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MSNBC goes over to the dark side.

Started by The Good Reverend Roger, November 06, 2010, 12:01:45 AM

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The Good Reverend Roger

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/05/burke-comcast-msnbc/

QuoteEarlier today, MSNBC declared that it would be suspending progressive host Keith Olbermann because he violated NBC's ethics rules by donating to three Democratic candidates for Congress. As many bloggers have noted, conservative MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has donated to Republican candidates for Congress while promoting the same candidate on air, but has never been disciplined. Moreover, Gawker notes that MSNBC has been exempt from the formal NBC ethics rules for years. It is still a mystery why MSNBC selectively applied NBC's ethics rules to Olbermann. However, it important to realize that MSNBC has undergone a fundamental change in leadership in the last two months.

Late last year, Comcast — the nation's largest cable provider and second largest Internet service provider — inked a deal taking over NBC Universal, the parent company of MSNBC. Comcast moved swiftly to reshuffle MSNBC's top staff. On September 26th of this year, Comcast announced perhaps the most dramatic shift, replacing longtime MSNBC chief Jeff Zucker with Comcast executive Steve Burke. Burke has given generous amounts to both parties — providing cash to outgoing Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) as well as to Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and other top Republicans. But as Public Citizen has noted, Burke has deep ties to the Republican Party. Public Citizen's report reveals that Burke served as a key fundraiser to President George Bush, and even served on Bush's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology:

    Comcast – the country's largest provider of cable TV and broadband Internet services – has increased its political giving along with its mergers and acquisitions. CEO Brian Roberts was a co-chairman of the host committee at the 2000 Republican Convention. Comcast Cable President Stephen Burke has raised at least $200,000 for Bush's re-election campaign. [...] Comcast's political giving has increased along with its mergers and acquisitions. The company was a "platinum sponsor" at the 2000 GOP convention, and Roberts was a co-chairman of the host committee at the Philadelphia event. Burke was appointed to the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology in 2002.

Why would Comcast be interested in silencing progressive voices? Historically, Comcast has boosted its profits by buying up various telecommunication and media content companies — instead of providing faster Internet or better services (overall, American broadband services are far slower than in many industrialized nations). Many of these mergers, as Public Citizen and Free Press have reported, have been allowed by regulators because of Comcast's considerable political muscle. Comcast's latest regulatory battle has been to oppose Net Neutrality — a rule allowing a free and open Internet — because the company would prefer to have customers pay for preferred online content.

Olbermann has been a strong voice in favor of a free and open Internet. Republicans, on the other hand, have supported the telecommunication industry's push to radically change the Internet so corporate content producers have the upper hand over start-ups like blogs, independent media, small businesses, etc. As Reuters has reported, the incoming Republican Congress has signaled that it will vigorously side with companies like Comcast against an open Internet.

It is not clear why MSNBC has selectively suspended Olbermann indefinitely without pay — but the move showcases the limits of the corporate media. While modern technology has created a seeming multitude of entertainment and television choices, the reality of corporate media consolidation has resulted in fewer investigative news options and less voices in the media with a critical perspective on powerful business interests. Olbermann has stood out as a voice for working people in a media universe dominated by "reality television" and business lobbyists posing as political pundits. It is unfortunate that Comcast and MSNBC have chosen to suspend him.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

Requia ☣

I heard about this.  Thought I must have misheard because the whole thing sounds *insane*.

Just goes to prove that absurdity is a bad indicator of reality.
Inflatable dolls are not recognized flotation devices.

Phox

Well, there goes the concept of the "liberal" media, eh?

Jasper

I hope KO starts a blog and keeps shouting.  Or better yet, joins BoingBoing.

The Good Reverend Roger

Quote from: Sigmatic on November 06, 2010, 01:12:25 AM
I hope KO starts a blog and keeps shouting.  Or better yet, joins BoingBoing.

He'll get picked up elsewhere.  ABC, probably.

Rumors are flying that he will never go back on the air at MSNBC.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

the last yatto

I'm canceling my cable, this is the last straw... netflix and hulu will have to be enough
Look, asshole:  Your 'incomprehensible' act, your word-salad, your pinealism...It BORES ME.  I've been incomprehensible for so long, I TEACH IT TO MBA CANDIDATES.  So if you simply MUST talk about your pineal gland or happy children dancing in the wildflowers, go talk to Roger, because he digs that kind of shit

Nephew Twiddleton

Quote from: Pēleus on November 06, 2010, 02:31:46 AM
I'm canceling my cable, this is the last straw... netflix and hulu will have to be enough

But what about the History Channel? Sure they've given up on cool stuff like the Romans, the Civil War and the Third Reich in favor of Bible Code, Naked Archaeologist, Nostradamus and UFO stuff, but it's the History Channel!
Strange and Terrible Organ Laminator of Yesterday's Heavy Scene
Sentence or sentence fragment pending

