In Defense of Imus

George Orwell's timing may have been off, but his sentiments may have finally caught-up with us after 23 years.
We've just endured another American travesty. Don Imus has been fired.

We don't even have to revisit his comments regarding the Rutgers women's basketball team. The odds are you already know. If you haven't heard, or you don't know, congratulations on completing Betty Ford.

Apparently, Imus's two week suspension by CBS Radio and dismissal by MSNBC's morning simulcast wasn't enough for a non-silent minority and a gutless group of advertisers.

Yes, it's true.

MSNBC is still a cable televison network. (And YOU may be that one person who appears in Keith Olbermann's ratings.)

And they fired Imus less than 12 hours before he returned to the airchair for his annual radiothon, which has raised millions of dollars for nearly two decades for SIDS and sick children. Now, CBS Radio has joined the bandwagon parade, caving to pressure while a radiothon in the talk show host's name tries to help sick children find hope.

Hope you're happy, Al Sharpton.

If the suits at GE (who owns NBC) want to end the simulcast, fine. The timing however, is absurd. Seems like another typical bonehead move by a network who tried to boost ratings with a failed ressurrection of Phil Donahue, flopped with Maury and Connie, and thought an ancient and burned-out John McEnroe would bring people to CNBC.

Based on that programming history, it wouldn't be surprising to see Ricki Lake take Imus's old TV slot.

Unfortunately in broadcasting, when one wall caves, it's easier to bring in the bulldozers instead of finding carpenters and giving them time to rebuild.

Here's a few things one should know about radio before you ask the lowly elevator operator to punch the buttons to the next floor in your ivory tower: