Academic

MSNBC's overlords sending a message through Keith Olbermann?

By Tung Yin

Like many others, I have a hard time understanding the application of NBC's "no political contributions without prior approval" rule to opinionated commentators like Keith Olbermann.  I can see how the rule might make sense for straight news reporters, since the reporters' credibility and neutrality are key for persuading the viewer/reader to accept the veracity of what is being reported.  For example, if a reporter reports that a politician uttered a racial epithet, but we then discover that the reporter contributed to the opponent's campaign, we might question the report.  (Then again, the donation isn't, as Megan McArdle points out, what causes the bias; it simply confirms it.)

Anyway, with Olbermann, there's no question where his political sympathies lie.  I mean, when Jon Stewart mocks you for being over the top . . . .  It's simply hard to see what benefit accrues to MSNBC/NBC for barring Olbermann from donating to candidates that he supports.

It got me to wondering if instead someone at MSNBC or one of its overlords was so embarrassed by its laughably bad election night coverage that it decided a message had to be sent.  Admitting publicly that its coverage was biased and petulant would be too hard to do, but suspending Olbermann would send a message to Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, etc.  

Full post as published by The Yin Blog on November 06, 2010 (boomark / email).