Keith Olbermann was back to hosting his MSNBC show Countdown on Nov. 9, after a controversial suspension over donating to political campaigns.
On Nov. 5, Politico, a multimedia news organization, broke the news that the well-known liberal host was being suspended indefinitely and without pay. Olbermann made contributions of $2,400 each to three Democratic political campaigns on Oct. 28, something that goes against NBC policies. Not only is it considered journalistically unethical to donate to the campaigns being covered, Olbermann refused to apologize on the air.
The result: a two-show suspension, or in other words, a four-day weekend for Olbermann. On Sunday night, MSNBC President Phil Griffin issued a statement saying, “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.”
The suspension lit a media fire that barely had time to burn out before being reignited from what many say is a slap on Olbermann’s wrist. The slew of recent articles written on the controversy debates whether it was all a publicity stunt. Furthermore, is this infamous liberal a biased commentator or a legitimate journalist? Countdown slams Republicans and their policies in every episode, yet Olbermann hosted the election coverage on Nov. 2.
Now, the issue of cable news blurring the line between commentator and journalist has come forward. Fox News, MSNBC’s conservative counterpart, has faced similar problems. While the network does not have rules about donations, it is constantly criticized for its belligerent and upfront support of Republicans over Democrats. However, both Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck, regular faces from Fox, say they are commentators.
Olbermann returned to business as usual on Nov. 9, and addressed the suspension, clearly impressed by the media attention and apologizing to his viewers – but not NBC. Grateful, he thanked his supporters several times. “I don’t want to minimize my gratitude toward you for the kind of support that’s usually reserved for, like, Chilean miners.” He took a typical shot at Fox News and their alleged fundraising, and apologized for putting Jesse Kelly on his “Worst Person in the World” segment. Kelly was the opponent of Gabrielle Giffords, one of the politicians Olbermann donated $2,400 to.
Whether this was a pointless punishment or a serious problem, Olbermann’s suspension finally brought up some issues in journalism that have been lingering on the sidelines for a while. As for the claims that it was all a publicity stunt, Olbermann started his first show back with the comment, “This was not a publicity stunt. Of course, if I had known all of this would happen, I would have done this years ago!”
