Friday, May 04, 2007

Jiving while white

ABC News: Exclusive: Don Imus' Lawsuit -- CBS 'Encouraged' Shock Jock's Behavior
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3135895&page=1

The network is expected to rely on a clause in the radio talk show host's contract that says he can be terminated for 'just cause' if CBS determines that he used "distasteful or offensive words or phrases, the broadcast of which [CBS] believes would not be in the public interest or may jeopardize [the networks's] Federal license to operate..."

But Garbus, who has successfully defended hundreds of high profile First Amendment cases, said CBS still breached Imus' contract when the company fired him.

He cited a section of his client's employment contract today that says Imus' "services to be rendered … are of a unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial and personal character … and … these components are desired by Company and are consistent with Company rules and policies."

My take on the controversy is that Imus said something rude and uncalled for -- just like he's been doing for many years. In this particular incident, he used words that are commonly heard in popular rap music. The problem is that he's an old white guy talking about young black ladies. Imus is definitely guilty of jiving while white. There's a fine line in comedy between humorous imitation of other ethnic groups and insulting mockery.

I think he actually used those words to make fun of the rappers. It was thoughtless to direct his comments at the Rutgers team, but they weren't really his targets as much as innocent bystanders. Certainly, Imus went too far for most people, though not necessarily for his intended audience. If Imus hadn't gone on Sharpton's radio show to apologize, the story might have died out without him getting fired.

Frankly, I've never been an Imus fan. I can understand that many people would take offense. They're perfectly within their rights to stop listening to him, and even to boycott advertisers on his show. Let the markets work. But the truth is that the stupid remark was repeated word for word by every major media outlet. I kind of doubt that the FCC is going to get involved in this after so many weeks. It would not surprise me to see Imus win based on the specifics of his contract. It's like a sports team firing the head coach -- maybe he didn't deserve the blame, but his consolation is that he gets to keep the money. And the fans get some satisfaction out of getting rid of the loser, until the next one comes along.




Instapundit links to a TestPattern post:

High-priced lawyers on both sides must be licking their chops at the prospect of delving into the actual contract language because if it's at all as Fortune represents, there could be a million loopholes on either side of the fence. If anyone thought Imus' firing meant his name would stay out of the news for a time, stay tuned. It looks like things are just heating up.



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