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Robert Parry: The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann

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marmar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 02:43 PM
Original message
Robert Parry: The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann
from Consortium News:



The Disappearance of Keith Olbermann

By Robert Parry
January 22, 2011


Keith Olbermann’s abrupt departure from MSNBC should be another wake-up call to American progressives about the fragile foothold that liberal-oriented fare now has for only a few hours on one corporate cable network.

Though Olbermann hosted MSNBC’s top-rated news show, “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” he disappeared from the network with only the briefest of good-byes. Certainly, the callous treatment of Olbermann by the MSNBC brass would never be replicated by Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing Fox News toward its media stars.

At Fox News, the likes of Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity have far greater leeway to pitch right-wing ideas and even to organize pro-Republican political events. Last November, Olbermann was suspended for two days for making donations to three Democratic candidates, including Arizona’s Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson.

Now, with Olbermann’s permanent departure on Friday, the remainder of MSNBC’s liberal evening line-up, which also includes Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz and Lawrence O’Donnell (who will fill Olbermann’s 8 p.m. slot), must face the reality that any sustained friction with management could mean the bum’s rush for them, too.

The liberal hosts also must remember that MSNBC experimented with liberal-oriented programming only after all other programming strategies, including trying to out-Fox Fox, had failed – and only after it became clear that President George W. Bush’s popularity was slipping. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2011/012211.html



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lordsummerisle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 02:57 PM
Response to Original message
1. Thanks for that n/t
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djp2 Donating Member (276 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 11:30 AM
Response to Reply #1
17. We shoud use this as a rallying point...
to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine! What better example of where this country has gone without it.
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Vinnie From Indy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 05:28 PM
Response to Original message
2. Parry Rocks!
You gotta like anyone that uses the phrase "bums rush" in a column!
Cheers!
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NorthCarolina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 07:00 PM
Response to Original message
3. I would guess that Maddow and Shultz will be the next to depart MSNBC.
Comcast can pick them off one by one, and through their non-compete clauses in their contracts, keep them off the air for years to come. There is only room for the conservative voice in the liberal media.
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Paka Donating Member (228 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 10:26 AM
Response to Reply #3
15. Years to come doesn't matter...
it's the here and now to keep mute the voices of articulate outspoken opposition just long enough to re-take the Senate and the WH. Who cares what they say when the PTB are in complete control. Shove them aside and make liberals irrelevant.

:puke:
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Disintermedia8 Donating Member (174 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 07:53 PM
Response to Original message
4. We must understand and accept the harsh reality
that the framework within which political activity occurs is no longer under the control of the people. In a sense we have lost. But actually we have won. We know for a fact that the ideology that is espoused by the establishment is a dead end. As someone once said, "Capitalism is a shiny red sports car with no brakes, traveling 120 MPH, into the cul-de-sac of humanity". As their fantasy world unravels under the leadership of the political class, more and more people will want out. They will seek an alternative, as many are right now.

But the establishment is less able to prevent the rest of us from establishing an alternative. And this is precisely what is happening, in drips and drabs, all over the world, including here in America. Our ideological opponents are committed to a rotted out system. They will fail and they will fall hard. They will take millions of innocents with them as they go. But they will not be able to take those who commit to disintermediating from their systems.

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MasonJar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 09:48 PM
Response to Original message
5. Five happiest countries in the world
Yesterday the MSM said Norway, Denmark, Finland, Australia AND New Zealand HAD THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED THAT THEY GIVE THE MOST BACK TO THEIR CITIZENS. like free health care.
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TomClash Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 09:49 PM
Response to Original message
6. This part is key
"But MSNBC’s parent company, General Electric, never seemed comfortable with Olbermann’s role as critic of the Bush administration, nor with the sniping between Olbermann and his Fox News rival, O’Reilly, who retaliated by attacking corporate GE on his widely watched show.

In 2009, the New York Times reported that GE responded to this pressure by having GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt strike a deal with Murdoch that sought to muzzle Olbermann’s criticism of O’Reilly, in exchange for O’Reilly muting his attacks on GE.

Olbermann later disputed that there ever was a truce and the back-and-forth soon resumed. But it was a reminder that GE, a charter member of the military-industrial complex and a major international conglomerate, had bigger corporate interests at play than the ratings for MSNBC’s evening programming.


So, too, will Comcast, the cable giant that is assuming a majority stake in NBC Universal, which controls MSNBC. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that sources at MSNBC quashed speculation that Olbermann’s departure was connected to the Comcast takeover, which was approved by federal regulators this week."


Note that President Centrist just named Immelt head of a WH economic advisory panel.
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Disintermedia8 Donating Member (174 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-22-11 09:52 PM
Response to Reply #6
7. Quid pro quo
Yes, I agree.
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sabrina 1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 04:00 AM
Response to Reply #6
8. GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt
GE responded to this pressure by having GE chairman Jeffrey Immelt strike a deal with Murdoch that sought to muzzle Olbermann’s criticism of O’Reilly, in exchange for O’Reilly muting his attacks on GE.


