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MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay after it was revealed that he made three campaign contributions to Democratic candidates. Politico reports that the Countdown host donated $2,400 each to Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway. “I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night,” MSNBC president Phil Griffin said in a statement. “Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.” NBC’s donation policy requires employees to obtain permission regarding contributions or activities that could be considered conflicts of interest. Here is Olbermann’s take on the issue:
“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 reelection campaigns of Democratic Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. I also donated the same amount to the campaign of Democratic Senatorial candidate Jack Conway in Kentucky. 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.”
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this is ridiculous: NewsCorp can donate $1 million to the GOP, but a news host can’t donate a few thousand to three politicians?
agreed. ridic.
And Joe Scarborough of MSNBC gave $4200 in 2006 to the campaign of Derrick Kitts, Republican candidate from Oregon. Yet Joe got no suspension.
I agree. I’m a democrat (a moderate,not a crazy loon like Michael Moore) but this is wrong regardless of party. Funny how Joe was one of the few republicans that doesn’t irritate me. He,Fixed News,and Keith should all be equally accountable.
It sounds unfair at first glance, but I think the bigger issue is the timing. Rep. Grijalva appeared on his show and immediately following that interview, Olbermann donated the max amount to Rep. Grijalva’s campaign. That’s borderline paying politicians for appearing on your news program, and that would directly conflict with a person’s journalistic integrity.
Actually, Ryan, while I’m not a conservative, I agree with your take. Hopefully Fox will take the lesson from MSNBC and curtail their practice of allowing Republican candidates to fundraise on their news network, have paid commentators like Mr. Rove and Mr. Morris as frequent guests on the “news” side of things while they actively assist political candidates. Full disclosure of guests/employees connections to candidates would be good as well (such as Sean Hannity openly declaring his contributions to a political campaign of a New York House candidate who appeared on his show)
Does Fox have official policies about electioneering?
Fox will not take any lesson from this. If anything they will continue to allow donations to whatever conservative candidate they feel the need to promote. Get ready for comcasts shake-up while republicans continue to call any other network lamestream liberal media. Even though we’ll see most networks swinigng the same way and firther mis-information will continue to be produced.
I’ll just sit back with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy watching this country continue to sink while nothing is ever accomplished.
Drew’s reply states that he’ll “just sit back with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy watching this country continue to sink while nothing is ever accomplished.”
You’re the biggest scumbag of them all, Drew! Go “enjoy” your popcorn in Mexico or Russia and > stay there! <
Isn’t also possible that after the appearance Olbermann said to himself, “I like what I’m hearing.” and ponied up the dough? More likely in fact considering a national politician does not need to bargain for air time on MSNBC of all places.
It is kinda ridiculous given that Olbermann is a commentator and not a journalist (and, as we saw from the GWB years, clearly not a Republican).
However NBC News is a news organization and it needs to send the clear message that neither it nor its employees will directly advocate for or support any political party. This action differentiates itself from Fox News that officially made “Fair & Balanced” a joke by giving a million large to the GOP and a big fat zero to the DNC.
Yes, all journalists have biases. They’re human. But it’s nice if they at least try to present some balance in their stories. Clearly that’s harder to do if they’re out there tub-thumping for their favorite candidate. It’s not about objectivity. That’s impossible. But it is about making it easier to practice fairness in a story even if you’re covering a race-baiting, nut-case like Sharon Angle.
And Universal or Comcast or whoever wants to take ownership of the floundering NBC tv landscape didn’t donate money to the liberals?
That being said, the question comes down to this: Is Olbermann considered a journalist or a news anchor? MSNBC blurs the lines much too much when it comes to their reporting of the news. Yes, Olbermann’s daily show is certainly in the vein of O’Reilly’s, but then when you have KO anchoring the election night coverage, the line is decidedly blurred. (And it’s not just Olbermann, considering the election night coverage was also bolstered by the constant presence of Maddow and Matthews as well.)
I’m not saying the guy should be suspended (although if he violated a signed contract, so be it), but MSNBC needs to take a page from Fox’s book and push the commentators to the sidelines on election night. Have them come in and spout their opinions when fitting, but don’t have them anchor the broadcast.
