Wednesday, April 11, 2007

"Tell the truth, tell it completely, and tell it immediately." Dan Edelman

Don Imus
said something stupid.

He offered a sincere apology.

He has been suspended for two weeks.

He will meet with the Rutgers students and offer an apology in person.

His bosses at CBS Radio and MSNBC will likely establish new rules of engagement for the show. JD's suggestion that they would be better served by adding minority participation to the show is an outstanding idea that deserves serious consideration.

My sense is before acting further management should wait to hear from the students.

In advance of that meeting my take is Don Imus should not be fired. He and all others on his crew should agree to do his act within new zero tolerance parameters and be held accountable. Being a man of means he should make some significant contributions to the Rutgers team and to each student on the offended team. While he is certainly guilty of being stupid with no excuse, he was offensive without malice, this event does not merit his termination.

Let the marketplace decide. Listeners, affiliates, and sponsors are the final arbiters.

LATER: MSNBC drops Imus. "What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible." says the NBC News release. Bruce Gordon, former head of NAACP and a director of CBS said he hopes the company makes the "smart decision" by firing Imus. Ball now in Les' court.


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