Don Imus and Free Speech
Friday April 13, 2007
Read more: The First Amendment
"I got fired from the new job today," a twentysomething man said over a cup of coffee. "But I deserved it. I did something incredibly stupid."
I prodded for more information, even though I wasn't really sure I wanted it. He sheepishly told me the story of how he had gotten into an argument with a customer, then went to the back and started talking to a coworker about the incident. In the course of the conversation with his coworker, he used a racial epithet to describe the customer--a word that I had never heard him use. The regional manager overheard, and that was that.
After he was fired, nobody talked about whether or not his free speech rights had been violated. He had made a racist remark while at work, in a context that would have created or contributed to a hostile work environment for other employees. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do, and he deserved to get fired for it.
The same applies to radio shock jock Don Imus, whose long-running show Imus in the Morning was taken off the air by CBS Radio after Imus referred to the championship-contending Rutgers University women's basketball team as a group of "nappy-headed hos." Since the FCC did not get involved, the First Amendment and its subsequent free speech guarantees are irrelevant to the discussion. This was a decision by a private employer to terminate an employee who had made a bigoted, unprovoked, and extremely nasty remark about a group of young women who had done absolutely nothing to hurt him. He did so loudly enough for the entire world to hear while he was at work, on company time, and functioning in his official capacity as a CBS Radio morning show host.
The executives at CBS Radio do not want their company to be thought of as a station that condones those kinds of remarks. They have that right. They are under no obligation to air content that they consider offensive, low-quality, or otherwise inconsistent with their editorial goals, and they may fire anyone they choose as long as they do not violate federal civil rights laws in the process.
"But Tom," some of you might ask, "doesn't your argument also apply to the Dixie Chicks controversy?" Yes, it does. However churlish the decision to boycott Dixie Chicks singles might have been, radio station executives have the power to make their own programming decisions. They were entirely within their legal rights to blacklist the Dixie Chicks. That doesn't make it right, of course, but it was ultimately their call.
And unlike Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, Imus didn't just express a political opinion. It is also worth noting that this is not the first time that Imus has made a racist or misogynistic remark. Consider:
Whether one agrees with the CBS Radio executives' decision or not, it should be easy to sympathize with it. CBS Radio has shown remarkable loyalty to Imus over the years, and he has repaid them with scandal after scandal. If executives no longer want their company to suffer for his mistakes, that is a business decision that they have every right to make.
As for Don Imus, there is little danger that he will vanish from the limelight. He has made a career out of profiting from controversy, and his latest adventure will be no exception.
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I prodded for more information, even though I wasn't really sure I wanted it. He sheepishly told me the story of how he had gotten into an argument with a customer, then went to the back and started talking to a coworker about the incident. In the course of the conversation with his coworker, he used a racial epithet to describe the customer--a word that I had never heard him use. The regional manager overheard, and that was that.
After he was fired, nobody talked about whether or not his free speech rights had been violated. He had made a racist remark while at work, in a context that would have created or contributed to a hostile work environment for other employees. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do, and he deserved to get fired for it.
The same applies to radio shock jock Don Imus, whose long-running show Imus in the Morning was taken off the air by CBS Radio after Imus referred to the championship-contending Rutgers University women's basketball team as a group of "nappy-headed hos." Since the FCC did not get involved, the First Amendment and its subsequent free speech guarantees are irrelevant to the discussion. This was a decision by a private employer to terminate an employee who had made a bigoted, unprovoked, and extremely nasty remark about a group of young women who had done absolutely nothing to hurt him. He did so loudly enough for the entire world to hear while he was at work, on company time, and functioning in his official capacity as a CBS Radio morning show host.
The executives at CBS Radio do not want their company to be thought of as a station that condones those kinds of remarks. They have that right. They are under no obligation to air content that they consider offensive, low-quality, or otherwise inconsistent with their editorial goals, and they may fire anyone they choose as long as they do not violate federal civil rights laws in the process.
"But Tom," some of you might ask, "doesn't your argument also apply to the Dixie Chicks controversy?" Yes, it does. However churlish the decision to boycott Dixie Chicks singles might have been, radio station executives have the power to make their own programming decisions. They were entirely within their legal rights to blacklist the Dixie Chicks. That doesn't make it right, of course, but it was ultimately their call.