All that said, I was flipping around the channels on Tuesday night and it was incredibly fun to watch the pouting faces on MSNBC.
Correction to the question proposed in the 2nd paragraph above: The question really is “Is Olbermann considered a journalist/news anchor or a commentator.”
MSNBC pulling him out of his commentator position and putting him in a news anchor position blurs the lines way too much.
Please… his ratings are in the dirt. Ratings = profit. Olbermann is a favorite, they suspended him so he can save face.
Better to find a limp-dick excuse to cut him loose than to shit-can him for his ratings disaster.
Ratings disaster? Sorry that MSN doesn’t have an audience that falls asleep infront of the TV every night like Fox. He had over one million viewers every night.
But I know, I guess if they just took a note from Fox’s play book to distort the truth and convince people that they biggest threat to America was Reverond Johnson and three black panthers members then I guess they would terrify people into the point of watching every night because we could be headed back into Nazi Germany.
Fox is a joke with nothing else to boast about other undeservedley high ratings. By the way they get beaten every night by WWE and Deadliest Catch. Maybe FOx should take note from them and start featuring more wrestling and fishing during their broadcasts.
Fox has been and always will a laughable arm of the GOP.
“But I know, I guess if they just took a note from Fox’s play book to distort the truth and convince people that they biggest threat to America was Reverond Johnson and three black panthers members then I guess they would terrify people into the point of watching every night because we could be headed back into Nazi Germany.”
No, MSNBC’s playbook is to distort the truth and convince people that the biggest threat to America is Carrie Prejean and Bristol Palin…
And that’s proof that you have never watched MSN, you’ve just heard about it from your ill-informed friends.
And that comment right there is proof that you’ve never watched one segment of an MSNBC program. You’ve just heard about it from your equally ignorant friends.
Exactly…..hypocrisy and contradiction knows no bounds doesn’t it?
Politics are a sick joke.
no – they can’t. bottom line. Journalists know the rules, he broke it – it’s a business and a publically traded company – bye. Dumb error on Keith’s part but this isn’t anything new. Keith is awesome too, it’s a shame but yah. Good donations though.
Did Fox News have anything to do with this? Oh well, I will blame them anyway.
NBC isnt Fox News (Or Fox Noise). Keith is great, but he
made a bit of kaka…meantime, he refocuses us on Foxy
Trotsky and its blitherers.
I wouldn’t say it is ridiculous – if you did something like that in your organization that went against company policy- would you still have a job? The issue is not who he is – it is that he broke a contract rule – done! Republican/Democrat/Independent shouldn’t matter…It is more of America’s thinking – famous person should not have to follow the rules.
Keith Olbermann is partisan? No F-ing Way.
Like you, Ben, I’m shocked — shocked, I say! Partisans at MSNBC? Unimaginable!
This is ridiculous because the whole MSNBC prime-time lineup is a de facto donation to Democrats every night of the week, and management set it up that way.
They’re only making a public example of Olbermann because of the heat MSNBC took for it demented, far-gone-partisan election night coverage this week. It was hilarious and entertaining but not the kind of product a respectable news organization delivers. If the blogosphere hadn’t gone nuts Wednesday and Thursday, Olbermann would be going on the air Friday.
Tell me, did the “respectable” Fox organization ever mention on the air that the ACORN tapes they mercilessly flogged for months turned out to have been doctored and no one from those organizations were actually charged with any crimes based on those tapes?
Tell me, did the “respectable” Fox news organization ever demand that Glenn Beck stop using their airwaves to promote his private financial ventures (such as Goldline and his phony 8/28 rally)?
Tell me, did the “respectable” Fox News organization ever request that Sarah Palin stop appearing on Greta Van Sustern’s show, given that Van Sustern’s husband runs one of Palin’s PAC’s?
Again, as a veteran of media, Olbermann should have known better and followed MSNBC policy about political donations faithfully, but let’s not pretend that the Fox side is a bastion of ethics.
Fox News is EVILLLLLLLL!!
What you said!
