Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Radio Host Is Suspended Over Racial Remarks

This article is about radio host Don Imus. He was suspended for two weeks yesterday after the outcry over his racially disparaging remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. NBC news which does a simulcast broadcast of Mr. Imus's radio program was the first to act in susupending him. They called his comments racist and abhorrent. NBC also served a notice yesterday that the would not tolerate insensitive remarks in the future. Mr. Imus had promised to change the tenor, or tone of the show and had agreed that the suspension was appropriate. NBC stated that their future relationship with Imus is his contingent on his ability to live up to his word.

Mr. Imus also said he wanted to try to see id they'll forgive me and if there is something that can be established here that I can do to begin to build something positive out of this. Mr. Al Sharpton came on his show yesterday and and called for Mr. Imus to be fired, threatening to initiate a boycott of sponsors, and demanding that the FCC take action agains him and radio stations that carry his program. The “Imus in the Morning” program is popular in New York, where it reaches about a half million listeners on the radio station WFAN. Mr. Imus is an employee of CBS, but WFAN is the only CBS station to carry the program.
His suspension will not begin on Monday because Mr. Imus had scheduled a telethon to benefit research into a cure for sudden infant death syndrome and neither outlet wanted to hurt that cause.
Mr. Imus has been known for showing a pattern of racially charged remarks. He also stated in his apology that his remarks was an attempt at humor that had failed miserably.

My opinion on this guy is that he is a jerk. I personally didn't know who he was until this whole thing came undone. My father, and I were watching the news together yesterday, and he knew this guy before he even came on the news. My dad said he is a jerk that needed to be fired 10 years ago. My thoughts are if you are going to say something like that then you better have a good reason for saying it. To me he sounds like a racist pig who just wanted attention. However even though he does charity for cancer organzations that still doens't give him the power or even leverage to say something like that. Now I truly understand Al Sharpton's point of view, but I don't think that there was any reason at all for him to be caught in the mix. I can honestly say now that I really understand in broadcasting that everything you say is very important and critical, and needs to be dealt with like that. I also think that the two week suspension is not going to do anything for him. His track record is not that great and this has not been the first time that he has said something like this.
What does this say about our media? That some guy on a radio broadcasting show can get on there and not get fired. I think that NBC should have zero tolerance for that kind of garbage. It could be as easy as saying if you say those things then you are fired. Hopefully this will be the last time he says something like that. There is no need to bring race or color in to this situation. We are all the same thing which is human beings. I don't know why he feels like he needs to resort to being racist. One day soon, I am sure he will get his.

You can read the article here :
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/business/media/10imus.html?_r=1&ref=media&oref=slogin

4 comments:

Andrea Vrai said...

Imus, who is a shock-jock, finally shocked enough to create some publicity...so why do I care? Despite its politically correct undercurrent America is still a free country. I am not one of his advertising sponsors and I don't care about his misogyny. Acting offended when an idiot with a microphone says something inflammatory is silly. Imus was just trying to get noticed and make a buck.

Tink86 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tink86 said...

I don't know much about Don Imus, but from what I have heard and read I don't quite like him. The guy is as old as dirt and looks like somebody stuck a head on a corpse. He has no room to make comments like that. Giving to charity won't cover up the mistake he made. He's a racist spick and I believe he shouldn't even be on the air anymore.

leonne said...

Well, as for me, I think this has already been over publicized already. My comment is to say that, poor Imus better have made some good investments. His broadcast career is over. You can only hang on to your bigoted ideas and comments for so long. And his has finally caught up with him. I think that there will be others to follow. Imagine that! he has probably set a precedent for people and minority groups to look out and publically speak up for themselves. If not only rude and perhaps ignorant, who is he to say or comment on the likes and livelyhood of others. Maybe and just maybe we can harshly comment on him....and I mean harshly, and then just apologize. I just wonder what his response and comments would be to that situation. Maybe we should ask people to remember and instill in their minds; once you have said it aloud. You can't take it back.......