Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Imus
Today's NY Post has a front-page headline that made me laugh out loud.
Aside from that, though, all I can think to say is WTF? Why does anyone (other than the Rutgers women's basketball team and their families) care? Why is anyone surprised? Don Imus has been a racist and a misogynist for many years. He periodically has to apologize for it. Who believes him when he does? Who really cares? And who benefits from his 'apologies?' Yawn - what a shocker - a dumbass racist white guy. This is news?
The big debate seems to be whether or not Imus should be fired. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, in typically self-aggrandizing style, are all over this. But really, Imus' stock-in-trade is in being an asshole, so assholishness isn't anything to fire him for. A valid reason for him to lose his job would be shrinking audiences and, even more, lost advertisers. If listeners no longer listen, and advertisers no longer trust him as a vehicle to pitch their products, he'll be gone faster than you can say "nappy ho."
Sure, reporters are tired of writing about boring stuff like Iraq or the economy, and Imus is in NY so they don't have to get on an airplane to cover him - but come on, is this really an above-the-fold story? Anywhere on the front-page? Three paragraphs on page A17?
Naaahh - this is a story that has Mary Hart written all over it.
Aside from that, though, all I can think to say is WTF? Why does anyone (other than the Rutgers women's basketball team and their families) care? Why is anyone surprised? Don Imus has been a racist and a misogynist for many years. He periodically has to apologize for it. Who believes him when he does? Who really cares? And who benefits from his 'apologies?' Yawn - what a shocker - a dumbass racist white guy. This is news?
The big debate seems to be whether or not Imus should be fired. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, in typically self-aggrandizing style, are all over this. But really, Imus' stock-in-trade is in being an asshole, so assholishness isn't anything to fire him for. A valid reason for him to lose his job would be shrinking audiences and, even more, lost advertisers. If listeners no longer listen, and advertisers no longer trust him as a vehicle to pitch their products, he'll be gone faster than you can say "nappy ho."
Sure, reporters are tired of writing about boring stuff like Iraq or the economy, and Imus is in NY so they don't have to get on an airplane to cover him - but come on, is this really an above-the-fold story? Anywhere on the front-page? Three paragraphs on page A17?
Naaahh - this is a story that has Mary Hart written all over it.
