In the case of firebrand leftist Keith Olbermann versus the inhumanly rich and powerful conservative Rupert Murdoch, the combatants have a history that extends well beyond Olbermann's almost nightly attacks on Murdoch from his pulpit on MSNBC. A history that belies Olbermann's constant criticism of the man behind the ugly, ugly Fox News channel and one that deserves to be addressed.
After abruptly leaving ESPN in 1997 at the conclusion of a months-long dispute between himself and station executives, Olbermann took a spot at Fox Sports Net as the host of The Keith Olbermann Evening News. Olbermann stayed on at FSN, making a reported $2.5 million per year, until 2001, when, according to him, he was fired for broadcasting that Murdoch's NewsCorp was going to sell the LA Dodgers. Murdoch explains Olbermann's pink slip a bit more succinctly: "He’s crazy."
Currently, as you know, Olbermann has a very popular program on MSNBC, where he routinely takes to task Murdoch and the talking heads Murdoch's Fox News employs. According to a piece by columnist Phil Mushnick in today's New York Post, a conservative paper also under NewsCorp's umbrella, this makes Olbermann a hypocrite who sold his soul to his own personal devil for millions.
Not that Olbermann owes Murdoch anything for that, but Olbermann might, on those occasions when he attacks Murdoch and his politics, throw in a brief mention that Murdoch's politics haven't changed - not from before Olbermann took a large paycheck from Murdoch, not while he took a large paycheck from Murdoch and not after he took a large paycheck from Murdoch.
It's a fair request and one that we imagine the notoriously vociferous Olbermann might address in the coming days.
In the meantime, we offer up this theory for Olbermann's behavior: The reason one takes money from a person he hates is the same reason internal cancer is deadlier than skin cancer, it's easier to destroy something from the inside out.
Then again, maybe Keith's just greedy.
Editorial Director
Many of us work for employers we don't admire; whether or not to continue depends on a lot of things ranging from the degree of antipathy toward the organization to the number of our options. I've never seen evidence that Olbermann considered Murdoch more repulsive than the management at ESPN until a specific event in 2003. At that point he was still planning a sports book, which he says had got tabled during the terrorist attacks, in fulfillment of a contract signed with NewsCorp in 2001; but in an article for Salon.com entitled "Rupert Murdoch Strikes Out," dated 2-22-03, Olbermann, suggesting they use the money to buy their souls back, announced that he was returning the book advance over what he saw as NewsCorp's despicable treatment of a baseball player in two of its publications. That appears to have been the last straw as far as his attitude toward Murdoch was concerned, and the MSNBC show has provided a platform from which to express his disapproval of Murdoch from that point on.
I've said it before, The 3rd rate hack from MSLSD would have become the the biggest conservative on the face of the planet if Murdoch gave him O'Reilly money.
'3rd rate' lives in a fantasy world with bottom feeder ratings and a fringe web-site holding him up as a modern day Morrow. Heck the basement dwellers at that site think they can get a letter writing campain going to fire Brokaw.
And Brian Williams wonders why he can't get an interview with Sarah Palin. Brian, the same reason why Brokaw won't get an Sunday interview with Palin. Care to guess?
3rd Rate? Wow, we've still got him as 4th Rate in our area….
I can imagine that Olbermann thought that a SPORTS network should be relatively free of government or political opinions. Which it should.
The carnival clown Olbermann is not only an idiot but a panty waist coward. That's why he "feared for his safety" in St. Paul and didn't show up. That's why he has only guests who nod to every far left Marxist rantings and lies. Trust me for enough $$$$ he would be Murdoch's new love interest. I say BRAVO to Brian Williams for verbalizing the obvious. Olbermann and Matthews have destroyed the once proud and respected brand of NBC.
Olbermann is a rare ray of light among the dim bulbs of America.
I suppose you all hold the same contempt for the hypocrisy of Dennis Miller (former Liberal now a schill for the right and OReilly's chief ass-kisser!)?
I absolutely DO. Journalism is dead. They are all front men/women for their own political beiliefs trying to force them down our throats and tell us how stupid we are if we disagree. At least O'Reilly has quests on who don't agree with his every word. Olbermann ONLY has yes men and head nodders. He is a disgraceful joke. And Dennis Miller has always been tedious, never funny in my opinion whether liberal or conservative. The funniest thing about all of the media disgrace is that it has made Lou Dobbs look like a Statesman for God's sake.