In an abrupt, and highly surprising move MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have "agreed" to "part ways". Strange when you consider that Keith Olbermann still had two years left on his contract which was valued at $7 million per year, and yeah, this smells like week-old bullshit to me too.
It strikes me as no small coincidence however, that this happened in the same week that the takeover deal of MSNBC's parent company by Comcast finally gets approved. Comcast is a big-time supporter of the republican party and the last thing they needed right out of the gate was someone like Keith Olbermann running around in primetime pointing out how the republicans are all a bunch of hypocritical assholes.
The whole NBC/Comcast deal is rotten from top to bottom for a myriad of reasons, not least of which is that it means that we now have only five corporations owning 94% of all the television media in this country, but this evenings' news merely confirms the suspicions of many on the left, that their voices are being silenced by the major corporations as they gobble up each media company, one by one.
The "liberal media" is an age-old lie that has been spread around, very successfully, by the right-wing noise machine in this country for years. Despite the fact that it is completely, and demonstrably untrue, it is a lie that has been told so many times, by so many people, that it has now become the truth, even when faced with absolute proof that it is total horseshit. Say for instance today. Think about it. If the media is so liberal, where are all the liberals on the telly or the radio? If the "liberal media" really did exist, by definition, none of the right-wingers complaining about the "liberal media" would be heard, because "the liberal media" wouldn't let them. Right? Of course it's horseshit, but that doesn't stop the right-wing noise machine from perpetuating the lie, and using Keith Olbermann as a prime example of it.
In an era of corporate media ownership that has had a chilling effect on forthright and honest journalism, it is a tragedy when a voice like Keith's gets silenced. Keith Olbermann is a hero of mine. A man unafraid to stand up and say what needed to be said, no matter how unpopular or controversial it may have been, and regardless of the political affiliation of the offending party. His 'Special Comment' segments were something I eagerly looked forward to as a source of inspiration, understanding and catharsis. His eloquent anger over the injustices and hypocrises of the political operatives, both in front of and behind the camera's eye, gave me hope that there was still a chance that this republic can achieve it's greatest goals, as long as it's fiercest critics are allowed to speak. His genuine patriotism, his passionate love of country and democracy, and his deep understanding of what the Founding Fathers were trying to acheive with this grand experiment, was inspiring.
According to his many detractors on the right, he was a socialist idealogue, a liberal blow-hard and an all around pain in the ass. He was in fact the only man brave enough to go on a television network show, night after night, and call a spade a spade. He pointed out the fact that Fox is nothing more than the media arm of the republican party despite it's Goebbel-esque mantra of 'Fair and balanced". He regularly pointed out the rank hypocrisy of some of his fellow 'journalists' too, even on his own network, and did so knowing full well that a day like today might happen at any moment because of it.
And so, it finally happened. Apparently the new bosses don't like the idea of a real journalist, you know, one with ethics and the willingness to ask the tough questions, and will instead terminate their number one star, from the number one show, for something else.
I have resolved to do two things to protest this. The first is that I am going to dump Comcast as my cable company this week, and I will tell them specifically why when I do it, and the second is that the next person that complains to me about "the liberal media" will get a swift kick in the bollocks.
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