What Role Did Comcast Play in Keith Olbermann's Suspension?--UPDATED with Comcast response
There is a double standard at work with regard to Keith Olbermann's suspension, not only between other personalities appearing on MSNBC as commentators, but also at the very top level of the food chain.
Comcast now owns is about MSNBC after their acquisition was completed earlier this year is approved (and it will be, I'm sure), despite protestations from many of us. A look at campaign finance disclosures for several organizations shows that Phil Anschutz, chairman of Comcast, content partner with Comcast, donated large sums of money to the First Amendment Alliance, one of the largest outside groups targeting Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections.
The Anschutz Corporation, wholly owned by Phil Anschutz, gave $50,000 on 9/24/2010 to the First Amendment Alliance. The two candidates targeted by the First Amendment Alliance? Jack Conway and Michael Bennet.
Keith Olbermann gave to Jack Conway's campaign along with Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords.
In addition, the Anschutz family donated $169,900 to Republican candidates and committees during the 2010 election cycle, according to Open Secrets.
Additionally, Comcast Corporation has contributed $125,000 to the Republican Governors' Association in the 2010 cycle (as of 9/30/2010). (Added: Comcast notes it has also donated the same sum to the DGA)
There's been a lot of chatter about MSNBC policy, and whether Olbermann should have gotten advance approval for his donations to Jack Conway, Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords on October 28th. The policy I've seen reads like this:
NBC and MSNBC TV require permission of the president of NBC News. (MSNBC.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.)
"Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest. Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions. You should report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the President of NBC News or his designee."
That language clearly says "should" and not "must". Further, anyone who thinks Keith Olbermann is an impartial journalist should have their head examined. He's not, never has been, never will be, and is not presented as one.
But it leaves this question lingering for me: How is it that the parent corporation of NBC and chairman of that corporation, Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough are accorded First Amendment rights to political speech and Keith Olbermann is not?
GET THIS: From the NYTimes:
The News Corporation is one of the biggest suppliers of content to Comcast, with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
UPDATE: PCCC has a petition you can sign to MSNBC: Tell MSNBC that if they want to keep their viewers, they must put Keith back on the air NOW!
And if you're on Twitter, progressives are tweeting MSNBC with their displeasure there too.
Gawker says NBC News denies their standards apply to MSNBC commentators.
For an understanding of the relationship between Anschutz and Comcast, see this Muckety map (Flash required). It's a combination of hockey teams, media, ticket sales and Qwest Communications. Some question the associations. They exist. I've linked to them. Here's another.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has issued a statement demanding Olbermann's immediate reinstatement.
“It is outrageous that General Electric/MSNBC would suspend Keith Olbermann for exercising his constitutional rights to contribute to a candidate of his choice. This is a real threat to political discourse in America and will have a chilling impact on every commentator for MSNBC.
“We live in a time when 90 percent of talk radio is dominated by right-wing extremists, when the Republican Party has its own cable network (Fox) and when progressive voices are few and far between.
“At a time when the ownership of Fox news contributed millions of dollars to the Republican Party, when a number of Fox commentators are using the network as a launching pad for their presidential campaigns and are raising money right off the air, it is absolutely unacceptable that MSNBC suspended one of the most popular progressive commentators in the country.
“Is Rachel Maddow or Ed Schultz next? Is this simply a ‘personality conflict’ within MSNBC or is one of America’s major corporations cracking down on a viewpoint they may not like? Whatever the answer may be, Keith Olbermann should be reinstated immediately and allowed to present his point of view.”
Jed Lewison over at Kos takes on the Joe Scarborough donations and hypocrisy in MSNBC's response.
Statement from Comcast:
“The joint venture between Comcast and GE has not yet received regulatory approval. Comcast is not in any way involved with decisions made currently by NBC News. We have pledged that when the transaction is concluded, Comcast will abide by the same policies for NBC’s news and public affairs programming that have been in place since GE acquired the company in 1986. Comcast is committed to the independence of NBC’s news operations.
