Imus only said what has always been in his Heart/Soul. The remark was not a written piece, but came from the Imus psyche. It was degrading, hurtful and IGNORANT. While his remarks were right up there in being All-Time Bad, it simply reflects the state of the broadcast industry.
In early 2006, I suffered a back injury and became acquainted with Imus show while recovering. The show is most of the time funny, quick and counter to the prevailing conventional wisdom of the broadcast industry. For instance Imus was willing to take on the hypocrisy of the political establishment on either side, this is what attracted me to this show. The larger issues are not being addressed. Here are a few.
The Imus shows on MSNBC & WFAN are lily white. Imus lives in a big white bubble. 99% of his music guests are white (Speaks Volumes). Would he have made these remarks if he had any interaction with African-Americans on regular basis? Maybe so, but if he had any front of mind awareness of the feelings of others who are not white & male, I doubt he would have.
Television
MSNBC like Fox, CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC have no shows of opinion hosted by people of color. Blacks are allowed to rip and read from the tele-prompter what others have written. Would it offend white America if blacks hosted shows on these networks? Would the advertisers Bolt?
Radio (National)
Where are the nationally syndicated Radio Talk Shows? Hosted by blacks? ABC, Westwood-One, Premiere and all the other major syndicators can't seem to find educated, articulate, well-read African-American/Black talent to air. Or, would the advertisers not support or revolt and leave these networks. Radio-One is alone in offering shows in the Black-Talk genre.
EIB Network (Limbaugh)
Rush regularly says things just as degrading and hurtful. The difference with Rush is that he seems to attack African-Americans/Blacks who are accomplished and upwardly mobile. However Rush is a cash cow and his advertisers apparently agree with his racial rants
Radio (local)
CBS, Clear Channel, Cumulus, Citadel, Entercom to name a few are clear examples of broadcast entities who limit or embargo black talent. Where are the Market Managers, General Managers, and General Sales Managers? After years of working in the industry, apparently there are no qualified blacks to fill these positions. As of 2007, for the most part blacks are only allowed to play music, shake-ur-booty, and party. The only outlets that are truly emancipated are the few black-owned independent mom & pop stations that have not been gobbled up by the majors.
Radio-One "The Urban Specialist" does not get a pass. Led by two prominent African-American broadcast owners, Look at the numbers, they are only slightly better than the industry average in employing blacks in key positions. I don't think the advertisers would revolt since its content is produced and marketed to African-Americans/Blacks. However, I do believe the venture capital and equity financing would dry-up.
Back to Imus.
Imus was cancelled by CBS & MSNBC because his advertisers bolted, not because Les Moonves or Dan Abrams was offended by his statements. I have listened for three days to White male guests of the Imus show rationalize his statements. They all say Imus is a good guy who does lots of good things on a charitable basis; they all say he never displays racist behavior with them. Of-course-not. Generally you can't offend a white middle-age male by telling "Nappy-Head Ho" jokes.
Hip-Hop The Deflection
While I'm no fan of Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, they have been in the forefront along with the late C. Delores Tucker in pressuring the white males who run and profit from the record labels who put out hip-hop to clean up their act. After countless meetings and protests for at least 10-years, there has been no response or change. RIAA stats say up to 85% of Hip-Hop is purchased by White Anglo teens. So who is supporting and profiting from the degrading music this industry distributes. There would be no Snoop-Dogg if the white label owners did not condone his content.
The industry will apologize, rationalize and justify Imus for two-weeks, then it is "Business As Usual." Imus will return to his 20th floor luxury trailer park in the sky and go XM or Sirius.
Andre Washington
SouthWest Media Group, Dallas
