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OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:24 am
by Cliffenstein
Keith Olbermann suspended after donating to Dems
Simmi Aujla / Politico / November 5, 2010

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MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been suspended indefinitely without pay after POLITICO reported that he made three campaign contributions to Democratic candidates.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement Friday: "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."

Olbermann made campaign contributions to two Arizona members of Congress and failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway ahead of Tuesday's election.

Olbermann, who acknowledged the contributions in a statement to POLITICO, made the maximum legal donations of $2,400 apiece to Conway and to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. He donated to the Arizona pair on Oct. 28 — the same day that Grijalva appeared as a guest on Olbermann's "Countdown" show.

Grijalva, a prominent liberal who was just declared a winner in his race Thursday night, was in a tight contest against tea-party-backed candidate Ruth McClung when he appeared on "Countdown" — one of several appearances he made on the show.

NBC has a rule against employees contributing to political campaigns, and a wide range of news organizations prohibit political contributions — considering it a breach of journalistic independence to contribute to the candidates they cover.

Olbermann, who has become one of the most prominent liberal commentators on cable television, has been a critic of the political donations made by Fox News' parent company, News Corp., which contributed $1 million each to a pair of organizations trying to defeat Democratic candidates.

Griffin also tweaked rival network Fox over the contributions. "Show me an example of us fundraising," Griffin told The New York Times last month.

POLITICO discovered the Olbermann donation to Grijalva in a Federal Election Commission filing, and when MSNBC was asked for a comment, it forwarded a statement from Olbermann:

"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," Olbermann said. "I also donated the same amount to the campaign of Democratic Senatorial candidate Jack Conway in Kentucky."

In his statement, Olbermann said he wasn't using his influence to solicit any donations for the candidates.

"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," Olbermann said.

Under FEC rules, an individual donor may give only $2,400 to a candidate per general election campaign. The FEC filings for Olbermann's contributions list an address that is a Mailboxes Etc. storefront in New York, and it also lists his occupation as a newscaster for NBC Television.

MSNBC declined to comment on Olbermann.

"Countdown With Keith Olbermann" started in 2003 as a traditional news show but evolved into a left-leaning opinion program. Olbermann has tripled MSNBC's ratings at 8 p.m., and much of the network's recent evolution has followed his lead. In the past two years, MSNBC's left-leaning opinionated hosts have helped propel it past CNN in prime time, and even lately during the daytime, too.

MSNBC has branded Olbermann as a prominent face in its new "Lean Forward" marketing campaign, which has been designed to show that the network clearly wants to be the cable news voice of the left, but the company has a policy that warns against political contributions.

A 2007 MSNBC.com story laid out the rules for the network regarding such contributions:

"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."

News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, came under fire from liberals during the past election cycle for its contributions to the Republican Governors Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

On Oct. 7, Olbermann had House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) on his show to discuss the donations. At one point, he asked Clyburn: "Is there a legislative response to the idea that there is a national cable-news outlet that goes beyond having a point of view and actually starts to shill for partisan causes and actually starts to donate to partisan groups of one party?"

Olbermann's contributions came amid a brutal campaign season for Democrats.

Giffords had appeared on Olbermann's program in May, as did Conway. During his more recent broadcasts, Olbermann also made frequent references to the "Aqua Buddha" controversy involving Conway's Republican Senate rival, Rand Paul, who handily won election Tuesday.

Grijalva had seemed to be in a safe race until the month before the election, when he became targeted by outside groups. In mid-October, national Democratic interests began putting money into his district to compete with fundraising for McClung from outside conservative groups.

On Oct. 28, Grijalva went on Olbermann's show and fielded questions about a story linking profit motives of private prisons to Arizona's new immigration crackdown. It was the sixth time Grijalva had appeared on "Countdown" in a little more than the past six months.

Grijalva not only opposed the immigration law — known as S.B. 1070 — but inadvertently put himself in electoral jeopardy by calling for an economic boycott of his own home state in response, a move that didn't go over so well with cash-strapped Arizonans.

