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Olbermann suspended over political donations

  • ptown_trojans_1
    I'm sure many, if not all, of you will enjoy this.
    Msnbc TV host Keith Olbermann was suspended indefinitely on Friday for making campaign donations to three Democratic congressional candidates, apparently in violation of NBC News ethics policy.

    The announcement came in a one-sentence statement from msnbc TV President Phil Griffin: “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.”

    The donations were first reported by the Politico website earlier in the day.

    Olbermann acknowledged the donations in a statement to Politico, saying he gave the maximum legal donation of $2,400 to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate against Tea Party standard-bearer Rand Paul.
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40028929/ns/politics-decision_2010/ns/politics-decision_2010
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44734.html

    This comes off the heals from mass criticism of MSNBCs Election night coverage.
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44729.html
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101104/el_yblog_upshot/matthews-msnbcs-election-night-line-up-sparks-criticism

    It is interesting as NBC News is trying to, on the one hand continue being a news organization (Brian Williams, Chuck Todd, David Gregory) and on the other hand, grow the liberal sister channel, MSNBC. Looks like it is failing.
  • Fab1b
    So were they actually surprised by this?? Has anyone at the network watched any of his show????
  • IggyPride00
    The left is enraged right now and calling for a boycott of MSNBC by their minions.

    They want to know how K.O (who has a nightly show) giving $2,400 to Democrats creates a conflict of interest when Rupert Murdoch (who owns an entire network) is able to give a $1 million dollar donation to the Republican Governors Association and no one says a word.

    They are really wound up by this right now and it is kind of amusing.
  • majorspark
    Left wing flame outs are always fun to watch.
  • QuakerOats
    majorspark;545936 wrote:Left wing flame outs are always fun to watch.

    Cheers!
  • Manhattan Buckeye
    At least Sunday Night Football got rid of him.
  • derek bomar
    ...he's a commentator with a certain POV. They pay him to express an opinion. I don't really get why they'd suspend him over this. If he was supposed to be unbiased I could see it...but that isn't what he has ever tried to be, nor what MSNBC pays him to be. Weird.
  • BGFalcons82
    Excuse my while I shed a tear at this act by NBC :( I'm totally shocked by this announcement. Can't say I saw it coming. Who would have thunk it?

    No...not Olbermann getting suspended....the fact that MSNBC employees have ethics clauses.
  • CenterBHSFan
    derek bomar;545949 wrote:...he's a commentator with a certain POV. They pay him to express an opinion. I don't really get why they'd suspend him over this. If he was supposed to be unbiased I could see it...but that isn't what he has ever tried to be, nor what MSNBC pays him to be. Weird.
    Because the company he works for doesn't allow it. MSNBC actually has news ethics (lol) that they have to adhere to.
    Olbermann broke the rules and must pay.

    BTW, the article says "indefinitely". That could mean that he'll be back to work on Monday.
  • OneBuckeye
    IggyPride00;545928 wrote:
    They want to know how K.O (who has a nightly show) giving $2,400 to Democrats creates a conflict of interest when Rupert Murdoch (who owns an entire network) is able to give a $1 million dollar donation to the Republican Governors Association and no one says a word.

    They are really wound up by this right now and it is kind of amusing.

    This has nothing to do with FOX. KO violated MSNBC policy. Murdoch owns fox and doesn't have to adheare to FOX's policy, who knows if they even have one. When you violate an employers policy you will get punished how hard is that to understand.
  • Manhattan Buckeye
    "That could mean that he'll be back to work on Monday. "

    I'm guessing that isn't happening, he can do a book deal, hook up with the HuffPo and DailyKos and still do whatever it is he does....he just can't do it on MSNBC anymore.

    I remember him with Patrick during the old ESPN days...he seemed pompous then, but it was in a good way, not sure what happened to him but he's turned into a hateful person.
  • tk421
    I crying here, really. :D
  • Writerbuckeye
    Once again the left tries to create equivalence where none exists.

    Is anyone surprised by ANY of this?

