(CNN) – 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. (View PDF’s of FEC filings for Conway, Grijalva, and Giffords)
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.
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 network that “starts to shill for partisan causes.”
Har! Will he now name himself “Worst Person in the World”?
Corporations can donate as much as they want, but individual citizens can donate only if the corporations allow it.
Thanks again SCOTUS!
Oh wow. $7200. The world will never be the same. (Y-a-w-n.) He gave more than that to the organization of Free Clinics.
Cheez Louise, Hannity the Manatee and Beck the Emotional Wreck both shill for money for GOP candidates directly on the air on their shows!
Host to GOP candidate:”What can we do to help?”
Candidate:”If everybody would send X dollars to voteforme.com, that would be great!”
Host:”Well you heard it, folks…”
etc., etc., etc.
Gimme a freakin’ break!
Again, Patso, this has nothing to do with his donations.
It has everything to do with changing the direction of MSNBC.
The powers at be could have given him a slap on the wrist and a warning, but instead they booted his ass.
Ed next, Maddow needs to behave.
It’s all about Better Ratings(/Revenue). Something MSNBC doesn’t have, something Comcast wants.
If he broke the rules, punish him.
This is a country where business has the right to employ or not. No one has the right to a job here.
Cursor_
I’m not surprised he put his money where he’s been putting his mouth. I’m shocked that MSNBC would fire him for supporting the same people they support.
I mean if you aren’t a huge fan of a EU style nanny state you can’t even work at that organization and their idea of of a non partisan debate is to have two ultra fans of the nanny state bad mouth conservatives and libertarians.
I don’t buy this story.
I think he was going to have Bill O’ on his show and that’s why they fired him even though the only reason he’d do that is get more viewers which ought to have made them happy. I think management at MSNBC is to partisan to be worried about profits.
Correction sent him on unpaid leave to teach him not to invite anyone from Fox to be a guest on his show.
Hey Fox even said something nice about him.
MSNBC is not going to put up with crap like that.
Bah, that’s ok for demagogues o do. Not ok for anyone else.
See #1 and the likes for the rationalization.
#20 You didn’t need to say you like Olbermann. Specially wasting so many lines stating the obvious.
#31 And what’s the Democratic thing to do, losing elections after having majority and done absolutely nothing with it but whine?
#33 Thanks for posting that. that was too hard for the sheeples here to figure out.
#43 Don’t waste your time on sheeples. They won’t accept reality even if it bites ‘em in the arse.
$2400, $1,000,000 same thing then, yeah?
What a crock. If he’d said that the candidates were the dogs bollocks that would be enough to show biase. The fact he drop them $2400 is nether here nor there.
Did anyone else notice that if you rearrange all the letters in Keith Olbermann’s name you can spell “giant f’ing douche”. Remarkable.
Jarvis got it right.
http://buzzmachine.com/2010/11/05/time-to-stop-hiding/
>> Ah_Yea said, on November 5th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
>> The obvious that everyone seems to be overlooking.
>> C) MSNBC is a shrill for the Liberal Left.
>> D) The Liberal Left got stomped.
The only people who got stopped where by tea bagging thugs.
You make me laugh.
Fox News, the “shrill” for the Conservative Right, has made you believe “D”.
This election was a split-decision, with the Dems losing less than most of your righties where where predicting.
I’m hoping it will be like Reagan’s and Clinton’s first midterms which they bounced-back fine from to win a second term.
But it’s fine with me if you righties keep believing the Fox propaganda that the Dems have been stomped and are never coming back.
So does this make him the “horrible-ist” person of the week?
Mr. Olbermeyerberg, “HAVE YOU NO SHAME?????
Pedro and Ah_ha,
You guys are better than any reporters I’ve seen for figuring this story out. If it was a movie, there would be a huge “plot hole” that demands a rewrite.
Why would Olbermann make a rules-violating contribution he knew would certainly be public?
* One possibility is this is selective enforcement of a rule to get Olbermann out. If this is the case, others at MSNBC will have violated the law.
* Another possibility is that Olbermann is trying to make some point. But, if that’s the case, why hasn’t he explained that point publically?
* A third possibility is that Olbermann is trying to provoke a confrontation with his bosses for internal political reasons. This scenarios we are less likely to hear about.
Probably there are other possibilities I haven’t thought of.
What bugs me are that the lazy journalists aren’t filling in this glaring “plot hole”
The insight from bloggers like “McCullough” are worse — going no further than “Har.”
Lots of Repugs here today. Uggh.
Griffin’s a petty power hack and I predict he’ll be gone before Keith.
And Faxon, I hope that you have to sell your mother’s basement suite to pay for your health care one day and then become destitute.
Greg Allen, “You guys are better than any reporters I’ve seen for figuring this story out. … What bugs me are that the lazy journalists aren’t filling in this glaring “plot hole”
Thank you!, and you’re right.
Are the other reporters afraid of being fired for reporting the news??
His replacement Hayes has been giving donations too.
I’m leaning towards GregAllen’s explanation.
There’s also just the corporate masters kissing up to the Republicans. Though it s the Obama Administration that has to approve their merger with ComCast.
—–Original Message—–
From: Olbermann, Keith (NBC Universal, MSNBC)
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 12:27 PM
To: @MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann; @MSNBC Scarborough
Subject: RE: Pool on how wins the elections…
Actually, not to be a spoilsport, but on behalf of Countdown, I’ve always thought stuff like this gives a clear appearance of a conflict of interest, if not a practical conflict.
Countdown staffers will thus recuse themselves from any wagering on the election.
Max Headroom ala 2010 would be far preferable to his return…he’s only suspended:
Old Mister Johnson had troubles of his own
He had a yellow cat which wouldn’t leave its home;
He tried and he tried to give the cat away,
He gave it to a man goin’ far, far away.
But the cat came back the very next day,
<b}The cat came back, we thought he was a goner
But the cat came back; it just couldn't stay away.
Away, away, yea, yea, yea
http://kididdles.com/lyrics/c020.html
In America, TV buys politician.