We hope to acquire NBC Universal in the coming months, but by law we play no role in current operations. Mr. Philip Anschutz is not the chairman of Comcast Corporation, nor is he on its board, or in any way involved with the management of the company.”
ThinkProgress notes another possible tie between Comcast and Olbermann's suspension.
Basically, you said it all in your last two paragraphs, karoli. So, my only comment is...let the lawsuits begin.
SEE...I can agree with you. ; o )
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
It's nice and solid, too. :)
different e-mail addresses associated with the show and MSNBC, but this is probably the most effective one--it's Phil Griffin's BOSS:
jeremy.gaines@msnbc.com
Just Do It!
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
DirecTV is a nice alternative. Cheaper, too.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
Realize that DirecTv IS owned by liberty media and Murdoch's 'news corps' right? Are you sure you really want to give them your money?
it's Comcast or DirecTV (through Qwest phone company) or nothing.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
I was looking for email addresses and so far the three that I found were sent back undeliverable. Even contact pages on websites for both NBC and MSNBC came back to my email as undeliverable.
Government + the Federal Reserve = organized crime
Me too.
I e-mailed from my personal e-mail account and it bounced:
postmaster@mail.ad.ge.com
Delivery to the following recipient failed
countdown@nbcuni.com
But I sent it to countdown@msnbc.com.
So I tried from Hotmail – same bounce. Then I used MSNBC's own contact form and STILL got the same bounce! Any idea why?
Done. I hope it doesn't bounce like all my other messages. Thanks, Glogrrl.
With all respect, I would like to repost my comment from the other thread. I just think it's relevant, and I don't ever do this.
"Yes. I am.
This is not a standard business practice in the sense that FOX acts the same. We KNOW who FOX newsmen are voting for. We may even know who Keith is voting for.
Who cares. The only issue is whether or not they maintain neutrality on the air, and under the Telecommunications Act they don't have to. They are a cable outlet. Now, cable "news" shows are not news shows by defiinition. Those shows are not subject to the same FCC rules as the old "network" news shows are. MSNBC is NOT NBC News. That's the point.
MSNBC is being completely disingenuous here. As evidenced by their hypocrisy with regard to Scarborough.
Keith has a case here and he should sue their ass.
If MSNBC wants to have the right to these kinds of rules...then we have the right to demand equal time for the airing of a counter opinion to every opinion that is heard on their station, and any other station with a similar policy.
We are now fast approaching the point where unlimited free speech (money) is granted to corporations, but those same corporations can limit the free speech of employees. Let the Tea Bag libertarians chew on that shit for awhile.
And please, let's not get into the newsman argument. Do you really think that Huntley and Brinkley, Cronkite or Rather never made a political contribution?"
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
they can pay him off, and never notice it, just like citizen kane.
Good. He should ask for just enough money to set up his own independent operation and make life a living hell for them.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
i don't have the money, but there are shut down towers around.
I'd like to re-iterate L&P's comment:
We are now fast approaching the point where unlimited free speech (money) is granted to corporations, but those same corporations can limit the free speech of employees.
This is exactly what's going on --all over the spectrum-- and it stinks stinks stinks. It seems the goalposts are always moving and further away from the people. We get free speech zones and they get the US Chamber of Commerce, unlimited speech and Fux/GOP 'news' etc.
It seems laws and rules are very selectively applied when it comes to politics and politicians. Money rules the country. Those with money rule the country. Money is the American GOD. The people, not so much.
far left loon >.<
our old friend General Electric, as far as i can tell.
http://www.ge.com/newnbcu/assets/docs/NewNBCU...
I couldn't find it.
my bad. what's the diff? corporate control. more links.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBC_Universal
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/cody/2009/12/02/...
http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2009/12/wha...
and SIGH
the doc that derek linked to was created 12/3/09 according to the properties page.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for all
Go up a few levels to:
http://www.ge.com/newnbcu/
More info there.
KO changed his ending of the show. He asked Boehner where the jobs are at. Today Boehner is being bombarded with faxes.
KO showed muscle.
He started doing that the day after the election, I liked it, the right was doing that to the president barely a month after he took the oath.
When angry, count four, when very angry, swear.
