CBS Drops Imus Radio Show Over Racial Remark

Bill Carter and Jaques Steinberg
The New York Times
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Story
The Summary: After about a week of media hoopla, Don Imus gets the boot, completely, from everyone for making sexist and racist comments about the Rutgers' women's basketball team.

So, I know that this story has been developing for the last week, but I didn't know much about it. I didn't even know who Don Imus was, to tell you the truth. I had to do some backgrounding to figure out who he was, and why he was significant enough to matter. So, for everyone like me, who has no idea who he is, I give you Don Imus: a mini biography (courtesy of Wikipedia)

John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. (born July 23, 1940) is an American comedian, writer, and radio talk show host, best known for his sarcasm and often harsh language. His popular radio show, Imus in the Morning, aired weekday mornings until it was canceled on April 12, 2007[1] following a controversy stemming from comments he made on air which were perceived by some to be racist and sexist.

Imus began as a radio disc jockey in 1966 at radio station KUTY in Palmdale, California after hearing the morning disc-jockey. He immediately walked over to the nearby station and convinced the owner to hire him, saying he could do a better job. At the time he was a brakeman on the Southern Pacific Railroad. He stayed at the station for about two years,[6] leaving in 1968 for a move to KXOA in Sacramento, California. His on-air pranks, such as calling up a restaurant and ordering 1200 hamburgers, made his show immensely popular and boosted ratings.

In 1977, WNBC fired Imus for his cocaine and vodka habits and unprofessionalism; he had missed a hundred days of work in one year.[citation needed]Imus then went to work in Cleveland and cleaned up his act. In 1978, Imus commuted between Cleveland and New York to tape a TV talk show, Imus Plus at WNEW-TV. (The show was nationally syndicated by Metromedia, which owned WNEW at the time). Imus was reinstated in September 1979 as WNBC's morning drive time host.

From 1982 to 1985, the station also employed talk-radio host Howard Stern, and WNBC heavily promoted the pair in print and television ads, which often featured the slogan "If We Weren't So Bad, We Wouldn't Be That Good." Although Stern's show aired later in the day, Imus and Stern often made brief appearances on each other's shows, giving the audience an occasional glimpse of an on- and off-air rivalry that continues to this day.

Now that we're all caught up to speed (is it bad that I'd never heard of the guy until he was fired?) Should this guy have been fired? Personally, I think so. But... there's the First Ammendment. He didn't say anything that would be classified as obscene. It seems like the comment is stated as opinion, and opinion, no matter how wrong, isn't false. Between the First Ammendment and the FCC, Mr. Imus made no infraction.

But I still thing MSNBC and CBS Radio did the right thing. That kind of biggotry can't happen in this country. Mr. Imus just might have a First Ammendment case against them, not that he would win. The First Ammendment only works when one has something intellegent to say. Mr. Imus made his career by saying something stupid. A lot.