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This is turning out to be a really bad day…
From the LA Times:A source familiar with the situation said Olbermann was fired Thursday morning, after managers grew increasingly frustrated with his absenteeism and other work habits. The network expects litigation over the ouster.—After barely a year, Current TV has sacked fiery host Keith Olbermann.In a statement Friday afternoon, former Vice President Al Gore and legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, who cofounded the upstart cable network, took an extraordinary swipe at their outspoken host, who endured rocky tenures with a series of previous network employers, including MSNBC and ESPN. “Countdown,” Olbermann’s show, will evidently be canceled immediately.
They’ve replaced Keith with former New York Gov. Eliot M. Spitzer, whose CNN talk show failed to catch on. I watched the first 10 minutes and realized why I liked watching Keith… then I turned on a rerun of Monk.
It feels so good to have Olbermann back!
OK… It’s the first day of Keith Olbermann‘s Countdown on the Current TV Network, and I am watching him Interview Michael Moore on Obama’s ethical and legal avoidance of the War Powers Act in Libya. I’m thrilled that the first thing Keith did was show that he wasn’t a front for the current Administration… or Democrats in general.
When you compare him to Fox News with its talking heads adhering to the Roger Ailes Daily List of attacks that will be made on the left and no connection with the truth, you find the kind of independent thought that we have missed since Keith went off MSNBC.
It is great to hear again a Special Comment, this one giving the definition of his program’s point of view:
“The weakest citizen in this country is more important than the strongest corporation.”
John Dean is here to comment on Justice Clarence Thomas taking gifts and his wife taking funding from a conservative Texas millionaire and seeing how this affects his Supreme Court decisions, like the Walmart/ women employees class action suit which came down against the female employees of the big-time retailer. As Dean said
Markos Moulitsas (before Daily Kos)
about the Court, this is a great day for big business.
And Markos Moulitsas (of the Daily Kos) is back as a regular commentator after having been bounced off the tube by MSNBC a year ago for comments that network ( and especially Joe Scarborough) apparently didn’t agree with.
Welcome back, Keith. I’ll be watching.
Related articles
- Keith Olbermann announces first ‘Countdown’ guests (insidetv.ew.com)
- You’ll Never Guess Who Keith Olbermann’s First Guests Are [Debuts] (gawker.com)
- Countdown with Keith Olbermann returns TONIGHT at 8 PM Eastern (dailykos.com)
- Olbermann Returns Today With New Countdown Show (jonathanturley.org)
- Keith Olbermann’s Revenge and More (iflizwerequeen.com)
- Keith Olbermann on Why He Left MSNBC – and How He Plans to Get Even (rollingstone.com)
- Current bets on Twitter & web video for Olbermann show (gigaom.com)
- How Many Will Watch The Premiere Of ‘Countdown With Keith Olbermann’ on Current TV? (Poll) (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
Have you ever heard of Neal Boortz?
Avoid This Creep
Waiting for C-Span to start broadcasting the House debate on raising the Debt Ceiling, I found the political station showing something called The Media Research Center “Dishonors Awards” (if you aren’t aware of the MRC, it was started by the far right-wing creepiness pushing “celebrity”, Brent Bozell). At the point I tuned it in, this program, which is aimed at insulting and ridiculing anyone on the left (or even the center, it seems), someone named Neal Boortz, who, it seems is some kind of radio talk show person who has been working, by his statement, for 40 years. He very easily mocked every talk show host, radio or television, who didn’t agree with extreme right politics.
As he claimed that people like Keith Olbermann, Bob Schiefer (see what I mean about “center”) and Tavis Smiley lied about Tea Party members who have been documented as insulting, spitting at and yelling accusations at Democratic Congressmen and Senators, he managed to use more words that I don’t even want to reproduce here… but which could be seen as a boomerang coming back to criticize himself.
As I said, I have never heard of this Neal Boortz before and, since I don’t listen to extreme right wing radio, I hope I never have to again. If he is one of your heroes, then put his statue up on your shelf with Rush Limbaugh‘s and Glenn Beck‘s and have a joyous worship service. I’m going to go wash my hands and get rid of the poop the TV clicker transferred by bringing in this program. C-Span should be ashamed.
Related articles
- Ann Coulter Gives the Ode to Keith Olbermann Award at the Media Research Center’s ‘Dishonor Awards’ Ceremony (crooksandliars.com)
- Herman Cain & Federal Reserve ? (2012patriot.wordpress.com)
- Why Local Talk Radio Makes Sense (ereleases.com)
The Return of Olbermann – a Date is Set.
