Final thoughts on Imus and his cancellation last night by MSNBC. 

I've been in broadcasting 27 years and I can tell you that any company that looks in the camera and tells you that they anything because of their employees is spinning faster than a gerbil on crack.

When NBC gets threatened with massive losses of revenue, perhaps even effecting NBC and other NBC brands, that's when they react because revenue drive the train.  Period. 

I was also appalled with some of the comments made last night on MSNBC by "leaders" heralding the decision. 

On Countdown, Keith Olbermann asked Jesse Jackson point blank (and followed again with the same question) why Imus and not Rush, Beck, Boortz or Savage.  All Jesse could do with ramble on with something about "the air is toxic" and "we must have a higher decency standard for our children."  Right, Jesse.  I'm sure the first thing a five year old does in the morning is run downstairs and turn on MSNBC. You could tell Olbermann was getting frustrated because rather than give him a straight answer,  Jesse came up the empty suit that he is.

On "Hardball", BET President Robert Johnson had the gall to say "If Imus had said something like this about Jewish-Americans, he would have been off the air the next day."  Gee, that's not a bit racist and stereotypical is it, Bob?  Yet, nobody even blinked when he said it.  And there will be no outcry.

The takeaway from all this is Imus made an ill advised, inappropriate comment and blacks and the liberal media (who made sure the kept using the word "slur" or  "Don Imus' racist comments") fanned the flames until Jesse and Al Sharpton could arrive with buckets of gasoline. 

When I was a kid, I used to get in fights anytime anyone made fun of my red hair.  My father told me to walk away, that words are only words and that you should "never argue with an idiot."  Imus in this case was the idiot, masking questionable comments in humor.

But why Imus, and not Rush, Savage, Beck, Boortz or a number of conservative hosts who walk the line between taste and questionable taste everyday?  Here's why.

When this story broke, several things went into motion.  The folks at ESPN and CNN started cranking out story after story making sure the word "racist" and "slur" was used in the headlines.  Why?  CNN is getting it's ass kicked by Imus in the ratings.  ESPN would like nothing more then to solidify it's own "Mike & Mike" simulcast in the morning, knowing full well they would take some viewers away from MSNBC. ESPN is also the network of the women's college basketball tournament, so sticking up for the Rutgers women was a good business decision (always protect the product.)

Behind the scenes, account executives from other companies called on key accounts wondering if they planned to stick with Imus, who was a racist and slurred innocent women.  That's bad business, they say.  You can't have your name and reputation tied to a man like that.  Leaders from the black community had massive phone and e-mail campaigns targeting advertisers, making it known that if they stuck with Imus, they would not purchase their products. 

It took MSNBC a week to dump Imus because they were trying to figure out how bad the hit was going to be.  It's funny that this story continued to make headlines a week after the utterance simply because the PR machine for all of the people with agendas continued to crank out story after story after story. 

Rush has advertisers who know what they are getting and don't care.  Imus has advertisers that can threaten the survival of a lagging cable news network.  You make the call.

In a poll on the MSNBC website, viewers were asked if they would miss Imus.  84% said yes they would.  This tells you that while advertisers are worried about backlash, the public has already forgiven Imus or was not as bothered with it in the first place.

Everyone, I don't care who, your boss, your wife, your kids has an agenda.  The people that are the most noteworthy and the most successful are the people who succeed in accomplishing items on their agenda.  Al and Jesse's agenda was to get face time on TV to feed their massive egos and their ridiculous sense of importance.  CNN and the other networks agenda was to get rid of a competitor who was kicking their ass. 

Is justice really about taking a man's livelihood away from him?  As alleged men of God, don't Al and Jesse have a moral obligation to council Imus and forgive him rather than condemn him and order his dismissal?  Isn't their God a compassionate God who seeks truth rather than retribution?    Don't people that write stories need to make them more balanced as opposed to constantly leaning them to have people form conclusions before they even read them?

This is life in the 21st century.  Where as we used to have the "me" decade, we now have the "squeaky wheel" decade where anyone who feels that they were wronged can make enough noise, get enough coverage and accomplish their goal.  Media loves it because it drives viewers and viewers drive ratings which drive revenue.

Which leads us full circle to where we started.