    I didn't think so.
  • cbus4life
    Good riddance. Even though i never visit MSNBC, or HuffPo, for that matter, it is nice regardless. Giant douche.
  • fish82
    FWIW, he wasn't suspended for the actual contributions, but the fact that he failed to disclose them to the brass. That was where the policy violation took place.
  • IggyPride00
    Once again the left tries to create equivalence where none exists.
    Yeah, the immediate reaction is to always dredge up Fox.

    Their new one is that Hannity donated to some local Republicans this election cycle, and they want to know why the media isn't asking Fox why they don't have ethics guidelines like MSNBC.

    From what I am reading many on the left seem to think the media is actually conservative because they are all trying to copy Fox news.

    The crazies are really coming out of the woodwork over this for some reason.
  • majorspark
    Manhattan Buckeye;545976 wrote:I remember him with Patrick during the old ESPN days...he seemed pompous then, but it was in a good way, not sure what happened to him but he's turned into a hateful person.
    Some chick he banged a few years back went public that he was lousy in bed. The New York Post published her comments as well as a lot of the internet media. Not sure but this could have something to do with it.
  • CenterBHSFan
    majorspark;546043 wrote:Some chick he banged a few years back went public that he was lousy in bed. The New York Post published her comments as well as a lot of the internet media. Not sure but this could have something to do with it.
    Olbermann sucks in bed.com | bloggie

  • believer
    IggyPride00;546016 wrote:The crazies are really coming out of the woodwork over this for some reason.
    I'll give you a couple of reasons.

    1. Fox News is kicking MSNBC's ass. It's not "coincidence" that MSNBC execs brought this to light after the election. They know KO was helping to bring them down and they used this contribution as an excuse to shit can him...well..."suspend" him. Now they can think about bringing in someone a little less controversial and maybe even make a run at Fox News. Riiiight...

    2. The Repubs just killed the Dems in the mid-terms. MSNBC execs apparently got a clear message that it's time to moderate. Do you think they would have "suspended" KO if the Dems had retained power?
  • derek bomar
    believer;546052 wrote:I'll give you a couple of reasons.

    1. Fox News is kicking MSNBC's ass. It's not "coincidence" that MSNBC execs brought this to light after the election. They know KO was helping to bring them down and they used this contribution as an excuse to shit can him...well..."suspend" him. Now they can think about bringing in someone a little less controversial and maybe even make a run at Fox News. Riiiight...

    2. The Repubs just killed the Dems in the mid-terms. MSNBC execs apparently got a clear message that it's time to moderate. Do you think they would have "suspended" KO if the Dems had retained power?

    #2 is stupid from a business perspective - CNN is moderate, and they suck (ratings wise)
  • believer
    derek bomar;546064 wrote:#2 is stupid from a business perspective - CNN is moderate, and they suck (ratings wise)
    True. They should be more like #1.
  • Writerbuckeye
    believer;546075 wrote:True. They should be more like #1.

    If they were more like "#1" wouldn't they just tell everyone to piss off? ;)
  • Glory Days
    Writerbuckeye;546092 wrote:If they were more like "#1" wouldn't they just tell everyone to piss off? ;)

    wait a second...i see what you did there.
  • Little Danny
    believer;546052 wrote:I'll give you a couple of reasons.

    1. Fox News is kicking MSNBC's ass. It's not "coincidence" that MSNBC execs brought this to light after the election. They know KO was helping to bring them down and they used this contribution as an excuse to shit can him...well..."suspend" him. Now they can think about bringing in someone a little less controversial and maybe even make a run at Fox News. Riiiight...

    2. The Repubs just killed the Dems in the mid-terms. MSNBC execs apparently got a clear message that it's time to moderate. Do you think they would have "suspended" KO if the Dems had retained power?

    You are actually onto something there. MSNBC was slammed in both print and tv media following their coverage of the election the other night. Who better to be the fall guy than Olbermann. I have heard a lot of rumbling that once the ComCast deal is done MSNBC will be a thing of the past.
  • I Wear Pants
    Well Olbermann has always been a doucher so I'm not upset.