Olbermann: Crossing the line?

The “world’s shortest suspension” is over, said Glen Levy in Time.com, but the controversy remains. Last week, the cable news network MSNBC “indefinitely” suspended Keith Olbermann, the outspoken and proudly liberal prime-time host, after it emerged that he’d donated a total of $7,200 to three Democratic politicians, thus, in the words of the network, jeopardizing his standing as an “impartial journalist.” The suspension lasted all of two days, said William Kristol in WeeklyStandard.com, just long enough for MSNBC’s “ludicrous” display of journalistic high principle to be mocked by pundits of every political stripe. As everyone pointed out, Olbermann is clearly “not a reporter.” He’s a commentator who loudly champions Democrats—and condemns Republicans—on a nightly basis. “If he wants to put his money where his mouth is,” what’s wrong with that?

The lines between journalism and commentary have certainly been blurred, said Howard Kurtz in TheDailyBeast.com, but I think MSNBC made the right call in suspending Olbermann. Although they’re openly opinionated, commentators like Olbermann and his right-wing counterparts on Fox News “are still functioning in a journalistic role.” If they’re cutting checks to the same politicians they interview, how tough are their questions going to be? The issue isn’t objectivity, said Patrick Goldstein in LATimes.com, so much as independence. Olbermann’s viewers certainly know his views. But by actually giving money to Democrats, Olbermann crossed the line from punditry into active participation in party politics. That’s a serious “breach of journalistic independence.”

Let’s not ignore the elephant in the room—Fox News, said David Carr in The New York Times. Suspending Olbermann was MSNBC’s attempt to distinguish itself from Fox, which has openly become the media arm of the Republican Party. Fox allows hosts like Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto not only to kiss up to Republicans but to donate to their campaigns with impunity. MSNBC’s attempt to seize the moral high ground, however, convinced no one; several days earlier, the network had assigned Olbermann—“one of the most rabidly partisan figures in national news”—to anchor the network’s election-night coverage, which consisted entirely of somber liberals bemoaning the Republican rout. Sooner or later, MSNBC is going to have to choose: Will it play by parent company NBC’s old-school rules or by Fox’s? Trying to play by both sets of rules only leaves everyone—including Olbermann—understandably confused.

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