Sunday, November 7, 2010

Olbermann Will Be Back Tuesday!

Reported via Huffington Post:
First Posted: 11- 7-10 09:21 PM

Keith Olbermann will return to the air on Tuesday after being suspended for two shows (this past Friday and the upcoming episode on Monday).  The host of MSNBC's "Countdown" was given an indefinite suspension last week after his boss, network president Phil Griffin, discovered that Olbermann had made political contributions without seeking prior approval, as per company policy.
A network spokesman released the following statement via email:

STATEMENT REGARDING KEITH OLBERMANN - SUNDAY, NOV. 7

From Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC:
After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.

Earlier on Sunday, Olbermann broke his silence via Twitter, telling his followers "Greetings From Exile!" and thanking people for their support.


Over the past few days, Olbermann had received an outpouring of supportive words -- even from reporters and conservative pundits. CNN's Eliot Spitzer called the punishment "ridiculous." Another MSNBC host, Rachel Maddow, immediately called for his reinstatement and used the opportunity to illustrate that her network is bound by different ethics and "not a political operation" like Fox News.

While I wish Rachel hadn't bothered with that analogy since it wasn't all that important to the issue, her point was that MSNBC doesn't have candidates on the payroll and does attempt some transparency. To be honest, I saw this very smart woman showing a bit of media inexperience wanting to support her friend and not get fired by her employer.  This was clearly new territory for her.  She'll handle the next crisis with more ease.  It's MSNBC, there will be a next time.  Keith's fans are mad at her for not taking a firm stance and Fox fans claim that it shows she has no credibility.  I saw someone in a tight spot.  I have to believe she spoke with Keith who as an experienced guy knew what he was doing.  I doubt he wanted her to ruin her career since he was so influential in elevating it.

Over a quarter million people signed a petition to put him back on the air while Phil Griffin and his boss Jeremy Gaines probably got more emails than they've ever seen.  Many on the right are now calling it a publicity stunt, yesterday they were saying na na na na nana.  I don't care if it was a stunt or not, we don't have enough voices on the left and I don't want to lose the one's we have.  We'll see what Comcast does when the keys to NBC change hands.

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