"Keith Olbermann SUSPENDED From MSNBC Indefinitely Without Pay "

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by: TimothyTribbett

This is a wierd one. My first reaction was BS but the truth is that MSNBC has tread a bit of fine line between commentator (my view on Olberman) and News Anchor. A lot of yelling about that issue from the right after Olberman, Matthews, et all hosted MSNBC election night coverage. I bet this will pass he is their biggest name.

Crap already forgot how to that box thing

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MSNBC has suspended star anchor Keith Olbermann following the news that he had donated to three Democratic candidates this election cycle.

“I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay,” MSNBC president Phil Griffin said in a statement.

Politico reported Friday that Olbermann had donated $2,400 each to Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, and to Kentucky Senate contender Jack Conway. While NBC News policy does not prohibit employees from donating to political candidates, it requires them to obtain prior approval from NBC News executives before doing so.

In a statement earlier Friday, Olbermann defended his donation, saying, “I did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level.”

Griffin’s statement underscores that it was Olbermann’s failure to obtain approval, and not the actual political donations, that prompted the suspension.

The move is doubly significant in that it represents a major development in the relationship between Griffin and Olbermann, who once told the New Yorker, “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”

“Keith doesn’t run the show,” Griffin told New York Magazine recently. “I do a lot of things he doesn’t like. I do a lot of things he does.”

11 thoughts on ““Keith Olbermann SUSPENDED From MSNBC Indefinitely Without Pay “”

TimothyTribbett says:

November 5, 2010 at 11:33 pm

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1. Ralphie says:
  
  November 5, 2010 at 11:35 pm
  
  and has policies that reflect that.
  
  Newscorp, not so much.
  
  Olbermann broke the rules and deserves a timeout.
  
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  1. TimothyTribbett says:
    
    November 5, 2010 at 11:40 pm
    
    Olberman has a history of quiting when he disagrees with management. He was suspended at ESPN and quit shortly afterwards. ?
    
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  2. Aristotle says:
    
    November 5, 2010 at 11:58 pm
    
    Employers routinely restrict employees from doing things that can harm the company or its brand, as they see it. If it was clear that he was supposed to inform his bosses, he should have informed his bosses; and if it was clear that the penalties for breaking the rules include suspension without pay, then he knew the risks.
    
    Hopefully this will send a message that MSNBC is not too liberal to be trusted, which is the meme going around. It may be the home for the left’s answer to Hannity and O’Reilly, but no one can demonstrate that MSNBC is pushing an agenda the way Newscorp is.
    
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  3. Arvadonian says:
    
    November 6, 2010 at 1:56 am
    
    Not really…apparently Scarborough and Buchanan both contributed to Republicans during during this election cycle (according to Media Matters)….and they are both still on the air.
    
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    1. Ralphie says:
      
      November 6, 2010 at 2:59 am
      
      Because he’s just a hired hand, he doesn’t have his own show.
      
      If Scarborough did it, though, he ought to be suspended too.
      
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    2. Aristotle says:
      
      November 6, 2010 at 3:53 am
      
      Remember, THAT is why Olbermann was suspended.
      
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SSG_Dan says:

November 6, 2010 at 2:10 am

…so he gets to live with the consequences. It’s rough to be multimillion dollar talent on a major cable network, so he can handle it.

But come on – this is nothing more than a play to gain some cred and attention with the Left.

And based on the comments on the interwebz, it’s working.

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EmeraldKnight76 says:

November 6, 2010 at 4:19 am

But remember that Phil Griffin and Keith have been in a very contentious relationship for quite awhile. Phil has a habit of banishing anyone who breaks the rules and he doesn’t agree with.

He managed to disappear David Schuster after David supposedly shot a pilot with CNN. Of course, David’s contract was expiring soon and Phil had made no overtures about extending it or renewing. What would you do about securing your future? Phil suspended him not only from the airwaves, but also from using any msnbc-related twitterfeed or facebook page. Not many have heard from David since…that’s quite a long “indefinite”.

Phil also banished Markos Moulitsas from all MSNBC shows as a guest because he had the absolute nerve to question Phil’s pet project, Joe Scarborough. By embarrassing the conservative morning show host, he embarrassed Phil. There is no other reasonable reason to banish one of the leading voices of the progressive movement. (He annoys the shit outta me but I admire his tenacity).

Also keep in mind that the most popular shows on MSNBC (Countdown, Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell) were all developed by Keith Olbermann. He has played a huge part in developing the talent, both on screen and off, at MSNBC. Phil Griffin had very little to do with getting the evening line up in order. It has added fuel to the fire.

I think this suspension has more office politics involved than we think.

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susanalt1 says:

November 8, 2010 at 1:38 am

Keith Olbermann should be reinstated immediately. Giving personal monies to a campaign should not be a point of dismissal for anyone when corporations like GE, the owner of MSNBC makes political contributions all the time. Does anyone else find the timing of this dismissal rather disconcerting? Three days after the midterm elections in which Teapublicans made significant gains in the House and Senate, and Keith is made to shut up? Seems like the Republicans wanted this to happen for a long time.

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c rork says:

November 8, 2010 at 6:42 am

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11…

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