CBS fires Don Imus over racist remarks

[cochrane]

I know there is already an Imus thread in Cafe Society here, but since this is breaking news, perhaps I may be permitted to start a new thread. To go over the chronology: Imus calls Rutgers women basketball players “nappy-headed hos,” MSNBC and CBS place Imus on suspension for two weeks, Imus goes on air with Al Sharpton, Rutgers team holds press conference, sponsors leave in droves, MSNBC cancels simulcast of Imus’ radio show.

Today, CBS has dropped Imus’ show permanently.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=3035981

Don Imus’ racist remarks got him fired by CBS on Thursday, the finale to a stunning fall for one of the nation’s most prominent broadcasters.

“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,” CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision. “That consideration has weighed most heavily on our minds as we made our decision.”

In addition to loss of sponsorship, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham announced that the magazine’s staffers would no longer appear on Imus’ program. Other high-profile guests such as Senator Barack Obama said they no longer accept invitations to appear on Imus’ program.

I think CBS had no choice but to fire him. It’s one thing to lose advertisers, but when prospective guests decline to appear on a program, it loses its entire purpose.

[Menocchio]

At long last, history’s greatest monster has been silenced.

[Hilarity_N.Suze]

When I first read about this I thought it was a bit harsh. I mean, this is a guy who’s as famous as he is mainly because he goes right along the edge, and that’s what brought him his audience, and that’s what brought him his sponsors. So he stepped over it.

But then I thought about what he said, and walking the edge is one thing, but there’s really only one circumstance where what he said would be forgivable. And that is if his daughter was on the team playing against Rutgers for the championship, and he had a large bet on the game, and Rutgers stomped them, particularly humiliating his daughter in their effort…and he made the remark in his living room in the company of a few invited guests or the presence of his family only.

So. Buh-by, I-Man.

[Loach]

@Hilarity N. Suze

When I first read about this I thought it was a bit harsh. I mean, this is a guy who’s as famous as he is mainly because he goes right along the edge, and that’s what brought him his audience, and that’s what brought him his sponsors. So he stepped over it.

But then I thought about what he said, and walking the edge is one thing, but there’s really only one circumstance where what he said would be forgivable. And that is if his daughter was on the team playing against Rutgers for the championship, and he had a large bet on the game, and Rutgers stomped them, particularly humiliating his daughter in their effort…and he made the remark in his living room in the company of a few invited guests or the presence of his family only.

So. Buh-by, I-Man.

I’ve stayed out of all of these threads so far but I’ll just say I could not disagree with you more.

[Rick]

@Menocchio

At long last, history’s greatest monster has been silenced.

Don Imus is a greater monster than Hitler?
Greater than Stalin?
:rolleyes:
Or is there a loud whooshing noise I hear?

I have not participated in any of the Imus threads until now. I used to travel to the East Coast and the Hotel would have a TV channel that carried Imus’ TV show (just a camera in the corner of the radio studio) All the times I watched / listened to his show, I never heard him say anything funny or particularly relevant. IMHO this guy’s 15 minutes was up years ago.
I think this was a mercy killing.

[Dr.Rieux]

At last, the real world is enforcing the same rule this board has always enforced–Don’t Be a Jerk.

[lissener]

Interesting perspective.

[Hilarity_N.Suze]

@Loach

I’ve stayed out of all of these threads so far but I’ll just say I could not disagree with you more.

You don’t think it would be forgivable under the circumstances I outlined, or you don’t think the punishment was harsh?

[Gentle_Robot]

@Loach

I’ve stayed out of all of these threads so far but I’ll just say I could not disagree with you more.

Someone who essentially makes money off controversy gets bitten by the hand that feeds him. :rolleyes:
If they wanted Mr. Rogers to do the radio show, they would have hired Mr. Rogers.

[Liberal]

@Menocchio

At long last, history’s greatest monster has been silenced.

Greater than Howard Cossel? I think not, sir or madam!

[Shirley_Ujest]

I think that MSNBC was looking for a reason to get rid of him.

[Zakalwe]

@Shirley Ujest

I think that MSNBC was looking for a reason to get rid of him.

You may be right. That whole “kicking CNN’s ass every morning” thing was probably getting old.

[Rilchiam]

Okay, the governor of NJ was hurt in a car crash, and they’re calling it “critical.” I’ve known that for a few hours, but I’m just now finding out that he was en route to the meeting between Imus and the Rutgers team. :eek: :smack: :dubious:

Apologies if that’s being discussed in other threads.

[control-z]

What sort of other racist and/or offensive things has Imus said?

[Nutty_Bunny]

Obviously, what Imus said was absolutely unacceptable. And I think to let it go unpunished would be the wrong thing to do. We’re trying to live in a civilized society and if we allow broadcasters or anyone else in the public eye say hateful things like that, it makes it okay for everyone to do it.

I think that the suspension was a good idea. He was essentially put in adult “time out”, which showed everyone that what he did was unacceptable. Fine. But he was fired. That was harsh, but I do realize that it’s a business and if they were losing advertisers, then what are they supposed to do?

