Don Imus got fired. Dumb insensitive comments.
Not only was his firing the end of his show and employment, it was a tombstone for independent thinking in mainstream media. When ABC fired Bill Maher and cancelled his show Politically Incorrect, for his agreeing with a guests' comments about terrorists it was merely a warning shot. We were being warned that when confronted with controversy big companies run away. Was there really much doubt that the owner of ABC, in this case Disney, which may well perceive itself as the most virginal brand in the world would cancel the show ?
When Imus's comments became the media's solution to the hole created by the resolution of Danny Lynn's paternity it reached a fatal level of ubiquitous public awareness One look at the stakeholders in his show and it was obvious what his fate would be.
CBS, owns the Imus radio show. It is a very large public company controlled by 84 year old Sumner Redstone. Mr Redstone is also the same person that fired Tom Cruise for letting his personal views get in the way of the Mission Impossible 3 box office.
MSNBC, the cable TV network that hosted the Imus show is controlled by another huge corporation, General Electric.IMHO, anyone who thinks the decision to cut the Imus show was purely a decision by NBC Universal is kidding themself. GE is one of the largest companies in the world and to say they take pride in being squeaky clean would be putting it mildly.
If you have a live show on a TV network, Its not good to have a brain fart during a slow news week.
All of which leads me to ask a simple, yet to me, very interesting question:
Excluding Premium Subscription Networks like Showtime and HBO where subscribers know what they are paying for, " What TV networks would stand up for Maher or Imus and let the show go on ?"
Maybe Fox News. Fox is controlled by NewsCorp, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch. If you and Rupert were on the same side, then your show might have a shot. If you weren't on the same side, then you probably wouldnt have a show in the first place.
Would any basic cable network ? Digital Network ? I doubt it. Why ? Because just about every one is owned by a public corporation. Can you name the cable networks that are privately owned ? What about individually owned ? Besides my HDNet, the only one I can think of is RFD TV. I guess you can include the Outdoor Channel in the indie mix although they are a public company, but glancing at the listings in USA Today's TV listings, I didnt see a single network that wasn't owned by a major public media company.
The same applies to radio. How many nationally distributed shows anywhere Imus's listener numbers are privately owned ? I dont know of any.
Which leads to the next question, was Imus the last "media provocateur ? If most media is controlled by major corporations, who is going to be willing to put their job on the line and say something that might catch the fancy of tabloid news, and in turn upset the Board of Directors ? Who is going to be willing to knowingly take an unpopular position and accept the accompaning risk ?
Which leads to the FCC. The FCC doesnt regulate cable networks, but they do regulate all things broadcast and cable distribution ownership. I dont think there is any doubt that the FCC understands the cable foodchain. If the only networks getting carriage are those owned by major media companies, then diversity is diminished.
Now some may say that the internet makes all of this a moot point. That everyone is a broadcaster on the internet. Which is absolutely true. The problem is that 99.99 pct of internet broadcasters are trees falling in the forest, no one sees or hears them.
Don Imus could easily originate his show on the net. Stream it. Offer it for download. Offer it on Itunes, Youtube, Joost, Revver, the new NBC Video venture, Veoh and ever other video site. On the net he can say whatever he wants. Why not just move the show to the net ? Because the economics dont work.
Would you put up your own money to cover the production and personnel costs and take that risk ? Neither would I. Things may be different in 10 or more years, but right now Americans still consume media and advertisers support media on traditional TV and radio outlets. Competition in those mediums isnt increasing , its decreasing.
Now for one last comment. If the Imus show was on HDNet would I have fired him ? Hell no. I would have expected him to apologize, but he would have kept his job. Firing him would just get him a job on HBO.
Imus, FCC, Cable Limits and Corporately Owned Media
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. Imus' hours on MSNBC and Viacom were numbered when Proctor & Gamble, GM, Sprint and GlaxoSmithKline pulled all of their advertising money. Prior to that, the networks were playing the ol' "wait-and-see" game, with the two-week suspension. Dismissing Imus was a business decision, plain and simple. You can point to an image control problem, but it was the multi-million dollar hit that did Don in.
