TV Newser has some juicy details
from a February Men's Journal interview with “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann.
In it, an MSNBC executive admitted “Keith runs MSNBC.” Good to know that the basement-dwelling cable net is banking on a conspiracy-addled, orange-tinted Edward R Murrow wannabe for corporate guidance.
Olbermann went from almost fired to pulling the corporate strings in two years, which is impressive for a man with a habit of "trashing people publicly, even his employers" (bold mine):
But he seems to be doing well for himself in the office now. [Interviewer Paul] Tullis cites a senior executive at MSNBC, who says, "Keith runs MSNBC. It's been an amazing turnaround, because two years ago they were going to cancel him. Because of his success, he's in charge. Chris Matthews is infuriated by it."
These two years just happen to coincide with the network's hard left turn into the deep waters of nutroot “Blame America” territory. No wonder MSNBC went from a network reporting news to a network shilling for the hard left and targeting the GOP.
I don't see why Chris Matthews should be “infuriated.” Matthews only has over 30 years in politics working in Congress and on campaigns as well as over ten years on “Hardball” interviewing presidents, political insiders and foreign dignitaries.
But, hey, if Olbermann is the kind of guy who could become a sportscaster without ever playing sports, why shouldn't he be a political anchor without ever being in politics or even reporting politics?
Olbermann must know what he's talking about; he signs off using Edward R Murrow's famous signature “Good night and good luck.”
I mean, only a real journalist would dare to co-opt the sign-off line that belonged to such a revered figure in broadcasting as Murrow. Besides, an anchor who never has people on his show who disagree with him must be terribly secure in his opinion. Right?
Of course, there has to be an obsessive compulsive remark about Fox News:
The article also touches on Olbermann's goals, in the context of his main competition, Fox News Channel. "I'd like it to be the accurate counterweight to Fox. My attitude is not to counterbalance them because they're conservatives; it's counterbalancing because some of their stuff is outlandishly in violation of every tenet of responsible broadcasting," he says.
Lynn contributes to NewsBusters. Email her with tips and even complaints at tvisgoodforyou2 “at” yahoo “dot” com. Replace the asterisked words with the proper ampersand and period.