"It's almost extraordinary to believe that once we got past the original phony reason for it, which was security at the border, when obviously it didn't pertain to that whatsoever, that the real reason behind that was well, this is to intimidate people of Hispanic descent. Well, it turns out there's an even more base, cynical reason behind it. Am I wrong about this?" Olbermann asked. "Is there anything you can tell us about the relationship between these private prisons and the lawmakers who supported this monstrosity of a bill?"

Grijalva responded: "It is a wonderful I-told-you-so moment."

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:33 am
by Cliffenstein
UPDATE: Olbermann suspended for Dem contributions
CNN Political Unit / CNN / November 5, 2010

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Keith Olbermann, MSNBC's primetime firebrand host, has been suspended indefinitely for violating the ethics policies of his employer earlier this year when he donated to three Democrats seeking federal office, MSNBC announced Friday.

"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," MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement.

First reported by Politico and confirmed by Federal Election Commission filings, the primetime television host gave $2,400 – the maximum individual amount allowed – to each of the campaigns of Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords.

Conway lost his bid to Republican Rand Paul while Grijalva eked out a win over Tea Party-backed candidate Ruth McClung for a fifth term. Grijalva found himself in an increasingly competitive race after he announced his support of a boycott of Arizona businesses in response to the state's controversial new immigration law and often appeared on Olbermann's show where he found a sympathetic audience. CNN, meanwhile, has yet to declare a winner in Giffords' race, but the Democrat currently holds about a 3,000-vote lead with all precincts reporting.

The contributions may have violated an NBC policy that requires employers of the news organization to obtain permission ahead of any political donations or activities that could be deemed as a conflict of interest. CNN institutes a similar policy.

In a statement to Politico before the suspension was announced, Olbermann defended the contributions:

"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," he said in the statement. "I also donated the same amount to the campaign of Democratic Senatorial candidate Jack Conway in Kentucky."

Olbermann, as well as MSNBC executives, was a vocal critic of the $1 million donation by Fox News' parent News Corp. to the Republican Governor's Association earlier this year, saying at the time, "We now have another million reasons Fox News is the Republican news channel."

In a subsequent show, Olbermann also pressed House Majority Whip James Clyburn if there was a "legislative response" to a networks that "starts to shill for partisan causes."

A News Corp. spokesman defended the donation when it was first reported in August.

"News Corporation believes in the power of free markets, and the RGA's pro-business agenda supports our priorities at this most critical time for our economy," the spokesman said.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:22 am
by WC1
I didn't think PMSNBC had any "ethics policies" to violate.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 11:25 am
by Cliffenstein
WC1 wrote:I didn't think PMSNBC had any "ethics policies" to violate.
They don't really...I just found this:

MSNBC.com identified 143 journalists who made political contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign, according to the public records of the Federal Election Commission. Most of the newsroom checkbooks leaned to the left: 125 journalists gave to Democrats and liberal causes. Only 16 gave to Republicans. Two gave to both parties.

The donors include CNN's Guy Raz, now covering the Pentagon for NPR, who gave to Kerry the same month he was embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq; New Yorker war correspondent George Packer; a producer for Bill O'Reilly at Fox; MSNBC TV host Joe Scarborough; political writers at Vanity Fair; the editor of The Wall Street Journal's weekend section; local TV anchors in Washington, Minneapolis, Memphis and Wichita; the ethics columnist at The New York Times; and even MTV's former presidential campaign correspondent.


That sounds like this was much more about about the station's ratings than anything else.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 6:09 pm
by Skate4RnR
THEY'RE VIOLATING HIS FREE SPEECH GODDAMNIT! HE'S AFRAID OF ARABS!

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 8:56 pm
by MurrayFiend
I like Olbermann. I like his "Special Comments" where he takes twenty minutes to call the right a bunch of jackasses. :lol:

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 10:44 pm
by SeminiferousButtNoid
Olbmerman was an embarrassing goofball and I think they were just looking to get rid of him and used this bullshit as an excuse. The good news is that Lawrence O'Donnell is getting the spot, who is a hundred times smarter and more professional.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:48 pm
by WhiteHouseSubsAC
There are some Olbermann ballwashers here who are being REALLY QUIET about this.

What say you, people?

