"There has been much discussion of the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society," CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves said in announcing the decision.
One of those discussions took place at noon today with a coalition of leaders from the civil rights and women's movements, who said it was time for Imus to go, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes.
"It's important that we stand with the women of Rutgers who are deeply hurt by the highly insensitive comments of Don Imus," said Marc Morial, CEO of the National Urban League.
It's a stunning fall for one of the nation's most prominent broadcasters. Time Magazine once named the cantankerous host as one of the 25 Most Influential People in America, and he is a member of the National Broadcaster Hall of Fame.
But Imus found himself at the center of a storm after he called members of the Rutgers team "nappy-headed hos" last week. Protests ensued, and one by one, numerous sponsors pulled their ads from Imus' show. On Wednesday, MSNBC dropped its simulcast of the program.
This was an article written about Don Imus, a radio broadcaster, who at the time was broadcasting news about the NCAA Women’s Final Four. The team he was referring to by calling them, “nappy headed hoes.” Was the Rutgers women who went on to lose in the championship game to Tennessee. His comments about the team found himself in a serious bind. He ended up getting fired from his job, he lost a lot of money for the company he was broadcasting for, and he caused a lot of commotion throughout the nation, with not just basketball fans, but African-Americans alike. He caught it from all angles after his comments, he received threats and hate mail, he got it all. I chose this article because it shows the idiocy that people have today. It shows how people do not think before they speak, and obviously don’t care about anyone but themselves.
This relates to the film we watched Ethnic Notions. It goes back to the names that the people on that film were called, and how they were treated. They were not treated like humans in the movie. In the movie the whites treated the blacks, as if they had no feelings. They treated them as if they were not going to get upset if they said the things that they did. Similar to the Imus situation, Imus thought that the women would not get upset. He thought that it would not offend them, when in reality it did. And now he is out of a job and all because he did not think before he spoke. Also now, the coach for Rutgers and the players are still affected , and have not completely forgiven Imus for his comments. Just like how some African Americans have not forgiven some white people for the ways that they treated blacks.
Don Imus put himself into a very tight situation with his comments, and in the end he dug a hole to deep. He could not get himself out of the mess that he had gotten himself into.
"CBS Fires Don Imus Over Racial Slur." CBS News. 12 Apr. 2007. 7 Oct. 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment