Don Imus: meal ticket

No one will accept Don Imus' apology.

Why not, you wonder?

Because show business is so hard.

Ya think it's easy to get a TV or radio show?

Well, it's not. And if you get a TV or radio show, it's not easy to keep it.

You have to deliver an audience. A big audience. A growing audience. A loyal audience that buys stuff they don't need from companies that advertise on your show.

That's why radio shows are not hosted by people who say just the right thing in just the right way. If that drew an audience, radio shows would be hosted by Hallmark cards.

And they're not.

So if you want a radio or TV show and you can't draw an audience, there's only one other thing to do.

Find an incendiary racial grievance, demand something impossible as the price of your forgiveness, and then settle for having your show broadcast on the offending radio stations and cable networks.

Exhibit A: Jesse Jackson was interviewed over the telephone Monday by NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory, who was filling in for Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball. After a suitable amount of tsk-tsking over Don Imus, Jackson berated Gregory over the absence of African-American hosts on MSNBC's schedule.

Gregory reminded Jackson that the Emmy Award-winning Alison Stewart, host of MSNBC's The Most, is African-American.

Jackson responded that "hosts" have writers and producers, and evening time slots. He said, in essence, that Alison Stewart was not what he had in mind.

Ya don't say.

Gee, Rev. Jackson, didn't you once have a show on CNN? Whatever happened over there? Wouldn't you like to host a prime time hour on MSNBC? Would that be all right? Would you forgive us then?

Glad Wrap is less transparent.

Then there's Al Sharpton. On Monday he dragged Don Imus into the studio where he broadcasts his own syndicated radio program, "The Al Sharpton Show."

Reverend Sharpton, whose ethics are beyond question (unless you Google "Al Sharpton, Tawana Brawley" or "Al Sharpton, Federal Election Commission"), called for regulating hateful speech on broadcast radio and television.

Of course, speech can't be regulated without running afoul of that First Amendment, another dastardly creation of those slave-owning Virginians. Blast it all. Well, if regulating hate speech is going to create legal problems, there's only one thing to do.

Pick up Al Sharpton's radio show on all the CBS Radio stations that carry Imus!

Fair is fair, right?

Wrong.

If fair was fair, the same terminology that is considered perfectly fine when used by African-American entertainers would not be career-ending when used by Caucasian entertainers.

This is not to defend the use of offensive racial insults. The question is fairness, and proportionality. It is irrational and unreasonable to believe that the identical words merit either financial ruin or an NAACP Image Award, depending on the race of the speaker.

By coincidence, Al Sharpton's interview with Don Imus and Jesse Jackson's interview with David Gregory happened on the very same day that Illinois Senator Barack Obama was interviewed by David Letterman. Senator Obama, who just barely trails Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton in national polls and fund-raising, was asked in all seriousness if he would consider putting Senator Clinton on his ticket as vice president.

If you are Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, the rise of Barack Obama is a frightening thing.

Senator Obama has arrived on the national political scene without wrapping himself in the unassailable robes of the clergy. He ran for statewide office, he asked for votes, and he got them.

It is possible that Barack Obama will win the Democratic nomination for president in 2008.

And if he does, the racial shakedown business is going to take quite a hit.

How do you argue that compensation must be paid because America is a completely racist country after a major political party nominates an African-American for president? (Actually, he's half African and half Caucasian, but people who think race is a dealbreaker don't typically consider that an improvement.)

And if you can't win compensation for the racism woven into the fabric of America, how are you going to pay your bills and support your lifestyle?

You'll have to earn your money, like everybody else does.

If you're a preacher, or an entertainer, you'll have to draw an audience. A big audience.

Don't call Don Imus for advice. He doesn't owe you anything.


Copyright 2007


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