Olbermann "lying" about reason for his decision to stop criticizing O'reilly, media critic says

[Becky72]

2 months ago, Keith Olbermann explained to his viewers on why he was to stop criticizing Bill O'reilly in his show. But in this explanation, K.O. did not mention the fact that a mid-May meeting between his boss (General Electric's CEO Jeffrey Immell) and Rupert Murdoch) was the real cause of this censorship, as reported by Glen Greenwald on Saturday:

OLBERMANN(6/1/09): Fox News Channel will never restrain itself from incitement to murder and terrorism, not until its profits begin to decline, when its growth stops. So not so much a boycott here as a quarantine, because this has got to stop.

That I have a commercial conflict of interest here is obvious. So I’ll make the first symbolic contribution to this quarantine. One of my pleasures, obviously, is constantly criticizing him (O'reilly) in that Ted Baxter voice. It is the idea of laughter as a social sanction against inflexible behavior.

But this is no time for laughter. This is serious. Serious as death. As serious as George Tiller’s death. So as of this show’s end, I will retire the name, the photograph, and the caricature. The words may still be quoted in the future as developments dictate. The goal here is to get this blindly irresponsible man and his ilk off the air.

We’re only in the television news business, a profession that is at times about two inches up from carnival barking. We must again separate it, television, from terrorism. And we must again make the world safe for people condemned by the Fox News Channel.

That‘s Countdown for this, the 2,223rd day since the previous president declared mission accomplished in Iraq. I’m Keith Olbermann. Good night and good luck.

Today, media critic Bob Somerby reacts to Olbermann's explanation, and does not buy KO's story that after all these years, he suddenly came to the realization that not targetting O'reilly was the way to go:

We strongly suggest you read the whole segment, understanding as you do that Olbermann is apparently lying right in your faces the whole Fox News-hatin’ time.

No, that cri de coeur didn’t exactly make sense. BillO had sinned as never before—so KeithO would no longer criticize him! (We know—that isn’t quite what he said. But, according to Greenwald’s review, all criticism of O’Reilly ended that night, not just the silly-bill clowning.) But then, very few things this big hack says ever make a whole lot of sense. If Stelter’s report is accurate, we now know the actual reason KeithO quit BillO that night. And we know he was lying right in your liberal faces as he wept, emoted, moaned and wailed all through that inaccurate segment.

Go ahead, read that whole segment. Don’t say we haven’t been telling you.

[HiyaEmerald Eyes]

1. I will not read past Olbermann lying

He does not lie

[dysfunctional press]

49. you forgot the sarcasm icon...people might think you're being serious.

or worse- that you are incredibly naive.

[eleny]

2. .

[nc4bo]

3. Something fucking stinks in this thread.........and it isn't the poster above me

and it damned sure isn't me.

[spanone]

4. worst persons in the world...betweeen o'reilly & rupert mrudoch

now watch me hide this thread

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

5. Well, Billo was the worser tonight and Murdoch the worst. (edited for update).

[Hissyspit]

6. Olbermann just now on MSNBC called it the 'truce that never was' and referred to Billo The Clown.

He named Bill O'Reilly second worst person and Rupert Murdoch who owns Fox News as worst:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6212858&mesg_id=6212858

So much for that, Bob.

[virgogal]

7. I don't even care what KO or BO think or say. Just my opinion.

[me b zola]

22. So why are you here?

[virgogal]

33. Bored ! eom

[Mrs. Overall]

51. Since you don't care what Obama has to say and you are bored--perhaps

Free Republic will provide more stimulation for you.

[virgogal]

55. I love Obama-------the BO meant Bill O'Reilly---that was the topic.,

[Mrs. Overall]

57. My bad. I apologize.

[virgogal]

59. No problem. :-)

[malaise]

8. LOL

What flowers do you like?
You or Olbermann - Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah - you lose.

Check out tonight's worst group tonight.

[HughMoran]

9. Well, he just criticized the shit out of him and Rupert tonight, so much for that bullshit ass story

lol

[RedCloud]

48. Correcto!

[RoccoR5955]

10. Kick and UNREC! The OP is a lie!

As a matter of fact, the OP has only been around here since 28 July, with 31 posts. Hmm, something smells fishy! Perhaps she's a Pisces working for scale!

[Becky72]

11. May you explain how it is a lie?

If you don't mind.

[RoccoR5955]

14. All you have to do is watch KO tonight! n/t

[Becky72]

17. What does tonight have to do with June 1st?

I don't quite understand. That K.O. will address the situation head-on after the criticism is another thing. The deal was unknown on June 1st. The news broke this weekend.

[RoccoR5955]

20. I bet you don't choose to understand.

So don't expect me to explain it to you!

[anigbrowl]

47. If you have an explanation, you should offer it

It seems you don't. Personally, I think the OP is probably correct - not that I care much, since Olbermann just strikes me as another TV loudmouth and thus part of the sideshow that is TV news. That he comes from a liberal slant doesn't mean a whole lot to me, I deplore demagoguery masquerading as journalism no matter what viewpoint it supports.