Posted at 1:53AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Devin Pike
4. Okay, so Don Imus has always been an idiot in my mind. In fact, I had his obnoxious show as my alarm because it was so annoying that it jolted me right awake. Other shows were soothing in comparison and i would sleep through them or keep hitting snooze. With Imus, I couldn't stand the thought of his voice jolting me awake a second time. What I'm getting to here is that I know Imus's show.
And Imus says stuff like this ALL THE TIME. Him and Sid Rosenberg, all his other pals, they do it to be offensive. No one in their right mind would say something like this on the air in seriousness. And you know what else, I bet not a single regular listener of Imus's show even raised an eyebrow at the time he made the comments. I thought his comments were not funny. I rarely think he's funny, but I don't see how you could take them seriously.
This whole thing is a big farce. Slow news night, let's see, Imus made some comments that we could blow up, make a good story out of, lets run it. Pretty soon you ahve a bunch of talking heads (I saw MSNBC had a panel of SEVEN(!!!!) people discussing this today just before he was fired). I bet none of them listen to Imus, and even they do, I guarantee the truth was never one of their concerns. It's just like, we have to make this seem like a big deal, blow it up boys! Keep everyone tuned in! Where's the cross, tie him up there, quick! Oh man our ratings are doing pretty well! People are depresssed by the war. They are pretending it doesn't exist and changing the channel! Burn an old moron of a talk show host!
I mean whatever. I don't care about Imus, I just care about the fact that it is so easy to just barrage our nation with media, say things enough and they just become true, no matter how asinine a logical evaluation of hte situation makes what they are doing seem.
Also, it's not like the guy won't find another job. He'll go to sattellite in am onth when people won't even remember this whole thing. Sad sad sad. We are animals about htis stuff. We like the get worked up, but once he adrenaline is gone, we wipe our minds clear and search for the next adrenaline builder.
Posted at 2:04AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Max
5. Hi Mark,
First let me offer congrats to the Mavs for making the playoffs.
About Imus. I grew up with Imus. He was the morning jock for WNBC 66 on the AM dial in NYC for many years. I remember him getting kicked off the air and then turning up in some little station in the midwest before coming back to the prime real estate radio.
I'm not a betting man, but I'd bet a dollar Imus shows up on Satellite Radio like Howard Stern. No Sponsors, No FCC, No Sharpton. Just lots of people paying 12.95 a month. He's a money making machine and the satellite industry is not going to be denied the millions of subcribers he will bring with him.
As a member of the XM Nation, I would rather listen to Imus than Oprah and friends anyday.
Peace.
P.J.
Posted at 2:46AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Jeff
6. OK, I don't like to divulge much about myself on forums but I must chime in on this as a black woman. Did Imus make a stupid insensitive remark YES, should he be fired NO. I do not believe in censorship, period, and to me firing him is censorship. This just paves the way for my speech/thoughts to be limited, as well as yours. That is not a good thing. I believe that everyone, Al Sharpton, Ann Coulter etc. should be free to say what they want to say. Does not mean that I agree but we can not ban free speech. As outraged as everyone is about his comments, we should be just as outraged at this censorship.
7. It's only news because the words were spoken by a white man working for an organization too large to not be politically correct. Sure maybe what Imus said was insensitive, but if hard pressed I guarantee we could monitor a minimum of five to ten "on-air" comments daily that are potentially more incendiary then Imus'. What about when Larry Johnson basically said he does not like playing for Dick Vermeil because he is white and cannot relate to him as well as a black coach could because Vermeil doesn't understand his struggles as a black man? Why didn't ESPN have a seven person panel discuss how Larry Johnson's father coached for Penn State and how he did not have an up bringing remotely close to most inner city black athletes? On top of all of this, screw Imus. Where the hell is his backbone? Supposedly he WAS some hard-nosed, weathered shock-jock, but he bent over and took from Al Sharpton to feebly try to save his job. He deserves to get fired for a complete lag of integrity; forget his comments. Also a big thanks to Snoop Dog for commenting on Imus needing to be fired. Great to see he can take time off from his busy schedule of court hearings for felony weapon and drug charges to support his people. We all know history and we all regret it, but it's about time EVERYONE is held accountable for their words.
