Why I Was Right When I Said Imus Wouldn't Go

When the furor over shock jock Don Imus rose to crescendo noise, and the calls for Imus's scalp pouring in, and sponsors and CBS poised to jump the Imus ship, I predicted that Imus would not go. The prediction seemed wrong-headed and foolhardy, since within days afterwards Imus was indeed canned. I did not back away from my prediction. I knew that his presumed dismissal was little more than a cover-your-butt salve (by CBS executives), a cooling off period (for the sponsors), and a rest full hiatus for Imus. The moment the noise died down, so would the issue of Imus. I gave two reasons why, and those reasons are just as valid, maybe even more so with his return to the airwaves December 3, now, than at the time of his vacation. I'll also add one more to the list.

The reasons tell much about why the Imus' of radio land can prattle off foul remarks about gays, blacks, Latinos Asians, Muslims, and women and skip away with a caressing hand slap. The first reason is that these guys ramp up ratings and that makes the station's cash registers jingle. Imus's MSNBC show drew an average of more than 350,000 viewers. Nielson Media Research noted that it was a leap of nearly 40 percent over the same period in 2006. Citadel Broadcasting which will bring Imus back hungrily anticipates that Imus will do the same for it. Top execs at WABC, Citadel's flagship New York radio station where Imus will resurface, were in delirium at getting Imus back in front of a mic.

Said WABC President and General Manager Steve Borneman, "We are ecstatic to bring Don Imus back to morning radio...Don's unique brand of humor, knowledge of the issues and ability to attract big-name guests is unparalleled. The operative word is "attract." That translates to this broadcast industry cash happy formula: Big names = more listeners = higher ratings = bigger sponsor fees = soaring profits.

The other reason why it's virtually impossible to permanently muzzle Imus and others that talk race trash is the sphinx like silence of top politicians, broadcast industry leaders, and corporate sponsors. GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney and former Democratic presidential contender John Kerry bantered with Imus on his show. Romney never uttered a word condemning Imus. Kerry issued a tepid statement through a spokeswoman in which he merely branded it "a stupid comment" and praised him for owning up to it.

While Kerry and Romney were two of the better known politicians to cackle with and at Imus' digs on the show, a steady parade of politicians and personalities trooped to Imus's microphones over the years. And not all of them, as Kerry showed, are hard-line GOP conservatives. Senators Joe Lieberman and John McCain leaped over each other to get a spot with Imus.

They'll do it again. In fact, several of the top presidential contenders have already said that they will appear on his show. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were the only ones that said no -- for now. But even that could change. After a few weeks on the air, the kinder gentler Imus that almost surely will emerge at least while the eyes and ears are on him may prove too irresistible for even them to resist gracing the studio with him. Both of them are locked in an intense dogfight for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the hunger for any media exposure is insatiable.

The other reason that Imus is back on the air is ironically due to the man that led the charge to get him off the air, the Reverend Al Sharpton. The prospect of an angry Sharpton descending on CBS corporate offices was too much. The reverend in effect energized and galvanized public opinion against Imus, terrified sponsors, and badly shook CBS executives. But during the cooling-off period, whenever Sharpton was asked about a possible Imus return, he sounded less convincing that he'd still go to the barricades to keep him off the air permanently. He never said that he didn't want him to make a living in broadcasting. That was taken as a tacit signal that it was OK for the broadcast moguls to deal with Imus again.

Now that Imus is back, here's another prediction. Imus cut the deal to appear on WABC. There was no mention that he would be spread out over the Citadel's broadcast map. But he will. It's only a matter of a very short time before Imus's show will be back in syndication on other stations, just like before.

I also said that it's probably not a bad thing that Imus is back from vacation. In a perverse way, Imus is a sort of the O.J. Simpson of the airwaves. He's a useful symbol of malfeasance in the industry and thus a constant reminder to others that if they cross the line of propriety they can be a target too. Welcome back, Don!

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His new book is The Latino Challenge to Black America: Towards a Conversation between African-Americans and Hispanics (Middle Passage Press and Hispanic Economics New York).

Comments

[Swrv]

Here's hoping that RFD will simulcast the new show.
That all of the old guests have the guts to come back.
And that hypocrites like Sharpton et. al sulk away for good.

[Bulbul]

I still don`t get it, why there is so much hatred toward Don Imus, when Beck, Rush and all rest of the hatemongers are getting so much pat in the back and a raise ?
I have listend to Don Imus on and off, when it became silly I changed the dial. But never I thought him to be a racist ! This man has apologised countless number of times, shouldn`t he deserve to start broadcasting again ?

[SkimaskBob]

there are many who are MUCH worse than Imus who never got pushed out of broadcasting. SO glad you could pat yourself on the back for being right on this one Earl ... Imus is back, and I really hope he takes a bite out of all the prissy over sensitive two faced weasels that attacked him.

[larry278]

Yeah and old time, black face minstrels are good clean, traditional American humor too.

