Friday, November 05, 2010

Flying Turkeys of Cable TV

Suspension by MSNBC of Keith Olbermann today recalls his appearance two years ago with Martha Stewart discussing a video of Sarah Palin pardoning a Thanksgiving turkey with others being slaughtered in the background, as he cited the classic 1978 WKRP sitcom episode of turkeys being dropped from a helicopter on the mistaken assumption that they could fly.

In clipping Olbermann's wings for three small political donations, his cable network boss acted in true WKRP tradition and is roundly being given the bird across the journalistic spectrum starting with William Kristol on the extreme right.

For the head of a cable network that thrives on passionate opinionating for ratings to punish its star for putting some of his money where his mouth is surely qualifies him for the worst-person-in-the-world award, a process which Olbermann recently discontinued for undisclosed reasons.

For craven gaucherie, the action overshadows the recent NPR firing of Juan Williams and the banning of employees from attending Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity.

If there is going to be a Free-Keith-Olbermann Committee, put me down for a small contribution to force his employers to eat crow for Thanksgiving.

1 comment:

(O)CT(O)PUS said...

MSNBC's #1 competitor donated $1 million to a Republican conference. Why do Democrats lose elections? Because they eat their own kind, alienate their base, and let less than a third of the electorate decide elections.