Hooray! Keith Olbermann will be back on Monday, June 20, at 8 PM Eastern… the network? Current TV (The one Al Gore is a major investor in).
What’s even better is what he is going to call the new show: Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
As Keith said when making the announcement vis-a-vis the show name:
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
I guess I’m going to have to catch MSNBC on the re-run.
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann Heads to Current TV (tvsquad.com)
- Keith Olbermann to Current TV (dailykos.com)
- Keith Olbermann to Host Show on Current TV (cbsnews.com)
- Keith Olbermann: Joining Current TV? (joemygod.blogspot.com)
- Keith Olbermann’s Move to Current TV Offers New Beginnings for Both (tvsquad.com)
Let’s hear it for Al Gore…
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Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann joins Al Gore: The professional left strikes back! (thehill.com)
- Al Gore: Keith Olbermann Is Already Bringing New Viewers To Current (mediaite.com)
- Olbermann to become “chief news officer” of Al Gore’s cable channel (hotair.com)
- Keith Olbermann’s Move to Current TV Offers New Beginnings for Both (tvsquad.com)
Keith Olbermann Lands on his Feet!
Keith Olbermann
Keith will be coming back to television and I can’t wait!
This from Huffington Post (You can go in and read more…):
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Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann to Host New Nightly Primetime News and Commentary Show on Current TV (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
- Keith Olbermann Announces Move to Current TV (towleroad.com)
- Keith Olbermann Signs on With Current TV (thehollywoodgossip.com)
- It’s official: Keith Olbermann to host nightly show on Current TV (dailykos.com)
- Olbermann Will Be Chief News Officer For Current TV (oliverwillis.com)
- Keith Olbermann is Headed to Current TV (laist.com)
Quote of the Day – So, after Olbermann are we next?
“The loss of Keith Olbermann is a bad omen for America. We should be aware of this loss, and do what we can to let others know its impact — how much of democracy we have lost. I’m sure if George Orwell were alive today, he would weep at this atrocity. Just as we should, but we must also stand strong against these oligarchs. We must realize that they are in control; we must support our alternative media sites so long as we can — because soon they will be taking our websites down by raising prices and by other underhanded means to silence all dissent — even on the Internet.”
– Sam Hamod, Ph.D., at http://www.todaysalternativenews.com
Related Articles
- Jon Friedman’s Media Web: Why Keith Olbermann will return to TV (marketwatch.com)
- Jonathan Richards: Bring Me the Head of Keith Olbermann (huffingtonpost.com)
- UPDATE 3-MSNBC and anchor Keith Olbermann abruptly part ways (reuters.com)
- Omen: Keith Olbermann’s Exit Comes Exactly One Year After Air America’s Demise (mediaite.com)
- “Keith Olbermann and MSNBC’s Messy Breakup [Video]” and related posts (gawker.com)
- Mitchell Bard: A Tribute to Olbermann: Why He Is Different from the Pundits at Fox News (huffingtonpost.com)
What we can do to preserve Liberal/Progressive standards and information in the growing Right-Wing Oligarchy…
My wife asked me, as we watched the news about Keith Olbermann’s firing at MSNBC, the House of 
Representatives’ attack on necessary human services – especially in Health care, and the limiting of the commercial media to control by 6 right leaning corporations (excuse me… “citizens”, according to the SCOTUS): “What can we do?”
Good question, and one I think many Progressives and Liberals are asking themselves and each other right now.
Well, here are a few things to remember right now:
1.) The Internet, especially the blogosphere on the WWW, is an overwhelmingly Progressive place, with left oriented sites far outnumbering those on the right. As long as technology moves forward, it will remain Progressive… “Conservative Technology” is a backward concept that will not bring us into the kind of social network that we are only recently becoming aware if.
Therefore: get out there on these blogs (start with mine and the list of others you’ll find on the right side of this page)… make your comments seen… start your own blogs and make your opinions stand up with the rest of us. I look forward to cross-linking ith you.
2.) Get anything you can onto other media. I’m particularly fond of Radio and I participate on a very liberal morning
radio show (I’m on every Friday and I sub on other days when the regular host is on vacation) called “Winners and Losers” on WSHC FM 89.7, in Shepherdstown, WV. For folks not in our local broadcast range (limited to the WV Eastern Panhandle area) this station at Shepherd University has a large local listening population and more and more people who listen On Line.
