Keith Olbermann, MSNBC’s primetime firebrand host, has been suspended indefinitely for violating the ethics policies of his employer earlier this year when he donated to three Democrats seeking federal office, MSNBC announced Friday.
WTF!
MSNBC TV President Phil Griffin:
“I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”
Olbermann must have known the policy. He must have known that political donations are public information. What was he thinking? This is really going to hurt MSNBC’s ratings.
Note that Griffin didn’t fire Olbermann.
UPDATE: Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan have made campaign contributions. When will they be suspended?
-David Drumm (Nal)
For you Keith
Oh really Howard?:
The famously feisty MSNBC anchor got caught donating to Democrats—and was suspended by his boss. Howard Kurtz on the liberal talking head’s hypocrisy—and why it’s not as bad as Fox News.
So is Keith Olbermann now the Worst Person in the World?
No, but he made a really dumb mistake.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-11-05/keith-olbermann-suspended-by-msnbc-the-hypocrisy-of-his-campaign-donations/?om_rid=NsfYtq&om_mid=_BM1VZEB8Vjniyi
These next (2) years are going to be very interesting:
Sometimes someone asks a question that I find worth being asked.
A quote from the the prior comment of Elaine M. on Nov. 5, 2010, at 10:07 pm is a question that I sense may outrank all others:
“What the hell is wrong with people?”
I ask myself, of myself, that sort of question before I ask a question of anyone else.
I cannot really know anyone else well enough to ask such a question of anyone other than myself.
For myself, and I can answer for no one else, my answer is itself a mere question of questions:
“What the Hell is wrong with me? Why do I imagine what fills in the gaps in my observations which comprise my life encounters with other people? Why cannot I live in a future which is always not yet here? Why can I not understand myself, and perchance thereby understand everything else, doing so absolutely perfectly, without error or any possibility of error?”
Thanks Elaine for posting that, it pretty well says it all.
Here’s an excerpt from a very interesting article at Think Progress:
Think Progress
UPDATED: Before Bush Donor Takeover Of MSNBC, Network Selectively Applies Rules To Suspend Olbermann
By Lee Fang on Nov 5th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/05/burke-comcast-msnbc/
UPDATED: Before Bush Donor Takeover Of MSNBC, Network Selectively Applies Rules To Suspend Olbermann
UPDATED: We have been notified that Comcast has not yet officially taken over MSNBC/NBC Universal. Although Comcast has tentatively finalized a deal to purchase a majority stake in NBC, Comcast awaits final approval of the takeover from the Justice Department and from the Federal Communications Commission. A statement from Comcast reads: “The joint venture between Comcast and GE has not yet received regulatory approval. Comcast is not in any way involved with decisions made currently by NBC News.” However, once Comcast gains final approval from federal regulators to move forward, Comcast COO Steve Burke, a Bush fundraiser, will be placed at the helm of MSNBC and other NBC companies. Our original post inaccurately asserted that Comcast’s Burke was involved in the decision to fire Olbermann. We apologize for the error.
Earlier today, MSNBC declared that it would be suspending progressive host Keith Olbermann because he violated NBC’s ethics rules by donating to three Democratic candidates for Congress. As many bloggers have noted, conservative MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has donated to Republican candidates for Congress while promoting the same candidate on air, but has never been disciplined. Moreover, Gawker notes that MSNBC has been exempt from the formal NBC ethics rules for years. It is still a mystery why MSNBC selectively applied NBC’s ethics rules to Olbermann. However, it important to realize that MSNBC has undergone a fundamental change in leadership in the last two months.
Late last year, Comcast — the nation’s largest cable provider and second largest Internet service provider — inked a deal taking over NBC Universal, the parent company of MSNBC. Comcast moved swiftly to reshuffle MSNBC’s top staff. On September 26th of this year, Comcast announced perhaps the most dramatic shift, replacing longtime MSNBC chief Jeff Zucker with Comcast executive Steve Burke [Updated: The shift from Zucker to Burke has not taken place yet — Burke will preside over MSNBC once the Comcast merger is complete. We have been informed that no Comcast officials are currently involved in the decisions of NBC or MSNBC.]. Burke has given generous amounts to both parties — providing cash to outgoing Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) as well as to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and other top Republicans. But as Public Citizen has noted, Burke has deep ties to the Republican Party. Public Citizen’s report reveals that Burke served as a key fundraiser to President George Bush, and even served on Bush’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology:
Comcast – the country’s largest provider of cable TV and broadband Internet services – has increased its political giving along with its mergers and acquisitions. CEO Brian Roberts was a co-chairman of the host committee at the 2000 Republican Convention. Comcast Cable President Stephen Burke has raised at least $200,000 for Bush’s re-election campaign. […] Comcast’s political giving has increased along with its mergers and acquisitions. The company was a “platinum sponsor” at the 2000 GOP convention, and Roberts was a co-chairman of the host committee at the Philadelphia event. Burke was appointed to the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology in 2002.
Why would Comcast be interested in silencing progressive voices? Historically, Comcast has boosted its profits by buying up various telecommunication and media content companies — instead of providing faster Internet or better services (overall, American broadband services are far slower than in many industrialized nations). Many of these mergers, as Public Citizen and Free Press have reported, have been allowed by regulators because of Comcast’s considerable political muscle. Comcast’s latest regulatory battle has been to oppose Net Neutrality — a rule allowing a free and open Internet — because the company would prefer to have customers pay for preferred online content.