Posted at 3:48AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Drew
8. I would watch an Imus tv show in the mornings on HDNET once he gets a show on XM. Hook it up, Mark.
And go mavs.
Posted at 5:45AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Brian
9. Let's be real clear here... Imus wasn't fired because MSNBC or CBS Radio thought it was the right thing to do or because they wanted to keep a clean image... Imus was fired because advertisers were pulling out and without advertising dollars, there's simply no show.
Most of these media companies could care less about comments from a shock jock offending someone. As long as that show is bringing in money and lots of it, they could care less. Imus and many others had said worse many times before. The mainstream media just happened to pick up this story which created more of a buzz, which lead to advertisers pulling out and again without advertisers, you have no show.
Who will offer Imus another chance you ask? Many companies will. After a few months of letting this story cool off some company will announce they hired Imus and that he promises to watch what he says blah, blah, blah.
Could he run his show strictly on the net? Sure, but Imus is also "old school" so I doubt he'd take that route. Plus, I doubt he plans on making those types of comments again.
I do think the net is a great place for radio shows and many have proven that business model a success. Maybe not as big and the biggest mainstream radio shows, but give it some time. Advertisers will go wherever there are listeners. If an online show had millions of listeners, I guarantee advertisers will be flocking there to put there money at work.
10. I believe the Oh network is independent still, and the programming is a bit on the edge at times.
Posted at 8:58AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Nolan
11. Firing Imus was not censorship. It was letting the free market respond to his actions. Had the government taken him off the air, that would have been censorship.
That said, it does worry me that we're sadly short of independent networks. And you're right, it's going to be a while before independent production on the Web is reasonably profitable. But enterprises like BrightCove are trying to make it possible. (And no, I have on connection to BrightCove)
Posted at 9:09AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Mari
12. I'm not saying Imus is a GOOD guy. Because in all honesty he probably isn't. But one thing is clear. People in America say this kind of stuff ALL the time. Was it a mistake for him to say it on the air? ABSOLUTELY. But getting fired over it makes me think that he's the first person who will be made an example of, and this trend may in fact continue. Howard Stern? Smart guy. He's got Robin Quivers sitting next to him which gives him free reign to make all the black jokes in the world. There's been many worse things said out there. Yes, the comments were racist, no doubt about it, but losing one's job over it, I think that's a little steep.
13. The thing that underlies this story, and the Duke story, is race, which is still a big deal for people about 40 and over.
If you are in that category, go talk to a 25-year-old. Don't ask them if race is important, ask them if they think it's cool that Barrack could be our first African American president. They'll say yes, but kind of look at you funny, wondering why you are making such a big deal about it and basically thinking that it says more about you that you think it's a big deal.
Our race, it turns out, is less and less of a big deal, especially among those born after about 1980. If the rest of us would let it happen, MLK's dream would be the operating reality.
But because old guys like Sumner and Imus and Nifong still run the world, it's still a big deal.
PS: the weirdest part is that I think what Imus was trying to do was sound hip by saying "Nappy headed" even though that expression is at least 20 years old.
Posted at 9:14AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Scott Yates
15. I really dislike how many people (not so much on this blog, but in general) are bringing up free speech, political correctness, or the "double standards of the media." It misses the point entirely.
This has nothing to do with free speech or censorship because Imus is not being censored as he is still able to say whatever he wants. He just cant get paid for it, or do it over a mass medium. Having a radio show is not a right; it is a job whose goal is to bring in advertising money. He botched it pretty bad.
In regards to political correctness and double standards; there really is a difference between what rappers say and Imus' previous rap sheet and what he said last week.
