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Keith Olbermann "lying right in your liberal faces," says progressive media critic
As you must know, Jeffrey Immelt, (Owner of General Electric, which owns MSNBC) and Rupert Murdoch (who owns Fox News) reached an off-the-record agreement in Mid-May to tell their journalists (particularly Keith Olbermann and Bill O'reilly) to stop attacking each other, plus the news channels. The results didn't disappoint the moguls, according to the New York Times:
In early June, the combat stopped, and MSNBC and Fox, for the most part, found other targets for their verbal missiles (Hello, CNN).Keith Olbermann's criticism of Bill O'reilly absolutely stopped on June 1st, while his criticism of Fox decreased almost entirely after that date, as reported Saturday by Glen Greenwald. But despite the fact that Olbermann was simply doing what his boss ordered him to do, K.O. offered the following explanation for his decision to stop targetting Fox and O'reilly:
OLBERMANN (6/1/09): Fox News Channel will never restrain itself from incitement to murder and terrorism, not until its profits begin to decline, when its growth stops. So not so much a boycott here as a quarantine, because this has got to stop.In the above-mentioned explanation, no mention is made about the deal between Olbermann's boss and his buddy Murdoch, claiming instead that after all this years doing the opposite, he (Olbermann) single-handedly came to the realization thatnot speaking up was the method of preference to starve the beast.
That I have a commercial conflict of interest here is obvious. So I'll make the first symbolic contribution to this quarantine. One of my pleasures, obviously, is constantly criticizing him [O'Reilly] in that Ted Baxter voice. It is the idea of laughter as a social sanction against inflexible behavior.
But this is no time for laughter. This is serious. Serious as death. As serious as George Tiller's death. So as of this show's end, I will retire the name, the photograph, and the caricature. The words may still be quoted in the future as developments dictate. The goal here is to get this blindly irresponsible man and his ilk off the air.
We're only in the television news business, a profession that is at times about two inches up from carnival barking. We must again separate it, television, from terrorism. And we must again make the world safe for people condemned by the Fox News Channel.
That's Countdown for this, the 2,223rd day since the previous president declared mission accomplished in Iraq. I'm Keith Olbermann. Good night and good luck.
Progressive media critic Bob Somerby does not buy Olbermann's tale:
Somerby, today: "We strongly suggest you read the whole segment, understanding as you do that Olbermann is apparently lying right in your faces the whole Fox News-hatin' time.
No, that cri de coeur didn't exactly make sense. BillO had sinned as never before--so KeithO would no longer criticize him!(We know--that isn't quite what he said. But, according to Greenwald's review, all criticism of O'Reilly ended that night, not just the silly-bill clowning.) But then, very few things this big hack says ever make a whole lot of sense. If Stelter's report is accurate, we now know the actual reason KeithO quit BillO that night. And we know he was lying right in your liberal faces as he wept, emoted, moaned and wailed all through that inaccurate segment.
Go ahead, read that whole segment. Don't say we haven't been telling you.
My emphasis.
I recommend both GG's piece and Somerby's. GG focused on the dangers of corporate giants manipulating journalistic freedom, while Somerby puts emphasis on K.O.'s alleged dishonesty.
I would add that Olby needs a pair of balls. Or perhaps he just doesn't want to risk those $7.5 million a year.
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See this posted on 2 August, 2009.
I hope the link works but if not search for "A Teachable Moment in Media" under 1849.
August 3, 2009 8:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Very interesting post. Here I focus on Olbermann's reaction, though.
August 3, 2009 8:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
How about I think you are anything but a truthseeker and instead a KO hater and a liar.
August 4, 2009 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
You've got it. "truthseeker" has all along been a lying troll.
August 4, 2009 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bill-O and Rupert Murdoch made tonight's Worst Persons on Countdown. And it was Keith O not a fill-in.
August 3, 2009 8:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why do you play dumb? Of course that now that the deal was uncovered by the NY Times and the most influencial blogger in the progressive blogosphere Olbermann will change his tune. He vowed to stop criticizing O'reilly two months ago and he did.
Do you think that had it not been for NYT and Greenwald K.O. would have suddenly brought back his old and effective line of attack?
Puhlease. And you also pretend that Olbermann's June 1st explanation came before tonight's after-the-fact show.
August 3, 2009 9:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Your faux outrage bores me.
August 3, 2009 10:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keith lied. That's your takeaway from all of this. That's what your going with. Think small much?
There is one thing and one thing only that I like about this particular post, Truthseeker. It is that you suggest everyone read the GG article.
August 3, 2009 8:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
"And now, Immelt has succumbed to those threats and ordered Olbermann to cease reporting on Fox. There is simply no doubt -- none -- that this happened."
So if Olbermann was ordered to cease reporting on Fox, why didn't he say so?
August 3, 2009 9:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
"And you also pretend that Olbermann's June 1st explanation came before tonight's after-the-fact show. "
Well, yes, it pretty much had to - unless Keith had a special DeLorean.
August 3, 2009 10:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I meant "after" not before, lol.