Soy El Vaquero Peludo de Oro

TIM AM I, PRIMARY OF THE EXTRA-ATMOSPHERIC SIMIANS

Phox

Quote from: Doktor Blight on November 06, 2010, 03:28:10 AM
Quote from: Pēleus on November 06, 2010, 02:31:46 AM
I'm canceling my cable, this is the last straw... netflix and hulu will have to be enough

But what about the History Channel? Sure they've given up on cool stuff like the Romans, the Civil War and the Third Reich in favor of Bible Code, Naked Archaeologist, Nostradamus and UFO stuff, but it's the History Channel!
:rimshot:

Jasper

Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on November 06, 2010, 02:12:47 AM
Quote from: Sigmatic on November 06, 2010, 01:12:25 AM
I hope KO starts a blog and keeps shouting.  Or better yet, joins BoingBoing.

He'll get picked up elsewhere.  ABC, probably.

Rumors are flying that he will never go back on the air at MSNBC.

Never doesn't exist in politics.

the last yatto

Quote from: Doktor Blight on November 06, 2010, 03:28:10 AM
Quote from: Pēleus on November 06, 2010, 02:31:46 AM
I'm canceling my cable, this is the last straw... netflix and hulu will have to be enough

But what about the History Channel? Sure they've given up on cool stuff like the Romans, the Civil War and the Third Reich in favor of Bible Code, Naked Archaeologist, Nostradamus and UFO stuff, but it's the History Channel!

some of that stuff im sure is on netflix as they also have tv series
and im trying to get Thetis to agree to this by telling her what we pay  for cable we can get a dvd boxset per month.

FUCK NBC, first Conan now Keith, it will only get worse if FCC lets them merge with comcast

and what happen to having channels going À la carte? why am i paying for 500 channels of crap when i mostly just watch two or three networks and maybe surf a show or two.

Look, asshole:  Your 'incomprehensible' act, your word-salad, your pinealism...It BORES ME.  I've been incomprehensible for so long, I TEACH IT TO MBA CANDIDATES.  So if you simply MUST talk about your pineal gland or happy children dancing in the wildflowers, go talk to Roger, because he digs that kind of shit

East Coast Hustle

I've got no love for Olbermann, but this is still pretty shady.
Rabid Colostomy Hole Jammer of the Coming Apocalypse™

The Devil is in the details; God is in the nuance.


Some yahoo yelled at me, saying 'GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH', and I thought, "I'm feeling generous today.  Why not BOTH?"

Cain

I personally think all reporters who are willing to shill, monetarily or otherwise for a political party should get fired...but that's why I'm not allowed to run a major news company.

Triple Zero

Quote from: Liam on November 06, 2010, 11:57:01 AM
you can pirate history and natgrap from pretty much any streaming cast of the sop variety, other than that hulu eztv and torrents do for us.

Yeah, I got a bigass 1.5TB external harddisk and download all the shit you can think of onto it.

Even legally without torrents there's a LOT of documentaries out there for free, on places like Google Video. All you need is a little tool so you can download those big streaming videos for offline viewing. Not entirely necessary, but I prefer it that way, get a link to some interesting two hour long documentary, I save the video to my HD for watching later. Easier than bookmarking it, having to see if it's still there, get distracted by the shiny browser internets, plus you get to use a proper video/media player (like VLC) making rewinding, fastforwarding and skipping easier, and it's all in the same formats as your other movies/clips.

I dunno, maybe I'm being slightly old-fashioned, but I generally don't like watching streaming video in the browser. I even download most Youtube links posted here, for watching later on. Though recently I saw Youtube has this new (maybe just new to Opera) feature where you could queue videos. It could be a bit more user-friendly, but it was a nice touch. Is it new, or is it just that they only recently activated it for Opera? (Google does that) Though I could only figure out how to queue new clips that were in the "related" videos and by surfing around on Youtube adding them, not sure how I'd queue, say, the last 5 videos posted in the Youtube-thread ... anybody?

BTW when you're just downloading streaming videos, you don't need a bigass 1.5B harddisk, they are generally compressed a lot, and less than half the size of a torrented movie of similar length.
Ex-Soviet Bloc Sexual Attack Swede of Tomorrow™
e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

INFORMATION SO POWERFUL, YOU ACTUALLY NEED LESS.

Cain

Strangely enough, I never really liked history documentaries.  I always prefer books, when it comes to that subject.

Requia ☣

Quote from: Cain on November 06, 2010, 01:36:29 PM
I personally think all reporters who are willing to shill, monetarily or otherwise for a political party should get fired...but that's why I'm not allowed to run a major news company.

Olbermann's job is pretty much solely to shill for the Democrats though, so there's a bit of an inconsistency here.
Inflatable dolls are not recognized flotation devices.