Keith Olbermann suspension at MSNBC
It's still not clear to me if Keith Olbermann violated a policy he thought only applied to straight news personnel at NBC. Why the star of an opinion/commentary show, on MSNBC, would be prohibited from making small, publicly disclosed donations to candidates is a puzzle. In any case, the words of oicnow at Huffpost sums up my own feelings on the whole affair:
Keith should have Incorporated himself, then he could give UNLIMITED secret donations to anyone he likes. Apparently only big corporations have Free Speech in this country.
Anyone interested in calling for KO's speedy reinstatement can sign a petition here .
2 comments:
Actually, it’s kind of interesting that MSNBC and NPR are suddenly cracking down on any personal political preferences held by their staff.
In the case of Olbernann, he’s a commentator and not a reporter. He’s not supposed to be “fair and balanced”, he is supposed to be opinionated, and that’s his job. And whatever candidates he supports is his own business. This whole suspension thing is rater absurd.
With NPR, now their employees (at whatever level) are not allowed to attend political rallies if NPR is covering them. What’s up with that?
Something big is going on behind the scenes. It probably has to do with ratings and viewership. They need to re-establish trust that they are impartial.
Fox is cleaning everyone’s clock, and I don’t think that is just because of a singular right-wing audience. In straight news reporting they are probably the most accurate and un-biased source out there.
Of course, their commentators are definitely right-wing, but again that’s not news reporting.
You make some good points, Larry. I personally think that the real problem at MSNBC, NPR, CBS, ABC, and FOX, is that most of the reporters are simply too anxious to seem part of the insiders' club. They are unwilling to really press hard against those in power, be they Democrat or Republican. The American people suffer when the powerful aren't called out on their b.s. Some of the best reporting is being done at smaller newspapers and local stations, not by the big stars in D.C. and N.Y.
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