Maybe an MSNBC boss caught a contact-high from the right-wing celebration of the conservative swarm in last Tuesday’s elections. Olbermann was suspended from his show “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” when he acknowledged making donations to 3 Democratic candidates for the maximum contribution of $2,400 each.
Olbermann told Politico, "one week ago, on the night of Thursday, October 28 2010, after a discussion with a friend about the state of politics in Arizona, I donated $2,400 each to the re-election campaigns of Democratic Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords," Olbermann said. "I also donated the same amount to the campaign of Democratic Senatorial candidate Jack Conway in Kentucky." Olbermann continued, "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.”
MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement, "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."
According to an agreement between NBC/MSNBC TV and its employees;
"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."
Do MSNBC bosses watch their own programs? Olbermann is one of media’s most well-known and outspoken liberals, citing his views nightly as part of his show. While the agreement states, “Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions,” the news that Olbermann actually donated to candidates that he openly supported on his show is hardly shocking information worthy of a suspension without pay. Further, if one were to take the agreement exactly as presented, then Olbermann would have broken almost every rule of the contract nightly. He’s never claimed to be an “impartial journalist.”
Since the suspension, Keith Olbermann has been a trending topic on Twitter as well as appearing in the top ten topics on Google News. Clearly, there is an outrage over the suspension. In the end, the network survives on viewers, and “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” is one of MSNBC’s biggest draws.
This knee-jerk reaction which has caused outrage and a backlash against the network, could have long-term negative effects. The decision has already eroded MSNBC’s image to that of a feckless network which had previously permitted ratings powerhouses like Keith and Rachel Maddow free-reign in sharing their views.
Will Olbermann and Maddow be forced to drink the new MSNBC Kool-Aid? Will Rachel and Keith’s emotional charges be replaced with blank Stepford-stares as they robotically recite the news as an MSNBC “brownshirt“ stands off-camera with arms folded?
In a final bit of irony, MSNBC has campaigned their new slogan, “Lean Forward.” Perhaps the new tag should be changed to read, “Lean to the right- or else.”
© 2010 Domenick Pilla
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