On Friday, Nov. 5 MSNBC host Keith Olbermann was suspended without pay after the news site POLITICO reported he made three campaign donations to Democratic candidates. Olbermann donated no more than $2,400 apiece to Arizona representatives Raul Grijaval and Gaberial Giffords and Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway. There is an NBC policy that prevents its employees from contributing to political campaigns without permission from the NBC president because it impairs journalists from being uninvolved with what they are covering. According to the NBC president the policy means that “Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest. Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions.”
It is common knowledge that Olbermann is a liberal, and citizens who identify as such are his show’s target audience. Olbermann is first in line to criticize Fox News for their weekly craziness, so Olbermann’s donations to a Democratic campaign just told viewers something we already knew. For viewers of news programs and the companies who support them to actually believe their reporters have zero bias is completely ridiculous. No liberal reporter in their right mind would ever work for Fox News, just like no conservative reporter would ever work for CNN. To suspend a journalist for being passionate and involved in something he or she is participating in every day makes no sense to me. Just because Olbermann is a journalist does not make him emotional and unable to be influenced. If anything, being a journalist puts you in the thick of some of the worst internal conflict this country has ever seen, and one is bound to take a side.
What does Olbermann’s suspension imply for journalists today? When do journalists become too politically involved? A network’s concern should not be about what their journalists do in their free time but how they present the news during their reporting. Where does the line get drawn in terms of how companies can limit their employees’ political involvement? If NBC is prohibiting any kind of political involvement from their journalist, what defines involvement? Is it just donating money and holding signs that is prohibited? Or is going out to vote “too political”?
What is funny about all of this is just how hypocritical NBC’s policy is. While Olbermann’s donations have become a topic for discussion nationwide, there has been little attention given to the massive financial support MSNBC’s parent company, General Electric, has been giving to the nation’s largest military contractors. Furthermore, it has been reported that GE spent $2 million in political contributions in the 2010 midterm elections, the top recipient was Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman from Ohio. So one has to wonder, was it Olbermann’s donations that made the violating of the policy a problem or was it whom he violated the policy for?
Olbermann was back on the air Nov. 9 thanks to 200,000 signatures for his support led by Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Rachel Maddow’s voiced support and NBC President Phil Griffin getting over himself.† While the restoration of Olbermann certainly is reassuring, I can guarantee this will not be the last time we hear about this kind of incident.
Journalism is supposed to be objective. I think the American public has gotten too used to over-sensationalized, biased reporting that’s entertaining to watch but violates one of the most basic tenets of journalism: objectivity.
The truth is always difficult to get to and people of different political, religious, etc. backgrounds will always offer different views or analysis on issues. It’s hard enough finding fair accurate information on television, the internet or anywhere in between. People who are looking for facts and news should be able to get it from unbiased reporters. I don’t mean that anyone who has ever worked in media should never vote or endorse a group/product/person, but rather that high-profile journalists like Olbermann should be expected to maintain at least the illusion of impartiality.
That being said, Olbermann is a well known liberal commentator, and it’s no surprise that he would support democratic.