Isn't that the guy Obama just appointed to something or other? Not sure so I'll check, but if so, it only confirms what I've already decided, we really did pick a winner in 2008! :sarcasm:
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Enthusiast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 08:21 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. A winner! And I am so looking forward to
the state of the union address.
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sabrina 1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 02:11 PM
Response to Reply #10
22. Yes me too, but at least I won't be shocked or disappointed
any more. I think his approval ratings with Republicans like Cheney now, and Ben Stein who thinks he should run as a Republican, say it all.

I would be shocked if he took a progressive position or appointed a progressive to some position of importance, or sought out a progressive for advice once in a while.

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myrna minx Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 09:09 AM
Response to Reply #6
11. This really is the key. Thanks for highlighting. n/t
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DallasNE Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 09:41 AM
Response to Reply #6
14. So, How Does One "Quash Speculation"
When Olbermann was suspended earlier correspondence surfaced between Comcast and MSNBC management specific to Keith Olbermann's Countdown. When bloggers later found that others at NBC's cable networks had also made similar contributions MSNBC had egg on their face, so what did they do. They changed Olbermann's suspension from indefinite to two days and did the same with Joe Scarboro. Tellingly, they did not suspend those on CNBC, like Larry Kudlow, who did the same thing.

So Comcast and MSNBC management learned their lesson and ended written communication. How does that "quash speculation" when they have things like cell phones to hatch things up. Besides, it happened on the first (slow news) Friday following approval of Comcast buying NBC Universal. Instead, it simply doesn't pass the smell test.
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Major Hogwash Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 07:00 AM
Response to Original message
9. In other words, don't rock the boat or we'll throw your ass overboard and feed ya to the sharks!
Assholes!
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Dirigo Donating Member (157 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 09:22 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. Is Oprah's Big Secret To Soon Be Exposed A Revival Network of Progressive Thinkers?
What do you think? Will Oprah come to the defense and rescue of progressive voices being removed from the public airways soon to be gathered on her own "Privately Held" broadcast network?
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xxqqqzme Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 12:22 PM
Response to Reply #12
19. No, she will not.
Oprah is not a progressive. Her very first venture into politics was '08.
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JohnnyRingo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #12
21. Oprah has already hinted that her "surprise" involves a Reunion
A happy reunion with an estranged family member.

Her targeted audience eats that stuff up like a bag of Halloween candy, and peering into O's personal life is like finding a giant Kit Kat bar at the bottom. I like Oprah and her independence allows her to speak openly, but I frankly don't think her audience shows up hoping to find an invitation to the DNC convention under their seat.
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Major Hogwash Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 03:56 PM
Response to Reply #12
25. Perhaps.
I think she is sick and tired of watching how liberals are treated in this country.
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Laelth Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 09:38 AM
Response to Original message
13. k&r for the truth, however depressing. n/t
-Laelth
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JEB Donating Member (134 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 11:21 AM
Response to Original message
16. Getting Keith out of the picture
just as the run up to 2012 elections has got to help every R in that election. Vast Right Wing conspiracy indeed.
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The Wizard Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 12:13 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. Vast Right Wing conspiracy indeed.
When Hillary warned us back in 98 the media scoffed at her. She was right, and that's pretty much when I stopped watching TV news. It wasn't until Countdown came on that I started watching any form of TV news. Olbermann resurrected MSNBC and lent veracity and intelligence to an otherwise mind numbing propaganda operation, television news.
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JohnnyRingo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 01:15 PM
Response to Original message
20. Some things aren't consistent with a "firing".
Usually, when someone is forced to leave a contract, they alone hold the cards to their future. It was disclosed that NBC restricted Olbernmann as to which networks he could appear to explain his departure. NBC even added a claus that he couldn't start a new show anywhere on television for a certain length of time.

All the conditions in place are more in line with someone who wants out of a contract rather than someone who was forced out. We haven't seen the last of Keith Olbermann by a long shot. MSNBC will meanwhile struggle to fill the ratings void left by his departure, and that's a good thing for those seeking a progressive voice. Bill O'Reilly should be sweating rather than gloating.
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slackmaster Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 02:38 PM
Response to Original message
23. Of course it has nothing whatsoever to do with the show's ratings
;-)
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RZM Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-23-11 02:43 PM
Response to Original message
24. I think we need to wait a bit for more details from 'behind the curtain'
I have trouble believing that this is 100 percent conspiracy at this point. That could certainly be part of it, but if you look at the new lineup, it's still just as progressive. The only addition is Cenk and few here would doubt his progressive credentials (Tweety's of course not a progressive, more a standard 'D' partisan). Perhaps this is part of a long-term effort to re-brand MSNBC, but if so, so far it's not the views that are being adjusted but the approach to expressing them.

I'd be very surprised if the human factor isn't big here as well. KO has a history of contentious relationships with his superiors going back to his sportscaster days. Perhaps he was resentful of the new bosses telling him how to adjust his 'manners' and he responded by telling them to shove it . . . I don't know, but I'd like to see more inside info before drawing a definitive conclusion.
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