Bring Olbermann Back: Hosts Are Citizens, Too!

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.progressive.org/wx110510.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+progressivefeed+%28The+Progressive+Main+Feed%29&utm_content=Twitter

The bosses over at MSNBC have blundered badly by suspending Keith Olbermann indefinitely, without pay, for contributing to Democratic candidates. And they’ve done so because they worship the false idol of “objective” journalism.

There is no such thing as “objective” journalism. Every journalist carries along his or her own set of beliefs, biases, likes and dislikes. It’s actually unhealthy for society when journalists and their bosses pretend otherwise or try to mask these preferences. And it’s grossly unfair to the journalists to strip them of their citizenship rights.

Some journalists, like Jim Lehrer, are so concerned about having their “objectivity” called into question that they don’t even vote! But denuding yourself of your citizenship rights doesn’t make you objective, and Jim Lehrer himself has his preferences, as the biased composition of his guests indicates.

And it’s one thing for the journalist on a particular beat to be prohibited from contributing to candidates or causes that might color their work, though full disclosure should resolve that problem.


More at the link --

[lob1]

1. Corporations are people, but people aren't.

[arcane1]

3. Corporations = persons. Humans = 3/5 of a person.

[malaise]

2. Wrong - corporations are citizens

UNITED :sarcasm:

[rampart]

4. bring back phil donahue

general electric must have a clause in their contract.

to whom did joe scarborough contribute? pat buchanan?

[kelly1mm]

5. Juan Williams was fired for not being objective acording to the 2nd

of third reason NPR gave for that. When it came down to it he was fired for violating a rule that others are allowed to violate regularly (see Nina Totenburg). So was Keith. Are they both being wronged?