Imus is in trouble for his offensive remarks, and he's not helping himself any. Now Procter and Gamble -- one of the biggest advertisers in the US -- just pulled all their ads from daytime MSNBC, and Bigelow Teas and Staples are suspending their ads for now. One would think that the fact that CBS Radio and MSNBC have put him on hold would reassure advertisers, but no brand wants to be tainted by Imus' bad behavior.
Here's the problem, he didn't apologize fully, take full responsibility, and say he would do everything he could to educate others and move on. He pointed out the fact that this kind of comment fit in with his general sarcasm and generally mocking, borderline inappropriate comments. He was trying to contextualize the comment in his general sarcasm, instead of ending the argument and saying he takes full responsibility.
In the course of my reporting over the past couple days all the crisis-management folks I talked to had some very specific advice-- be contrite, and deal directly with the people you've offended. By going to Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson instead of straight to the Rutgers' women's basketball team he drew out what was already a bad situation. Some media sources are speculating that this P&G boycott of MSNBC's daytime schedule will force the network to fire Imus by the end of the week. Any predictions?
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