Gosh Darn

Unlike most days, I stayed away from my computer and the internet for most of yesterday. I actually did some special projects around the house. So, I was shocked to learn that MSNBC has suspended Keith Olbermann for -- of all things -- exercising his right as a citizen to contribute to the campaigns of 3 candidates.

Of course, the bigwigs have tried to explain that the suspension is not for the contributions themselves. No, it's because he didn't get them approved by the network brass! What kind of bizarre rule is that?

As Matthew Rothschild writes,

The bosses over at MSNBC have blundered badly by suspending Keith Olbermann indefinitely, without pay, for contributing to Democratic candidates. And they’ve done so because they worship the false idol of “objective” journalism.

There is no such thing as “objective” journalism. Every journalist carries along his or her own set of beliefs, biases, likes and dislikes. It’s actually unhealthy for society when journalists and their bosses pretend otherwise or try to mask these preferences. And it’s grossly unfair to the journalists to strip them of their citizenship rights...

That should be a no brainer!

Aah, but it gets even worse. As reported by FAIR,

But if supporting politicians with money is a threat to journalistic independence, what are the standards for Olbermann's bosses at NBC, and at NBC's parent company General Electric?

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, GE made over $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 election cycle (most coming from the company's political action committee). The top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio. The company has also spent $32 million on lobbying this year, and contributed over $1 million to the successful "No on 24" campaign against a California ballot initiative aimed at eliminating tax loopholes for major corporations (New York Times, 11/1/10).

Comcast, the cable company currently looking to buy NBC, has dramatically increased its political giving, much of it to lawmakers who support the proposed merger (Bloomberg, 10/19/10). And while Fox News parent News Corp's $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association caused a stir, GE had "given $245,000 to the Democratic governors and $205,000 to the Republican governors since last year," reported the Washington Post (8/18/10)...

Yes, yes, yes. Isn't that the way it always goes? The bigwigs play by one set of rules and their employees are given a different set -- usually a much more stringent set at that.

Things seem to be growing worse and worse by the day. I wonder who or what will be next.