I’ve written before that I’ve basically lost any hope that the mainstream media can be engines for positive social change in American society. This is because since corporations now control much of the media, the emphasis these days is on exploiting information and conflicts for profit and political favor, rather than disseminating important information for knowledge’s sake. Perhaps one of the worst offenders if the Fox network. Therefore, I was a little shocked to hear that Fox just fired a White sportscaster for racially-insensitive remarks against Hispanics:

Fox baseball broadcaster Steve Lyons has been fired for making a racially insensitive comment directed at colleague Lou Piniella’s Hispanic heritage on the air during Game 3 of the American League championship series. . . . Piniella said the A’s needed Thomas to get “en fuego” -- hot in Spanish -- because he was currently “frio” -- or cold. After Brennaman praised Piniella for being bilingual, Lyons spoke up.

Lyons said that Piniella was “hablaing Espanol” -- butchering the conjugation for the word “to speak” -- and added, “I still can’t find my wallet.” . . . “I don’t understand him, and I don’t want to sit too close to him now,” Lyons continued. . . . Hired when Fox began broadcasting baseball in 1996, Lyons was suspended without pay in late September 2004 after his remarks about Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Green is Jewish and elected not to play one of the two games at San Francisco that took place during the Yom Kippur holiday.

The network apologized for Lyons’ remarks at the time. Earlier in the playoffs, while working the Mets-Dodgers NLDS, Lyons unwittingly made fun of a nearly blind fan who was wearing special glasses to see the game. “He’s got a digital camera stuck to his face,” Lyons said.

At a time when it seems that more and more radio and television personalities are purposely offending minority groups and only getting a slap on the wrist as punishment, if anything, from their employers, I am flabbergasted that Fox, of all the networks, is taking a stand by firing Lyons. Who would have known that -- at least in this instance -- Fox actually has a conscience!