-Mark Twain-
always has, always will. In Portland and Seattle they are pretty much the only option and they are awful - unresponsive, over-priced, and their equipment is from hell.
Glogrrl is right - if you want more than broadcast TV, go with Direct TV or Dish - personally, I just refuse to pay for TV I don't want to watch. Bit Torrent, people.
It's your only option because the Dems did not fight for the people when Telecomm was deregulated. They did not fight for competition. Funny, the GOP talks a good game also about open markets, but loves to build monopolies when they can. Especially when they can get in on the ground floor on the IPOs.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
box could decode all the channels while subscribing to basic.
We're just 15 - 20 minutes north of the Seattle City limits , Verizon put in new fiber optics in our area , we dumped Comcast and signed on with Verizon who promptly sold out to Frontier Communications, no wonder Verizon offered us a deal locking in the price for two years , it wasn't six months and they sold to Frontier which nullified the contract . Anyway , it's been way better than Comcast , did not noticed any difference in service when Verizon service switched over to Frontier , there are many areas where you have an option now and you can dump Comcast .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
that was my only option--DIDNOT want Comcast. So far, I've been very happy with them.
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
They're sleazy, deceptive, have no respect for their customers and will straight upt lie to their customers.
I recently moved to Washington State, I won't go into the long story, but these fuckers straight up lied to me and their service is terrible.
That's what you can do when you have what is almost a monopoly.
I would like to know if Keith had asked them before making the donations would they have allowed him to make them? When and on what basis do they decide who can give what to whom. We have two main political parties in this country, can they donate to one but not the other? This is all rather fishy.
Did Scarborough get permission before he made his donation? Seriously do they really believe Keith is a reporter and scarborough just has an opinion show? All Keith ever does is state his opinion.
BillO must be having his first natural erection in a long time over this.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
http://gawker.com/5682789/
My computer froze up when I clicked that link, can you give me just a little of the info that's there?
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
MSNBC chief Phil Griffin suspended Keith Olbermann today for violating "NBC News policy and standards" by donating to three Democratic congressional candidates last month. But according to an NBC News source, MSNBCers have been exempt from those rules for years.
NBC News rules explicitly bar employees from making political donations without prior approval, which is ostensibly why Griffin suspended Olbermann. But according to one NBC News insider, it's common knowledge within the organization that MSNBC's increasingly left-wing programming and personalities aren't required to abide by NBC News' exacting rules—if they were, it would be a much less bombastic and politically charged network. So while Olbermann's donations may have run counter to the NBC News brand and Griffin's wishes, there doesn't appear to be a chapter-and-verse policy applying to MSNBC employees barring them.
"The standards department has told us that MSNBC doesn't answer to NBC News standards," the insider said. "They don't have coverage over MSNBC. They used to, back before MSNBC went political, but at some point it became too hard and MSNBC was taken out of their portfolio. As far as I know, there are no ethical standards at MSNBC. And if NBC says MSNBC is supposed to be living up to the NBC News standards, that's a preposterous lie."
As far as I know, there are no ethical standards at MSNBC.
Well, there was at least one nugget of truth in that statement.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Thank you Nicole for that summary. Sounds like someone had a bur up their butt about Keith and decided they would take him out based on bs.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Keith never worked for NBC News.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFygUALh-U0
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xvnsIodU34
You know, why doesn't the FCC just bundle up the entire bandwidth that is TV and give it to murdoch. That way, it will hasten the idiocracy that is looming in America's future. Methinks Keith has been done wrong and if all of the contributions made by all of the personalities on all of tne networks were reported, we might find some interesting results. Keith got caught and maybe that was his plan, maybe not, to expose some hypocrisy that exists within the new comcast/msnbc structure.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
243 channels of "Ow, My Balls"
Seems Comcast is BFFs with News Corp. You may have already known this, but I didn't know it was so...lucrative.
Ain't deregulation grand.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
A progressive group has a petition to MSNBC; I signed it and then got a page saying to retweet, so I went to Twitter, but couldn't send anything: "Twitter overloaded."
I wish we could crash MSNBC's damn server.
