According to an article in the New York Times, “Keith Olbermann, the leading liberal voice on American television in the age of Obama, was suspended Friday after his employer, MSNBC, discovered he made campaign contributions to three Democrats last month… Most journalistic outlets discourage or directly prohibit campaign contributions by employees.”
WATCHDOG: We understand and support an employer’s right to prohibit political partisanship in the work place, although the liberal leanings of MSNBC are as blatant as the conservative ideology of Fox News. But we take issue that any employer has the right to take note of how an employee votes or to whom he or she makes political contributions, since the latter is an extension of every citizen’s voting rights.
Growl!
Making political contributions to the same people being reported on is a clear conflict of interest. This is why Fox News’ massive contributions to ultra-conservative causes is proof positive that it is neither fair nor balanced.
Watchdog,
Are you kidding with this post about Keith Olbermann? The fact is, political contributions are a public record. As part of his contractual agreement with MSNBC, he agreed not to make campaign contributions. If he didn’t agree with that, he could have attempted to negotiate for different terms or found another employer.
But that is not the worst of the the problem. Olbermann actually made contributions to one of the candidates the same day he interviewed the guy on his show. I watched Keith several nights a week and have followed him since his sports reporter days. He is an aggressive advocate for doing things right and is, justifiably, critical of those who don’t. His actions in this case are inexcusable and have permanently damaged his reputation.
Watchdog, I’m suprised you don’t support MSNBC ‘s actions in this instance.
There seems to be some confusion here. Olbermann is not prohibited from making political contributions. According to MSNBC president Phil Griffin, he was suspended not for the contributions but for not getting permission to make those contributions.
Olbermann will be back on Tuesday after this public relations nightmare for NBC Universal.
Olbermann is clearly a pundit and not a reporter or news anchor. Any semblance of neutrality is long gone. he doesn’t need it because that’s not what he does. He’s an entertainer, a commentator.