Is the career of Don Imus over in radio...? Any chance of a come back..?

Question

Caught in a Wildfire, Light Goes Out for Imus
Flying Solo Past the Point of No Return
By DAVID CARR, The New York Times
News Analysis

(April 13) - For a few days, it seemed as if Don Imus would somehow pull out of the death spiral. After all, once he came under fire, Mr. Imus said he was sorry for the racial insult, said he was sorry again and then began a week of penance, raising money on his own show for sick kids and turning up at various other microphones to renew his apology.

The Rutgers women's basketball team released a statement Friday, saying they "are in the process of forgiving" Don Imus for insulting them on the air.

But even as he went through the ritual of public mortification, his backers began to see what he did not: the drumbeat was not going to stop. The controversy metastasized and by Monday, the media began to lock and load. Mr. Imus, who had shrugged off the initial criticism last week, was fighting for survival.

“All the elements were there,” said James Carville, the political consultant who has appeared on the show and has seen a few stories blow up in his time. “You had some dry brush, gasoline, high winds, no rain and low humidity and before you know it, man, it was a wildfire.”

The toxicity of Mr. Imus’s remark, the innocence of his targets, and his refusal to put down the shovel — he dug himself deeper just about every time he opened his mouth — made last night’s decision by CBS to end his show seem almost inevitable. Disparate media imperatives were at work, but they converged and whipsawed into a self-sustaining frenzy.

Answer 1

Imus isn’t the real bad guy
Instead of wasting time on irrelevant shock jock, black leaders need to be fighting a growing gangster culture.
By JASON WHITLOCK - Columnist

Thank you, Don Imus. You’ve given us (black people) an excuse to avoid our real problem.

You’ve given Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson another opportunity to pretend that the old fight, which is now the safe and lucrative fight, is still the most important fight in our push for true economic and social equality.

You’ve given Vivian Stringer and Rutgers the chance to hold a nationally televised recruiting celebration expertly disguised as a news conference to respond to your poor attempt at humor.

Thank you, Don Imus. You extended Black History Month to April, and we can once again wallow in victimhood, protest like it’s 1965 and delude ourselves into believing that fixing your hatred is more necessary than eradicating our self-hatred.

The bigots win again.

While we’re fixated on a bad joke cracked by an irrelevant, bad shock jock, I’m sure at least one of the marvelous young women on the Rutgers basketball team is somewhere snapping her fingers to the beat of 50 Cent’s or Snoop Dogg’s or Young Jeezy’s latest ode glorifying nappy-headed pimps and hos.

I ain’t saying Jesse, Al and Vivian are gold-diggas, but they don’t have the heart to mount a legitimate campaign against the real black-folk killas.

It is us. At this time, we are our own worst enemies. We have allowed our youths to buy into a culture (hip hop) that has been perverted, corrupted and overtaken by prison culture. The music, attitude and behavior expressed in this culture is anti-black, anti-education, demeaning, self-destructive, pro-drug dealing and violent.

Rather than confront this heinous enemy from within, we sit back and wait for someone like Imus to have a slip of the tongue and make the mistake of repeating the things we say about ourselves.

It’s embarrassing. Dave Chappelle was offered $50 million to make racially insensitive jokes about black and white people on TV. He was hailed as a genius. Black comedians routinely crack jokes about white and black people, and we all laugh out loud.

I’m no Don Imus apologist. He and his tiny companion Mike Lupica blasted me after I fell out with ESPN. Imus is a hack.

But, in my view, he didn’t do anything outside the norm for shock jocks and comedians. He also offered an apology. That should’ve been the end of this whole affair. Instead, it’s only the beginning. It’s an opportunity for Stringer, Jackson and Sharpton to step on victim platforms and elevate themselves and their agenda$.

I watched the Rutgers news conference and was ashamed.

Martin Luther King Jr. spoke for eight minutes in 1963 at the March on Washington. At the time, black people could be lynched and denied fundamental rights with little thought. With the comments of a talk-show host most of her players had never heard of before last week serving as her excuse, Vivian Stringer rambled on for 30 minutes about the amazing season her team had.

Somehow, we’re supposed to believe that the comments of a man with virtually no connection to the sports world ruined Rutgers’ wonderful season. Had a broadcaster with credibility and a platform in the sports world uttered the words Imus did, I could understand a level of outrage.

But an hourlong press conference over a man who has already apologized, already been suspended and is already insignificant is just plain intellectually dishonest. This is opportunism. This is a distraction.

In the grand scheme, Don Imus is no threat to us in general and no threat to black women in particular. If his words are so powerful and so destructive and must be rebuked so forcefully, then what should we do about the idiot rappers on BET, MTV and every black-owned radio station in the country who use words much more powerful and much more destructive?

