Imusgate Pt. 2

*Shudder*

I suppose it is in poor taste to blog about the same issue twice in a row, but the entire world of radio is focused on Imusgate, and I must roll with the punches. So to do some catch-up, Imus was suspended from his show for two weeks, apologized for his remarks on Al Sharpton’s radio show, and shifted into a mode of self-deprecation by saying that his statements went “way too far.” Whether or not you agree that statements like “nappy-headed hos” are offensive, Imus has come under fire in a big way, regardless of his comedic intentions. Unanswerable questions have been brought up: Is Imus a racist? Wasn’t he just acting in jest? Is everyone taking this a bit too seriously? These questions are the foundation for the media blitz that is Imusgate, and where there are racist accusations to be made, the media is sure to follow.

But enough of re-cap and semantics. It’s time to discuss the specifics of the punishment. Imus was suspended for two full weeks, meaning that the station will lose a significant amount of listeners during that time. As a result, sponsors are going to waste money on ads that won’t reach the public’s ear-holes. When I called for FCC punishment in the previous post, I meant to say that Imus should get fined, not suspended. By suspending him and mucking up relations with the show’s sponsors, the station is basically hurting themselves by putting advertisement/station relations on the rocks. And the ads have already been pulled by unnamed companies, causing the station and show to fiscally suffer for the next couple of weeks.

A couple of weeks may not seem like a lot of time in the grand scheme of radio, but it will surely have a heavy impact. What makes advertisers so willing to put their ads back on the morning show? They probably won’t, for the fact that Imus may blurt out another racist comment and put another nail in his career coffin. Advertisers have to be absolutely positive that there is an audience listening that will potentially purchase their product, and if people are switching their stations and abandoning the show like a bunch of lemmings, then no one will want to sponsor the show at all. As this downward spiral occurs, Imus will gradually be fazed out as he becomes the kiss of death for anyone who touches the show. (Update: MSNBC dropped the simulcast of his show. Bonus points for predicting the future?)

Am I just being overly pessimistic? I suppose, considering that morning show hosts like Star and Bucwild on Hot97 were fired for disrespectful segments and were then moved to a competitor station where they were equally successful. The same thing may happen to Imus, for all I know, but what I do know is that he is stooped in hot water. And if that means that the station has to be punished as a side-effect from his suspension, then I hold them equally responsible. This move was clearly meant to maintain some sort of good image in the eyes of America, and while Imus is off meeting with the Rutgers basketball team and chilling with Al Sharpton, the station is at fault for putting him there. They may not have had any other choice, but at the end of the day, they’re only hurting themselves on top of bruising their trash-talking host.