his employers to ignore.

Fine is BusinessWeek's MediaCentric columnist and Fine On Media blogger .