I'm a lot like Ricky Gervais and the Golden Globes: Why?
How was Obama behind it?
... or recommended for that matter.
CTHULHU 2012 "Why vote for a lesser evil?"
only gold is safe. Edible, too, if you have taken proper care of your teeth. Don't eat the seeds, though.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Let's see how fast the FOX News "journalists" come to the aid of KO, just as occurred when the White House attacked them and everyone rushed to their defense...as a "news" organization.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Fux Snooze has "journalists" (even with the sarcasm quotes)?
- Pretzelogic in Philly, PA
And now for some feedback: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
And this is a warning shot to the bloggers. If you think that net neutrality is going to be around in a few more years, you are sadly mistaken.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
I'm surprised it's still around. Enjoy these days while it lasts.
far left loon >.<
.....
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
No, I'm pretty much convinced that it's here.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
It's here. They're already punishing the people with intelligence.
NOBODY 2012
like yesterday's diapers...
Didn't NewsCorp donate 1 million dollars to the Republican Governors Association? Did any heads roll over over that? Colbert, Stewart and Comedy Central, enjoy your ratings boost! Buh, bye MSNBC.
..KO, RM, LOD.
Maybe now, Keith will get invited on Jon Stewart's show.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
You stole my thought! :-)
NOBODY 2012
Bill gates: the MS (Mirco Soft ) in MSNBC.....HELP!!!!, you can do it! Get Keith back ON!
Done. Thanks for the reminder, WisedUp.
billg@microsoft.com
Except Microsoft pulled out of MSNBC-TV in 2005.
I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the republic which it established, one nation from many peoples, promising liberty and justice for all
personally i can see the merits of this policy--but ONLY if it is equally enforced, which it isn't, and doesn't appear to be targeted to political foes, like this appears to be.
so, let's see joe scarborough suspended without pay
...Seems it's understood that NBC News standards for political speech do not apply to MSNBC commentators.
Is NBC saying these rules only apply to those working for NBC but not to the commentators of MSNBC so Keith should not have gotten in trouble? If that is so, whomever shut Keith down is the person who should be fired.
If it was good enough for goose scarborough then it should be good enough for gander Keith. If joe could do it, so should Keith
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Yep, cause they are not subject to the same rules for licensing as the stations on the old "networks".
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
At MSNBC should use their entire time going through this case ad nauseam until they are either fired or KO is let back on.
Or they could just not show up.
Who decides when shows will air? For a long time in this area on Sunday mornings we got Meet the Press at nine, we got the ABC Sunday morning show at ten and then we got Fox news Sunday at eleven. Then the schedule changed and MTP and the ABC show were both on at nine with Fox news Sunday coming at eleven A few weeks back without notice all three shows were shown at the same time, nine o'clock.
Comcast has taken off c-span2 here and you have to pay extra for a special connection box if you want to see it. When I called to complain about the loss of c-span2, I was told there were a lot of people complaining about the loss of the catholic channel and they might bring that one back but "no one watches c-span2" I told them that I did and I would like to have it back as it was paid for by the cable channels and I was a paying cable customer. The guy I was speaking with acted like he had no idea what I was talking about and told me to watch c-span2, I needed to purchase the extra connection box and pay an extra monthly fee.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
Just called Jeremy Gaines office...actually spoke to a real person who said that she's heard a lot of complaints regarding KO's suspension. I was as polite as I could be in calling her boss an idiot.
puts the kibosh on Keith Sudetenland.
... tell MSNBC to shove the job up their ass and go to FOX!
Complete control of media outlets will finalize the reich-wing coup by the wealthiest. Most Americans don't read and believe what they see on TV as real. Control the message and you control the large majority of the people. Very Orwellian: Hitler only hoped for such.
Watch for the internet to be next in the cross hairs. We'll be using trained pigeons to get out message out.
