MSNBC, CBS Radio justified in dropping Imus program

Published 2:34 pm Friday, April 13, 2007

By Staff
MSNBC and CBS Radio were justified in dropping Don Imus from their programming due to pressure from major sponsors. On Wednesday, a week after his racist remark, MSNBC said it would no longer televise the show. CBS fired Imus Thursday from the radio show the pioneer shock jock hosted for almost 30 years.
"He has flourished in a culture that permits a certain level of objectionable expression that hurts and demeans a wide range of people," CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves said in a memo to his staff. "In taking him off the air, I believe we take an important and necessary step not just in solving a unique problem, but in changing that culture, which extends far beyond the walls of our company."
We have listened carefully to both sides of the issue.
We have heard his apologists try to justify the lack of taste he displayed in his comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team.
It was just a joke. He has the right to make his comments under the First Amendment, they say.
Leaving the First Amendment out of this, his lack of judgment has led him down this road.
He never thought that companies that supported him throughout the years would turn their backs on him.
From a business standpoint, MSNBC and CBS had no choice. Their "cash cow" was about to be hung out to dry.
We believe in the right to free speech.
We will defend it staunchly when need be.
Does Don Imus have the right to say those things on his show? Of course he does. That's his right.
Does the public have the right to turn his show off? They most certainly do. Does MSNBC have the right to drop him from their programming before he cost them sponsors? Yes!
Don Imus' comments were tasteless and hurtful toward a group of individuals that deserved better.
They deserve to be treated with respect, not dismissed by a radio disc jockey.
A hard-working, smart bunch of women's basketball players were treated poorly and America cried out against it.
It is nice to see that people still believe there is a line you can cross when it comes to good taste. Don Imus crossed it and now he must live with its consequence.