My brother went through a similar situation a couple of years ago in Chicago when he said something racially insensitive on the air. There was only one complaint call, but he was fired. He was the highest-rated Top-40 DJ in his timeslot and his bosses were really happy when he was rude on the air. That’s why he was hired! Hes was always good at walking that fine line between “shock jock” and “insensitive asshole”. But our dad had just died and he took it really hard and lost his inner-censor. His firing wasn’t about advertisers, so I don’t think even he knew why the punishment was so harsh.

He’s obviously seriously pissed about Imus’ firing, but his complaint is that “there’s no loyalty”. Well, that’s business.

[Northern_Piper]

@control-z

What sort of other racist and/or offensive things has Imus said?

Check out this article from the Baltimore Chronicle / FAIR: Racism Is to Be Expected From Don Imus - CBS, NBC, media pundits complicit in talk host’s bigotry.

FAIR and others have documented numerous instances of Imus and his on-air colleagues expressing overt racism and other forms of bigotry. Imus himself has referred to African-American journalist Gwen Ifill as “a cleaning lady,” to New York Times sports reporter Bill Rhoden as “quota hire” and to tennis player Amelie Mauresmo as “a big old lesbo.” Imus called Washington Post reporter Howard Kurtz a “boner-nosed… beanie-wearing Jewboy,” referred to a disabled colleague as “the cripple,” and to an Indian men’s tennis duo as “Gunga Din and Sambo.” In Imus’ words, the New York Knicks are “chest-thumping pimps.”

Imus’ on again/off again sidekick Sid Rosenberg was temporarily fired in 2001 for calling tennis player Venus Williams an “animal” and remarking that the Williams sisters—Venus and her tennis player sister Serena—would more likely be featured in National Geographic than in Playboy. Rosenberg insisted to New York’s Daily News (6/7/01) that his comments weren’t racist, “just zoological.” In 2004, MSNBC had to apologize when the rehired Rosenberg referred to Palestinians as “stinking animals.”

In May 2005, MSNBC let Contessa Brewer out of her short stint as a news reader on Imus’ morning show after Imus had made a daily game of crude personal attacks against her, calling her a pig, a skank, dumber than dirt and other similar felicities, all on air. MSNBC claimed they “expressed their displeasure” to the host (New York Post, 5/1/05), while noting that his “humor” was “often brilliant and provocative.”

In his most recent racist outburst, on April 4, Imus called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos,” just moments after sidekick and executive producer Bernard McGuirk (the “nigger jokes” hire) called them “hard-core hos.” The Rutgers team, which recently played in the national championship finals, is made up of eight African-American women and two white women.

If you click on the two links in this quote, you’ll get even more details on past bigoted comments on air by Imus & Co.

[cosmosdan]

@control-z

What sort of other racist and/or offensive things has Imus said?

Someone in another thread posted a list from Wiki if you want to look it up. He has made other way out of line racist comments and gotten other complaints and supposedly promised to clean up his act in that area. IMHO he should be fired.

I support free speech but that kind of bullshit from a national media figure deserves mores than an “oops, my bad” especially when he has a history of such remarks.

[cosmosdan]

@Nutty Bunny

Obviously, what Imus said was absolutely unacceptable. And I think to let it go unpunished would be the wrong thing to do. We’re trying to live in a civilized society and if we allow broadcasters or anyone else in the public eye say hateful things like that, it makes it okay for everyone to do it.

I think that the suspension was a good idea. He was essentially put in adult “time out”, which showed everyone that what he did was unacceptable. Fine. But he was fired. That was harsh, but I do realize that it’s a business and if they were losing advertisers, then what are they supposed to do?

My brother went through a similar situation a couple of years ago in Chicago when he said something racially insensitive on the air. There was only one complaint call, but he was fired. He was the highest-rated Top-40 DJ in his timeslot and his bosses were really happy when he was rude on the air. That’s why he was hired! Hes was always good at walking that fine line between “shock jock” and “insensitive asshole”. But our dad had just died and he took it really hard and lost his inner-censor. His firing wasn’t about advertisers, so I don’t think even he knew why the punishment was so harsh.

He’s obviously seriously pissed about Imus’ firing, but his complaint is that “there’s no loyalty”. Well, that’s business.

I think a single offense should be resolved with an on air apology and life goes on. That wasn’t the case at all with Imus. When I saw the list of his other remarks I thought. “What an incredible dickhead”

[I_m_No_Saint]

Just another case of the media blowing something way out of proportion. I’m pretty sure Imus will find a new home somewhere else in a few months.

[Wile_E]

In his most recent racist outburst, on April 4, Imus called the Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos,” just moments after sidekick and executive producer Bernard McGuirk (the “nigger jokes” hire) called them “hard-core hos.”

I haven’t been following these threads either but I read the original transcript and thought Imus was spurred on by someone else making the “ho” comment. So has that other guy been fired, too? Or is it okay to just make sexist remarks as long as they don’t cross the line into racist, too?

Whatever happened to people going into rehab for this kinda crap anyway?