• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 13, 2007

CBS Radio fired Don Imus late Thursday afternoon, just minutes after the maligned Rutgers basketball players appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show. The announcement from CBS radio brought a sudden close to a week-long media drama that saw one of America's most popular radio personalities universally reviled, and ultimately, dethroned.

In an official statement CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves explained: "From the outset, I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air about the young women who represented Rutgers University in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship with such class, energy and talent." Moonves added: "In our meetings with concerned groups, 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."

The team's appearance on Winfrey's talk show was the biggest PR blow yet for Imus, who has reaped a negative publicity whirlwind after referring to them as "nappy-headed hos" during his April 4 broadcast. Imus is set to apologize to the team in person in the very near future--but it was clearly too little, too late.

Although the timing could be a simple coincidence, Winfrey is an arbiter of good taste and social propriety for millions of loyal female viewers. And Winfrey, who has long made racial reconciliation one of her overarching themes, could only find the shock jock's comments anathema.

Beyond illustrating America's evolving social sensibilities, the Imus controversy also proved how quickly advertisers and media companies can maneuver in the age of Internet pundits and blogger backlash. On Wednesday, MSNBC announced it would drop its simulcast of Imus effective immediately, knocking out the TV leg of his distribution platform. Most of the show's major advertisers had also bailed by Wednesday, with Staples, Bigelow Teas, American Express, GM, Procter & Gamble and Sprint running for cover.

Winfrey said the Rutgers team enjoyed "the support of the American people."