If you live in a college town, you may find other stations like this one who allow locals to broadcast (you do it for Free as college stations have very low budgets.) Check it out.
3.) You can run for local, state, county… even National offices. Get involved in politics now. 2012 is likely to bring back the many voters who got Obama elected in the first place.
In Summary… GET INVOLVED. And when you come up with things, click on my little mailbox and let me know what you’re doing. Or leave a comment.
-Bill.
Related Articles
- More on why American Competitiveness is NOT a good model (iflizwerequeen.com)
- Why Keith Olberman’s Ouster Is Good for Progressives (hustleknockin.com)
- Excerpt: How the Rich Are Destroying the Earth (chelseagreen.com)
- A coaltion that breaks things up to change society can’t stop at the state | Julian Glover (guardian.co.uk)
- Was Olbermann a “victim of his own success”? (hotair.com)
Quote of the Day… one of many I’m seeing all over the Internet
“Countdown with Keith Olbermann was the anchor of something extraordinary that emerged, painstakingly and against all odds, during the Bush years. A mild liberal alternative was established in the corporate media to counter the flamethrowers at Fox. Nothing like it had existed since MSNBC fired Phil Donahue in early 2003. Now it’s gone. And it’s hard to see how this gaping hole on the “liberal” end of the corporate media is going to result in anything other than giving a louder voice and greater ventilation to the policies that are currently being advanced by an aggressive right-wing oligarchy.”
– Joseph A. Palermo, Associate Professor, American History, California State University, Sacramento.
Related Articles
- Sean McBride: The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann (Robert Parry) (consortiumnews.com)
- Juan Cole, too! Most of the best bloggers on the web have made support statements for Olbermann… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
- Is Olbermann the victim of his own success? (salon.com)
- Keith Olbermann — Fired By MSNBC (tmz.com)
- Keith Olbermann out at MSNBC (washingtonmonthly.com)
This Sucks! Olbermann is leaving MSNBC
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Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann leaving MSNBC, ends `Countdown’ (boston.com)
- Keith Olbermann abruptly fired by NBC | Richard Adams (guardian.co.uk)
- Olbermann signs off msnbc – msnbc.com (news.google.com)
- Olbermann, MSNBC part ways (politico.com)
- Keith Olbermann out at MSNBC (seattlepi.com)
- Keith Olbermann Leaves “Countdown” & MSNBC [VIDEO] (mashable.com)
Keith Olbermann did a Special Comment on Obama’s compromise with the Republicans last night…
Here it is… worth listening to:
Thank you, Keith. I hope everyone listens.
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann Special Comment: Obama Turned His Back On His Base + Rachel Maddow: Baseless (dandelionsalad.wordpress.com)
- Keith Olbermann did an amazing Special Comment this evening… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
If you missed Michael Moore and Wendell Potter on Olbermann, here is about ten minutes of it:
When Wendell Potter, the former CIGNA executive who turned on the insurance industry and is now working on the left, wrote in his new book, “Deadly Spin”, about how he was assigned to keep the Michael Moore movie “Sicko” from having the success of previous Moore films, it came as a shock to many that such garbage would happen in the professional world. Moore and Potter were brought together for the first time on Olbermann‘s show. Taker a look:
Related Articles
- Countdown Introduces Michael Moore to the Health Care Voldemort Who Came in From the Cold (mediaite.com)
- The Fear of Sicko: CIGNA Whistleblower Wendell Potter Apologizes to Michael Moore for PR Smear Campaign; Moore Says Industry Was Afraid Film Would Cause A ‘Tipping Point’ for Healthcare Reform (angryindian.blogspot.com)
- Potter, Moore Call Each Other ‘Courageous’ (odwyerpr.com)
- Wendell Potter Admits Coordinated Smear Campaign Against Michael Moore To Discredit “Sicko” (crooksandliars.com)
- Michael Moore: They Said They Would Push Me “Off a Cliff” (huffingtonpost.com)
- Wendell Potter: My Apologies to Michael Moore and the Health Insurance Industry (huffingtonpost.com)
- Corporate America Is Pushing Us Off a Cliff (thedailybeast.com)
Newsflash: MSNBC President Phil Griffin Threatened To Fire Keith Olbermann
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- The Vicious Infighting at NBC News (thedailybeast.com)
“A STATEMENT TO THE VIEWERS OF COUNTDOWN” by Keith Olbermann
This was just issued by Keith:
I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support. Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small. I would also like to acknowledge with respect the many commentators and reporters, including those with whom my politics do not overlap, for their support.
