Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Radio legend Don Imus passes away aged 79. Love him or hate him he did good charity work for kids with cancer.

- Another example of why hockey players are the best

- Rewriting human history through DNA

- Dean Martin the coolest cat who ever lived

- Interesting - scientists have discovered a way to manipulate the body's own immune response to boost tissue repair

- A new patent from Tesla may make a million-mile battery a reality.

- Russ Roberts lists his 5 favorite novels. Sadly I haven't even read one of these. Will have to remedy that in 2020.

Imus and Risk Reward

You'd have to live in cave not to know that Don Imus has been fired by both CBS and MSNBC for his "nappy headed hos" comment. What really got Imus fired instead of just suspended was the threat that advertisers were going to be leaving and not coming back because Imus was just not someone they wanted to be associated with anymore.

It came down to money. Simple economics. Simple risk vs reward economics basics.

Imus brought in an audience because he took risks (where do you think the word risque comes from?). His show was the definition of being suggestive or bordering on indelicacy or impropriety. People tuned in to see what he'd say next. And advertisers spent money to put spots on his show because he had an audience.

Somewhere along the line the risk / reward matrix became inverted. It was now the advertisers who were taking the risks by advertising on his show and it was Imus that was reaping the reward. However, with the threat of boycott from professional race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson - the risks for the advertisers outweighed the reward of reaching Imus' audience and once that happened - Imus' value to CBS and MSNBC vanished as did his status as an employed person.

The obvious cautionary tale here is to be careful of what you say as a public person. The not so obvious cautionary tale may be more impactful.

If advertisers start to shy away from shows that take risks then those shows will cease to be. What you will end up with is bland entertainment on radio and TV and who wants to watch or listen to that? Advertisers will start to spend less and less money on traditional media and more money on new media that is taking risks and getting bigger audiences because of it.

There is blood in the water for the PC police and woe be to the next traditional media person to cross the line. What's getting lost in the shuffle is the fact that the average person (the very people who make up a show's audience) really doesn't care about this issue and all the navel gazing by the media and watering down on the risk factor will cause these people to find their entertainment elsewhere. And the advertisers and their mother's milk of advertising dollars will follow them.

Thoughts on Imus

Greg wondered why I haven't written anything about Don Imus' comments. I guess the reason is because the subject combines two things which independently I care very little about (Don Imus and women's college basketball - hey I'm being honest here). Let me explain.

Don Imus is a mean-spirited prick. I don't think anyone who has ever listened to the Imus show is surprised that he could say mean and hurtful things about anyone. As Phil Mushnick has said about the people shocked by what Imus said, "Where have you been?" Imus says hurtful stuff like "nappy headed ho's" every day but he passes it off as "comedy". I would be shocked if he didn't use those same words to describe the girl who accused the Duke lacrosse players for example.

Now I'm not a huge women's basketball fan and I kind of resent that women's basketball is almost forced upon the sports viewer on TV (whether it be college basketball or the WNBA). I feel bad for the Rutgers players but I also feel bad for the Tennessee players because they were this year's champions but the news of their victory was nothing compared to the amount of ink and newsprint being spent over what Imus said about the Rutger's players.

I've also been silent on the matter because I'm more than a little bit disgusted with the media coverage. The MSM loves them a victim and it loves them a powerful person they can pull down from a pedestal. If you doubt the MSM loves a victim - Google "Jessica Lynch" and then do the same for "Brian Chontosh". Combine that with the fact that lowlife's like Al Sharpton get to play the race card - well you have a frenzy on your hands. I'm not sure about you but as soon as I hear that Al Sharpton is involved with a story - my mind flashes a neon sign that says "Send in the clowns."

To summarize - Don Imus is a mean-spirited prick who said something hurtful about some girls who had been toiling in obscurity and their cause has been picked up by people who have no credibility. The only people with any socially redeeming qualities here are the Rutger's players and now they've said their peace.