keith olbermann
GRITtv: Katrina vanden Heuvel & Ryan Grim on the State of the Media
"We don't write about class struggle in the US so it's hard for us to see it elsewhere," says the Huffington Post's Ryan Grim on the failings of the US media around issues in Egypt. And Katrina vanden Heuvel notes that Islamophobia in the US leads many to focus on fear of the Muslim Brotherhood rather than understanding the ways that Islam and democracy coexist and complement one another. Here in the US, too, there were big media stories, as the Huffington Post merged with AOL, and Keith Olbermann signed up with Al Gore's Current TV. What's in those stories for independent media? Ryan, Katrina and Laura discuss.
Email this pageGRITtv: Nov. 8, 2010
The big story last week, of course, was the elections: Republicans take back the House! Nearly $5 billion spent on campaigns across the country--most of it from faceless corporate donors! Yet instead, by the weekend we were left with a different story, when Keith Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC for donating money to three Democratic candidates. Not a peep, of course, about the amount that MSNBC's parent company, GE, gave.And then, of course, George W. Bush started his book tour, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace joked with Jon Stewart about Fox's employing the Republican candidates for 2012, and our friends at The Nation were profiled in today's New York Times. Greg Mitchell, media blogger at The Nation, joins us to discuss.One of the few progressive victories on Tuesday was the defeat of corporate-supported Proposition 23 in California, which would have rolled back California's first-in-the-nation climate and environmental regulations, claiming that they were hurting the economy. ; Dan Kalb, California Policy Director of the Union of Concerned Scientists, notes that the coalition that fought Prop 23 was wide and broad, from faith groups to public interest groups to some corporations and even Republican Governor Schwarzenegger.Kalb joins us via Skype from California to discuss the future of climate legislation and a green economy with a Republican-controlled house, and to remind us that the majority of Americans "want a clean energy future."Finally, we might be feeling morose about the election results here, but Laura wants us to remember that Haiti is still struggling with the basics: shelter and clean water.
GRITtv: Greg Mitchell: Money Media Miss the Point (Again)
The big story last week, of course, was the elections: Republicans take back the House! Nearly $5 billion spent on campaigns across the country--most of it from faceless corporate donors! Yet instead, by the weekend we were left with a different story, when Keith Olbermann was suspended from MSNBC for donating money to three Democratic candidates. Not a peep, of course, about the amount that MSNBC's parent company, GE, gave. And then, of course, George W. Bush started his book tour, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace joked with Jon Stewart about Fox's employing the Republican candidates for 2012, and our friends at The Nation were profiled in today's New York Times. Greg Mitchell, media blogger at The Nation, joins us to discuss. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: The F Word: Olbermann Says There's No Deal
Keith Olbermann wrote to me apropos my F Word on Monday. Following news of a corporation-brokered truce between MSNBC and FOX, I'd written that while the two networks pose as divided - and play up social divides for ratings - they actually stand united when it comes to corporate profits. According to a New York Times report, General Electric, which owns MSNBC, reined in their host Keith Olbermann as part of a deal to call off Bill O'Reilly's questioning of GE's business. A notable example of corporate interests trumping ratings - several commentators thought - myself included. But Olbermann, while he doesn't deny there was a peacemaking summit of CEOs -- wrote to me Tuesday that there never was/is/nor shall be any deal. And on his first appearance after the Times story ran, he went after the Times and Bill O And Rupert Murdoch - CEO of Fox's corporate parent, News Corp.
GRITtv: F Word: Corporate Unity at MSNBC and Fox?
There are days when one's reminded why one works in independent media. August 1st was one of those days, when the New York Times ran a front page media story that might as well have been headlined: GE and Fox Hush Hosts For Profits. The on-air feud was good for ratings. It wasn't even bad journalism, for these kind of programs. The feud wasn't bad for ratings, but it was perceived as a potential threat to other corporate interests. It's hard to fund and it's tempting to think there must be a better way. Wouldn't it be easier if some corporation paid the bills? Not exactly.
