Should Imus' "nappy head ho's" comment lead to his firing?

[hugh]

Eljay, I always read your coments and understand where you are coming from.

In this situation, you could say that Imus was "baited" but so what? He went for it and it was consistent with prior behaviour. there is an excellent article in the latest issue of NewsWeek which discusses that Imus comments about women, blacks, gays et al has been pretty consistent for the last eight years.

The comment that got him fired was in "character" and really not "out of the ordinary"

[eljay]

Fair enough (and thanks for the tip about the Newsweek article - I'll give it a read).

But if all he was doing was reacting "in character" as he's always reacted before, I don't see how he was supposed to know that he had crossed a line that wasn't there a moment earlier. I don't believe in offending people, but I can't agree that this off-the-cuff remark merits the outcry and punishment he received. Imus "reacted" in poor taste, he was taken to task for it and he apologized.

If he is to be made a pariah for his comment, then all the people (co-workers, superiors, executives, etc.) who have "enabled" him to say the things he's said over the years - or who have said equally irresponsible things alongside him - ought to be going down with him.

[hugh]

Interesting you say that because the NewsWeek article suggests that NBC was only going to suspend him for two days but was so overwhelmed by the reaction of staffers that they canned him.

From the article, it seems that Imus was a bully with a big audience so people who stood up to him were subsequently shut out or ridiculed with racial epithets or slander.

In essence, he ws a big bully that finally had the tables turned.

interesting quotes from the article

He seemed to revel in reducing his targets to crude racial and ethnic stereotypes. A running gag had McGuirk lampooning New York Roman Catholic cardinals John O'Connor and Edward Egan as vulgar Irishmen with thick brogues. Arabs were "ragheads." NBA star Patrick Ewing was a "knuckle-dragging moron." McGuirk did an impression of poet Maya Angelou, telling whites to "Kiss my big black a--."

this I found very interesting..

At least one former Imus regular tried to get the host to renounce his racial humor. In 2000, Clarence Page, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, went on the show and asked Imus to take a pledge to knock off the racial jokes. Imus went along. But he ignored the pledge and never invited Page, who is black, back on the show.

IMO, Imus (and McGuirk) were rude, racist bullies who finally got what they deserved!

[eljay]

Again, fair enough. So take McGuirk down, too (for starters), and I'll feel better about the whole thing.

[Jake]

Asketh and yee shall receiveth.

Producer of Imus radio show fired.

[eljay]

Cool. I now asketh for five...no, ten million dollars...

[jacksparrow]

The talk show host has hired a top First Amendment lawyer, and an unusual clause in his contract could give him a $40 million payday, writes Fortune's Tim Arango.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/05/01/news...une/index.htm?