Imus in the mud pit

Don Imus doesn’t have a centimeter of the intellectual and philosophical depth displayed by Rutgers head coach C. Vivian Stringer in her response to his calling her players "nappy-headed hos." She and her players demonstrated a quality of character that is beyond the grasp of Imus, his producer and the corporate heads that facilitate his wealth and ego.

Coach Stringer is right when she said it is not about Rutgers basketball players. It is about respect for women and the hurtful nature of pervasive racism and sexism. She is even more on point when she says it is not about brown or white----but about "green"!.

Sadly, the bottom line for the Imuses of the media world and their corporate facilitators is money, power, ratings and ego. As long as those elements are only moderately threatened, there will only be a moderate rebuke in response to the offense.

Imus made the offensive remark on Wednesday. He dismissed the affair as unimportant on Thursday. Only when the den of criticism picked up steam did the corporate heads of CBS Radio and MSNBC respond by suspending the program for two weeks, saying they thought is was an "appropriate" action given the fact that Mr. Imus had apologized.

Really? Do you suppose that they might have thought it "appropriate" because their money loss was a spit in the ocean compared to their revenues from the show? Do you suppose for a New York minute that a two weeks suspension has been a sobering financial blow to Mr. Imus’ income?

Also do you suppose for a minute that those television "news media" types like David Gregory (MSNBC) will now decline to appear on Imus in the Morning? Do you really think all those politicians and presidential candidates will now refuse an opportunity to use the morning show platform for their pomposity?

Don’t hold your breath. The bar for talk show standards is so low it rests on their bottom line. Money and ratings trump common sense and ethics most of the time in that arena!