Imus Got Rehired. Would You Have?

Just eight months after being fired for using racist and offensive remarks on his program, radio host Don Imus is back on the air. He’s on a new station (WABC 770 AM), with two new cohorts, but promises that the show won’t change.
 
For the most part things are going well for Imus. His audience nearly doubled on his first show back with its heaviest numbers coming in the first hour. Clearly there was a curiosity that will (and has already) tapered off, but he’ll still have great numbers. He seems to be remorseful and has already settled back in to doing his job.
 
I, for one, have never listened to Imus. I have had two Imus experiences though. The first came when I was working at a private airport in New Jersey. It was Labor Day and he was returning home with his wife and child from his Ranch for Kids with Cancer. I unloaded his luggage and he gave me a $20 tip - a great tip. The second came only a few months later when I was working at CBS and my first task was to remove the commercials from recordings of his shows.
 
My personal take on the controversy is that I think the punishment fit the crime. He certainly deserves to earn a living and we can decide to listen or not. It is amusing to me that some of the people that were calling for his firing feel exactly as I do; this includes the Rev. Al Sharpton. Maybe they should have just called for a suspension and an apology.
 
I was never too interested in the controversy. I certainly felt his comments were inappropriate, but after that I tuned out. I can’t help but wonder though, if you or I were fired from our jobs for racist slander, do you think we would have rebounded so quickly?
 
My first thought is no. For starters there is a good chance that you would have to go find a job immediately. That might not be so bad except for when you have to explain in an interview why you are able to start immediately and can offer no references from your previous employer. We would also have to search without the benefit of millions of dollars in our bank accounts (I’m assuming).
 
On the other hand we are not public figures. In our case the matter would not be handled publicly. If you are fortunate enough to land an interview quickly while hanging on to a reference or two there is always the chance of bouncing back with no one ever really hearing of the incident. One things for sure, you wouldn’t wind up in negotiations with contract promises just as soon as things cooled down.

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[Bruce]

A very fair blog in my opinion. Only thing I take exception to is "Racial Slander". If he had actually named a person that certainly would have been slander. It was just a badly thought out joke that was way off the mark in this day of Political Correctness. Picked the wrong type of public figures, they weren't. And he knew that within a day of saying it.

Thank you for posting this.

[Duane]

There's an old company cliche that "No one is irreplaceable." That is, simply, not true. Lots of people are. Most people are. They are only replaceable if you reduce them down to a couple of simple variables (i.e. "We need a new radio host who can talk edgy politics.") In so doing, you drop the many things that make that person unique right on the floor.

There will be times when you let someone go, only to discover that you cannot adequately replace them. Then you have a choice - either realign your needs so you can do without the person, or back off on your original reasons for letting the person go. This is particularly true of celebrities, as in this example, but it can equally apply to anybody else who has a special enough skillset that they would be hard if not impossible to replace.

It is certainly how I approach my job. I know that I am irreplaceable, whether the company thinks so or not.

[Maria]

Not being a fan of Mr. Imus I don't really care about the situation. I do know for a fact that if it was me or you or any average citizen, the penalty would have been much greater. Your references would share that information with future employers and you'd likely be out of a job for a very very very long time. There is a double standard that exists in this country and no one should bother to deny it. I didn't listen his first time around and I will not listen the second. I will always watch my mouth at work.