MSNBC has decided to reduce Olbermann's and Matthews' roles in their election event coverage.
I don't particularly enjoy Olbermann. He's an obnoxious arrogant blowhard. While it's sometimes nice to have him on the air as an answer to Fox News and the idiocy coming from the right, this post isn't necessarily a defense of Olbermann. As for Matthews, the right hasn't been paying enough attention if they think he is a lefty.
But I have to say I disagree with MSNBC's decision, although I'm not terribly upset by it. MSNBC is cable news, where opinion is more acceptable, but they are tied to an NBC News organization that must maintain a high level of credibility. I get that. So, while I think they could argue that MSNBC is separate and distinct, I can understand NBC News' nervousness about Olbermann's prominence. That said, this is one more example of the supposedly liberal media's complete fear of the right.
Glenn Greenwald explains that MSNBC has caved to the right in making a decision contrary to its ratings (in a much longer post):
I don't particularly enjoy Olbermann. He's an obnoxious arrogant blowhard. While it's sometimes nice to have him on the air as an answer to Fox News and the idiocy coming from the right, this post isn't necessarily a defense of Olbermann. As for Matthews, the right hasn't been paying enough attention if they think he is a lefty.
But I have to say I disagree with MSNBC's decision, although I'm not terribly upset by it. MSNBC is cable news, where opinion is more acceptable, but they are tied to an NBC News organization that must maintain a high level of credibility. I get that. So, while I think they could argue that MSNBC is separate and distinct, I can understand NBC News' nervousness about Olbermann's prominence. That said, this is one more example of the supposedly liberal media's complete fear of the right.
Glenn Greenwald explains that MSNBC has caved to the right in making a decision contrary to its ratings (in a much longer post):
This decision by MSNBC is as alarming as it is illustrative. They just implicitly chided and overtly demoted their most popular and valuable news personality because the White House, the McCain campaign and the Right demanded that they do so. It's fine for Brit Hume to host a "news program" and for hard-core right-wing ideologues to dominate cable news. The fact that Dick Cheney (understandably) viewed Tim Russert's Meet the Press as the ideal forum to allow the White House to "control the message" bothered nobody outside of a few online critics, and didn't remotely impede the perception of Russert as the Beacon of Tough and Objective Journalism. But MSNBC's ratings-based decision to feature Keith Olbermann is a grave threat to modern journalism and must be stopped. So decrees the White House and the McCain campaign, and so the GE-owned MSNBC complies.If they're looking for respect and deference, we can add the freedom of the press to the rights that Republicans aren't so fond of.
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