And unlike Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, Imus didn't just express a political opinion. It is also worth noting that this is not the first time that Imus has made a racist or misogynistic remark. Consider:
- Of black journalist Gwen Ifill, who began covering the Clinton presidency in 1993, Imus reportedly said: "Isn't the Times wonderful--they're letting the cleaning lady cover the White House."
- Of black New York Times sports columnist Bill Rhodes: "quota hire."
- Of ex-coworker Contessa Brewer, who now works for MSNBC: "With that fat ass she's got, she wouldn't be [a beautiful woman]. That skank has to spend three hours with makeup in the morning."
- And then there was his sports sidekick, Sid Rosenberg. When told that Venus and Serena Williams might pose for Playboy one day, he said: "They'd have a better shot at National Geographic." We won't talk about Rosenberg's on-air impression of Maya Angelou, but it wasn't pretty.
Whether one agrees with the CBS Radio executives' decision or not, it should be easy to sympathize with it. CBS Radio has shown remarkable loyalty to Imus over the years, and he has repaid them with scandal after scandal. If executives no longer want their company to suffer for his mistakes, that is a business decision that they have every right to make.
As for Don Imus, there is little danger that he will vanish from the limelight. He has made a career out of profiting from controversy, and his latest adventure will be no exception.
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Comments
Hey, Tom.
I don’t agree that Imus deserved to be fired, but I give you credit in that you, at least, have made a reasonable argument from the perspective of an employer which no one else has made.
Most people who who demanded that Imus be fired did so from the perspective that simply because he said what he said, that in itself was enough to fire him. In fact, he had a total right to say what he said and listeners had a total right to turn off their radios.
You approach it from the perspective of an employer/employee relationship. The employee has embarassed the employer for another time in a series of incidents. His continued employment is likely to cause irreperable harm to the employer which will cost him money. The employee must be fired.
Where this now gets tricky is compensation. In PA and NJ absent a contract the employer can dismiss an employee basically for any reason. The employee works at the pleasure of the employer.
Imus has a contract that called for him to make a reported $9 million a year for the next 5 years. I’d love to see that contract and the language therein. I wonder if CBS has to now pay him the $45 million much like a baseball owner does when he fires a manager who is under contract.
I suppose Imus had a morals clause in the contract, but I don’t think that would apply. It’s hard to imagine he would have had an insult clause since that was what he did for 30+ years.
Interesting.
John
The question really is , if Imus had been black, would the outcome be the same? Free speech sometimes hurts and one might not agree, but should anyone lose their job over it? One just has to turn the dial or turn it off.
Jackson and Sharpton hypocrites at large, just stir the pot to have their pockets filled in the process. Those two are way worse than Imus ever was. Now I am waiting that the government( here we go again) steps in and curtails free speech. Yes Imus should not have said what he did and yes it was stupid and wrong, but CBS and NBC made their millions of him and now he is an old white guy who needs to be kicked to the curb. Now I expect the media to go after everyone that uses language simmilar to it. Watch out Chris Rock and Rappers, Rosie and comedians. This country is going down fast, little by little our rights are getting chipped away.When will people wake up? And as for NBC and CBS — I will watch something else.
The Imus in the Morning Show has always been two things: A “shock jock” show with lots of insult humor directed in equal opportunity fashion towards everyone. Imus and his staff use satire to poke fun at every public figure. They most often use insult humor against each other – especially against Imus himself for his age, etc. While I haven’t listened in a couple of years when they switched stations in my area, from what I remember the one joking slur that got him fired would have been right in line with the insults he and his staff use against people of all possible demographics.
I like satire, but I find insulting women for their appearance to be non-entertaining, and so I always disliked that about the Imus show.
But I put up with it because his interviews with pundits and newsmakers were of a kind not found anywhere else. He gave them a big air time block – 20 or 30 minutes – in which they were able to fully develop their ideas and get much more in depth into issues. We don’t get that elsewhere – we get talk hosts with their own political axe to grind who shout over their guests (even the ones they agree with). When we lose this, we lost a lot.
I think this will have a chilling effect on satire in general for awhile. Some of it will be welcome, I would love a more civil society. But in other cases we will be throwing out the baby with the bathwater.
Tom,
I like your writing style. Clear and to the point. Thanks for a good article.