[Horse with no Name]

56. On June 1

AFTER O'Lielly incited the murder of Dr. Tiller, KO proclaimed on his show that BO was no longer just someone to poke fun at.
He was a serious threat to humanity.
You might tune in before posting a hit piece.

[Becky72]

69. Then you fault Media Matters for continue to talk about O'reilly?

Should Media Matters have stopped condemning O'reilly hateful rhetoric?
O'reilly's attacks on Tillers provided MORE reason to expose his hatred.

[Horse with no Name]

72. Are you daft?

Seriously.
Show me a link where Media Matters said they were NOT going to cover what the media does then we can have a conversation. We were talking about Olbermann.
M.E.D.I.A. M.A.T.T.E.R.S...they cover the media and its lies. With faux...THAT is a full time job and MM needs to cover their lies for history.

[Becky72]

74. So Olbermann no longer needs to cover O'reilly's lies and hatred?

I don't get it. Why wouldn't you want Olbermann, with his huge viewership, to be silent about O'reilly? It would add to the number of people who are aware of O'reilly's hatred and lies.

[Horse with no Name]

75. First of all you are jumping around so much you should be in a

little green box...but I would expect that just about everyone in KO's viewership is aware of what a scumbag BO is.
I don't have to watch BO to know that everything that oozes out of his mouth is a lie. So, I don't watch him.
I don't NEED KO to tell me he is a liar.
I don't blindly worship anyone. When KO has been wrong, I wasn't silent about it.
However, in this case, he is absolutely correct.
Poking fun at a pathetic living corpse of a man who incites murder IS NOT funny. It is NOT amusing.
Do ya get the correlation?

[Becky72]

76. I'm sure Media Matters readers know Bill'O is a liar too

I wouldn't subscribe to the idea, however, that MM should stop documenting his lies or exposing his hatred.

[KharmaTrain]

50. +1 For The Nick Danger Reference

[JackBeck]

12. Your OP would be more interesting if it deconstructed all of O'Reillys' lies. n/t

[Becky72]

18. We all know O'reilly is a liar

It's obvious that i wanted Olbermann to continue to criticize O'reilly. But he didn't because Murdoch told GE to stop under thread of reporting on GE's dealings with Iran, and GE got scared. It's all in Greenwald's article of Saturday.

[Uzybone]

13. Somerby has turned into a sad man

I used to read his write ups religiously in the early 2000's.

[City Lights]

16. Ditto.

Wonder what happened to him...

[rocktivity]

19. Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of a green-eyed monster

Somersby seems to really have it in for Keith and all of MSNBC in general. I took him off my list when I read where he descrbed Rachel Maddow as always being "unprepared."

THIS JUST IN--The caption on Rachel's show is "GOP THUG LIFE"

:crazy:
rocktivity

[Peacetrain]

15. Well all I can do is

:popcorn:

[blogslut]

21. Hahahahahaha

Keith never really stopped zapping Billo n Fokkks. And now that he's back from vacay, he's zapping them again.

Bob Somerby is wrong. Glen Greewnald is wrong. There's a lot of wrong going around today.

[Becky72]

23. So Olbermann, Greenwald and Somerby lied?

Are you saying that Olbermann said he was going to stop attacking O'reilly, but broke his promise? I don't understand.

[NYCGirl]

25. I hope you understand this. THERE WAS NO AGREEMENT BETWEEN MSNBC AND

FOX. Somersby and Greenwald lied.

[Becky72]

38. You forgot to add the New York Times to the list of liars

That turned out to be a very long conspiracy between unlikely allies (NYT and Greenwald).
By the way, who was it that said Greenwald was lying?

[blondeatlast]

53. Geez--like they've never lied before. Teh stoopid from you--it hurts. nt

[Becky72]

58. And GG called them on their lies

But what are the odds of them agreeing?

[Robb]

32. No, just you Bob.

Or Glen. Whichever you are. :eyes:

[blogslut]

40. Oh, I get the feeling you understand perfectly

Mr. Olbermann did say he was going to cut back on slamming Billo n' Fokkks. However, he succumbed to teh hate and fell off the wagon - something he admitted to and apologized for, on the air.

Greenwald and Somersby weren't lying, they just fell victim to the desire to fix the facts to fit the theory.

[rocktivity]

24. It's called READING--ever heard of it?

...I will retire the name, the photograph, and the caricature. The words may still be quoted in the future as developments dictate. The goal here is to get this blindly irresponsible man and his ilk off the air.

Keith NEVER said that he would NEVER quote O'Reilly again, but that he would stop caricaturing him!!!

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Becky72]

26. so it was coincidence that after the deal he stopped until the secret came out?

Sorry. No.

[katandmoon]

28. I'm skeptical too.

[rocktivity]

39. Then I guess it's also a coincidence that he stopped right after Tiller was killed

Unless he saw Tiller's death as a golden opportunity to obey his masters while making it look like it was actually his idea.

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Becky72]

42. It's called an excuse

And...does this mean that if Glen Beck says something very hateful about a murder victim, Media Matters, Rachel Maddow, etc. should stop criticizing Beck? That makes no sense, my friend.

