I never really paid "no never mind" to Keith Olbermann, but his suspension by MSNBC seems disingenuous. I am in fact disheartened by this. Yes, he was a total toad, often unprofessional and very divisive. Suspend or fire him for those offenses, or better yet, his ratings. But to make some excuse about political donations? I am with Bill Kristol on this. It is much like the firing of Juan Williams from NPR, the stated reason does not match the real reason. Both firings were lame. Kristol is right, and I add that if we wish to be consistent, we should support Olbermann.
To be clear, I don't think this is a "first amendment" issue. Olbermann has no right to have MSNBC provide him a platform. It just seems that reasonable corporate governance on their part would cause them to have reasonable policies on donations and tell the truth about their actions. Calling them for their hypocrisy is clearly an All-American past time.
I don't get the move at all. He had a loyal and rabid following. Why dump him for something so ridiculous?
ReplyDeleteI agree, but am still glad!
ReplyDeleteIt's all about Fox News. MSNBC in their rump cable status hopes to claim some sort of journalistic high ground by making this move while Fox does nothing to rein in their partisanship.
ReplyDeleteI am with you guys, though, in that Olby was the face of the franchise for the wing-nut set on the left.