I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about – that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC. Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations. Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.
You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient ‘mistake’ by their recipients. When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.
I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty – support and loyalty that is truly mutual.
–K.O.
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann Says He Didn’t Know About Donations Rule [Statements] (gawker.com)
- Olbermann Offers Apology to Fans, but Not to MSNBC (nytimes.com)
- Keith Olbermann Says MSNBC Suspended Him “Without A Hearing”, Slams “Inconsistently Applied Rule” (mediaite.com)
- Olbermann Apologizes to Viewers in Letter (cbsnews.com)
Keith will be back on Tuesday Night!
“We Did It,” say the folks at BoldProgressives.org:
“The president of MSNBC just announced that Keith Olbermann will be back on the air on Tuesday night!
This is a huge victory for the whopping 300,000 of us who signed the petition, which was delivered directly to MSNBC’s president and reported on by many top news outlets.
Click here to sign the national congrats card to Keith — and write him a note. We’ll deliver it to him directly.”
I signed the note and I hope Keith doesn’t have to make a false apology. Oh hell, he knows how to handle this crap.
Juan Cole, too! Most of the best bloggers on the web have made support statements for Olbermann…
…and many, me included, are just not going to turn MSNBC back on unless Olbermann is restored.
Here’s part of Juan Cole‘s LONG piece… get all of it HERE:
That Olbermann is being treated unfairly is obvious. Joe Scarborough has also donated to a political campaign while at MSNBC. And Sean Hannity at Fox has given far more money to candidates than Olbermann ever did. In fact, Hannity donated to Michele Bachmann, which suggests he is better suited to playing a bit part in a remake of the Night of the Living Dead than to anchoring a major ‘news’ show.
Hell, most of the main Republican candidates for president are working for Fox Cable News! So it goes beyond giving some campaign a couple thousand dollars, nowadays!
Fox argues that Hannity is not a news anchor but the equivalent of an op-ed columnist, a purveyor of opinions, and so may also be a political actor.
But MSNBC has already marked Olbermann also as an opinion person, not a hard news anchor, when it took him off election coverage in 2008. So MSNBC has put Olbermann in the same category as Fox has put Hannity. But one is on the air and the other is not.
MSNBC has a long history of throwing liberals under the bus, despite its recent strategy of trying to use them to counter-program against Fox.
In the build-up to the Iraq War, MSNBC had Phil Donahue, whose evening magazine show was the highest-rated thing on the network. As the momentum for war built, the top corporate management became very nervous about having a show starring an anti-war liberal, so they fired Donahue Rick Ellis wrote at the time that General Electric-owned NBC had commissioned a study of its public image, and that the consultants produced a report in which they wrote, that Donahue was a “difficult public face for NBC in a time of war……He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration’s motives.” The report worried that the war fever would benefit rival, pro-war, pro-Bush networks and implied that Donahue might succeed in branding NBC in a way that caused viewership and therefore advertising revenues to plummet.
MSNBC replaced Donahue with far right wing shock jock Michael Savage, Dick Armey and Republican Joe Scarborough (who went on to donate to a Republican politician while on the air).
Related Articles
- You: Olbermann suspension ignites debate (latimes.com)
- MSNBC: Un-Suspend Keith Olbermann. Bring him back (rupeenews.com)
Matt Taibi at Rolling Stone has commented on the Olbermann layoff…
Bring Back Keith!
I like Matt Taibi. Here is about half of his comment. The rest is HERE.
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.
Again, that would be true even if we were talking about Brian Williams or Tom Brokaw, someone from whom viewers expect a certain level of impartiality. But what Olbermann does is advocacy journalism and it’s not exactly a secret. NBC punishing Olbermann for donating to Democratic candidates is like Hugh Hefner fining the Playmate of the Year for showing ankle. It’s completely and utterly retarded.
These periodic spaz attacks the people in our business have over obscure and usually completely made-up ethical controversies — often over this whole “objectivity” issue, which provides a seemingly endless source of false piety for some of the more obnoxious journo-ethicists — are really irritating. I’m biased, obviously, because I’m a guest on the show, but this is beyond stupid. And by the way, has anyone checked the donation lists for CNBC anchors? I’m guessing a few of those have shelled out to the Rs. What’s the deal, GE?