[PS I don't have much faith, if any, in America these days. The great unwashed, the masses (the st00pid sheep) won't know what hit them until the coup is complete and they're working in a salt mine and begging for scraps of food.]
far left loon >.<
I do believe you are dead on right Ed , we may as well begin building our pigeon boxes now . As for Keith , he should sue the heck out of them , he has to forfeit his guaranteed rights as a private citizen , as an American , in order to keep his job ? He's a friggin left wing political commentator for cryin out loud . Was it some big secret ? Conflcit of interest my butt , this is about an ongoing personal conflict with thee boss or with thee bosses is what this is .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
It's called IPoAC (IP over Avian Carriers)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Ca...
I belong to no organized political party -- I am a Democrat.
--Will Rogers
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339
In what could be viewed as more cost cutting (or maybe just a throwing in of the towel), Microsoft has divested itself of more — if not all of its shares of Comcast.
Microsoft acknowledged the Comcast stock sale in a January 16 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. According to the report, Microsoft (as of some unspecified date) no longer own(s) more than 5 percent of Comcast’s stock. At the end of 2007, Microsoft owned 7.26 percent of Comcast’s Class A common shares.
A report in the Philadelphia Business Journal notes there’s been no love lost between Comcast and Microsoft in the interactive TV space. Microsoft invested $1 billion in Comcast back in 1997.
Study the symptoms not the virus...
it is so obvious that the corporate owned media is anything but liberal. it makes me sick every time a winger says that. we finally got an progressive radio station in the jacksonville, fl area, but i know they are hurting for money. i don't know how long they will last without some serious investers stepping up. progressive radio just have the big monies backing them and doubt they ever will.
And you didn't even share ANYTHING. Who's the crummy one?
far left loon >.<
...share this story.
That's a pretty big error in the post. Comcast does not own NBC yet. The acquisition is still under review by the FCC. In fact, the FCC has been saying that they're going to review it closer given the fight between Fox and Cablevision last week.
Your point is taken, but the question of complicity is still valid.
FCC review....a Washington rubberstamp. This review is going on for almost a year. The deal is done, it's just not politically expedient for the FCC to approve it right now. They're waiting until the heat is off from the FOX-Cablevision debacle.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
they've more or less signalled approval at this point.
Comcast has only had preliminary discussions as to what happens with NBCU. They surely do not have the sway yet to be doing anything like suspending Olbermann. They have yet to even announce who becomes the executives in the merged company if the merger is approved. This is close to tin-foil hat territory, with the Phil Anschutz bashing. (Think, if Anschutz was pulling the strings, would MSNBC have introduced a new liberal image campaign two weeks ago?) If there is any corporate overlord meddling in this, it would still be from General Electric.
and people wonder why Dems are losers. In the current American political landscape, where everything is perception, this guy goes and suspends Olbermann THREE DAYS after an election where Dems got trounced. He could have given him a warning privately. He could have ignored it until later. He could have ignored it. But noooooo.....
By the time FOX is done with this Keith will have been suspended for having donated 200 million dollars while having phone sex with George Soros.
Cripes, what a mess.
$200 million a day, no doubt.
far left loon >.<
He could have given him a warning. Given him a fine. There was a ton of ways this could be handled.
No, this whole thing stinks.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
They know liberals will go crazy without their Thurber fix.
The know Stewart can't do another of those nasty false equivalencies comparing them to FOX.
This is Dirty Sanchez.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
And now to top off the week. Nancy Pelosi, obviously finished with cleaning John Boehner's office, came out today to say that she is throwing her hat in the ring for the Minority Leadership in the House.
Just what we need. Another round of her nonsense.
Hey, maybe she'll come to C&L and lie to us again.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Shocked to see @Karoli make the 1st Amendment association here the way they always mistakenly do on the right.
Olbermann and Maddow both would be the first to tell you... this has nothing to do with Constitutional protection of free speech.
all sarcasm.
The News Corporation is one of the biggest suppliers of content to Comcast, with contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Would that be the same "News Corporation" as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp -- as in, the parent company of FOX News?
If so, then we don't just need to worry about the "Kochtopus" -- but also the "Murdochtopus". (Am I the only one who remembers that the logo of the company owned by Kevin Kline's Murdoch-esque mogul in the movie "Fierce Creatures" was an octopus???)
