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Because I do not always get to control what we watch on TV, I missed the following report on The Rachel Maddow Show last night (5 Nov 2010).
For those that don't watch MSNBC, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are two of the most refreshing and insightful voices on news television today. They look at what is happening around them in politics and the rest of the world and give us the the clearest most concise assessment they can. Sometimes they mess up so they offer corrections and apologies. But always their honesty and integrity are out there for the world so see. But today Keith never got the chance.
During the recent election cycle Keith is alleged to have given donations to 3 different campaigns. If the accusation is true, the problem is NOT that Keith gave these donations. No, the problem is that he did so without getting the okay from Management. This action resulted in Keith being suspended from his position at MSNBC.
Apparently NBC has a policy prohibiting any staff member, whether they be an on-air personality or someone behind-the-scenes, from contributing to any political campaign or organization. This the policy apparently says that employees must let management know when (and presumably how much) they plan to donate to candidates, who those candidates are, and then management must approve the donations being made. Not to censor but merely to make sure who donating to whom, should they be called out because the donation.
This is a good policy that has its roots in the Newspaper industry. In order for the press to be taken seriously as non-partisans, various newspaper publishers imposed that rule, or something similar. If the paper endorsed any one candidate it was made through the editorial page, the only page of a newspaper were you should find Opinions. Reporters need to be impartial, whereas editors do not.
Many people, including myself, were shocked to hear of Keith's suspension and now there are rumors flying across the internet about what really happened. Personally I will wait until Keith returns to find out the real story. In the meantime I will have to suffer through whomever MSNBC picks to fill in for him since I do not know who that person will be nor how long Keith's suspension will last. And my advice to Keith Olbermann? Next time let the bosses know because next time they might not be so nice.