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 9:48 pm
by Cliffenstein
Thank you so much for posting that video link. I really enjoyed watching it.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 2:05 pm
by MadmanShepherd
Maddow puts into perspective the intent behind the policy and how MSNBC has much different standards than Fox News.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/ra ... nted-24h-5

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 5:20 pm
by WhiteHouseSubsAC
Who gives a fuck? She has nothing to say about it so she throws the "Fox Newz iz evillll" straw man out there. Concentrate on why your colleague is an arrogant prick who thinks he is above his network's rules.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 6:33 pm
by MurrayFiend
That Affleck Olbermann impression is really good and pretty accurate at first but like any overlong SNL sketch it turns into a rather unfunny caricature kinda fast.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:27 pm
by Nevermind
Well they sure showed him. He got a paid extra long weekend. :lol: Either way, I could care less about the story. Everybody knows NBC news are basically the PR team for the Democrat party, so why would I be surprised he gives them money.

Olbermann suspension ends Tuesday
http://www.rr.com/news/topic/article/rr ... ds_Tuesday
NEW YORK — MSNBC says Keith Olbermann will be back on the air Tuesday, ending his suspension for violating NBC's rules against making political donations.

MSNBC's chief executive Phil Griffin said late Sunday that after several days of deliberation, he had determined that two days off the air was "an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy."

The left-leaning cable network's most popular personality acknowledged donating $2,400 apiece to the campaigns of Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. NBC News prohibits its employees from making political donations unless an exception is granted in advance by the network news president. In this case, Olbermann's bosses didn't know about them until being informed by a reporter.
.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 7:29 pm
by MurrayFiend
So to the liberal media... say you fear Muslims and lose a job, but give money to someone's campaign and fail to disclose it when licking his balls on their air and you're given a slap on the wrist? Is it 'cause Juan's Black?

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:07 pm
by tin00can
MurrayFiend wrote:So to the liberal media... say you fear Muslims and lose a job, but give money to someone's campaign and fail to disclose it when licking his balls on their air and you're given a slap on the wrist? Is it 'cause Juan's Black?

No, it's because Olbermann is white.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:08 pm
by MurrayFiend
Interesting! I hadn't considered that.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:29 pm
by SeminiferousButtNoid
MadmanShepherd wrote:Maddow puts into perspective the intent behind the policy and how MSNBC has much different standards than Fox News.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/11/ra ... nted-24h-5

If you believe that, you need to get your head examined.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 10:44 pm
by MurrayFiend
That teenage boy in that clip needs to STFU. No surprise a facacta network like MSNBC gave him his own show. :lol:

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:22 am
by CrouchingStonerHiddenBong
The first time I saw Keith Olbermann, I thought he was a character, like the Republicans answer to Stephen Colbert.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 3:26 am
by MurrayFiend
He recently retired his recurring "Worst Person in the World" segment. :lol:

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 4:37 am
by Nevermind
MurrayFiend wrote:He recently retired his recurring "Worst Person in the World" segment. :lol:
I'm sure all 17 of his viewers were devestated. It might be worth watching his show when he comes back on to see how he blames his cough "suspension" on George Bush.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Mon Nov 08, 2010 6:27 am
by Cliffenstein
http://www.thewrap.com/media/column-pos ... sday-22342

Keith Olbermann's indefinite suspension from MSNBC will end on Tuesday, NBC announced on Sunday evening.

"I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy," MSNBC president Phil Griffin said in a statement. "We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night."

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2010 8:14 am
by MurrayFiend
That's cool, I suppose, but that article was terrible. If they'd stated something and then inserted a quote that said the exact same thing one more time, I would've shot my computer screen and then myself.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Thu Dec 02, 2010 1:52 pm
by transcient1
Olbermann is the biggest P.O.S. in the "news" business today.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 5:12 pm
by Skate4RnR
I get my news from the "Hannity".

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 6:25 pm
by MasterOfMeatPuppets
Skate4RnR wrote:I get my news from the "Hannity".
The only thing I get from him is a headache.

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 7:05 pm
by Skate4RnR
MasterOfMeatPuppets wrote:
Skate4RnR wrote:I get my news from the "Hannity".
The only thing I get from him is a headache.
Is that what a shitload of FUCKING TRUTH does to you you limp wristed liberal?

Re: OLBERMANN OUT...

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 7:20 pm
by MasterOfMeatPuppets
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