Earl & the I-Man

Earl's take on Don Imus' likely return to the radio airwaves seem very fair and reasonable to me. Although the disgraced radio host hasn't been on in Los Angeles for years, and likely won't be any time soon, I still say: Welcome back, I-Man.

Unlike many of the people who called for Imus' scalp, I've actually listened to him quite a bit -- almost daily back when I lived in New York and he hosted the morning show on The Fan (WFAN, New York's sports-radio station, never mind that Imus wasn't a sports guy). To be sure, Imus had a soft spot for ribald, politically incorrect humor, but this was hardly the focus of his show, and he was no Howard Stern. Much of the time on his program was actually spent interviewing big names in the media and in the news -- all the top presidential candidates would appear, as would industry bigwigs like Tim Russert and Margaret Carlson. The show would often spin off into long, thoughtful conversations about current events; kind of like NPR, but not so monotonous, and with a sense of humor. Imus also spent countless hours raising millions for the dude ranch/summer camp he ran for seriously ill children.

None of which is to defend the egregious comment that cost Imus his job. It was a stupid, offensive thing to say. But it was also more the result of an off-the-cuff, terrible attempt at humor than any ingrained sense of racial animus. If you listened to Imus regularly, and you heard him talk about the issues, what he thought about bigots, and the respectful way he treated his guests, it's clear he was no racist. I don't think he ever intended to hurt anybody. He was just in the dangerous business of using shock to elicit a laugh -- a business that, especially when unscripted, can lead to awful mistakes. Play with fire, and you're likely to get burned. Surely Imus gets that by now.

As Earl notes, Imus has paid dearly for that mistake, which is only appropriate. But he shouldn't have to pay with his career. He's taken his lumps, he's expressed contrition, and he's sincerely sought to make amends. That, and his talent, ought to be enough to earn him another chance.