Olbermann suspended indefinately.

[kronus]

I like how when Juan Williams got fired from NPR for exhibiting a bias, you guys claimed it was NPR who has the problem and started off this huge attack on NPR being liberal bullshit and a waste of taxpayer money (10 cents a year!), and when Olbermann got suspended for exhibiting a bias, you're all smug and happy.

Both cases are clear - the employee violated their contract, and the consequences specified in the contract were carried out.

[mrsleeve]

I like how when Juan Williams got fired from NPR for exhibiting a bias, you guys claimed it was NPR who has the problem and started off this huge attack on NPR being liberal bullshit and a waste of taxpayer money (10 cents a year!), and when Olbermann got suspended for exhibiting a bias, you're all smug and happy.

Both cases are clear - the employee violated their contract, and the consequences specified in the contract were carried out.

yup you are right employers have the right to fire. But donating money to a political candidate, an action that can be specified in a contract, and expressing ones opinion in free speech is a RIGHT, is not the same thing.

While yes both can fall into the realm of 1st amendment rights, I feel the former is much more BS than the latter. Was there a contractual obligation for Juan to not fear a Muslim on a plane????? Or that he must not have and publicly lay them out disparaging feelings towards Muslims on planes ???????

As opposed to olberman where he had to get his bosses approval before making that kind of donation, laid out in the terms of his contract.

[Ryan Stewart]

cnn and pmsnbc are so far to the left, even if they are broke and nobody watches them, that we needed fox to balance them out

Im conservative (fiscally anyway) and I typically prefer CNN because its less of that bullshit. They do have some of those shows with pointless pundits and morons like FOX/MSNBC but they spend most of their time showing current events.

It's not the same at all. Campaign contributions from an employee vs paychecks from the organization.

I mean the same as in they are both essentially accepted as a mouth for their given side. Anyone who believes that either anywhere near the middle is drinking the kool-aid (unfortunately not the tainted flavor-aide).

You are right that FOX's ratings come from the drama and the douchebags. My point was MSNBC wants to be that for the left but all they really do is bitch about FOX News from my experience.

[KenC]

Im conservative (fiscally anyway) and I typically prefer CNN because its less of that bullshit. They do have some of those shows with pointless pundits and morons like FOX/MSNBC but they spend most of their time showing current events.



I mean the same as in they are both essentially accepted as a mouth for their given side. Anyone who believes that either anywhere near the middle is drinking the kool-aid (unfortunately not the tainted flavor-aide).

You are right that FOX's ratings come from the drama and the douchebags. My point was MSNBC wants to be that for the left but all they really do is bitch about FOX News from my experience.

Ah, gotcha.

Agreed on all points.

[gwb72tii]

It's not the same at all. Campaign contributions from an employee vs paychecks from the organization.

FOX is successful because of their social commentary programs. People are entertained by controversy. It's the same reason I slow down to stare at car wrecks. You can't fill a 24hour news station with enough interesting material to keep people watching (read: advertising revenue flowing in).

I dont think that their regular news programming is overtly biased, however, to assert that FOX's commentary programming isn't brazenly right biased is as ridiculous as claiming Olberman is/was centrist.

For the record, I don't watch either. Google News feed is the best thing to happen to the internet since porn.

sorry but this is wrong
democrats get more money form the rich than republicans
short memory??
go look at the numbers of who supported the democrats in 2008
wall street ring a bell?
public and private unions ring a bell?
oh, wait, they're monthly contributions from union members. yes. but they're extorted and the union leadership gets to donate to the democrat of the month

[KenC]

sorry but this is wrong
democrats get more money form the rich than republicans
short memory??
go look at the numbers of who supported the democrats in 2008
wall street ring a bell?
public and private unions ring a bell?
oh, wait, they're monthly contributions from union members. yes. but they're extorted and the union leadership gets to donate to the democrat of the month

I'm not sure you read my post, as your "retort" is completely unrelated.

[mar1t1me]

yup you are right employers have the right to fire. But donating money to a political candidate, an action that can be specified in a contract, and expressing ones opinion in free speech is a RIGHT, is not the same thing.

If one of my employees, while enjoying his 1st Amendment Rights, publicly expresses and disseminates an opinion that runs counter to, and undermines my interests, as an employer, I am entitled to fire him. That is MY right. And I might argue, my obligation to others who work for me, since their livelihood depends on the health of the business.

The 1st Amendment protects against " abridging the freedom of speech". Juan Williams' firing did nothing to prevent Williams from expressing his opinions. Simply put, his First Amendment rights are still fully in force. He just works for someone else now.

While yes both can fall into the realm of 1st amendment rights, I feel the former is much more BS than the latter. Was there a contractual obligation for Juan to not fear a Muslim on a plane????? Or that he must not have and publicly lay them out disparaging feelings towards Muslims on planes ???????

Comes back to his position as a news analyst with NPR. Perhaps in NPR's opinion, a news analyst should have a better grasp of reality than what Williams portrayed with his comments. Data says people dressed in Muslim garb are not threats on planes. Expressing such a position as did Williams might be interpreted as evidence that Williams' is not doing his job, and is clearly out-of-touch with reality. Therefore, his analyses are suspect and do not represent NPR's best interests as a news source.

As opposed to olberman where he had to get his bosses approval before making that kind of donation, laid out in the terms of his contract.

Olbermann's suspension is justifiable. He professes objectivity, but donating to particular candidates was seen by his employer as endorsements. Not very objective, what? MSNBC apparently offered Olbermann a chance to make it all go away if he just acknowledged on air that he shouldn't have made those donations, but Olbermann refused.

[mrsleeve]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^6

Dude You just said the same shit as I did, I agree with you. But the fact remains that unless something like "you must not speak ill of muslims" is your contract, its an arbitrary firing. While its BS firing on Juans part for not toeing the govt mantra, but it is with in the bounds of his employer to let him go.

Olberman Fucked and blatantly ignored his contract and was a very hypocritical action based on his "love if objectivity" as you have put it. While they are both fruit, 1 is and apple and the other is a pomegranate, for terms of comparison. While both can be justified, one certainly is a larger crock of shit than the other, this is all I was trying to get at.

[joshh]

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010...-to-msnbc.html


Must be aggravating.

[Need4Speed1299]

MSNBC and CNN suck. Thats all I gotta say.

[Leaf]

FOX sucks and so do the people that buy into that shit.

[Vedubin01]

FOX sucks and so do the people that buy into that shit.

excuse little Timmy, he has Tourettes'