Olbermann off MSNBC

[Smelodies]

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201101210042

[Sarah]

Oh, I didn't need this today.

[Pidgeon]

And nothing of value was lost.

[Smelodies]

Maddow and Maher on it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/rachel-maddow-bill-maher-olbermann_n_812515.html

[Andy]

nice to see that Bill Maher is being consistent on the language policing.

[Gilly]

If it's news, it shouldn't matter who's reporting it. Unfortunately it does matter and that's the problem. If I didn't know that he'd be replaced by another person just like him I'd say it's a victory for democracy.

[wood and iron]

I really dislike the false equivalency regarding cable news that is prevalent these days among even the most intelligent of people (this board included). Sure, Olbermann delivered the news in a forceful style and his bias was on his sleeve the whole time. However, he always reported the facts and if he got the facts wrong, he would make on-air corrections. I agree Olbermann's ego is probably on the order of a white dwarf star. But to cry "he's just like Bill O'Reilly" is false. Even if his rage venting and other theatricalities subtracted to the political discourse in this country, at least the liberal side was given a soapbox on that downward slide.

I want a respectable news outlet on TV (like the BBC) as much as the next reasonably thoughtful person curious about the world around us. However, it felt good sometimes to turn on Olbermann and say "damn right" when he would get fussy about Bush.

[Smelodies]

If it's news

No one, least of all him, pretended that he was news.  Maybe in '03.  It's been commentary ever since, and only Fox, who they reacted to, made bones about it.

[Sarah]

I want a respectable news outlet on TV (like the BBC) as much as the next reasonably thoughtful person curious about the world around us. However, it felt good sometimes to turn on Olbermann and say "damn right" when he would get fussy about Bush.

Yeah.

[Gilly]

No one, least of all him, pretended that he was news. 

Nobody? I don't agree with that. The actual news has become a tool to spin off and I'd argue that more people than ever when watching the news are eager to hear what X commentator has to say about it. It doesn't matter who you agree with, both sides have their facts and their demonic figures. What's the point? Is it to see who wins or loses at the end? I think most American's are pretty close on the political spectrum and can work their differences out with compromise but are being told different by politicians and media.

[Sarah]

I'm absolutely with you in thinking the media is creating--or at least exacerbating--many of the conflicts on which it reports.  The thing is, in a world where that is the norm, it was nice to have Keith to turn to when I just didn't feel like hearing anything I don't agree with. 

And if "winning" is defined as "making the most money," then, yes, that's why they're doing what they are doing.

[cavorting with nudists]

If I didn't know that he'd be replaced by another person just like him I'd say it's a victory for democracy.

Yes.  It would be a shining moment for democracy if only the spectrum of opinion on cable news could just be inched a bit further to the right than it already is.

[Gilly]

And conservatives would say the media is dominated by liberals. It's a ridiculous game. One less communication major telling the world their point of view is ok with me, but they'll find another one!

[cavorting with nudists]

And conservatives would say the media is dominated by liberals. It's a ridiculous game.

You're right: They will always say that.  Always, until there's nothing on but a million little Glenn Becks.  It doesn't mean their point of view is as valid as any other, and axing one of the two or three actual liberals on the air is not going to change it. 

One less communication major telling the world their point of view is ok with me, but they'll find another one!

Actually, when I think of "communication majors" on the air, I think of perky, fresh-faced airheads breathlessly stenographing the latest Official Talking Points without submitting them to any scrutiny whatever, which I wouldn't call an accurate picture of Olbermann.

[Smelodies]

Many of all political stripes will acknowledge that he was good on SportsCenter in the '90s.