According to an article by Media Matters: For America, on the April 4th edition of MSNBC’s Imus in the Morning, host Don Imus referred to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team, which consist of eight black and two white players, as “nappy-headed hos” following the remarks by the show’s executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, calling the team “hard-core hos.” Subsequently, the show’s former sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, who was filling in for sportscaster Chris Carlin, said: “The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the [National Basketball Association’s] Toronto Raptors.”
FoxNews.com reported that Imus and McGuirk went on to further attack the black members of the team, referring to the National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball championship game between Rutgers and Tennessee as a “Spike Lee thing,” adding, “The Jigaboos vs. The Wannabees – that movie that he had.” The comments drew immediate outrage from the National Association of Black Journalist, which had called for a boycott of Imus’ show until he issued a “sincere and unequivocal apology,” referring to him as a “sophomoric host.”
After NBC canceled the MSNBC simulcast of Imus’ radio show, CBS released a two-week suspension on Imus, beginning April 16th but neither repeated apologies nor the suspension controlled the matter. Many advertisers dropped out of Imus’ show and protests continued, inside and outside the companies. Prominent leaders such as Dr. Boyce Watkins, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson became closely identified with protests against Imus.
In searching the Internet for news articles on the matter, placing key words such as “Don Imus,” “Don Imus scandal” and “Don Imus Rutgers,” top results consisted of unfavorable coverage towards Imus. Headlines consisted of “Advertisers Pull Out of Imus Show,” “CBS Fires Don Imus Over Racial Slur,” “Rutgers Team Wants Personal Apology” and “Imus Suspended from radio, TV.” Other headlines that conveyed a positive outlook on his actions consisted of “Don Imus Apology” and “Imus Signs Deal with Citadel to Return to Radio.” Overall, the media portrayed Imus in a negative context with coverage emphasizing on his comments being inconceivable “racial slur[s]” done by a man who was once named as Time magazine’s Most Influential People in America.
Due to the increased media coverage the radio-talk show host created with his “racial” comments, many prominent leaders (as stated before) rose to take a stand against Imus. People ranged from Sen. Barack Obama to rap artist 50 Cent. The majority of the articles criticized him and often painted a picture of Imus as a bigot or as a racist man and despite his apology the media portrayed him and his show in a negative context.
From the various articles that were noted in this blog, the accompanying photographs were straightforward and framed him as the way he depicts himself: as a radio shock jock who wears a cowboy hat and insults people.
Contrasting the mass media’s negative coverage of Imus’ remarks, bloggers like Hughes for America, presented viewpoints that defended Imus’ actions in accordance with Freedom of Speech. Others compared his comments to explicit rap lyrics, discussed the role of women in society, commented on the publicity women’s basketball was receiving, race, and the definition of “nappy headed.” Unlike the mass media who depicted Imus’ remarks as merely racist, bloggers opted for an open discussion of the situation. The majority of blogs discussed whether or not Imus should be protected under the First Amendment and whether Imus’ remarks should be compared to explicit rap lyrics. Overall, the majority agreed that his remarks were unacceptable and demeaning.
Don Imus is known for being a blunt and arrogant radio personality. Thats what he does. Goes off on rants and dismantles people on air (for the most part) but for him to say what he said was way out of line. Apologizing on his show, before being suspended for two-weeks, was a great way to reach his current audience and those that were probably listening since the scandal had risen. Don Imus even appeared on civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton’s radio show to apologize but that was not enough. Racial comments are ultimately unacceptable if you do not belong to the race you speak of. I feel that his attempts to show how sorry he was for his statements were the best thing he could have done. Donating money, playing the civil rights card or anything else other than a sincere apology would have appeared fake and insincere. In this case, an apology was the only thing he could really have done. The rest was left up to the people. They could accept or reject his apology.
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Mass Media Sources
1. FoxNEws.com
2. NABJ.org
3. CNN.com
4. CBSnews.com
5. youtube.com
6. msn.com
7. Newyorktimes.com
Blogs Used
1. hughesforamerica.com
2. crisisbloggers.wordpress.com
3. mediamatters.org
4. blogcritics.org