Saying incendiary remarks about white men, black women, Asians, or midgets is fine as long as it is kept general. People can walk away from a generalized comment. Public figures also fall into this category, (e.g. other rappers, politicians, newscasters, Paris Hiltons, etc.) as criticisms are just part of the job. That’s why Imus can call Clinton a bastard, and Snoop can call other rapper’s bitches and ho’s ho’s.
Specific 19 year old college students, on the other hand, don’t fit into this category.
As such, Imus committed slander. (Slander is a published message, implied to be factual, that may harm the reputation of an individual.) There is legal precedent here. As a veteran broadcaster he should have known where the line was between defamation and just plain ole bad radio.
Our defamation laws in the US are pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good. Without them free speech would be impossible.
Posted at 9:35AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Andrew Cotter
16. What this highlights is the same thing that allows the Boy Scouts to restrict membership. Private vs Public.
Nothing more nothing less.
If the market bears individuals like Imus and Stern, then by all means go private. The public airways are just that. I am certainly not advocating for the baloney PC world we live in, but I can clearly see the difference between "All Access" and private access. While I am not an Imus fan, I have become a Stern fan since purchasing Sirius and I would love to see or rather hear real peoples opinions and attitudes. I think we are heading down a disastrous path by not bringing these beliefs/attitudes into the open.
Posted at 9:47AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Eric
17. Another reader wrote. "Let's be real clear here... Imus wasn't fired because MSNBC or CBS Radio thought it was the right thing to do or because they wanted to keep a clean image... Imus was fired because advertisers were pulling out and without advertising dollars, there's simply no show."
I agree completely with this. But let me take this one step further. The reason advertisers pulled out of the show is that customers were likely calling them. People like Imus have a national platform to make their points. They can make their points over and over on this platform.
Regular people like me don't enjoy that sort of access. The only way to make our voice heard, really heard, is by complaining to sponsors. The old expression "money talks" is true. I'd bet dollars to donuts that if the switchboards at Imus show sponsors weren't lighting up this would be a non-issue.
It's funny that what made Imus famous also brought him down.
Posted at 9:59AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Kevin Gertsen
18. I'm soooo glad to see you, Mark, coming down on the firing of Don Imus. It smacks of left wing mass censorship, and bodes ill for all broadcast personalities who have opinions and say things opposed to what some influencial groups feel are "right" and/or "correct". I used to listen to Imus for years before he left my market, and I thought some of his shtick was clever and some downright dumb -- and I would put his comments about the Rutgers team on the DUMB side. But I don't know how often I heard him say, when someone objected to the nasty things he would say about some public figure, "THIS IS SATIRE, FOLKS!"
I really like the comment that one person made on this blog that public personalities are wide open for this type of satire, but amateur sports figures like the girl's basketball team should not be included in any satire. However, an apology should have sufficed to keep Imus on the air. Instead, we have one more nail in the coffin of free speech. Who knows who will be next to suffer the squelching of free speech that millions of Americans have died to preserve.
Posted at 10:05AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Bob Arnold
19. It's funny that he gets fired for saying that comment while shock jocks like Howard Stern say worse things every day and get no punishment. Maybe Imus will go to Sirius, if they have any money left.
Posted at 10:58AM on Apr 13th 2007 by discount cigars
20. I agree that he should have apologized. He should not have been fired. If NBC/CBS would have stood their ground it would have all blown over in a few weeks. Al Sharpton needs to get a life. If he wants to champion the cause for equal rights and protect against discrimination he should look at "real discrimination". He is a fool! I only watched Imus a couple of times and was not really a fan. I do like him better than Howard Stern though. At least he has some intelligence. Stern is just a crude individual.
Posted at 11:11AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Josh Youngblood
1. "Now for one last comment. If the Imus show was on HDNet would I have fired him ? Hell no. I would have expected him to apologize, but he would have kept his job. Firing him would just get him a job on HBO."
I'm glad to see that you are a much more reasonable man than the majority of the folks out there. Any thoughts on how come, other than Jemele Hill at espn.com, I have yet to see a single member of the media come out and apologize for their comments regarding the 3 Dukies?
Posted at 1:51AM on Apr 13th 2007 by Neil