So let me get this straight…One Media Organization forbids people from donations to Political Parties, yet Rupert Murdoch continues to contribute Millions to his party of choice…I never thought I’d say this in a million years, but I’m on K.O.’s Side.
More like “on MSNBC’s side.” At least they not only have common sense to not tolerate this horseshit but even their news shows have criticized Obama at times. Fox is just a hypocritical retardican theocracy.
last time i checked, Murdoch is not a journalist. he can make donations to whoever the F- he wants. JOURNALISTS CAN NOT MAKE POTLICAL CONTRIBUTIONS.
Get the facts straight. Or just blame Fox News for everything.
the faulty part of your logic is this. basically Olberman is not on Fox. and Fox has nothing to do with MSNBC. so rupert murdoch can do whatever he wants. whether or not his donation is ethical or not is another question. but MSNBC is a separate company from news corporation with separate policies. so this is not a parallel argument.
I can’t stand Olbermann but even I have to admit that seems like an unfair reason for suspending him– and I agree the fact that he is a commentator should have no bearing on his personal donations to a politician.
I know Olbermann is supposedly one of the highest ratings draws on MSNBC (which is a little like saying Rhode Island is the largest state in the country which begins with the letter “R”)but It sounds like MSNBC is looking for a reason to dump him. Could be that despite the supposed ratings he brings in it’s just not worth it to MSNBC to put up with his behavior behind the scenes (I’ve heard he is a total ass to those who work with him).
Keith Olbermann, with MSNBC’s help, already donated hundreds of free airtime to promote the Democratic candidates. MSNBC is so unaware of its own complicity. At least promote a conservative in Keith’s old slot.
And FOX has donated millions of free airtime to promote the Republican candidates
Three hours of Scarborough in the mornings on MSNBC is already enough, thank you.
One ow-er of Joe Scarborough is too much, actually.
Fox has former candidates Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee on its payroll as well as former Bush employees Dana Perino and Karl Rove. And yet they are not pushing a Republican agenda????
It’s a pissing contest between him and Phil Griffin.
Olbermann told the New Yorker “Phil thinks he’s my boss.” Well Phil proved he is. The issue isn’t making political donations – that’s all fine – it’s only that he failed to get permission ahead of time. It’s an NBC News policy, according to HuffPo. Olbermann’s power comes from his show. He has no readership, no radio outlet, no way to protest this move other than as somebody’s guest. If he doesn’t get back on the air soon, his career is in serious peril. MSNBC does not have another show to fill the void – they built their nightly broadcasts around him. This could be Griffin killing off his blowhard egos (Ed Schultz is next in line, I guarantee it) to raise Maddow’s profile or clean house altogether.
Exactly! I would just add that I wouldn’t be stunned if this is Griffin trying to show off for the new owners.
I agree that Griffin is doing something with this show of force. How long Obbie stays off the air will tell us one thing and if Maddow moves to Obbie’s spot will definitely tell us another. Watch Griffin and the lineup. That’s what is important here for the station as a whole since Microsoft is now defunct and doesn’t have a product development VP spot anymore. This station could be on its way to blackout and paid commercial product announcements – leading to a resurgence of CNN NEWS maybe? Ted Turner better get back from his buffalo ranch and dust off “how to be a reporter in 10 easy lessons” because he’s going to be taking CNN from Time/Warner back soon. The writing is on the wall for that one as well.
I bet this is just a PR ploy to get his name in the news and boost ratings when they bring him back. I mean c’mon, we knew he was a democrat. Donating money to a campaign doesn’t reveal biased reporting or news commentary.
I wonder how much money Fox anchors have donated individually? And to whom?
I really believe MSNBC in general and Keith and Rachel in particular have been unfairly criticized in the wake of the midterm elections. Seems to be open season on them these days.
Gee, I wonder why?
Doesn’t matter. Apparently NBC has a policy that Olbermann knew about. Comparing it to Fox is irrelevant.
No, it is relevant. Doesn’t matter that it’s not a policy for Fox to not donate. They’re getting away with murder. No excuses.
Why is he not allowed to donate?
