Imus Mess Makes Arbiters of Advertisers | Americans Support Firing

IMUS MESS MAKES ARBITERS OF ADVERTISERS
[SOURCE: AdAge, AUTHOR: Andrew Hampp]
Procter & Gamble was the first to walk away from Don Imus on April 6 -- yes, that was the Friday before the media frenzy erupted and almost a full week before the radio host's corporate bosses realized they had no choice but to pull the plug on the curmudgeon's show. If the whole Imus debacle tells us anything, it is that today the marketers are truly the reigning power in the fragmented media world. The week's events underscored what many pressure groups had proved in similar content controversies -- that the best way to effect change in media is to go after the ad dollars. There are so many media options today that it is easier for a marketer to pull out of a media outlet than put up with the negative publicity and the risk of a fall-off in sales. What's more, marketers have grown accustomed to those who have grievances about media content clogging up their inboxes and switchboards. Hence, P&G getting out of "Imus" two days after he first made his "idiot comment meant to be amusing" about the Rutgers women's basketball team; well before Al Sharpton arrived on the scene; and at a time when only a small handful of media outlets had even reported the incident.
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=116102

* No Love Lost: Imus Ouster Heralds End of 'Hate Media'
[Commentary] "Whenever they take out one of the poster boys, it means it's a moment in time -- the end of an era. But forget the circus, forget the core cast of characters; the two stars here were the outcome and the rooting sections. Other than his circle of friends, it seemed most were rooting for Imus to be taken out on a stretcher, not just because of the tantalizing blood-sport appeal, but because this country is ready and begging to be a less hateful land."
http://adage.com/article?article_id=116101

* That's not entertainment
[SOURCE: The Christian Science Monitor, AUTHOR: ]
[Commentary] Americans saw a good example last week of the entertainment industry regulating itself. After listening to critics, advertisers, and its own employees, CBS fired radio host Don Imus for his recent racist and sexist jab. Now, if only more media executives could display such courage.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0417/p08s01-comv.html

* Don Imus and the FCC: Should Hate Speech be Regulated?
http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042279.php
* Blame falls on us for putting up with demeaning language
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/04/15/columnists/guest_column/48...
* Endless news cycle dumbs down America
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070416/COL...

POLL: AMERICANS SUPPORT IMUS' FIRING
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jon Cohen and Jennifer Agiesta]
Americans by a narrow margin agree that Don Imus should have lost his nationally syndicated radio show last week, but while whites are evenly divided on the issue a sizeable majority of African Americans support the firing, according to a poll. Overall, 51 percent of respondents in the new Washington Post-ABC News poll said Imus should have been fired for making racially insensitive comments about black women basketball players from Rutgers University; 45 percent said he should have kept his job. However, that rough parity on the issue masks deep racial and significant gender divides. Whites were evenly split in the poll on Imus' firing, with 47 percent supporting CBS Radio's decision and 49 percent opposed. By contrast, more than seven in 10 blacks said he should have been fired over the incident. And 55 percent of women thought Imus should have lost his job, compared to 48 percent of men who agreed with that outcome. Among black women, 70 percent said Imus should have lost his show over his remarks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/16/AR200704...
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