[rocktivity]

46. Its the deadline that doesn't make sense--"Keith, stop talking about O'Reilly effective June 1."

This meeting was allegedy held in May. Why not institute the ban effective immediately?

:headbang:
rocktivity

[Becky72]

62. Wrong. The deal was reportedly made "days later" after the summit

Days later after Mid May=June 1st seems about right to me.

From the NYT article:

At an off-the-record summit meeting for chief executives sponsored by Microsoft in mid-May, the PBS interviewer Charlie Rose asked Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of G.E., and his counterpart at the News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, about the feud.

Both moguls expressed regret over the venomous culture between the networks and the increasingly personal nature of the barbs. Days later, even though the feud had increased the audience of both programs, their lieutenants arranged a cease-fire, according to four people who work at the companies and have direct knowledge of the deal.

Days later, even though the feud had increased the audience of both programs, their lieutenants arranged a cease-fire, according to four people who work at the companies and have direct knowledge of the deal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/business/media/01feud.html?_r=2&src=twt&twt=nytimes

[rocktivity]

66. Nonetheless, it didn't work, did it?

:evilgrin:
rocktivity

[Becky72]

70. Of course, it worked

Now all of a sudden AFTER the secret deal was made public Olbermann happens to break a two-month silence. The deal worked, and Glen Greenwald's post worked in single-handedly making Olbermann return to the subject. Had it not been for Greenwald, we wouldn't have heard of O'reilly tonight.

Unless tonight O'reilly took back his rhetoric against Tiller.

[WeDidIt]

27. I'm betting you're feeling a bit like a dick for having posted this shit

right before Keith proved it's just shit.

[Catshrink]

30. This kind of sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Reminds me of something...what was that? Oh yeah, I remember Saturday. WeDidIt: my ally amid the too vociferous protests and whining. Sausage and mushroom, extra cheese.

[Becky72]

34. Huh? Keith spoke tonight AFTER being caught in a scandal

And now AFTER THE FACT he suddenly re-takes his old and effective line of attack against O'reilly.
Do you think that had it not been for the NYT article and Greenwald's post Olbermann would have broke his O'reilly silence tonight?

[Catshrink]

35. OMG

:tinfoilhat:

[LynnTheDem]

37. Your main problem is simply this;

DUers aren't stupid.

:hi:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

41. Scandal?

Oh, honey, the Jean Nate is for SPLASHING ALL OVER YOUR BODY.

Not for drinking.

There is no other excuse for your OP - it's just dumb, random, unconnected, and now you're bleating about KO "... being caught in a scandal"?

Dear girl, peel your lips off the JN bottle..................

[Becky72]

43. Yes, a scandal

Where Olbermann was instructed to stop talking about O'reilly, and so he did, under a different pretext, after years of talking about him.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Moochy]

63. Heaven Forfend!

We all thank you for such a kindly gesture... what with you testifying so's all us DU'ers can keep informed-ified with this scoundrel's prevaricatin!!

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[myrna minx]

68. Poor you.

:hug: I feel really sorry for you.

[and-justice-for-all]

29. He was 'instructed' to do so...nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

31. Are you working off a script?

Attend any town halls lately?

[Bill219]

36. I smell pizza cooking...

I hope it's a chourico and pepperoni

[Moochy]

64. with extra granite plz

[Horse with no Name]

80. Oh please let it be "hand tossed"

n/t

[Contrary1]

52. So if KO was ordered not to talk about O'Reilly...

why is he?

[Becky72]

54. Because now that the deal was uncovered, they have to pretend it wasn't true

Obviously.

Do you think that Olbermann was planning to break his two-month silence regardless of the bombshell revelations?

One would have to be very naive to think that way.

[Mrs. Overall]

60. "bombshell revelations"--really? With everything happening in the world and here at home--

I would hardly call this media skirmish a "bombshell".

[blondeatlast]

61. That tin will wreak havoc on the dye job. nt

[Catshrink]

65. Hm... Must be a long lost relative of someone else in the news.

[blondeatlast]

71. A better example of my post 61 could not be found. nt

[mitchtv]

77. is that you Ms Malkin?

nt

[blondeatlast]

81. More likely a Heritage Foundation intern wanna-be frothing nutjob.

Each one becomes easier to spot than the last one.

[Contrary1]

83. Actually, I never wasted any time thinking about it at all...

Naive enough for you?

[myrna minx]

67. LOL.

Bob Somerby. Nice try. :rofl:

[BirminghamExaminer]

73. Here is a link to Olbermann's Worse persons O'Reilly segment tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEAQEiO4NWc

[lpbk2713]

78. Unrec

Not worthy of an explanation.

[StopTheNeoCons]

79. Unrec'd

[Becky72]

82. Firedoglake.com founder reacts to tonight's Countdown"

Jane Hamsher: "I frankly think Olbermann raises more questions than he answers."

http://firedoglake.com/2009/08/03/olbermann-responds-re-ge-fox-and-bill-oreilly/