What's that line that the protesters chant in the documentary "Orwell Rolls In His Grave"? Oh, yes...
THE MASS CONSOLIDATION OF THE MASS COMMUNICATION IS THE END OF DEMOCRACY.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
THE MASS CONSOLIDATION OF THE MASS COMMUNICATION IS THE END OF DEMOCRACY.
You're 20 years too late. That ship sailed already.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
...but this is just another example of the way in which the American mainstream media is rapidly becoming a capitalistic version of Pravda.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
And would MSNBC cut out the bullshit. Suspension? You fucking fired him. Man up and be honest about it.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
that's like telling Sarah Palin to "tell the truth"
NBC News Source: Our Rules Don't Apply to Olbermann and MSNBC...
me-oww!
What was Keith thinking? I don't care what other people in the company are doing. He had to know the policy. Now all I hear is the right wing crowing, saying, "Good riddance." Why do I need to hear that? What did he think his little donation was going to do? Would it make any difference in the results? The way things are going, there won't be anything on TV but FoxNews clones.
NBC rules don't apply at MSNBC. So maybe the truth is something else--like he wasn't aware that a rule used at another company was going to be imposed upon him.
me-oww!
I've heard of this rule being used in other new organizations. I think it is standard practice outside of FoxNews where it is probably encouraged.
and you know the MSNBC policy inside out and you know KO knew the rules.
Thanks.
me-oww!
I always rely on an anonymous source to Gawker as the Gospel according to Luke.
Luke Russert that is. Who can't be suspended or his Daddy will quit smiling down on the NBC News Division.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Sometime those anonymous sources at questionable publications are true.
See Edwards, John and National Enquirer.
me-oww!
Why would he have had to known ?
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
I'm so glad that KO didn't commit sexual harrassment and embarrass his company with a protracted public relations fiasco. Goodness, he might have been punished with a raise and even more exposure on his network.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Keith Olbermann was why i watched MSNBC.
I joined the petition and gave my two cents worth.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
(or hopefully WHEN) KO comes back on the "air" he'll go back to doing the WPITW segment. And, if so, who'll be the first to get top "honors"...
- Pretzelogic in Philly, PA
And now for some feedback: Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
If you had not heard, Keith said that as of Tuesday night, he was taking TWPITW off the show. He said it was because of trying to move the discorse (my word, not his) to more positive results.
I don't think that he did it on his own, he was told to.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
Your link to Bernie Sander's statement is incorrect.
Hannity and O'Reilly still on the air? Wow, damn that "liberal" media...
Bartender!
NOBODY 2012
I also sent a little note: Mr. Griffin, I read with interest, the story about Keith Olbermann's suspension following his donation of his money on his time to democratic candidates targeted by the tea party money machine. That Joe Scarborough & Pat Buchanan, can contribute to republican candidates without retribution from you is a glaring double standard and grossly hypocritical. I've been a viewer of MSNBC programming for many years, as the evening commentators are a welcoming voice in the wilderness. However, I find your retaliation against Olbermann to be petty and mean-spirited, and it smacks of partisanship. If you are unable to bring yourself to cancel Olbermann's suspension, at lease man up and hold your republican commentators to the same standards, or not only will your viewers leave you, they'll start boycotting your sponsors.
I'm sure griffin will never read it but it made me feel better after I wrote it.
Well stated, Xanders Mimi.
Who's surprised again with the F'in transparent, hypocrisy of Reslugs over and over and over.
I can't tell you how distressing it is to learn that MSNBC was bought by Comcast which has connections with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. And the major stockholder Phil Anschutz is a RWNJ!! It feels like the end of the world, and in this scenario, Sarah Palin could actually become POTUS! I feel violently ill, but instead I am going to start SHOUTING that DEMS have to start SHOUTING LOUDER than the right-wing corporate owned GOP & Tea Party neocons and theocons. Start putting your CAPS LOCK button to good use!
SUPPORT our President and be VOCAL about it. I am f*cking sick of reading and hearing the teabaggers throw racist insults at our President, telling bald-faced lies about the policies and inciting violence.
Would we have known about the new MSNBC's connections to Murdoch if this had not happened to Keith Olbermann?
We are all equally endowed by our Creator. Even if Obama fails to mention Him.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
"Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions"
Good luck with that one. I presume Keith has a good attorney.
Wonder if Keith will be in Worst Persons. Will they get an inmate from LockUp to read Thurber?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
http://act.boldprogressives.org/sign/petition...
“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,”
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2... Griffin was looking for an excuse to can Olberman , for cryin out loud Chris Hayes who is going to take Olberman's spot and who regularly fills in for Olberman and for Maddow is the chief editor of the Nation magazine , this makes no sense . I think MSNBC opened themselves up for a law suit . No surprise but Sean Hannity who has a tattoo of Adolf and " Seig Heil ! " on his ass contributed 5 grand to Michelle Bachman's campaign .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
Kreskin - Can you back that up?
go to salon link provided , hope it works this time .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
LOL , I cannot vouch for the tattoos I mentioned but in regards to the 5 G Bachman got from Hannity go here , http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2... .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
Thanks. Since it was to a PAC it was legal. Surprising that FOX does not prohibit such contributions. I think everyone should be able to contribute as long as they disclose if they are interviewing a candidate or their opponent(s).
WORST EXECUTIVE IN THE WOOOOORRRRLLLLDDDDD
VIVA L'OLBERMANN
First of all, I'd like to say I'm a big fan of Keith's and I want to see him back on the air as quickly as possible. The reason I'm writing this is to make sure that others understand the legal use of ”should“ because it is used in employee contracts and procedures and this is a perfect example of what can happen if misunderstood.
Historically (and I'm way over simplifying) ”should“ more or less means the same as ”shall“ but is in different tense. ”Shall“ means the same as ”will“ but is more emphatic. (there are other meanings, which I will touch on). So basically ”Should“ and ”Must“ mean the same.
Where it gets complicated is that in America in recent times the meanings of both ”should“ and ”shall“ has changed. ”Should“ has taken on a conditional meaning, along the lines of ”ought.“ However (and this is a big However), in the legal use, the original meaning is still used. Those lawyers are slow to take on new trends, you know. If they can't make things confusing, you wouldn't need so many lawyers. 8^)
Everyone should (<-----meaning ought to) be aware of this legal use of the old meaning just in case you run into it in a contract or other legal document. One place to be especially watchful for it is employment papers, policies and procedures (especially ISO procedures). If you see ”should“ or ”shall“ at work or in a legal document your only safe assumption is that you had better do exactly what you're being told you ”should“ do and do it exactly as instructed. Remember, it not only means the same as ”will,” but is an emphatic form.
the first amendment infringing progressive diappointers anyway.
And why did it take NPR so long to get rid of that Uncle Tom Juan Williams?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Agreed at the injustice of it all to Keith but (from this post):
"...it leaves this question lingering for me: How is it that the parent corporation of NBC and chairman of that corporation, Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough are accorded First Amendment rights to political speech and Keith Olbermann is not? "
Let's not fall into the same pit of Constitutional ignorance as the Rethugs: it is the Government (and NOT private people or corporations) from which the 1st amendemnt protects our right to free speech!
Keith's voice should not be silenced but what Comcast (or whom/whatever) have perpetuated is not a Constitutional wrong.
MSNBC is letting progressives down.
There is a limit. MSNBC just crossed it.
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
Sign the petition. They wanted 50,000 and it's already 101% full and growing.
http://act.boldprogressives.org/sign/petition...
far left loon >.<
Rachel explained things so well. Big bad old Keith has been punished and MSNBC has prove it is different from FOX. So no more false equivalencies. We hope he is back.
(If not, I want his time slot and a nice big raise as a loyal future star of Comcast?)
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
She threw her friend right under the bus to promote the company line.
She doesn't work for FOX. Fox is not the issue. Why didn't she bring up her "uncle" Pat Buchanan or Joe Scarborough. Oh, I forgot...they're not "journalists".
What a crock.
I left my email and I left a comment and also joined the petition.