I agree with the other people your argument was good, but still I wonder in the morning CBS stated they would not do anything until Imus’ two week suspension was over but one short visit from Sharpton and Jackson and within a couple of hours Imus is gone. Not even allowed to finish his radiothon. Who gained from that not the charity. If Sharpton and Jackson were such GOOD souls they would have at least given CBS permission to allow the event to go on with Imus in charge.
Another problem is was it really CBS and MSNBC’s decision or was it really Sharpton and Jackson decision and like wet noodles the networks just caved.
Yes Imus made the remarks but if Sharpton would not have started making a fuss this whole incident would not have been blown out of proportion. The girls basically admitted they did not know about it until someone (maybe Sharption) let they know about this terrible remark and they they got all upset. How thin skin can you be. What happened to sticks and stones can break my bones but works cannot harm me. I admit the remark should not have been made but what happened to forgiveness.
One other thing I have nothing against these young ladies I am sure they are very nice and smart and going to be very successful in whatever career they choose to enter but I have heard them being referred to as heroes and frankly I believe that word just does not fit. I consider the soldiers fighting overseas heroes
This is just another example of “White America” and their misunderstanding of how we as a Blacks in general and Women in particular have been “sold” on the white mans slave blocks for money and disrespected by Rappers. The next heads that need to roll are the record companies, which by the way produce these vulgar cds and Rappers! And don’t forget Tyler Perry, Jamie Foxx, Martin Lawerence among others that ridicule blacks for profit! I think it’s fair to say, or I just haven’t heard Don Imus ridiculing professional Black men in sports, he just berates women!
As a retired owner/operator of a chauffeured limousine service, I was privy to many private conversations between corporate officers. Knee jerk decisions were made but always left to lower officers to announce to employees/public. But nothing I ever over heard discussed equals the gutless wonders of NBC and CBS. Beyond me how Sharpton and no visable means of employement Jackson, could influence them to fire their cash cow. I still do not know what [ho] means. Heroes? No the basketball players are not heroes, but Sharpton and Jackson would be mine, if they ever stepped up to put an end to street gangs-drugs-drive-by shootings.
Tom
I understand your point and there point, but it goes much deeper. There’s a double edge sword that’s just starting to swing. We have to so called Presidential canidates that have chosen sides . . . Now we have to wonder, if they can lead all the nation and not . . . I don’t even want to say it.
But Tom I’m tired of the hate, we need to come together and solve our problems. Not create more . . . Imus was a good person, the ranch, what he chose to raise money for . . . I don’t agree with him all the time, but he deserved a chance to change . . .
Dan Hanosh
Dreams Are Yours To Share
Perhaps to your surprise, I fully agree with you, Tom.
MSNBC and CBS have every right to fire Don Imus, a public figure with a public broadcast who demeaned a group of people.
And frankly, if I was MSNBC/CBS, I would fire him. No one who violated the public trust with such slurs would work for me, particularly someone with a long history of insensitive slurs, as Imus has.
Does Don Imus have a right to free speech? Yes, of course, but that is a LEGAL right… but not necessarily a guarantee that one can stay employed at a particular job while exercising that personal right.
I firmly believe in market-based solutions to many such situations.
Anyway, Don Imus will likely now enjoy a multi-million dollar income on subscription radio, along with fellow shock-jock Howard Stern.
Hi. If he had made such remarks about the jews, he would be fired too. Don’t you agree?
Absolutely right! There’s no politics in this. Imus wasn’t making a political statement. He was making a mean and cowardly statement. Mean and cowardly never have been too popular in America and hopefully they never will be.
It’s even more shocking to see just how many hippocrits we still have to contend with. Examples: What would you have done if it was your daughter being verbally disrepected? “Turn The Dia!?”: The damage has already impacted the innocent victims!
The longer you keep-up your `Different Strokes`attitude … the longer you retard America’s prosperity.
I don’t think Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson help race relations when they rail gainst all whites as if they are all the same determined by the color of their skin. (whitey )
Al sharpton said some bad things about the Duke Lacrosse players for which he has not apologized
Also there are are other bigots that are tolerated as long as the target is not black, Calling Mother Theresa “Mother F—ng Theresa and her sisters as something c—ts
and Bill Maher making derogatory remarks during John-Paul’s funeral are overlooked.
Just avoid the “n” word and you can say whatever you want.
