Howie Carr returns, and Imus looms

Welcomed by a red carpet, donuts, and a clip from a Perry Como song, bombastic radio host Howie Carr blasted back onto the airwaves after abandoning a four-month long legal battle to leave his afternoon show on WRKO, even as the station that he wanted to jump to welcomed controversial host Don Imus back to their morning line-up.

That means that after months of turmoil that started when "Imus in the Morning" was pulled off the air when its host made derogatory remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team, the Boston talk radio scene will be completely unchanged.

Yesterday at 3 p.m., with an "I'm baaaack," Carr returned to his old slot on WRKO. He told listeners he had spent his time off at jury duty in Dedham, visiting his 102-year-old father in North Carolina, renewing his passport, and going to the dentist.

WRKO heralded Carr's return by changing its homepage to a photo of Howie, and posting a countdown to his show.

Listeners called to welcome Carr back, honking their horns on-air or just telling him, "Thank God, I'll make it through another Maine winter."

While Carr was basking in the warm welcome back, WTKK announced that starting on Dec. 3 at 6 a.m., Imus' syndicated show will return to its morning drive-time slot -- which WTKK had been holding open for Carr. After its return, Imus will normally run from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays.

"We wanted [Howie] very very much to be our morning guy," but supported his decision to do what was best for him, said Phil Redo, vice president and market manager of Greater Media Boston, the parent company of WTKK. "We're counting on Imus to live up to what he himself has said he is going to do -- change the show and make the show better."

At WRKO, there seemed to be no hard feelings.

"They've welcomed me back with open arms," Carr said. "They must have spent 69 cents getting this red carpet behind me -- I'm getting the red carpet treatment."

It didn't take the radio host and Boston Herald columnist long to get back into his groove, calling the Cambridge City Council a "motley crew of moonbats" within his first hour on the air.

Imus' return may be more controversial, depending on how much his new show resembles the old one, which mixed political commentary with offensive banter.

"We in the church are in the business of redemption," said Reverend Martin McLee of the Union United Methodist Church in the South End. "I hope that he has in some way been renewed and hope that he comes back with some intelligence and maybe even a program that is helpful and not hurtful and harmful, like his previous programs were."
(By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe staff)