It’s my understanding that it’s not necessarily against MSNBC’s policy to donate to a campaign, you have to disclose it to them ahead of time so they can say yay or nay. It’s a protection that media companies should use to avoid conflict of interest/payola issues. Anyone who has worked in radio or tv ought to be familiar with policies that insist on a firewall between what is said on the air and behind the scenes financial conduct or material support.
For instance, on Fox, Greta Van Sustern has never mentioned ONCE that her husband works for one of Sarah Palin’s PACs whenever the good governor is a guest on that show. That’s the classic definition of conflict of interest.
Was Sarah Palin running for office?
1. Sarah Palin is running for office.
2. Sarah Palin has been using her PAC money to directly fund political campaigns.
Fox had an obligation to disclose the conflict of interest between Palin and Greta Van Sustern.
What office was Palin running for on Nov 2? What state? Did she win or lose?
It’s just so contradictory. He can have a heavily biased show,(I like him. Just stating facts) but can’t give his own money to the candidates he believes in? He can show support with opinions but not dollars?
As though the public spends more time monitoring contributions than watching TV…
Company policy.
I’m sure there will be a lot of hand-wringing over this from both sides which is sad, this is not news. I don’t care what donations any newsperson makes to any political campaign. They are free citizens the same as anyone else in the USA and to suggest this is where journalistic integrity has gone astray is missing the point. News channels like MSNBC, Fox, or any other that does nothing but spew opinions and sensationalism are not worth putting any effort into.
I agree with you, Kenny. They get to vote as well, but they don’t get fired for that. Why shouldn’t they, as citizens, be allowed to contribute their own money as they see fit. His political inclinations were no secret, so why all the hoopla when he does something with them?
“NBC’s donation policy requires employees to obtain permission regarding contributions or activities that could be considered conflicts of interest.” ??? Are you kidding me with this? I’m fairly certain that’s illegal in at least three different ways. Team Keith.
i don’t know why anyone is surprised or upset.
if you work for someone and they pay you, they set ground rules you are expected to observe, or you put your job in jeopardy.
keith olbermann knew the rules and broke them anyway. so he got fired — i’m sure someone else will fill the job just fine.
Well he’s not quite fired. Just suspended. He’ll be back.
David Schuster was also suspended “indefinitely” by MSNBC after deliberately taking part in a failed pilot for a CNN show without notifying his current employers.
Last I check, David’s still employed by MSNBC, but his contract is being burned off. He’ll never ever ever appear on the network again.
Olby may also suffer the same fate.
A written warning couldn’t have sufficed??????
Exactly! And suspension without pay? C’mon. Oh no…There is more afoot here.
For me MSNBC has been inserting their heads further up their arses since the election. The moment McCain made his idiotic choice of running mate this channel has become Palin’s most powerful platform. They are obsessed with her and as a result I have stopped watching. Except for Maddow.
This channel doesn’t know from up or down anymore.
this is ridiculous horseshit. the idea that news anchors have to be fair and balanced ™ if they’re liberals and news corp does whatever it wants is so wrong.
he’s a citizen of the united states, he has to ask permission to donate and i don’t?
and to himbo, yeah, like there’s not enough conservative anchors on FAUX NEWS. right.
Does this make him “The Worst Person in the World?”
He should certainly make his own top three worst people of the day or week or whatever.
Keith is now in the same category as Juan Williams and Rick Sanchez. When management sees weak talent in their minds, they look for other reasons to act.
You don’t attack the message, you attack the messenger.
That being said, Keith is neither a good journalist nor even a slightly impartial observer. He is a big cry baby who cannot understand how or why O’Reilly and Fox keeps kicking his ass in ratings.
It is not like people are being compelled to choose Fox…they do so because they like it better.
I’d say they watch Fox News because they’re clueless morons who don’t have enough brain power to know when they’re being lied to.
A Valid point…if he continued with that segment (He discontinued the segment on Monday citing Jon Stewart’s rally as Rationalle)
By your reasoning Fox News contributed millions of dollars of airtime to the Republican candidates, in addition to the Republican Governors and Tea Party fundraising, etc. And why would their Saudi prince shareholder think that was a good investment?
