Sorry Excuses: MSNBC's Form Apology

Media watchdog group Media Matters of America noted the comments are "just the latest in a long history of racial slurs made on the show by Imus, his guests, and regular contributors."

And National Association of Black Journalists officer Gregory Lee Jr., who is a senior assistant sports editor at the Boston Globe, told the Associated Press, "You can apologize, but what does that mean when you have a history of making disparaging remarks about people?"

Among the highlights from the MSNBC We Apologize for Don Imus's Show Which Is Not Our Production Hall of Fame:

In January 2006, Imus chatted with Chris Matthews on his radio show, simulcast on MSNBC, and discussed unprintable candy metaphors by way of describing the relationship of the male leads in the flick "Brokeback Mountain." MSNBC apologized for that one, too, saying, according to a report by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation:

" 'Imus' is produced by WFAN radio and is simulcast by MSNBC. The views expressed on the program are not those of MSNBC. Having said that, it was unfortunate that these remarks were telecast on MSNBC. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by these remarks."

Traveling further back, in December '04, MSNBC apologized for comments made on "Imus in the Morning" in which Palestinians were referred to as "stinking animals" and a suggestion was made that they all be killed.

That time, MSNBC issued the following statement: "The views expressed on the program are not those of MSNBC. Having said that, it was unfortunate that these remarks were telecast on MSNBC. We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by these remarks."

We called MSNBC to ask whether the network had considered putting Imus on a several-second delay so as to avoid having to trot out its tired old "We're really sorry but it's not our responsibility" form-letter apology, in much the same way cousin network NBC puts "live" trophy show broadcasts on the air with a delay to be able to kill out words and exposed body parts the Federal Communications Commission has deemed offensive.

An MSNBC rep e-mailed back the comment:

"We take this matter very seriously. We find the comments to be deplorable and are continuing to review the situation."

We asked what "continuing to review the situation" meant. The TV Column did not hear back. We also asked for an explanation as to what MSNBC suits thought was the difference in responsibility between a program it aired that it produced and a program it aired that was produced by CBS Radio. We did not hear back.

Imus is a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. His show is syndicated to more than 70 radio stations around the country. WFAN is owned by CBS. Yesterday CBS Radio issued this statement:

"We are disappointed by Imus' actions earlier this week which we find completely inappropriate. We fully agree that a sincere apology was called for and will continue to monitor the program's content going forward."