[steamboat]

Earl, I meant

http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/11/01/news/top_news/docb3fd09bf367573ff8625738500819fa0.txt

[steamboat]

you worry about Imus and you folks beat-up on the Bush daughters. So tell you what, read this article.

http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/11/01/news/top_news/doch3fd09bf367573ff8625738500819fa0.txt

[mcearlgrey]

Do the phrases "Jewish interlopers" or "Hymietown" ring bells to you, Earl?

They were uttered in complete seriousness years ago by two men who today are the most powerful African-Americans in politics. The same two men who were instrumental in getting Don Imus fired for a raunchy joke.

Let Imus have his dumb little show, and if the content bugs you then turn the dial and listen to something you actually enjoy.

[Nommo]

Earl, what most who have to comment on this matter, missed, in all the analysis was, the relationship between CBS and the NCAA. CBS did not want to jeopardize that relationship having a bunch of colleges pissed off at 'em.
Imus could not have generated in years the kind of cash "March Madness" brings in one and one half months.

[purplepeopleeater]

CMON BABY LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL..............
Imus is back and we can't wait.

.

[realitytrumpsbull]

I'm for equal opportunity on the censure for
race comments and other forms of bad taste,
keep reading on the Jena thing, the story
gets curiouser and curiouser...I also see
the Imus thing as a symptom of Something Larger,
we keep seeing more and more racially-motivated
political and even physical attacks, someone's
out there beating the skin-color war drum,
and it's not good. If you look at your average
job application, the impact of racial politics
over the last several decades stares right back
at you. Hyphenated-americanism isn't just
Big Business, it's Political Power, too. In
other words, so much of 'we, the people',
and now you've got sub-groups. I call it
'divide and conquer', factionalization and
whatnot. Again, Not Good. Why? Well,
because people that align themselves ethnically,
take the term 'latino' as an example, if
there's an alignment there, then the issue
of nationality gets obscured.

I'm an american. I am also caucasian. I don't
think either condition makes you special,
nor somehow entitled to anything. But, I DO
question a lot of things I've read in recent
years that seem bent on favoritism being
incorporated into how we do our daily business,
especially when it comes to work. Why?
Well, every minute you spend on something NOT
related to the job is time AND company money
out the window. So, when people start talking
about favoritism in hiring practices, quotas,
unionization and so forth, what they're REALLY
talking about is having an excuse to politicize
the jobsite, and not do any work.

If you reference 'work' in the dictionary,
there's no reference to 'equal opportunity'
and so forth. I think we screw around at work
WAAAAY too much in america, well, asia doesn't
have that problem. Asia also employs
automation heavily in their production.
Moral of the story? While these clowns are busy
arguing about race and whatnot, asia's working
3 shifts. They say the smog from China goes
all the way to L.A., if the wind is right.
Cat sandwich? Get em while they're hot.
Num-MERS! LOL

[Carolinagreens]

Parents of autistic children across this country applaud Citidel and Mr. Suleman for doing the right thing and bringing Don Imus back! His show is wonderful on its own but he uses it as a platform to help so many, particularly children. And I've said it before and I'll say it again - Don Imus is not a racist or a sexist. Lord, easily half his fan base is female.

[channelXRFR]

Imus returns, audience returns, guests return, and advertisers all return in that order. Broadcasting is an efficient market.

Hosanna, Imus Returns !!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-snG4KCwtg

[Fletch17C]

Imus was not fired for making racist remarks. He was fired because advertising dollars started walking out the door. If WFAN & MSNBC hadn't lost a nickel on the incident, Imus wouldn't have gotten an 8-month vacation. The media outlets couldn't care less about what anyone says. Money is all that talks. That's why Limbaugh is still on the air. Don't let WFAN or MSNBC con you into thinking they canned Imus for ethical reasons.

It would be nice to see Imus be more self-reflective after all of this, but I don't hold out much hope. McGirk (sp?) was the guy Imus had hired to "write the nig**r jokes" (quote from "60 Minutes"). He was also the person who incited the remarks about the women from Rutgers -- and he was never at his boss's side when Imus went on his apology tour, thus leaving Imus to face the heat alone. If McGirk is still on Imus's payroll in any capacity whatsoever, it is safe to say that every apology Imus rattled off this past spring was bogus. That trip to the governor's mansion in Jersey was simply a waste of time for the Rutger's team, and as scholar/athletes, they probably had more important things they could have been doing that night.

[OckhamsElectricRazor]

This is NOT about Imus. It IS about ABC willing to pimp just about any trash to create market share.

[OtayPanky]

Radio has a tradition of firing shock jocks, who then lie low for awhile and finally resurface on another station.

Two examples that come quickly to mind are Howard Stern and the team of Opie and Anthony.

The fact is these jocks are re-hired because they make money for the stations...pure and simple. It's not about race - it's about bucks.

Opie and Anthony were fired (to get specific) because they instigated a stunt which has a couple biblically knowing one another in a church.

Big uproar. Catholics offended as hell. Blood running in the streets. Off with their heads.

Now they're back...and so's Imus, for the exact same reason.

As for the pols who schmoozed with him before, and will again...let's see just who those cockroaches are.