by A.man.I

The Internet is buzzing with speculation that Don Imus will be returning to the airwaves in the near future.  He’s the infamous shock jock, now forever linked the phrase, ”nappy headed ….”

Immediately after he made the disrespectful comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team back in April, the Black community seemed outraged. 

The National Association of Black Journalists called for his firing, folks like the Rev. Al Sharpton led protests against Imus, and the news networks followed the story until he lost his cable simulcast, and then his radio job.

Now, after just a few months, it looks like Imus will back behind the microphone.  The rumor is, he will get his old job back at WFAN radio sometime in September (check out Journal-isms for all the details).  The once outspoken Sharpton is apparently taking a softer tone. He’s quoted as saying,

“My position is that we never called for him to be permanently barred from being on the air. We’ll see when he comes back, and if he comes back, what are the boundaries and what is the understanding.”

The NABJ isn’t as forgiving. The organization’s president Bryan Monroe told Journal-isms,

“We would hope that, just a few months later, they would not substitute a desire to cash in for the need to stand by their convictions.”

These are my personal thoughts. If you examine the situation, CBS probably only decided to get rid of Imus after the controversy blew up, and it was to pacify all of the folks who were screaming for his ouster. The execs that “fired” Imus (wink) were probably planning all along to bring him back once all of the noise died down.

What Don Imus said was an ignorant reflection of how American society collectively views Black women, but there’s an obvious double standard when it comes to words that we (all of us, Black, White and other) can say publicly.

Unlike the n-word which was symbolically buried, however, Imus will be resurrected for a second chance at life on-air, because it’s not about right or wrong, it’s all about the paper. 

By A.man.I

Creative Loafing published an article about a campaign aimed at bringing some balance to the radio rap game.  Angela Griffin started a petition drive, hoping to influence Atlanta radio stations to put some positive music into the mix. 

She’s hoping to collect 2,000 signatures by August, and is planning to hold town hall meetings as well. 

We all know that mainstream radio is all about keeping the hottest songs in rotation. Though it would be nice to hear some political or positive music, you’d probably be better off turning off the radio, and playing your own Lupe Fiasco,  Dead Prez, or Public Enemy.  Still, I applaud Griffin for working to fight the power. 

Petition Link

Hip Hop journalist and activist Davey D talks about the new legislation that will change Internet radio.