Olbermann has been a strong voice in favor of a free and open Internet. Republicans, on the other hand, have supported the telecommunication industry’s push to radically change the Internet so corporate content producers have the upper hand over start-ups like blogs, independent media, small businesses, etc. As Reuters has reported, the incoming Republican Congress has signaled that it will vigorously side with companies like Comcast against an open Internet.
Here’s the MSNBC policy regarding political donations:
From The Nation
MSNBC Suspends Keith Olbermann
Greg Mitchell
November 5, 2010
http://www.thenation.com/blog/155872/msnbc-suspends-keith-olbermann
Excerpt:
MSNBC’s policy, drafted in 2007, states that “anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest. Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions. You should report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the President of NBC News or his designee.”
“Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan have made campaign contributions. When will they be suspended?”
They are republicans.
GE, a war company, a propaganda company, is republican owned.
Get it?
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2009/09/getting-caught-is-only-no-no.html
If it’s good enough for Olbermann, it’s got to be good enough for Scarborough… that is, if you want to fair and balanced…
Rachel M’s take:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/05/maddow-keith-olbermann-su_n_779851.html
Nal- Good for Chris Hayes! It’s good to see a man stand up for a friend.
“According to the Center for Responsive Politics, GE made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company’s political action committee). The top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio.”
=============================================================
Well, well, well … isn’t that interesting. We’ll have to see what the new Senator from Ohio does once he reaches the Senate. Has he been bought and paid for? Let’s pay special attention to the committees he is assigned and to his votes. Ditto for all the other candidates GE paid.
If Olbermann’s Donations Are Bad, What About GE’s?
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, GE made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company’s political action committee). The top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio.
Tweet from Christopher Hayes:
Blouise:
Maybe he’s waiting for one of them to get back from France.
Thanks for the updates, Elaine.
(Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press
by Kristina Borjesson (Paperback – Oct. 2004)
Has anyone read it?)
Methinks the backlash on this one is going to take all sorts of twists and turns … could get very interesting for GE and Phil Griffin.
I haven’t heard a peep out of Olbermann yet and he knows some very, very good lawyers.
More to the Story on Prison Sentence for MD Man who threatened Mosque:
The lesson is not “watch what you say about Islam” but instead watch when you threaten to eradicate someone based on their religion:
TPM features the text of the man’s email, which led to the 1 year prison sentence:
“Close down the CIMIC [Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic Center] by May 12th, or it will be closed for you. the muslims that attend it are not to be seen in public with their beards or hijabs. tell them to get rid of such things. failure to comply will result in much tribulations for you and muslims in the region. i am not afraid to do whatever it takes to eradicate islam. WHATEVER it takes.”
Pretty scary, huh? (link at sig)
From Huffington Post
Keith Olbermann Suspension Criticized By Reporters, Conservative Pundits
First Posted: 11- 5-10 05:10 PM
By Sam Stein
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/05/keith-olbermann-suspensio_n_779727.html
Excerpt:
The backlash against NBC’s decision to indefinitely suspend host Keith Olbermann without pay has been swift and vocal — and from some unlikely voices.
Among media personalities and even straight-forward reporters, there has been a bit of shock over what was viewed as a knee-jerk punishment for a fairly minor ethical lapse. Bill Kristol, the longtime conservative scribe for the Weekly Standard, penned a blog post under the headline “Keep Keith!” extolling MSNBC’s brass for muzzling someone whose ideological leanings are fairly self-evident.
Matt Taibbi’s take on the subject:
Olbermann Suspension is Lunacy
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/matt-taibbi/blogs/TaibbiData_May2010/231499/83512
Excerpt:
Just quickly: I just found out about the suspension of Keith Olbermann for making political contributions. NBC apparently has some policy prohibiting journalists from donating to candidates, so they suspended him indefinitely without pay.
I went online and read the news and found the inevitable commentary by ostensible experts on journalistic ethics, who are all lining up to whale on Olbermann. One quote I found in this Bloomberg piece:
“Journalists who work for a news organization have an ethical responsibility to honor their guidelines and standards,” said Bob Steele who teaches journalism ethics at Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. “If NBC and MSNBC spelled out those guidelines clearly and Olbermann violated those guidelines, then he should pay the price.”
He should pay the price? Is Bob Steele kidding? What the hell is wrong with people?
We had a whole generation of journalists who sat by and did nothing while, for instance, George Bush led us into an idiotic war on a lie, plus thousands more who spent day after day collecting checks by covering Britney’s hair and Tiger’s text messages and other stupidities while the economy blew up and two bloody wars went on mostly unexamined… and it’s Keith Olbermann who should “pay the price” for being unethical? Because, and let me get this straight, he donated money, privately, to politicians?
This is absurd even by GE’s standards. There is no reason, not even a theoretical one, why any journalist should be prevented from having political opinions and participating in election campaigns in his spare time. The policy would be ridiculous even if we were talking about an evening news anchor — because the only “ethical” question here is the issue of NBC wanting to preserve the appearance of impartiality and being unable to do so, because political contributions happen to be public record and impossible to hide from viewers.