• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, October 5, 2007

Don Imus, the man accused of being radio's best-known racist, is returning to the airwaves courtesy of Citadel Broadcasting, according to a report in Newsday. A spokesperson for Citadel Broadcasting didn't return calls on Thursday seeking to confirm the report.

Citadel's flagship station, WABC in New York City, is a likely candidate to host the new Imus program. Imus was one of the most popular talk radio hosts in the country before being fired by CBS in April for referring to the Rutgers' women's basketball team on-air as "nappy-headed hos."

Imus later met with the Rutgers team to apologize in person. One of the players, Kia Vaughn, filed a lawsuit against Imus accusing him of previous defamation. The suit was dropped in September.

In August, Imus himself settled with CBS out of court for a rumored $20 million after threatening to bring a lawsuit against his ex-employer for breach of contract. The shock jock's lawyer, First Amendment expert Martin Garbus, argued that CBS had, in essence, hired him to be offensive and also approved the comments for broadcast. (The show was on a several-second delay.)

After Imus' disparaging comments about the Rutgers' players, all major advertisers withdrew from his CBS radio show and the TV simulcast on MSNBC. Advertisers that fled the PR meltdown included Staples Inc., Bigelow Teas, Procter & Gamble, GM, Sprint and American Express. It remains to be seen whether they will return to Imus at his new roost.