Red Bar goes to jail, Imus gets fired - End of comedy talk radio?

[TALK RADIO SHOW]

uvhfghfgjfghjhfjfhjyy

[lukenotposey]

Wow, you were "arrested" for comments on your "show"?

Well It's a good thing sucky-ness isn't a crime and I'm not a cop, because I would have arrested you years ago. As well as your nappy headed ho-hosts and nappy headed ho-sting provider for enabling the production of your shitty "comedy" "radio" show. Not to mention those nappy-headed hoes you call listeners.

But that's just one man's opinion.

[WyethDigital]

Well, if you want to get down to it, the public airwaves are leased from the public with the understanding that aside from making money, you also serve the public's trust. It's in the FCC license agreements and charters.

It does not serve the public's interest by being a constant source of racist remarks (This isn't Imus' first time to say something horrible). It also does not serve the advertiser's interests, as the marketplace has spoken and they have spoken up against Imus (in case all you "free-market" thinkers object to the public trust argument).

It's kind of like renting an apartment. Most lease agreements stipulate acceptable community behavior (don't harass your neighbors, keep your noise level at reasonable volumes, etc). Well, Imus is on rented airwaves that also have lease stipulations, and one could make the argument that he has violated them. Thus, he was evicted. Not silenced.

No one is stopping Imus from speaking his mind, they're just telling him that he can't do it on the radio anymore, which puts him with about 99.7% of the US population. In my mind, this isn't a "free speech" issue, or even a "hate speech" issue; it's a public trust and revenue issue. It's no different than those idiotic "morning zoo" DJs that get fired for some ill-conceived stunt or contest that we hear about from time-to-time. Imus is paid to be a jerk, and he just became too much of one. End of story.

Eric

[WyethDigital]

Wow, you were "arrested" for comments on your "show"?

Well It's a good thing sucky-ness isn't a crime and I'm not a cop, because I would have arrested you years ago. As well as your nappy headed ho-hosts and nappy headed ho-sting provider for enabling the production of your shitty "comedy" "radio" show. Not to mention those nappy-headed hoes you call listeners.

But that's just one man's opinion.

Well, at least you know how to make a reasoned argument....

Oh, wait a minute! You don't! C'mon, lukenotposey, what the hell? Why does this have to be a RedBar thing? :roll:


Eric

[lukenotposey]

Hey Eric, look up. I mean, physically, look towards the sky. Wonder what those flying things are?

Them's be jokes.

[WyethDigital]

Hey Eric, look up. I mean, physically, look towards the sky. Wonder what those flying things are?

Them's be jokes.
Well, that would be a matter of opinion... possibly taste. Maybe.

Eric

[Four-Oh]

Who decides what's in the public interest? Al Sharpton? The FCC? CBS and MSNBC?

It's one thing to put pressure on a show's advertisers to silence a commentator, it's something else entirely to call for a broadcaster to fire one of its own.

Was what Imus said stupid and racist? Yes and probably. Should be have apoligized? By all means, but fired?!? I don't think so.

I've got a great idea: let's let the public decide what's in its own interest. If Imus brings in the listeners, then Imus has a job. If Sharpton can't bring in listeners to his show, then the station or network could can him faster than you can say, "Tawana Brawley".

[X Pat Radio]

Who decides what's in the public interest? Al Sharpton? The FCC? CBS and MSNBC?

Well the FCC has the right to pull the licence of anyone. However in the Imus case I don't think the FCC got involoved. CBS and MSNBC have the right to decide what they want to have on thier network. Al Sharpton has his first amendment rights.

So if Imus wants to keep doing a radio show, there is always satelite radio and podcasting.

[WyethDigital]

Who decides what's in the public interest? Al Sharpton? The FCC? CBS and MSNBC?

It's one thing to put pressure on a show's advertisers to silence a commentator, it's something else entirely to call for a broadcaster to fire one of its own.

Was what Imus said stupid and racist? Yes and probably. Should be have apoligized? By all means, but fired?!? I don't think so.

I've got a great idea: let's let the public decide what's in its own interest. If Imus brings in the listeners, then Imus has a job. If Sharpton can't bring in listeners to his show, then the station or network could can him faster than you can say, "Tawana Brawley".
Well, cheap shots about Al Sharpton aside, I doubt Al Sharpton by himself could convince two networks to fire a profitable show host. If the advertisers decided to pull out, then that was their choice. If they felt pressure, then it was from many sources. Thus, the market has decided.

And no, the FCC didn't get involved, but they don't have to. The FCC is supposed to work on our behalf, and when it doesn't, then it's up to the public to make our own outcry. Apparently there were enough that did.

Should Imus have been fired? I don't really know. The fact that he was suggests that maybe he should have been. I doubt one statement would not have gotten him fired if the man hadn't had a long and infamous history of these statements.