August 3, 2009 10:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I don't want to believe that KO underestimates our collective intelligence this badly. The Bill-O "Worst Person" segment was CLEARLY designed to deflate the Salon.com charges that he‘s a puppet for GE‘s corporate interests. If Keith thinks for a second that it's believably coincidence, he's a condescending fool. What I don’t get is why he didn’t do the obvious thing and confront the story head on and admit that he was asked to lay off Bill-O and that he foolishly acquiesced. He loses some progressive cred for a while but that would have been a forgivable sin. Trying to get away with being a sock puppet and then refusing to admit it and trying to play the whole thing off by resuming his attacks on Fox the day after the story breaks is condescending, annoying, deceitful and unforgivable.
The first lesson in PR is the story is always less of a disaster than the cover-up. Duh!
August 3, 2009 11:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dude, would you pick on your boss if he paid you $7.5 million a year?
August 4, 2009 12:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
If the only reason I got the ratings that justified the 7.5M was because I was willing to bitch slap my boss then yes, I sure would. Then again, I have a "distinct problem with authority" according to my ex-boss...
August 4, 2009 9:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I of course recommended this blog because it brings up a controversy that is all over the web and now on cable.
Truth, I must though recall some thoughts that I have previously made known, my son would say something like: YOU HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS. hahahahhaha
my best friend really. hahahahah
Ok, so its 2003 and w lands on the air craft carrier after pounding the aliens as rove instructed him.
And Chris is saying: Hey this is history.
And Keith is saying, well its history but........
AND IT WAS NOTHING BUT A GODDAMNABLE LIE. (kind ofblesses himself)
And when there WAS NO VOICE FOR ME ON CABLE there was Keith O. And I shall never forget that.
And it took two or three more years for Chris to admit that it was a GODDAMNABLE LIE. from the beginning.
w and dickyc were nothing but lying nazis for eight goddamn years. And they have shown no remorse for their actions, no apologies, nothing.....
And orally has done absolutely nothing, I repeat, nothing. He has done nothing but underline the goddamnable lies of that administration. and for that reason I have absolutely no respect for that pig. Nothing. He is a goddamnable liar. no remorse.
So to compare these two media giants is a waste of frickin time.
August 4, 2009 12:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would recommend this comment if I could. Olbermann's far from perfect, but he's the strongest voice for Democratic values on television.
I wish the rightwing was as defeated as truthseeker seems to think they are. The malcontents like him seem to think their true enemies are those on the left who don't sputter with outrage at every utterance or action by Democratic politicians that falls short of their own rigid ideological dogma.
August 5, 2009 6:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keith Olberman is not a journalist, he is a broadcaster and a misogynistic one at that. His show is snark and slop and faux outrage followed by Maddow's smug silliness.
Remember, it was newscasters like Mathews and Olberman who helped put Bush in the White House, I wouldn't trust them now either.
August 4, 2009 8:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
Blah Blah Blah. He and Rachel are better than anyone out there with a microphone so I could care less what deal GE made with Murdoch. Keith blasted them both last night, O'Reilly and Murdoch.
August 4, 2009 10:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
Your comeback is "Blah Blah Blah"? That's all you've got? Seriously? Because you certainly haven't made a strong case for intellectual rigor. In fact, you've done the exact opposite.
August 4, 2009 11:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is just absurd.
August 4, 2009 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Really? Are you saying it was Olbermann? Or someone like him? In what way like him? Same height? Weight? Glasses?
Can you dig up a transcript or something that shows Olbermann as anything but a critic of the Bush administration?
August 4, 2009 4:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
The problem was that Fox newsers began a campaign against Immelt of GE, at the behest of O'Reilly, and Immelt about shit his pants over it and caved in to the raving lunatics instead of telling them to go to hell (or so the story goes). He must know that the people emailing and calling his office were in no way affiliated with the viewership of MSNBC... so no skin off his nose.
But the cease-fire had nothing to do with any of that, now did it? You've got wealthy Immelt rubbing noses with wealthy Murdoch and Fox news is pretty much in their corner either way you slice it. So, Lord have mercy, nobody dare call bullshit on Fox news.
If I were to guess what will happen next it would be that Olberman's ratings suffer because he will have lost all credibility with those of us who considered him the ying to O'Reilly's yang. Besides, we don't need another milktoast. Then again, he really doesn't have the option of telling his bosses to kiss his butt because they'll just can his ass.
But what do you expect when corporations own the media? And so what if Olberman ends up looking like a putz and eventually gets cancelled? They'll just replace him with another talking scab, who may end up sounding exactly like Hannity, O'Reilly, Beck, et. al. Just look what's happened to CNN. That's the problem with monopolies. Is anybody really surprised anymore?
August 4, 2009 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
I've always liked Olbermann, but having seen his career develop fromSo. Cal to ESPN, etc., etc., O never bought into the whole "Hey,I'm Edward R. Murrow" thing. I still like him, but we must remember, it's Olbermann. Consistency has never been his thing.
August 4, 2009 10:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, I just read Greenwald's piece and what did I just say? There's already a Wollfe in the hen house blathering corporate hogwash as an "independent political analyst." How long before Wollfe gives way to another O'Reilly? And the media wants to whine about independent journalists and bloggers. Good Lord, if not for the "internets" I'd have shot myself long ago.
August 4, 2009 10:35 AM | Reply | Permalink