I take comfort in the knowledge that decent people like Al Sharpton serve as self-appointed guardians of the 1st amendment and arbiters of free speech. Don Imus’ remarks should not be confused with parody or satire. Imus clearly believes that the entire women’s basketball team are whores and that they sell their bodies on the street corner after each game.
I look forward to a brave new totalitarian state where thought police control every utterance in the media, the workplace, and in private life. For the good of our country, please contact your congressmen and senator and urge them to vote yes on the Civil Speec Act.
**** US CIVIL SPEECH ACT OF 2007 ****
Any citizen or non-citizen who comes into contact with someone using language that they find offensive or that may possibly be found offensive by another person, whether the transmission of the “hate speech” be by radio, televsision, newspapaer, magazine, live stage performance, mime troupe, or any other means, must by law report that person immediately to the nearest CIVIL SPEECH OFFICER. Be sure to record the name of the offender, as well as the date, time, and location where the offending speech took place.
Brilliant.
What would have happened if a black announcer said “those nappy headed hoes…in the game? Would it be okay? Would it be overlooked? This isn’t about race, it’s about being responsible for what comes out of your mouth. This country needs to grow up. If you don’t like what is being said, don’t tolerate it. We are a country of many different faces. It isn’t about white vs black. We are everyone. What you say in your home is your business. What you say outside of your home is everyone’s business. It is time to be accountable for yourself and get as much education as you can, and rise up from where you are. The only one holding anyone back is you. So, is it right to fire Imus? He is a big boy, he can handle this. He will be pickup by someone else. He has a loyal following. Will anything be resolved? We will see. In a couple of weeks what? America, how shallow are we? We are at war. Those countries want nothing more than to nuke us. They hate us. Which is more important, Imus, or the war and the young men fighting for us. They are risking there lives to protect us from what? Ourselves…
I disagree that he should of been fired. Cbs & Nbc seem to have a double standard. When the government tries to restrict them, the complain and call if Freedom of Speech or Freedom of Press. Then they turn around and fire the guy for the same reason. They new when the hired it going to offend people. I don’t like Don myself, so I don’t listen. He got fired for basically doing his job.
Really the big picture is Imus will just get another job, probably more money and more publicity.. You Can’t Change Ignorance When Someone Doesn’t Feel They Are. Imus is really typical of male “good ol boy” attitude. Sexist and Racist. Whats the differance. Imus and Howard Stern belong together.
What you fail to mention is that Imus is a shock jock and his employers hired him to say outrages things. To fire him for saying it is a outrages.
His employers gave in to Jackson and Sharpton harping on this issue.
Sharpton and Jackson in my opinion now need to go after the Black rap artist for how they degrade women in their music. To not do so will be hypercritical and will be seen by many as just that.
I don’t think the man should have gotten fired. Not Don Imus, the other guy. Are you comparing the two? Don Imus’ comment was intentional, in fact he was making his living saying shocking things. The other fellow that used a racial epithet had a slip-up, and in my opinion should not have been fired. Where is the forgiveness and the understanding for a mistake? How does that create a hostile work envirnomnet? I think to say that one commment creates a hostile work environment is ridiculous. A hostile work environment is ongoing, and not based on one second on speech. As far as Don Imus goes, I think you’re right that if the employer thinks he went too far, then they are entitled to fire him. But as far as speech in general, if someone in or out of the public eye says something that maybe they did not mean, the offended parties are entitled to ask for an apology, but should also try to forgive after that. Everyone makes mistakes and there needs to be recognition of that.
I cannot believe this has taken place, just cause Al Sharpton & jesse jackson say so? why was them two the judge??? JUST NOT RIGHT!!!!!!!!!
Allow me to post an opposing viewpont that sums up my feelings in this matter.
In the Imus Crucification We Failed as Progressives
By Ali Eteraz
In law school I had the distinct honor of taking a free speech course with a former ACLU lawyer who in the 1970’s defended the rights of a bunch of American Nazis to march through a city with a heavy population of Jews that had survived the holocaust. My professor was a Jew.
My professor, one of Philadelphia’s most famous progressives, who was profiled by the FBI many times, taught me that the first amendment was not something to bring out only when a President curtailed the rights of citizenry. Rather, the first amendment was an idea: that more speech is better than less speech.
Every Progressive that has justified firing Imus because his speech is hurtful, incendiary, ignorant or bigoted, has violated every single Progressive principle towards speech that I have grown up to value.
