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Friday, November 05, 2010

MSNBC Surreally Overreacts to Boring Weekly Thurber Segment on Countdown

TPM:
MSNBC has suspended prime-time host Keith Olbermann indefinitely without pay… Olbermann contributed to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates this fall, including one on the same day he appeared on Olbermann's "Countdown" program. Olbermann is MSNBC's highest-rated personality and the linchpin of its move to a prime time show of liberal viewpoints. He was one of the network's anchors for election day coverage this week.

HuffPo
"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," MSNBC president Phil Griffin said in a statement…While NBC News policy does not prohibit employees from donating to political candidates, it requires them to obtain prior approval from NBC News executives before doing so…. In a statement earlier Friday, Olbermann defended his donation, saying, "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.

Needless to say, none of this makes any kind of sense in the midst of MSNBC's very recent splashy -- and surely expensive? -- "LEAN FORWARD" re-branding campaign, casting itself explicitly as the progressive alternative to Fox everybody already thinks of it as being, and it is especially senseless given that campaign donations are not even prohibited by network policy and we are living in a world in which Fox gleefully flings millions upon millions of dollars at Republican campaigns. And Atrios has already documented here the many substantial campaign donations made, unnoticed and without consequence, by Olbermann's, er, "colleague," MSNBC contributor (and also white racist, fascist gasbag, anti-gay bigot, and patriarchal prick) Pat Buchanan.

Of course, everything here becomes perfectly clear when you realize that Olbermann is not being fired, just pointlessly punished, and this is all just about Phil Griffin being a typical asshole scratching around the rooster pen and asserting his dumb dominance of MSNBC, which is, whatever else it is, a typical corporation in our crappy corporate world.

Enjoy:
Griffin's statement underscores that it was Olbermann's failure to obtain approval, and not the actual political donations, that prompted the suspension…. "Keith doesn't run the show," Griffin told New York Magazine recently…. In recent months, Griffin has taken several bold steps to declare his authority over the network and its sometimes unruly talent: he… banned Markos Moulitsas from the network, and reprimanded Ed Schultz for threatening to "torch" the network.

Marvelous. If you would like to provide MSNBC with helpful feedback in this moment of suicidal stupidity authored by an infantile greedhead, by all means contact them right here.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

It is rare that I get humor, my dad said I was born without a funny bone. But I try and sometimes I find humor in Red Eye. That of fatigue makes me giddy. I agree with “writer” did they not know that Olbermann was a democrat, it is hard to imagine that over the years Keith never gave to a candidate.

It come’s down to appearance. Also, NBC seems to find difficulty with their very unbiased sister network. Griffin wanted to look strong, that they would bust someone’s chops as opposed to FOXNEWS that hasn’t the same mandate of their talent. Although April 15 Hannity’s show was canceled from a teaparty event it blurred the issue and Hannity was also promoting his book etc.

I watched a bit of Maddow last night, and she addressed Keith’s suspension, oops NO, she addressed FOXNEWS at nauseam, showing all their questionable talent, money and contributors. How the hell does MSNBC always go to FOXNEWS before addressing their own misdeeds, Ms Maddow stick is getting really old.

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Dale Carrico said...

I was too distracted by the manifold factual and spelling errors to get your point -- unless the point was that you're a tool. I did get that.