I am wondering if anyone out there thought about what kind of response the FCC should take against WFAN & Westwood One, the owner of the station and the radio syndication company that transmitted the "Imus in the Morning" show on April 4, 2007? Is there any corporate responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the ownership?

Well, first of all, the FCC as I understand it does not even consider taking action against someone unless someone complains. And then they investigate and decide whether the complaints have merit.

But I'm curious as to exactly what FCC rule or law Imus might have violated by calling the women of a college basketball team "nappy headed hos?" Is it the word "nappy" that's offense (a racial slur - really??? Never heard the word until this story blew up.) or "ho"? And wouldn't all the radio stations that play any rap songs that use the same words be liable for the same kinds of FCC action, if people complain?

Andrew

No

Isn't the FCC pretty much just responsible for certain words on radio, and "wardrobe malfunctions" and language on network TV? I mean, there's more offensive stuff on the airwaves every day than what Imus said (not in a racial sense, but typical sophomoric humor, etc.) A complaint as far as it being racial in nature, yes. Offensive otherwise, no.

getting Xm Saturday. What a witchhunt.

Radioboy: good move, but may I suggest Sirius instead? I've had it for 8 months and couldn't be happier. Besides programming (Howard, etc.) the signal is better because of Sirius's elliptical-orbit satellites vs. XM's geosynchronous patterns. (no I don't understand it, but it seems to hold true)...

Might be a moot point tho', as a merger is still a strong possibility.

A WITCHHUNT IS RIGHT! I dont think what Imus said was offensive in the least. Funny yes. Offensive No.

If every jock that called Women basketball players fugly or nasty was thrown off the air, there would be alot of unmanned rock, rap and top 40 stations out there in radio land.

It becomes obvious the FCC's budget it too large and bloated and needs to be cut to save tax dollars if they have time on their hands to mess with this.

No FCC action needed.

Here's a good article on the Imus Incident: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/business/media/13carr.html?hp.

Couple of quotes:

The toxicity of Mr. Imus’s remark, the innocence of his targets, and his refusal to put down the shovel — he dug himself deeper just about every time he opened his mouth — made last night’s decision by CBS to end his show seem almost inevitable.

Mr. Imus is an old-school radio guy caught in a very modern media paradigm. When he started 30 years ago, if he made the same kind of remark, it would have floated off into the ether — the Federal Communications Commission, if it received complaints, might have taken notice, but few others.

But radio is now visible — Mr. Imus’s show was simulcast on MSNBC, and more to the point, it is downloadable. By Friday, reporters and advocates could click up the remark on the Media Matters for America Web site, and later YouTube, and see a vicious racial insult that delighted him visibly as it rolled off his tongue. The ether now has a memory.

Savage makes Don look like Walt Disney..Daily Savage attacks blacks,Mexicans, Jews, and every other color and religion. The whole thing is just stupid. You can thank the Bush Nazi machine for cranking up the heat & it started with Stern.

Should CBS be fined? No way.

By the way, regarding "The ether now has a memory," so forums like this or anything else that should end up on the Internet. The remarks that we make here may come back to haunt us one day. Be careful, folks!

no.

.....alot of unmanned rock, rap and top 40 stations out there in radio land.

I thought there already were ...........