If Olbermann's Donations Are Bad, What About GE's?

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http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4192

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has been placed on indefinite suspension without pay in the wake of a Politico report (11/5/10) that revealed Olbermann had donated $7,200 to three Democratic candidates, in violation of NBC's standards barring employees from making political contributions.

A journalist donating money to a political candidate raises obvious conflict of interest questions; at a minimum, such contributions should be disclosed on air. 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).

(snip)
If the concern is about how giving money to politicians threatens journalistic independence, then companies like NBC should explain why their parent companies can lavish so much money on political candidates or causes with no concern about conflicts of interest or the need to disclose these donations to viewers. The lesson here would seem to be that some of the workers shouldn't make political donations, but the bosses are free to give as much as they'd like. Anyone who watches Olbermann's show knows what his political views are. So what do the far larger contributions from GE tell us?

[renate]

1. I would like to give this a year's supply of Rs

The hypocrisy... it burns!

[AlabamaLibrul]

5. GE gave us a minimum of 2 years of Rs themselves.

Just a different kind of Rs.

[Mimosa]

2. Damn great point! n/t

[pacalo]

3. Their s.o.p. manual must have a "Do as I say, not as I do" chapter.

[Enthusiast]

4. Considering Keith is an

actual human being, and GE is a corporation, MSNBC's actions are all the more egregious.