CBS radio and MSNBC both announced today that they will be suspending radio show host Don Imus due to some racial slurs he made on his show last week. When talking about the Rutger's University women's basketball team (which has 8 African American team members) he said, "that's some rough girls from Rutger's. Man, they got tattoos..." Bernard McGuirk, a producer, chimed in by saying, "Some hardcore hos." Imus then responded with, "that's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that." The "nappy-headed hos," comment was met with some harsh criticism from African American community leaders, including Al Sharpton.
In an attempt to do some damage control, Imus has made several public apologies including an appearance on Al Sharpton's syndicated radio show. Imus has admitted that this was a joke that went, "way too far."
It is clear that Imus' image has been severally damaged by his remarks and the images of both CBS radio and MSNBC are also in jeopardy. Many people outraged by Imus' comments believe that in order for CBS and MSNBC to prove they are intolerant of racial comments, they need to fire Imus. Both CBS and MSNBC are feeling pressure to end Imus' radio career, but both networks have decided that a suspension is a proper form of punishment. Imus' has made promises to change his program's discourse and MSNBC has stated that, "our future relationship with Imus is contingent on his ability to live up to his word."
Imus has learned the hard way that it is important to think before you speak and he is going to need to make huge changes to his program if he is going to better his public image. One public relations tactic that he is doing successfully is his proactive approach to doing interviews and making numerous public apologies, but it is going to take a lot more than that to undo this mess.
1 comment:
Well, you sure were right: "it is going to take a lot more than that to undo this mess."
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