By Lilac Sunday
I've heard it said that politics makes strange bedfellows, but this is ridiculous. I have no choice but to defend Keith Olbermann.
On Friday, MSNBC suspended famously partisan Keith Olbermann of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" for having violated an ethics policy barring campaign donations. MSNBC's action is misguided and bizarre, and should be immediately reversed.
It is deeply hypocritical of MSNBC to invoke an ethics policy as a guardian of journalistic objectivity and purity after it has allowed itself to evolve into the go-to cable channel of the Left.
MSNBC gave Olbermann a forum to engage in highly partisan rhetoric in front of millions of viewers night after night. The value of that forum to Leftist causes and candidates, in terms of Olbermann's ability to shape the dialogue and persuade viewers, is immeasurably great, far greater than $8000 Olbermann reportedly gave to a handful of Democratic candidates in the last campaign cycle.
For MSNBC to be shocked, shocked that its on-air personalities have ideological leanings is, well, shocking. Say what you will about Keith Olbermann, he never pretended to be anything other than what he was, and throwing him under the bus in a grasp for objectivity is both transparently desperate and ineffective.
Those of us who complain about media bias will not be satisfied with a sacrificial lamb like Olbermann. The news analysts aren't the problem, the sickness at the heart of liberal media bias is analysis masquerading as straight news.
Olbermann might be a symbol of what's wrong at MSNBC, but he isn't all that's wrong at MSNBC. Put him back on the air, and stop insulting your critics by offering us his neck.
Cross-posted at Lilac Sunday: Red Girl in a Blue State
Discussion: Memeorandum
9 comments:
Rachel Maddow Censored
http://gators911truth.blogspot.com/2010/08/rachel-maddow-knows-911-truth-but.html
I 100% agree and posted pretty much the same thing. This is simply stunning. Give him his job back.
He didn't deserve to be fired for this, everyone knows he is far left dem. That is not a shock to anyone. If anything he has more integrity than many other people in the media, he didn't hide it or act like he was something he wasn't.
He was never a journalist, his show is opinion and commentary, there is nothing wrong with him giving money to candidates he believes in. Even if one of them wants to boycott his own state.
@LS Thanks for the post! It's very hard to discern what MSNBC is trying to accomplish. Could this be a publicity stunt? Are making up a stupid excuse to get rid of a guy with pitiful ratings?
You simply can't give money to people you cover even if you're openly sympathetic to their policies. I agree with the punishment. One of the many problems we face today as a nation is the blurred lines between the media/journalism and its coverage of the political landscape. American media has always had an agenda or has been slanted one way or another (conservative vs. liberal). However, today, media outlets are not even trying to mask their political leanings or favoritism.
The socialists are finished in America we are taking our country back
There must be at least 400-500 people that are missing him. Give his job back!
“So what does this mean? NBC has rules regarding employees donating to political campaigns, discouraging it and impressing that it’s a “a breach of journalistic independence to contribute to the candidates they cover.” Here’s a key part of that policy: “You should report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the President of NBC News or his designee.”
What part of the above policy is ambiguous?
Actually, if he's on the job, he can continue discrediting himself and MSNBC.
They have taken away one of the best illustrations of liberal wing-nuttiness. I fear the group of writers that write and edit the flowery professorial comments Olbermann ad Madow give at the end of their shows may have to go back to writing commercials and bad Saturday Night Live skits.
Give him the damn job back!
St. Olbermann should have his salary tripled! Then suspended without pay.
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