Eric

[Four-Oh]

Well, cheap shots about Al Sharpton aside, I doubt Al Sharpton by himself could convince two networks to fire a profitable show host. If the advertisers decided to pull out, then that was their choice. If they felt pressure, then it was from many sources. Thus, the market has decided.

I respectfully disagree, I don't believe they are cheap shots. Sharpton is a race-baiter and should not be considered credible, especially when leveling ultimatums.

I understand that the FCC did not get involved here, I simply asked who is to be the final arbiter of what is, and what is not, in the public interest. I proffer that the FCC should not; that the public itself, through the marketplace, should decide what is in its best interest.

Look, I couldn't give a hoot about Imus... I never listened to his show, I doubt he was relevant to the public discourse, what he said was clearly stupid and hurtful... I'm just saying I'm tired of letting other people or worse, the government, tell me what I can and cannot listen to or view. And if the advertisers brought pressure to bear on CBS and they crumbled, that's fine with me. It's their network; they can do with it what they will, I just hope they didn't fire Imus simply because "Charlatan" demanded it.

[Four-Oh]

******! I swore when I got into podcasting I'd leave my politics out of it!

Do you see what you people have made me do?!?! ;)

[Four-Oh]

All right! I withdraw!

The truth is, I'm tired of wasting any more brain cells on either of them.

Please, dear God, let this needless, media-induced frenzy end!

[WyethDigital]

All right! I withdraw!

The truth is, I'm tired of wasting any more brain cells on either of them.

Please, dear God, let this needless, media-induced frenzy end!

Well, on that we can agree!

[Pats Podcast]

Hi everyone:Wow, you were "arrested" for comments on your "show"?

Well It's a good thing sucky-ness isn't a crime and I'm not a cop, because I would have arrested you years ago. As well as your nappy headed ho-hosts and nappy headed ho-sting provider for enabling the production of your shitty "comedy" "radio" show. Not to mention those nappy-headed hoes you call listeners.Why do you listen then? Certainly you must've heard of a little something called A DIAL.

If you were listening in via the Internet or via the RBR podcast, you have even more options....

In other words - GROW UP & GET A LIFE F*CKHEAD. There's nothing with being squeamish. But there is something wrong with depriving others of the right not to be squeamish though.But that's just one man's opinion.Well, we at least agree on that much.

I wish the RBR all the best in getting cleared of any alleged TRUMPED UP wrongdoing that may have been brought about by squeamish little morons with (Apparently and obviously!) nothing better to do with their time than to pick on a bunch of guys just having a good time on the Internet with their little (In comparison to the big political robots that tragically permeate the rest of talk radio) radio show.

Finally, I'd be willing to bet that if RBR was an ALL LADIES show and such comments were made by one of those women, we wouldn't even be talking about it as people would simply say So what or And....Your point is.....

I mean SERIOUSLY, I can't be wrong about this. Can I?

Just my honest opinion.

Cheers :D

[Pats Podcast]

Hi everyone:Well, if you want to get down to it, the public airwaves are leased from the public with the understanding that aside from making money, you also serve the public's trust. It's in the FCC license agreements and charters.

It does not serve the public's interest by being a constant source of racist remarks (This isn't Imus' first time to say something horrible). It also does not serve the advertiser's interests, as the marketplace has spoken and they have spoken up against Imus (in case all you "free-market" thinkers object to the public trust argument).True HOWEVER you're missing two important points.

1). The RedBar Radio show is syndicated by Genesis Communications (They are the ones who have to deal with terrestrial radio stations and the FCC).

2). The gang at RBR was simply making a point that many many other people on both radio & TV were also making. Are you suggesting that they too be arrested or somehow held accountable too (Especially if they didn't do anything wrong to begin with?).It's kind of like renting an apartment. Most lease agreements stipulate acceptable community behavior (don't harass your neighbors, keep your noise level at reasonable volumes, etc). Well, Imus is on rented airwaves that also have lease stipulations, and one could make the argument that he has violated them. Thus, he was evicted. Not silenced.And as I said before, many people reported and commented on this because it was a news item.No one is stopping Imus from speaking his mind, they're just telling him that he can't do it on the radio anymore, which puts him with about 99.7% of the US population. In my mind, this isn't a "free speech" issue, or even a "hate speech" issue; it's a public trust and revenue issue. It's no different than those idiotic "morning zoo" DJs that get fired for some ill-conceived stunt or contest that we hear about from time-to-time. Imus is paid to be a jerk, and he just became too much of one. End of story.No it's not. He'll just follow Howard Stern over to Satellite Radio (XM could use him to counter Howard in the mornings if they're smart enough to go after him).