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Even Bill Kristol opposes MSNBC’s Olbermann Action…
This from William Kristol… and who is more Conservative?:
MSNBC’s suspension of Keith Olbermann is ludicrous.
First, he donated money to candidates he liked. He didn’t take money, or favors, in a way that influenced his reporting.
Second, he’s not a reporter. It’s an opinion show. If Olbermann wants to put his money where his mouth is, more power to him.
Third, GE, the corporate parent of MSNBC, gives money to political organizations. GE executives and, I’m sure, NBC executives give money. Why can’t Olbermann?
Perhaps Olbermann violated NBC News “policy and standards.” But NBC doesn’t have real news standards for MSNBC—otherwise the channel wouldn’t exist. It’s a little strange to get all high and mighty now.
But there’s now a Republican House, and perhaps GE is trying to curry favor by dumping Olbermann?
Republicans of the world, show you believe in the free expression of opinion! Tell the crony corporatists at NBC—keep Keith!
Related Articles
- Olbermann ‘Doesn’t Answer’ to NBC News Standards [Cable News] (gawker.com)
- TV Newser: “Insiders” say Olbermann won’t be back (hotair.com)
- You: Olbermann suspension ignites debate (latimes.com)
- MSNBC suspends Keith Olbermann indefinitely over political contributions (capitolhillblue.com)
Rachel Maddow: Bring Back Olbermann…
Here’s Rachel’s comment in full from her show last night (which, I’ll admit, I didn’t watch since I won’t watch MSNBC until Keith is reinstated… I picked this up on Mediaite.com):
You may have heard today that my friend and colleague Keith Olbermann was temporarily suspended from his job hosting Countdown on this network, because he made three personal political donations to candidates in this last election cycle. The reason that resulted in Keith’s suspension is that, here at MSNBC, there is an explicit employee rule against hosts making contributions like that. You can do it if you ask in advance, and if management tells you ‘okay.’ That’s what I understand happened with our morning show host’s political donations in 2006 under previous management. But if you don’t ask in advance for an exemption from the rule, you are more bound by the rule. For the record, the rule applies to us hosts here at MSNBC and NBC News staff. CNBC is not under NBC News, so CNBC staffers are not bound by the same thing.
I understand this rule. I understand what it means to break this rule. I believe that everyone should face the same treatment under this rule. I also personally believe that the point has been made and that we should have Keith back hosting Countdown. Here’s the larger point though. That’s going mysteriously missing, from all the right-wing cackling and the beltway, old-media cluck cluck clucking about this. This is what I think is missing.
Let this incident lay to rest forever the facile, never true, bullpucky, lazy conflation of Fox News and what the rest of us do for a living. I know everyone likes to say ‘Oh, that’s cable news, that’s all the same, Fox and MSNBC, mirror images of each other. Let this lay that to rest forever. Hosts on Fox raise money on the air for Republican candidates. They endorse them explicitly, they use their Fox News profile to headline fundraisers; heck, there are multiple people being paid by Fox News to essentially run for office as Republican candidates, If you count not just their hosts but their contributors, you are looking at a significant portion of the whole line up of Republican presidential contenders for 2012, they can do that because there is no rule against that as Fox, they run as a political operation, we’re not.
Yes, Keith’’s a liberal and so am I, and there are other people on this network and their political views are shared with you, our beloved viewers. But we are not a political operation, Fox is. We are a news operation. And the rules around here are how you know that. Before it was politically safe to do it, Keith Olbermann attracted the ire of the right wing and a lot of others besides when he brought to light and raged against what he saw as the errors and sins of the previous presidential administration. Keith was also the one who brought to light Fox News’ water carrying role for the Bush administration, he was one who point-of-view journalism posed and put exclamation points on the problems in the political operation disguised as a news network model embraced by the guys across the street at Fox.
Now weirdly, it is Keith who is illustrating the difference between what he does on TV, what we do here at MSNBC and what goes on across the street. Good night.
