Imus' Technocolor Castration

Effective immediately, MSNBC will no longer simulcast the "Imus in the Morning" radio program. This decision comes as a result of an ongoing review process, which initially included the announcement of a suspension. It also takes into account many conversations with our own employees. What matters to us most is that the men and women of NBC Universal have confidence in the values we have set for this company. This is the only decision that makes that possible. Once again, we apologize to the women of the Rutgers basketball team and to our viewers. We deeply regret the pain this incident has caused.

—Statement from NBC News

The I-man must be flumoxed by his fall from grace. For years, Imus' shock jock rants defined the air waves and blazed the way for the screachings of Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Michael Savage As Marty Kaplan writes, this has less to do with heightened sensitivities to Imus' ho-talk than it does to corporate profits. "Their effect may be to debase discourse, inflame prejudice, sow ignorance, exculpate criminality, incite rancor, ruin reputations, and stoke the right-wing base - but their effect is not their job. Their job is to make money for the corporations that employ them. We may revile them for being Rove's toadies, but we're chumps if we ignore how relentlessly the companies that employ them monetize their noxious shtick."

I am also impressed at the dissonance of the most conservative media outlets, notably Fox, wallowing in fifth to make a buck. For all the hand-wrining over "Teheran Rosie's" silly words, they don't come any where near to the unrelenting stream of vulgarity and agitprop that the right wing media spews each evening.