Imus Off the Air By Jared Beck

It's hard to have watched the news in recent days without having seen the controversy stirred up by talk-radio host Don Imus. Commenting on the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship game between Tennessee and Rutgers, Imus said that the Tennessee girls looked cute, while the Rutgers girls were rough-looking, tattooed, and then went on to label them as "nappy-headed hoes."

Big mistake, Mr. Imus.

The whole situation is being played nonstop all over the television. Can anybody remember the last time CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and ESPN were reporting the same story?
It was only a matter of time before leaders in the black community came calling for his head. The Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, both of whom have their own talk-radio shows, led the charge, demanding that MSNBC drop his simulcast and CBS Radio fire him for his inflammatory remarks. On top of that, Sharpton invited Imus to apologize on his own show, where Imus skirted around the question and seemed to act as if he knew his acts were out of line, but that the stir was too much.

MSNBC responded to the criticism by first suspending Imus for two weeks, but they have decided today that they will no longer air Imus's simulcast.

And that's a darn shame. Am I the only one who's going to miss his enormous ten-gallon hats, or how very early in the morning Imus looks like an elderly zombie? Keith Richards looks better than this guy does.

Regardless, the media is eating this stuff up, and so is Imus. The suspension wasn't supposed to begin until April 16, next Monday, giving Don Imus this entire week to cash in on his publicity and raise his ratings to new heights. He claims that he has had a telethon scheduled to raise money for children's cancer organizations, but come on, Imus, that only takes one day.

The whole situation is being played nonstop all over the television. Can anybody remember the last time CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and ESPN were reporting the same story? The Rutgers women have come out and publicly renounced Imus, which they should have. I don't know if Imus hadn't checked, but there were white women on the team, too.

Regardless, I'm a bit tired of hearing about all this. For anybody that hasn't checked, talk-radio is fueled by controversial hosts who either frequently fly off the handle or say something controvesial to increase ratings. Look how well it worked for Howard Stern: the guy had a book deal, a successful movie, and he now broadcasts all over the world on satellite radio, free from the FCC. Imus would love to reach that level. Sharpton and Jackson would love to get that level, too. Which is where it becomes an issue of ratings and money more than it does about defending the integrity of the Rutgers women.

The story is big news, tremendously big news, and every talk-show DJ is either defending Imus's free speech or condemning his un-professionalism. Either way, Imus has fueled the fire and given people something to talk about besides the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. They're cashing in on his situation. In true Fox News fashion, they're using Imus to point out racially inflammatory remarks made by Sharpton and Jackson in the past, reframing the issue as a double-standard imposed by liberals against conservatives. Give me a break! How many more people are going to use this controversy for their own personal gain?

No one cares anymore about Don Imus, and no one really cares about the Rutgers women. The situation has been projected into new areas it shouldn't have gone. People are making money off the misfortune, albeit self-imposed, of Imus, and the Rutgers women will be forever tainted by the remarks, no matter what punishment follows. Imus is an idiot for spouting off at the mouth in public, no matter how off-the-cuff, and deserves to be punished for his idiocy. MSNBC handled it, and all the other talkers out there need to shut their traps.

Photo credit: Don Imus, http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/061101/n_imus_kerry_061101.300w.jpg [URL]