Cenk Uygur, who is a radio personality himself, agrees with me:
The first amendment doesn’t apply to someone like Don Imus because the government isn’t prohibiting him from saying what he said. But the concept of free speech does apply to him.
Free speech doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It must be protected not just by the government, but by society. We must be open to different and objectionable ideas. We must even allow them to be broadcast over the airwaves.
There is no more proverbial street corner where you can broadcast your ideas. In order to effectively deliver your ideas to a significant audience, you must broadcast them.
It’s hard to see what society gains from allowing Imus to call people racist names. But if we push for people to fire him, will we prevent others from having an open dialogue about race that can eventually lead to positive change?
Remember, society is quickest to shut down the voice of the rebel or the outsider. In other words, the liberal. The Southern establishment had no interest in hearing from Martin Luther King, Jr. Many would have considered Malcolm X’s diatribes racists. Should he not have been allowed on television or radio?
I am not saying that Don Imus is Malcolm X. I’m saying that you need to allow a Don Imus so that you can get to a Malcolm X.
Progressives have always been about dialogue and discussion. How did we turn into supporters of suppression?
Now that Imus is fired, everyone will think that “nappy” is the new n-word (which blacks can say to one another but no one else may use). Meanwhile, some radio stations will add the word “ho” to their blacklist (but not really).
How does that get to the root of American racism? It does not at all. Maybe people believe that Imus is the head of the snake of American Racism. This is absurd. The real heads are Limbaugh and Coulter. Besides, what does targeting the head get anyone anyway? Don’t Progressives ourselves blame President Bush for merely targeting the “head of the snake” when talking about terrorists and doing nothing at all about the roots of terrorism?
We Progressives have struck at the head of racism and we have eliminated any chance of addressing the deeper underlying causes.
There are rumors that a black actress is going to be in a film called Nappily Ever After. [Halle Berry, forthcoming 2008]. We Progressives should have taken our disgust with Imus’ comment to inquire whether we are OK with such a film. We should have taken our disgust with Imus and inquired whether or not what is passing for mainsream hip hop [ i.e. Jay Z's "Money cash hoes (WHAT)"] today gives to using words like “bitch” and “ho.” We should have taken our disgust with Imus and inquired whether a film like Black Snake Moan, in which an older black man chains a “slutty” white girl to cure her of her promiscuity (as if all white girls are promiscuous), was a racist film?
We didn’t do any of those things.
We fired Imus.
Now we’ll dance in the flames.
Racism remains unaddressed.
On top of that, we just established precedent that it is OK for radio hosts and talk show hosts to be fired if we disagree with what they say.
I am ashamed to be a progressive right now.
Cenk Ugyur, sorry buddy. I guess all I can say is, don’t piss people off when you talk, otherwise we progressives will have to take you down as well.
Ali Eteraz, 26, is an international finance and human rights lawyer. During law school he worked on litigation against US defense contractors involved in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal, and since represented plaintiffs defrauded by Wall Street. He is the founder of Eteraz.Org: States of Islam, a think tank and interactive web portal dedicated to cataloging and taking action on legal and legislative reform in the Muslim world (soon to be available in Urdu, Farsi and Arabic). His essays have been published in Counterpunch, Killing the Buddha, The Revealer, and Identity Theory. His personal blog, Unwilling Self-Negation, was a 2006 finalist for an International Best Of Blogs Award. He is currently working on a book about children and Islamic militancy tentatively entitled Prophets in Dust.
His blog can be found at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-eteraz/
I’m PTBartman and I approve this message
Al and Jesse, what a laugh. They call themselves,Rev. , Minister of what. Ithink they need to be cleaning their own toilets before trying to clean mine. They are using these young women. So far I have not herad any one say lets clean up ALL airwaves> Since one person owns CBS, Viocon, Vh1,BET, and more. I think we are going to have to live with the trash they spout ,24/7. Rackes in big buck from the young whit guys with lots of dough to waste. With great Role modles like Al/Jesse and the Rappers, we know the Black Children, and the upcomming ,generation are in good hands.
Bottom line is this–
If you don’t believe some moron you think is full of sh*t, has a right to say whatever they want, then you don’t really believe in freedom of speech.
Imus should have not been fired! It was a joke, can anyone just laugh anymore.
back people laugh when Cris Rock says the ‘n ‘ word. I believe in freedom of speech.