Related Articles
- Some helpful context, details on Olbermann flap (washingtonmonthly.com)
- Dr. Rachel Maddow Speaks Out About Olbermann Suspension (lezgetreal.com)
- Dr. Rachel Maddow Speaks Out About Olbermann Suspension (pinkbananaworld.com)
- Chris Hayes Will Not Sub for Keith Olbermann After All (bigthink.com)
- MSNBC suspends Keith Olbermann indefinitely over political contributions (capitolhillblue.com)
Sen. Sanders blasts Olbermann suspension, cites Fox News contributions
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- Sanders shames MSNBC over Olbermann suspension (thehill.com)
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- Keith Olbermann Suspended From MSNBC Over Political Donations (lezgetreal.com)
MSNBC makes a BIG mistake…It lays off Olbermann.
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“I did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level.”
Griffin’s statement underscores that it was Olbermann’s failure to obtain approval, and not the actual political donations, that prompted the suspension.
The move is doubly significant in that it represents a major development in the relationship between Griffin and Olbermann, who once told the New Yorker, “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”
“Keith doesn’t run the show,” Griffin told New York Magazine recently. “I do a lot of things he doesn’t like. I do a lot of things he does.”
_____
This from Variety:
Progressive bloggers almost immediate pounced on the suspension, noting not only the campaign contributions of Fox News personalities Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto, but of other MSNBC and CNBC employees as well.
Joe Scarborough contributed $4,200 to Derrik Kitts, an Oregon Republican running for Congress, in March, 2006, even listing his occupation as “MSNBC host” in FEC records. At the time, Scarborough hosted “Scarborough Country,” a predecessor to “Morning Joe.” Pat Buchanan, a frequent contributor, also made numerous contributions to candidates in recent years.
Politico pointed out that Olbermann’s contribution to Grijalva was made the same day that the Arizona congressman was a guest on his show, and that he failed to disclose it. But bloggers note that Kitts was a guest on Scarborough’s show a month after the contribution was made.
Jed Lewison wrote on DailyKos, “The bottom-line here that both Keith Olbermann and Joe Scarborough both host opinion shows. They both made personal contributions to political candidates. But Olbermann supports Democrats, and Scarborough supports Republicans, so even though Olbermann is the network’s top-rated host, and even though Scarborough hides his ratings sheet in a little box in the basement, it’s Olbermann that gets silenced.”
Filmmaker Michael Moore, a frequent guest on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” circulated a petition calling on MSNBC to reinstate him.
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann Suspended From MSNBC Over Political Donations (lezgetreal.com)
- Keith Olbermann Suspended Indefinitely Without Pay for Donating to Candidates (businessinsider.com)
- Did Olbermann violate NBC ethics code by contributing to Democrats? (hotair.com)
- Keith Olbermann Donated To Three Democrats Last Week, Potentially Violating NBC Rules (mediaite.com)
Quote for the Election Day
“Just a reminder: if you vote GOP today or sit it out, you are voting for a tax cut FOR ME and none FOR YOU.”
Related Articles
- Keith Olbermann on the Tea Party (newstatesman.com)
- Keith Olbermann stops “Worst Person in the World” segment (for now) (shortformblog.com)
- Keith Olbermann did an amazing Special Comment this evening… (underthelobsterscope.wordpress.com)
Keith Olbermann did an amazing Special Comment this evening…
… Take 15 minutes and listen to it. Email the address of the post to your friends and people you know so they can listen to it. Keith sums up the Tea Party and the mess the Republicans are trying to drag us into… and how they will try to bring us back into the early 20th Century.
There’s an election coming up and we can’t crumble under the advanced stupidity of some of these candidates. We live in dangerous times.
Here’s Keith:
Related Articles
- Fired-Up Keith Olbermann Recites Laundry List Of Tea Party Offenses: “This Is The America You Want?” (mediaite.com)
- HuffPost TV: Howard Fineman Tells Keith Olbermann Why Christine O’Donnell Is Attacking The GOP (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
- Keith Olbermann Interviews Woman Stomped on By Rand Paul Supporter (mediaite.com)
A Quote for the Day – Marcos Moulitsas on the Tea Baggers
“They want their government that expresses their beliefs…They’re against democratic government, they’re anti-democratic… I mean with the small “d”…basically with just respect for democracy in this nation, I mean this is what the people voted for, and it’s one thing to oppose it on policy, it’s another thing to use the kind of exterminationist, eliminationist rhetoric that they’re using in appealing to violence and that sort of thing.”
– Marcos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos, to Keith Olbermann
This is right on the money… especially from a guy who created a real democratic with a small “d” forum for American bloggers. I sure as hell like words more than guns and violence, and I like rational words infinitely more than the “Nazi, Commie” crap being slung around by te Tea Baggers.
Under The LobsterScope 