Olbermann Suspension Helped Fox News
John S. Wilson at The Loop 21 writes:
Today Keith Olbermann returns from the pointless suspension doled out by his employer, MSNBC. Olbermann had admitted in an interview that he contributed to Democratic candidates, an act deemed a violation of employee conduct. The suspension was riveting because Olbermann is MSNBC’s cash cow, raking in more than 1 million viewers per night. Which would lead one to think that MSNBC was making a principled stand, no?
Well, no. If you were deaf, dumb, and blind you still would have known that Olbermann was a Democrat who was supportive of their candidates (donations or no donations). The riddle here is why MSNBC actually believes they have gained a modicum of respect for the impartiality such a suspension would seem to suggest.
How can I put this elegantly: Um, no.
There are three things that need to be explored here: 1.) Should there be different standards for journalists versus commentators?; 2.) Do parent corporations that own news properties have to be “impartial?”; and 3.) Are the Democrats acting like MSNBC?
MSNBC isn’t an impartial arbiter of news, at least not the sanctified area in which Olbermann, Ed Schultz, and Rachel Maddow inhabit. It never was. And you may not see flowing robes and white collars but they preach to the choir all the same. That’s fine as long as they aren’t trying to convince anyone of something different. Yet Maddow took to the airwaves to say: ““We are not a political operation. Fox is. We are a news operation. And the rules around here are part of how you know that.” Does Maddow really believe that? Better yet, could Maddow stand up to a test of impartiality that she claims exists on her set? She’s a Rhodes Scholar but she’d be hard pressed to pass that one.
Furthermore, Media Matters has a list of 30 Fox News contributors and GOP analysts involved in over 600 instances of partisan activity. Not a peep from Fox News. But this doesn’t make Fox News look more partisan. It makes them look like they have common sense. Information isn’t news just because it’s new. News is synonymous with objectivity and devoid of opinion, while commentary is synonymous with opinion and devoid of objectivity. At times they make look similar - if you tilt your head to the side and read them backwards.
Fox News doesn’t seem to have a policy barring their commentators -- who are not journalists -- from participating in political activities or making donations. The biggest donation associated with Fox News was the one that News Corporation, the corporate parent, recently made to the Republican Governor’s Assocation. Democrats were outraged and called them out on it, essentially saying that Fox News can’t be impartial as an organization if News Corp. is donating to Republicans.
Maybe, but let’s look at MSNBC. They are jointly owned by Microsoft and NBC (50 percent each). In 2008 leading up to the elections Microsoft gave “$2,973,322 in contributions, of which $2,124,186 went to the Democrats, while only $844,586 was given to the Republicans,” according to Opensecrets.org, a lobbying database. If that wasn’t bad enough Microsoft and NBC are rumored to be changing the name of MSBNC in order to distance its liberal reputation from MSNBC.com, which is a traditional news site. So if it’s good for the goose then why not the gander?
Seriously, herein lies the problem with MSNBC’s taunt of Fox News: it’s reactionary and emblematic of where the Democratic Party has been for months. The more MSNBC yells that Fox News is a Republican operation the bigger Fox News gets. It’s basically free advertising; not calling your opponent out.
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