So Imus Is Done?

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

In 72 hours, he lost his MSNBC contract & his CBS radio show?

So, he has no job now, and won't be on the airwaves again anytime soon?

I don't think he deserved quite that much. Why couldn't something like this happen to someone I really despise, like O'Leilly or Rush.

[geardaddy]

1. He'll be back on somewhere else

in a couple of weeks.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. He surely will return...

After an appropriate period of contrition. But not in the same format.

[pstokely]

3. Because their hate makes money

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

7. So Their Hate Is OK, But Imus' Is Bad?

Double standard?

[pstokely]

10. It appears to be OK when it makes money

[FredScuttle]

4. Satellite radio here he comes!

It's the next logical choice. I can't imagine him on any commercial airwaves again.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

5. I Don't Think He Deserved It Either. But Unless You're Willing To Shell Out A Lot Of Money For

advertising, there just ain't much we could've done about it.

[lpbk2713]

6. Faux has probably called him a number of times.

They would love to have him in their stable.

And maybe Imus would like to go there so he wouldn't have to be so careful about his language.

[Maine-ah]

15. doubt it.

he's not a right winger.

[Atman]

8. Because Imus bashes conservatives, too, and says little good about Bush

Rush, O'Reilly, Coulter, et al, are PURE right-wingers. Doesn't matter what Bush does, no matter how insipid or inane, those three will be sure to support him at any cost. Imus didn't. Imus is a sexist, racist, asshole. You can be on in the United States as long as you have the backing of the powers that be. Imus didn't/doesn't. I mean, really...who cares about Imus? That's his problem...he thought his opinion was actually important. It wasn't. It was expendable, at best. Filler.

.

[hiaasenrocks]

9. Satellite radio! And his show will be better, probably, since he won't be told what he can't say.

I'm not a Howard Stern fan, but some Stern fans I know say his show is better now that he's not restricted by the FCC and the politically correct speech fascists.

[americanstranger]

12. I don't think his show would fly on satellite.

First, the reason his guest list was so extensive is two-fold - one, there seems to have been some sort of contractual thing going on that required Russert and the rest of the NBC talent to go on; and two, he was widely syndicated across the country.

There is no way he'll reclaim the numbers he was pulling if he went to satellite. People might have liked him, but probably not enough to pay to hear him.

And besides - Stern carries mucho weight with Sirius, and if the Sirius-XM merger goes through, Imus' agent won't even get to schedule a meeting. Howard will see to that.

- as

[tularetom]

11. A good lesson to be learned from this episode - he's gone because

he no longer can make any money for his bosses. With no advertisers he's no longer an asset to them and they have no reason to keep him around. The funniest part to me is I just turned on MSNBC and that Gregory guy is sitting in for Tweety. He looks absolutely shell shocked at the demise of Imus. I think it's hitting a little close to home for these asshole pundits. They thought Imus was untouchable because he was one of them and now they have found out he (and by extension they) is just part of the cheap hired help. A healthy dose of reality for these enablers.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

13. Olbermann Said Last Year....

When asked about his positions and commentaries, Keith said that the network, and those in charge, had no problem with what he was saying, so long as he continued to pull in high ratings, and get the almighty advertising $$$$$$$$.

Which is why he was able to command a hefty new long term contract.

I think the SPIN on Imus got so bad, that people just wanted to distance themselves from him, regardless of how they actually felt. The heat was too hot in the kitchen, so they ran and hid, and left Imus in the dust.

[PATRICK]

14. Market explanation

Offended women. Women go ballistic on the guys who are watching this crap on TV at home. Perfect meltdown
and radioactive for quite some time. He can wander in the wilderness(don't expect repentance, just a haven) in small venues or as a guest. Then gradually they could bring him back so his main core audience can skulk back to the dial, but he's no big commodity and at the same time too big to work through through that system.

I am sure his agent and pals will think of something. It has nothing to do with justice and high ethical idealism in the networks. It has to do with how the marketplace works with accountability. They left openings for his recovery but only if the meltdown fizzles out and his audience will return.

[stirlingsliver]

16. They. Are. Next.

What this incident showed is the POWER that comes when people join together and apply real pressure on someone's advertizers.

What is needed is pressure on the advertizers of Rush, O'Reilly, Hannity, and all the other neanderthals.

[ComerPerro]

17. oh hell no, if anything he is worth more now than he ever was

Private, subscription-based satellite radio...

[KharmaTrain]

18. Nope...There's More Radio Bigots To Clear Out

From one who sat in front of a microphone for a living for years, and a big supporter of free speech, I am very glad to see Imus gone...good riddence to bad rubbish.

Doing a radio show...speaking over the public airwaves...is a privilidge, not a given. It's one that few get the chance to use on the level Imus did. Look at the various people on DU attempting to do their own radio shows and how rough of a time they've had. Look at how stuck in the mud AAR is...and how different things would be if any of those hosts were on the 50,000 watt signals Imus was. Again...it's a privilidge...a public trust. Imus long ago abused that trust and used his radio show to attack and demean people.

ANd no...it's not enough...

There are many others who pollute the airwaves. Be it with racist talk, sexist crap, spreading lies and deliberately inflaming people with words. For the most part, they can get away with attacking people with little redress...and it spreads a message that since you hear this shit on the radio, it must not only be acceptable to think this way, but even cool.

No, Imus isn't O'Reilly or Rushbo, but he's a practicioner of what I call "the radio of personal destruction". It ceased being funny or cute or clever ages ago. And while we're at it, it's time to re-open DeReg '96 and the ownership limits and other special perks that were handed to companies like CBS, Clear Channel and others.

Last point...hate radio will not go away. As long as Salem owns radio stations, they'll be a home for bigots, racists and other cretins on the radio dial. There's a company few here know about and really deserves to be looked into.