I don’t listen or watch Imus’ show regularly. Has he at any point glorified selling crack cocaine to black women? Has he celebrated black men shooting each other randomly? Has he suggested in any way that it’s cool to be a baby-daddy rather than a husband and a parent? Does he tell his listeners that they’re suckers for pursuing education and that they’re selling out their race if they do?

When Imus does any of that, call me and I’ll get upset. Until then, he is what he is — a washed-up shock jock who is very easy to ignore when you’re not looking to be made a victim.

No. We all know where the real battleground is. We know that the gangsta rappers and their followers in the athletic world have far bigger platforms to negatively define us than some old white man with a bad radio show. There’s no money and lots of danger in that battle, so Jesse and Al are going to sit it out.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call [phone] or send e-mail to [e-mail]. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com

Answer 2

I think CBS did what most company's should do when an employee continues to get beside himself. I've been in meetings where a colleague repeatedly made racial comments about others, and if this type of behavior catches on, where would our organization be today?

Generally, this kind of termination is done by companies all the time, it's just that Imus is in the public eye, therefore his firing was too. You know there are laws in the US on this type of behavior, and the courses of action that an empoyer (CBS) must take to rectify this kind of matter.

You and I don't know what CBS has gone through in the past regarding this man's behavior. Imus may have already been at the end of the rope, and that this was the final straw. Who knows what went on behind the scenes before this incident???

Answer 3

I would like to see him back because his interviews were unique. If you look at the whole body of work he did, he is not the irrelevant shock jock many see him as. He had unique things on that show that are not available elsewhere.

What he said was wrong. But I think that where he was coming from reflects bad judgment not ingrained bigotry. He wasn't selling the idea. He made a flip comment which was in bad taste. It was based on words he heard elsewhere that (I suspect) he had heard enough that he thought it was 'in bounds'. No one should get shot for that.

As someone said, "if we hold our comedians to the same bar as politicians we will have no more comedians".

I don't think he will be back. He's worth millions, is looking at 70 and has a lot of other things to do.

BTW, the above post by FortyTipper has a quote that should be framed. The only thing I dont agree with was that Imus was a irrivant shock jock. Aside from that, he hit the bulls eye.

Answer 4

I think Don Imus could have gotten away with an apology if this type of thing hadn't already been done before. I mean Mel Gibson and the guy from Sienfeld. His statements are just the straw that broke the camel's back so to speak. An apology just wasn't going to cut it this time.
As a black woman, of course I am offended by his remarks.But he has a right to his feelings. He claims he is not a racist but remarks like that make it hard to believe.
He has every right to be stupid. As a comedian Ron White says "You can't fix stupid. stupid is forever."

Answer 5

He'll be back. All of these people come back. It doesn't matter what they say, eventually someone will hire them just because he is controversial, and everyone will be listening to him again until next time. He already took a step toward it when he apologized to the team yesterday and they accepted the apology. In a year this will all have blown over, and he'll get picked up by someone again. It always happens.

I don't intend that as a comment on whether or not he SHOULD be allowed back, but I would almost bet that he will. You cannot get rid of celebrities that easily, even radio ones.

Answer 6

I've heard his show a few times and his format never really appealed to me. Could care less if he's back on the radio, although I do think it was wrong that he was kicked off the air for one comment. Some people let there mouth run without thinking, and that is why he apologized, too bad some people can't accept that.

Answer 7

No he will be back. XM or the Stern Network. I was never a fan of these two but under these circumstances I hope Imus Comes back big!!! This Racist society that marched on CBS will lose. We will not buy your pressures much longer Al and Jesse My Generation is done with your "You owe us" attidute. Get a job based on merit join society and become AN AMERICAN. Not the 1 way street that you feel you are owed!

Answer 8

I don' think so. With all those politicians behind him, the man is likely to be offered a job again (perhaps with an even bigger salary). On Daily News, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani said that people should forgive and forget. Plus, his show raked in so much money. He may be a racist idiot but he is a shock jock whose job is or was to say something controversial. Although, this time, he did go too far.

Answer 9

When you weigh what Imus said against some of the things Sharpton and Jackson have said and against the language rappers use, Imus was a wuss. He will sit quiet for a while, then somebody will pick him up and promote the hell out of him. He'll be back.

Answer 10

So many people are lamenting over the firing of Don Imus. But, have you given thought about the many books that he is now at leisure to write. With his many life experiences, they are bound to be best sellers. Don't be so quick to write him off. There is more than one way to give a tongue lashing!