If Olbermann (who I’ve never watched) is suspended for his contributions then so should Sean Hannity (who gave $10,000 to Rep. Michele Bachmann this year) and Pat Buchanan.
Funny how corporations get free speech but their employees don’t.
This is ridiculous. Does this mean Murdoch has to pull FOX news? I’d love to see who O’Reilly donated to…. or Beck. If this applies to one I think it should apply to all…
If they worked for NBC, you’d be right. Fox’s employee policies may be different.
Maybe he shouldn’t be allowed to vote either.
Fortunately for Obermann, Democratic ass-kissing is still allowed.
This is simply an excuse to dump him. As I predicted in Deadline Hollywood’s news post of Fox’s election night success, Comcast, MSNBC’s new owners will soon be making big changes. I have no doubt that Matthews and Maddow will be the next out the door. Their performances on election night were appalling. Firing Olbermann for this is like convicting Al Capone for tax evasion. This moron had no business anchoring a legitimate news broadcast.
It must be difficult to listen to a guy who backs up his opinions with facts versus Fox, which shovels all sorts of unsubstantiated shit and peddles is as “news.” Oldbermann and Maddow are opnionated, sure, but, like most liberal partisan sites, they’re smart enough to fact-check and cite their sources.
Did some quick research
Fox News apparently has no such conflict of interest policies concerning their employees and political contributions. I suppose if they did, they wouldn’t be able to fully staff their broadcast cycle.
Hardee har har…
Do you have any evidence that any FOX anchor who covered the election actually personally contributed money to any political candidate who appeared on their show?
Since Fox News apparently has no such policy banning air personalities from contributing to campaigns, take your pick. For instance, Sean Hannity donated money to Michelle Bachmann’s campaign. Bachmann appeared on his show frequently. Next…
Is Sean Hannity a news anchor or commentator? Does he do hard news or opinion?
Keith Olbermann was employed as a hard news anchor during the election coverage on MSNBC.
I asked which FOX news anchors (Megan Kelly, etc) donated money to the very candidates they were covering during the election?
Neil Cavuto for one..
Did Cavuto anchor the election?
Which candidates did Cavuto contribute money to?
“anchorman or reporter”
Typical retardican splitting hairs to spin the issue. Hannity fits the bill. End of discussion.
So many people responding to this story have missed the point completely. Olberman knew it was company policy that he couldn’t contribute and he did it anyway. For him to get punished for it is his own fault. This falls into a long line of actions by Olberman where he thumbs his nose at the network. If he didn’t like the policy he could certainly work somewhere else (That is if anybody watched his show). Whether the policy is good or not is NBC’s decision to make as the owner of the business. He knew the rules and he broke them. He has no basis to complain for being punished for it.
Probably the most sensibily post I see here. The issue is KO and MSnbc…but it seems like an opportunity for every Fox hater to rear their head and get their panties in a bunch.
This has nothing to do with Olbermann contributing to a couple campaigns. This is a play by his boss who decided to assert some power to make a point to Keith.
Olbermann will be back on the air before you know it.
Oh, by the way, those who are defending Fox and its anchors, Fox/Murdoch donated a million bucks to the Republicans this year. So let’s not pretend they’re any cleaner than Olbermann or MSNBC.
Olberman’s donation are considered conflict of interest? Have the people at NBC ever seen his show?! I laughed outloud this is so ridiculous. His show is already so slanted, it was directly IN the interest of MSNBC. Besides, on-air talent have a first amendment right to support anyone they wish.
If this is the standard, Fox News would be shut down.
Ah shucks. Who else best describes the unhinged angry liberal pundit on TV than Olbermann and one the conservatives love to have on display week in and week out. Now he is gone. Welcome, number two Chris Matthews.
You remember when this guy was just a sports anchor? It was a wise man who said it is better to have everyone think you a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Keith Olbermann: Worst person in the world! What a jackass!
I REMEMBER WHEN K.O. WAS A SPORTS ANCHOR!! That’s why I know not to pay any attention to him! I’d rather get the weather from him than policital commentary….