Sorry Eric, but as much as you and I agreed on two other threads here, I have to disagree with a number of your points in this one.

Just my opinion :D

Cheers :D

[Pats Podcast]

Hi everyone:Hey Eric, look up. I mean, physically, look towards the sky. Wonder what those flying things are?

Them's be jokes.If what you posted earlier was supposed to be some kind of joke, it wasn't a very good one.

JMO...

Cheers :D

[Pats Podcast]

Hi everyone:I respectfully disagree, I don't believe they are cheap shots. Sharpton is a race-baiter and should not be considered credible, especially when leveling ultimatums.I think you mistook Eric's intentions Charles. I think Eric was simply putting aside the cheap shots for the sake of discussion, were you not Eric?I understand that the FCC did not get involved here, I simply asked who is to be the final arbiter of what is, and what is not, in the public interest. I proffer that the FCC should not; that the public itself, through the marketplace, should decide what is in its best interest.In this case, the public itself thru people such as Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, et al, made the decision as to what was in our own best interests.

Do I like it? No. But it's like an election. If you vote for some candidate running for office and he/she doesn't win, that means that the vast majority of other voters disagreed with my candidate and therefore voted for (one of) the other person (or people).Look, I couldn't give a hoot about Imus... I never listened to his show, I doubt he was relevant to the public discourse, what he said was clearly stupid and hurtful... I'm just saying I'm tired of letting other people or worse, the government, tell me what I can and cannot listen to or view.Well complaining about it and doing something about it are two different things. It's up to us as podcasters and videobloggers to change the current status quo.And if the advertisers brought pressure to bear on CBS and they crumbled, that's fine with me. It's their network; they can do with it what they will, I just hope they didn't fire Imus simply because "Charlatan" demanded it.I don't think this was the case.

Just my opinion :D

Cheers :D

[WyethDigital]

Hi Pat,

I wasn't actually saying that RBR is governed by the FCC, but that guys like Imus are. And for good reason. Whether you agree with his firing over his most recent remarks was not really my point. The thing is, the airwaves are rented out to companies who's sole purpose is to make money. Because the bottom line drives their interests above all else, we, as the public, need a watchdog to make sure our interests are upheld. That's where the FCC comes in.

I don't agree with their tactics, especially lately, but I do think we need the FCC, now more than ever, because of the ongoing consolidation of media interests in this country. I don't think public decency should be something that is easy to define (one man's pornography is another man's day at the beach), but the public interest goes beyond decency standards. I challenge anyone in this forum to explain to me that the race-baiting of Don Imus -- or anyone else -- is in the public interest (if Al Sharpton is a race baiter, Imus certainly is).

I also stand by my assertion that Imus being fired is not a free-speech issue, because a corporate radio station, unlike the proverbial town square, is not an open forum. Now, that does not mean it wasn't a censorship issue (it was), but it's not exactly a water-shed day in the anals of Free Speech, as some reactionary folks would have you believe. That's all I'm saying...

Eric

PS -- I think RBR's "arrest" was a put on.

[Four-Oh]

And I thought we'd stuck a fork in this one!

[Hittman]

No one is stopping Imus from speaking his mind, they're just telling him that he can't do it on the radio anymore, which puts him with about 99.7% of the US population.

"They" isn't even the government, it's his bosses. I think they overacted, I think the black community way over reacted, and I think Imus should have apologized once and then, when they instead he continue to prostrate himself, he should have told them to go intercourse themselves.

But overall, it's a trivial matter all the way around. The free market has spoken. Long live the free market.

Sharpton is a race-baiter and should not be considered credible, especially when leveling ultimatums.

Especially considering that he came to prominence via a fake rape case, something he has never apologized for. That's about four orders of magnitude worse than anything Imus did. Which means Al has no right to ask anyone to apologize for anything.

So what's the deal with RBR, anyhow? Was this for real, or just another one of their publicity stunts?

[ferg]

Imus is an old ****. A mummy. A bastard of a man. Should he have been fired? Hell no.



Let listeners decide. If a show is that horrible, people will tune out, and advertisers will leave.
Mike, I'm sure you're smart enough to realize that Imus was fired because advertisers were already leaving. As any corporation CBS and NBC aren't in the business to be nice - they're in it to make money. So, when Imus does something that causes advertisers to head for the hills, it's only logical that they would fire him. His show wasn't making that much bank to begin with, and I guarantee you that it would have quickly turned into a loss, had they kept him on. Firing him was a good business decision, nay, the only business decision his employers could make. It was a no-brainer.

All of that said, I'm just reading this now - can you (Mike) or someone else who listened to Mike FTL tell us exactly what his infraction was?

[WyethDigital]

Probably grab-assing an intern... :p

Eric