Apr 15

Why Was Don Imus Fired?

I’ve spent the past few days reading and listening to television news stories about why radio talking head Don Imus should be reprimanded for his racist and mysogenistic comments about the Rutgers University (the state university of New Jersey by the way) women’s basketball team.

If you don’t know what he said, I promise you, it’s worth reading. BUT, I feel it would be irresponsible to repeat his comments here. Put it this way — it was bad enough that his radio program was totally canceled…and he’s been on the air for around 30 years!

Very early on it was a sports story. The Rutgers University women’s basketball coach boldly objected to what Imus said. Then it went beyond just sports news to become a mainstream news story. Advertisers such as GE, TD Ameritrade, Proctor & Gamble, Sprint, General Motors, American Express, and Glaxo pulled their advertisements from the progam.

The penalties increased in severity fairly quickly. First he was to be suspended for a short period. Then for two weeks. Then NBC dropped MSNBC television coverage of his radio program. (Why on earth anyone would watch a radio program on television is beyond me. Then again, I’m not 90 years old). And today CBS announced Imus would be completely canceled effective immediately.

What’s the big deal though? Why such a big deal about the remarks of one intentionally confrontational radio personality? I am curious what you think. Why does it matter to businesspeople and American business in general that a 67 year-old talk radio shock-jock should be fired for making shocking remarks?

(I will chime in with what I think the BIG DEAL is after hearing from some of you.)
In particular, is the BIG DEAL only that advertisers pulled their money or is there a bigger, broader story here? Has something shifted in the public discourse on race and the value of women in America or is this just about big business companies and their advertising dollars?

What are NBC and CBS (and Rutgers University) telling us?

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