Frank Rich on Imus

I stand by my reaction to the Imus firing — it was warranted as a business decision that came as a reaction to more and better speech unlike the Bill Maher incident which came as a reaction to criticism from the administration — but I wanted to pass along this column from Frank Rich. Rich has some ambivalence on this — he calls himself a free-speech near absolutist (I would characterize myself in the same way — but I think he gives short shrift to the notion that speech has its consequences. forget what CBS and MSNBC said about this, the firing was about money and the decision by the money makers had everything to do with the surprisingly widespread public outcry.

Imus can still go to satellite, perhaps even Fox. There remain outlets and there remain listeners for his brand of unfunny humor. But free-speech does not require CBS or MSNBC from providing him the forum.

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet