Debate on politics and news doesn't end with Olbermann's suspension
| Washington
MSNBC host Keith Olbermann will be back on the air Tuesday, after a two program suspension for contributing to Democratic candidates during the 2010 election in violation of NBC News policy.
But the debate over what standards should apply to cable personalities who cover politics is likely to continue as the distinction between news and political organizations continues to blur.
鈥淣either Fox nor MSNBC is really a news organization, at least not in the traditional sense,鈥� American Journalism Review editor Rem Rieder wrote Friday on his blog. 鈥淭hey preach to the converted, they fire up the base.鈥�
As Mr. Rieder noted, 鈥淭he situation is dicier in MSNBC鈥檚 case because of its relationship with NBC News, which remains in the news business.鈥�
MSNBC President Phil Griffin released a statement Sunday saying 鈥渁fter several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night鈥檚 program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy.鈥�
The suspension, which took effect Friday, triggered a sizable protest from Mr. Olbermann鈥檚 audience, MSNBC鈥檚 largest. An online petition calling for his return, organized by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, had gathered more than 300,000 signatures by Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
In response, Olbermann , 鈥淎 quick, overwhelmed, stunned THANK YOU for support that feels like a global hug.鈥�
As first reported in Politico, Olbermann made $2,400 contributions to the reelection campaigns of Arizona Democratic congressional candidates Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords. He also contributed $2,400 to Kentucky Democratic Senatorial candidate Jack Conway.
The contributions violated NBC News policy which says that those covering politics cannot contribute to campaigns without prior approval from the news organization鈥檚 boss 鈥� effectively a ban. Olbermann co-anchored MSNBC鈥檚 election night coverage. His superiors did not find out about the contributions until a Politico reporter asked about them.
[The Monitor鈥檚 ethics policy requires written disclosure to the editor of financial contributions to any political or public issue campaign. Written disclosure is also required of 鈥渁ny conflict, potential conflict, or appearance of conflict鈥� between the performance of journalistic duties and any outside business, financial, political, or other interest.]
Rachel Maddow, whose program follow鈥檚 Olbermann鈥檚, argued on the air Friday that there was a major difference between MSNBC鈥檚 approach and the policy at Fox News. Olbermann was disciplined for his political contributions and Fox does not have a similar policy for its hosts or commentators, she noted. For example, Fox News host Sean Hannity faced no adverse consequences for giving $5,000 to the political action committee of Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) in August. Fox鈥檚 position is that Mr. Hannity is a conservative talk show host, not a journalist.
News Corp, the parent company for Fox and The Wall Street Journal, also made million dollar contributions in the 2010 election cycle to the Republican Governors Association and to the US Chamber of Commerce, both major players pushing Republican candidates in the election.
鈥淭heir network is run as a political operation,鈥� Ms. Maddow said on air Friday. 鈥淥urs isn't. Yeah, Keith's a liberal, and so am I. But we're not a political operation 鈥� Fox is. We're a news operation. The rules around here are part of how you know that.鈥�
But rules that allow on-air personalities like Olbermann to both offer political commentary and host election night coverage have the potential to confuse viewers about what role a person is playing. As Kelly McBride, an expert in journalism ethics at the Poynter Institute, told the Associated Press, 鈥淚t鈥檚 getting harder and harder to draw the lines in general,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he public doesn鈥檛 spend a lot of time differentiating between commentators and journalists.鈥�
