Imus hopes radiothon is easy as 'ABC
By DAVID HINCKLEY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, May 7th 2008, 4:00 AM
Last year, Don Imus got fired halfway through his telethon.
When Don Imus launches his annual charity radiothon tomorrow, he has
at least two specific goals: 1) raise a lot of money and 2) stay
employed for the radiothon's full two days.
Last year, radio fans will remember, he met only one of those goals.
He was fired from WFAN (660 AM) after the first day, as a result of
the unrelated firestorm over his earlier comments on the Rutgers
women's basketball team.
He's now on WABC (770 AM), where the radiothon will run tomorrow and
Friday, 6-10 a.m., with his usual 6-9 a.m. simulcast on RFD-TV.
The beneficiaries, as in the past, will be the Tomorrows Children's
Fund, the CJ Foundation for sudden infant death syndrome and the Imus
Ranch for Kids With Cancer.
Now in its 19th year, the radiothon has raised more than $40 million,
and Joel Hollander, who founded the CJ Foundation with his wife,
Susan, after their daughter, Carly Jenna, died of SIDS, says it has
made tangible differences.
"When we started the foundation, there were more than 8,000 SIDS
deaths a year," Hollander says.
"We launched a nationwide education campaign, among other things, and
now it's less than 4,000 a year. We have saved lives."
Similarly, notes Hollander, the Tomorrows Children Fund has helped
make Hackensack University Medical Center one of the premier hospitals
in the country for children with cancer, and the Imus Ranch hosts
dozens of children a year under the personal supervision of Imus and
his wife, Deirdre.
The radiothon will be a little different on WABC than WFAN, primarily
because it won't be picked up by other hosts through the day. Since
most WABC hosts are nationally syndicated, explains program director
Phil Boyce, "It just doesn't work out."
But WABC will have Eric Hastings do "drop-ins" three times an hour all
day, promoting the radiothon and giving the 800 number for donations.
The RFD audience is also a wild card, but clearly is a factor. Imus
says the staff has been exploring whether they can install a
mechanical bull outside his studio near Penn Station for the next two
days.
Perhaps ironically, notes Hollander, last year's radiothon set an all-
time record for donations.
"Because of everything that was going on, and the publicity, and some
people being angry, we raised more money than ever," Hollander says.
"The charities did really well."
This year, he says, it's harder to predict what to expect. He notes
the assistance from WFAN in past years, and the work by WFAN hosts
like Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, while also praising WABC for
taking on the commitment now.
Imus, meanwhile, has been coordinating corporate sponsors and the rest
of the pre-show logistics while keeping focused on his own goals.
"I am pumped," he says, "about the prospect of keeping my job for the
duration of the radiothon."
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