Keith Olberman, Have You No Shame, Sir?!!

[Gawron]

Keith Olbermann Suspended for Giving Political Donations

Quote:

(Nov. 5 ) -- Here's one story you will be talking about tomorrow.

MSNBC liberal talk show host Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay from MSNBC after his boss learned he had violated newsroom policies by giving campaign contributions to three Democratic candidates for Congress.

That is the same Keith Olbermann who pummeled Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for giving $1 million to the Republican Governors Association in order to buy “campaign influence”.

The news that the liberal flamethrower had thrown cash to three congressional candidates was first reported by Politico.

End Quote. Link: http://www.aolnews.com/politics/article/msnbc-suspends-keith-olbermann-for-giving-political-donations/19705123

He may have violated campaign finance law, as the Politico noted:

“the donations to Grijalva and Giffords were made on Oct. 28, the same day that Grijalva appeared on Olbermann’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” show. Grijalva won re-election on Tuesday, while Giffords on Friday was clinging to a narrow lead over Republican Jesse Kelly in a race that the Associated Press has not yet called.”

I think that violates the McCain-Feingold law, the penalties for which are a fine of up to $25K and five years in prison.

http://www.fec.gov/law/feca/feca.pdf

Of course, Olbermann isn’t Limbaugh, so I doubt anything will come of this.

 

[Douger]

I guess he violated MSNBC rules so he's getting punished by them. I'm pleasantly surprised to find out that they're such an ethical organization.
But if there's any law that would punish him, then that law is dead wrong.

 

[WiredSpirit]

I've read many stories on this, but have yet to see one that suggest he broke the law. NBCU had a good policy in place to mandate their personalities do not participate in the political process they are supposed to be reporting on, but at the same time I have a feeling Keith would have gotten permission if he went about this the right way. Nobody pretends he is impartial or non-partisan. He is an opinionated pundit like most every other prime-time cable news personality. Fox, on the other hand, is an organization that pretends to be fair and balanced and has cast aside traditional journalism ethics long ago by having distant relatives of George W. Bush give his interviews and even call the 2000 election. Since giving personalities like Michael Savage and Alan Keyes a platform MSNBC has quadrupled its audience as a progressive network, and they would not have pulled that off if Fox wasn't seen by independent minds as a conservative, Republican network.

I do wonder whether or not Keith will be back. I don't follow him like I used to. Rachel is now my favorite on policy issues because she's not afraid to have opposing voices on, and often that reminds me why I'm a liberal. I think Keith is smart enough but would probably lose his cool if he tried that. I also heard Chris Hayes was originally going to fill in for Keith tonight but won't now that he said he also made campaign contributions. As an Indiana boy I was always partial to David Shuster and this would be an excellent time to bring him back.

 

[Jase]

Kind of seems like a silly policy, but at least he was suspended for violating a specific stated policy, as opposed to the station just not liking his views.

I don't watch him much though, I only watch Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. She's witty, intelligent, and tells it like it is. Only reporter i like more is Anderson.

 

[WiredSpirit]

So anyone noticed this afternoon that CNN is making a huge deal out of this but Fox is not. Maybe this has something to do with it.
NEWSMEAT ▷ Sean Hannity's Federal Campaign Contribution Report

 

[variant]

So anyone noticed this afternoon that CNN is making a huge deal out of this but Fox is not. Maybe this has something to do with it.
NEWSMEAT ▷ Sean Hannity's Federal Campaign Contribution Report

You think FOX cares about political contributions?

 

[salida]

Thats funny he got suspended!!

 

[MichaelHelp]

You think FOX cares about political contributions?

They don't even need to contribute they just hire the candidates they like!

 

[DesertSky]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Olberman is an obnoxious hack.

 

[JustMeSee]

And I thought that MSNBC was the flip side of Fox News. I guess, they differ in some areas.

 

[WiredSpirit]

And I thought that MSNBC was the flip side of Fox News. I guess, they differ in some areas.

Fox news from Rupert Murdoch to Roger Ailes has had its entire narrative together from day one. If their hosts don't directly give to Republican candidates they headline their fundraisers. MSNBC is a different animal. We watched them try to outfox Fox, with Scarborough Country, the ironically named Alan Keyes is Making Sense and Savage Nation. We all saw their liberal lineup evolve from Keith Olbermann outward. They've increased their ratings 20 times over since their conservative days.

 

[Steve Petersen]

Keith who? Never heard of him.

 

[WiredSpirit]

Keith who? Never heard of him.

God forbid we have people posting in the politics section that actually watch news from time to time or something.

 

[Chris81]

Keith who? Never heard of him.

Exactly and you wonder if maybe MSNBC is looking for a way to get rid of him. I don't think he gets that many viewers and whenever I have flipped on his show he does not come across as very likable.

 

[Ringo84]

Keith Olberman, Have You No Shame, Sir?!!

Oh please.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#40036897

Olbermann may have broken MSNBC's rule, but he didn't use his show to endorse candidates and ask for donations for them.

The calls for decency ring hollow.
Ringo

 

[Steve Petersen]

Exactly and you wonder if maybe MSNBC is looking for a way to get rid of him. I don't think he gets that many viewers and whenever I have flipped on his show he does not come across as very likable.

That was my point, but it doesn't come across in print.

 

[Gawron]

I suppose, Ringo, I could use the same argument you did on another thread and say this thread is about Olberman, and not Hannity. But I really don't mind.

 

[Gawron]

Posted by Wiredspirit:

"Since giving personalities like Michael Savage and Alan Keyes a platform MSNBC has quadrupled its audience as a progressive network"

Follow the link to see the ratings for Nov. 4th. O'Rielly led Olberman by almost 4 to 1. Indeed, FOX led in all catagories.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/11/05/cable-news-ratings-for-thursday-november-4-2010/71003

According to another rating service:

"Fox News Channel continued its cable news dominance in July not only beating CNN and MSNBC combined, but showing the most growth in the younger demo."

MSNBC ranked 26th in prime time viewship.

Source: July Ratings: Fox News Beats MSNBC & CNN Combined in Total Day and Prime - TVNewser

For the month of October:

"FNC beat CNN and MSNBC combined in the demo in both primetime and total day. FNC is now #4 in all of cable."

Source: Ratings - TVNewser

 

[Gawron]

I watched Maddow's segment. In it she makes the distinction that CNBC host are not part of MSNBC and therefore not bound by the rule, and therefore exempt. If FOX News has no such rule, then neither are FOX News host. Which means her argument is just a lot of hot air under the umbrella of "I'm better than you are."

 

[FreeinChrist]

Oh please.

Rachel Maddow Show

Olbermann may have broken MSNBC's rule, but he didn't use his show to endorse candidates and ask for donations for them.

The calls for decency ring hollow.
Ringo

Yes, the calls for decency do ring hollow.

Maddow made a great point (and it was one of her better moments imho) - FoxNews is a political organization and not a news organization. FoxNews is shamelessly fundraising for Republican candidates.

IMHO, MSNBC has more integrity as an organization than does Fox. And I wouldn't be surprized to find that Keith was not sorry that he was suspended but will use that in the future to show why FoxNews is lacking journalistic honesty.