When Keith is back, I'll be back.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
She said the rules applied to all. There have been new bosses and all. No more false equivalances, she said. That should make Ixnay proud. It's his favorite.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
Makes me wonder of what really happen with Conan and Jay Leno! Jay Leno lost popularity when he started to introduce rightwing pundent like Karl Rove, and Rush Limbaugh, and it was no secret that Jay supported the Republican party, while Conan didn't follow suit like Jay and kept himself fairly neutral. That whole smear and defamation was very peculiar at least. Saturday Night Live did a skit joking that the Jay Leno show was their Republican comedy show without changing a thing.
The sci-fi show "V" was originally release on NBC, and the new remake was first pitch at NBC, then later ABC pick it up. The first episode was heavily geared up for the Republican party mantra, and then the release of the full series, they clean and edit it out. Makes me wonder how "V" was original instructed to be pitch to NBC?
Don't just sign the petition, though I added 8 instances myself (family & multiple e-mail addresses I have)
E-mail:
phil.griffin@nbcuni.com
Phone:
Here's Phil Griffin's direct phone line at 212-664-2456.
Here's the e-mail address for Phil Griffin's boss, Jeremy Gaines, at jeremy.gaines@msnbc.com
Jeremy Gaines' office number It's 212-664-5133
Contact MSNBC and leave comment
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/
Don't forget to mention you'll be boycotting sponsors and their advertisers. That tends to make them sit up and pay attention.
We don't inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children - Native American proverb
If being cold means there's no such thing as global warming, does being full mean there's no such thing as world hunger?
We have no friends in government or in the media.
Words mean nothing. Actions speak volumes.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
and crash it into the 30 Rock skating rink in a futile gesture? Oops. That was Susie's thread, not karoli's. Here we follow the money and e-mail, right?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
about the donations. That's just the excuse. Someone(s) wanted to get rid of Keith, and needed a reason. Keith was quite outspoken during the Bush administration. He's done some very scathing commentary. It is interesting that this occurred only a few days after the GOP took over the House. Clearly, there are "powers that be" that can't stand progressives having a voice. Apparently Keith crossed the line. I think MSNBC all along was just a means to throw the liberal/progressives a bone. And of course we're happy to take whatever scraps we can get. That's not meant to offend anyone in their evening lineup. I like them all. But it feels like this is a shot over the bow, a warning to all the liberal hosts in their evening programing. I'm really really pissed about this.
there's only the pretense that people actually have a voice, especially progressives. We dumped Comcast (no regrets) for Verizon. We only went with Verizon because my husband has it at work and we could bundle everything, plus get a discount. My husband's Blackberry gets unsolicited messages from the RNC. What does that tell you??? We're both Democrats. I've asked him if he can get Verizon to stop sending him that crap. But, then he kinda likes knowing what they're up to. We are so screwed. How can we possibly fight this stuff. They control every fricken aspect of our lives. When they control the message, they control everything, and that's pretty much where we are.
however, as happens far too frequently...my Canadian postal code isn't accepted. Very frustrating.
I'll try the MSNBC site for a contact...but, even if accepted, will probably be one of far too many emails for anyone there to bother with.
The republicans and the CORPORATE CONTROLLED MEDIA had to start shutting up the Liberals some time So KEITH was the FIRST which one will be next Rachel or ED. Do not expect any help from the SUPREME COURT they have the UN-HO:EY five(5) that left FOREIGN Company and Countrys Buy a Good old Republican .
I would make one but I don't know how. Also, need to know if you think it is the FCC that is in charge of this merger details???How about Bernie Sanders writing a letter to the regulators to stop the merger. Too much media in the hands of too few is dangerous for our democracy. FOX is living proof that an australian expatriate and Saudi Prince have no business setting policy over the american broadcasting system. They were raised bowing to monarchs and have no knowledge or loyalty to the unique democracy that is the USA. We really have to start looking at their licensing renewals. Certainly, there must be some standards of truth in the media and now is the time to file the record of the numerous lies with the FCC.
CarmanK
"Middle class societies don't emerge automatically as an economy matures, they have to be CREATED through political action." Paul Krugman.
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