Editorial: A toxic environment

Tuesday, April 10, 2007 | 7:18 a.m.

Radio and television airwaves are precious tools of communication that should be used to help educate the public and tackle difficult societal issues through mature discourse. Thought-provoking commentary, as well as entertainment, certainly should be part of that mix.

But too much of what is aired consists of mean-spirited remarks, name - calling and shouting matches by allegedly professional adults who never stop and listen to what the opposing guests have to say. Call it empty calories for the mind.

For what seems the umpteenth time, we have yet another nationally recognized personality apologizing for using the airwaves to utter a racial epithet.

The guilty person this time was New York-based radio host Don Imus, who referred on April 4 to the Rutgers University women's basketball team, which has eight black players, as "some nappy-headed hos."

There is no excuse for such language. Imus, a member of the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, shouldn't need to be told that. But the fact that he uttered an inexcusable phrase, a remark that led the National Association of Black Journalists to call for his dismissal, shows that one can be a Hall of Famer and still strike out.

CBS Radio and MSNBC, which simulcast Imus' radio show, announced Monday they will suspend his show for two weeks.

The listening and viewing public is not guilt-free. By continuing to tune in to such vacuous fare, consumers are giving their tacit approval to the high volume of drivel that continues to win out over more intellectual pursuits and contributes to the dumbing-down of society.

If they want to build a repository at Yucca Mountain, maybe it should be for obnoxious radio and television personalities. Then again, why would we want any toxic environment at all in Nevada?