Just off the top of my head:
Via Bongo News: “Politically Incorrect” Host is Fired for Being Politically Incorrect
Via ESPN: Limbaugh resigns from NFL show
Via CBS News: CBS Fires Don Imus Over Racial Slur.
Via an LAT blog: CBS suspends ‘Two and a Half Men’ production after Charlie Sheen comments
Via HuffPo/The AP: Paula Deen Fired: Food Network Cancels Show After Racism Scandal
Via the NY Post: MSNBC fires Baldwin over anti-gay slurs
Via the LAT: Martin Bashir exits MSNBC in wake of Sarah Palin outburst (this was technically a resignation).
These are not First Amendment issues. People can, and do, get fired for things they say. The government is not involved, and the government is not the one removing them from their positions for their utterances. When the government is the agent removing someone from private employment for their words, then we can all go into high dudgeon over the first amendment.
One might wish to argue the justice of any or all of these. However, what this list demonstrates is that a) the Robertson thing is not unique, and b) media outlets are sensitive to how they appear to the public and will dole out punishments to on air talent when they think it serves their overall image.
I would note that in this rather quick sample we can see a lot of different types of people being suspended for an array of utterances. In some cases it is liberals being fired for saying things against more conservative issues/persons (e.g. Maher and Bashir). In others the ideological background of the individual is not the issue, the nature of the comments is (e.g., Baldwin or Imus).
In general, media outlets don’t want to be embarrassed and they have longer-term concerns about their brands than they have over the specifics of a given employee.
Update: In looking at this admittedly not scientific list, it strikes me that there is no clear pattern of liberals or conservatives getting in trouble nor is there a special religious theme.
