Kurtz: Rove's Fundraising For GOP 'a Lot Worse' Than Olbermann Donation
On Friday's Situation Room, The Daily Beast's Howard Kurtz stated that the fundraising activities of Fox News contributors Dick Morris and Karl Rove somehow rose to a worse level than Keith Olbermann's maximum individual donations to three Democrats, which violated MSNBC's policy. Kurtz also suggested that both networks "tighten up on this stuff or just tear up the rule book."
Correspondent Mary Snow covered Olbermann's suspension during a report just before the bottom of the 6 pm Eastern hour. Snow began by noting how the anchor "has become a star power at MSNBC for voicing his liberal opinions, but Keith Olbermann is now sidelined for financially supporting three Democratic candidates. Records show he contributed $2,400 each to Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and two members of Congress from Arizona: Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva." She continued that "Congressman Grijalva was a guest on Olbermann's show October 28, the same day Olbermann donated to his campaign."
Later, after recounting how the MSNBC personality has been "a vocal critic of Fox and its parent company, News Corp, for donating $1 million to the Republican Governors Association," the CNN correspondent played her clip from Kurtz, who gave his take on the Olbermann suspension and on the Fox News contributors' fundraising:
SNOW: The question is, where is the line drawn when Fox and MSNBC have clear political leanings? Media critic Howie Kurtz is the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources.'
KURTZ: At Fox News, you already have contributors like Karl Rove and Dick Morris, and sometimes Sean Hannity, actually going out and raising money for the Republican Party. That's a lot worse than what Keith Olbermann did, but I think that either networks (sic) are going to have to tighten up on this stuff, or just tear up the rule book and say, people can do whatever they want, which I think would be a serious mistake.
While Snow mentioned earlier that "NBC, like many news organizations, including CNN, enforces ethics policies that, among other things, prevent employees from making contributions considered a conflict of interests," neither she nor Kurtz mentioned that Fox News doesn't have such a policy.
The CNN anchor wrote something similar in his Friday column for Daily Beast, but did acknowledge the Fox News policy:
His [Olbermann's] mistake is not in the same league as what some Fox contributors have done. Karl Rove raised about $50 million in recent months for an independent group supporting Republican candidates. Dick Morris has raised money, spoken on behalf of candidates and refers to Republicans as 'we.' Sarah Palin barnstormed the country on behalf of her favored candidates, often of the Tea Party variety.
And one full-time Fox News host, Sean Hannity, has attended GOP fundraisers. Fox allows such activity for talk-show hosts and contributors, whom the network doesn't consider journalists. I've written about this from time to time; few people seem to care.
In a sense, the columnist is comparing apples and oranges. Instead of focusing on Rove and Morris, Kurtz should have just focused on the Olbermann/Hannity comparison, as both are hosts with clear political viewpoints, but he didn't give figures for Hannity's fundraising in either his CNN appearance or in his column.
Kurtz did go on and criticize liberal pundits' fundraising later in his column: "At CNN, where I host a weekly media program, James Carville and Paul Begala are contributors who also sign fundraising letters for the Democratic Party. If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow any of that." He also reprimanded Senator Bernie Sanders for coming to Olbermann's defense:
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the only avowed socialist in Congress, rushed out the following statement: "It is outrageous that General Electric/MSNBC would suspend Keith Olbermann for exercising his constitutional rights to contribute to a candidate of his choice. This is a real threat to political discourse in America and will have a chilling impact on every commentator for MSNBC."
Sanders has it exactly wrong. When you become a journalist, you give up certain rights. You can't write speeches on the side for politicians. You can't march in political demonstrations. And you shouldn't be able to donate money to politicians, unless you're hosting a cooking show.
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Comments
NBC Policy
Submitted by libBuster on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 8:30pm.
Well FOX News did not force NBC to suspend Keith Olbermann. NBC did it all by itself. The political affiliations of Fox News commentators are admitted to and out in the open..
For some, middle age is a struggle
Submitted by zachlind on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 8:48pm.
Howard Kurtz is on the down side of an arguably successful career. The Washington Post ran him off. His weekly television show on CNN is overstocked with liberal “news” reporters and losing viewers like it was CBS Evening News. He hates Fox and Republicans. He took a serious pay cut to try and salvage a minor opportunity at a dinosaur media startup website. If you like his stuff you had better read him now because the new media doesn’t provide welfare for aging “columnists”.
so freaking what
Submitted by spepper on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 8:49pm.
So freaking what-- these so-called rules are stupid-- anyone should be able to give any damned amount they choose-- then let the VOTERS decide whether it is appropriate-- NOT a damned TV network-- I dare say the Olbermann scenario was similar to Juan Williams, in this regard: both networks were looking for an excuse-- turns out, both excuses were lame & concocted-- I dare to suggest that in Olbermann's case, it had way more to do with his ratings.......
My God, we have one huge screw loose running around, George Soros, donating all kinds of funding for organizations going up against the tea party and/or Republicans-- that should be a hell of a bigger concern to voters than what a piss-ant broadcaster donates......
All these comparisons to Fox
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 9:14pm.
All these comparisons to Fox News mean nothing. Fox News did not suspend Olbermann - NBC did. Apparently NBC has tougher rules in regards to making monetary political donations and absolutely no rules whatsoever in regards to the excretion of bile in support of liberalism.
Kurtz it hurtz doesn't it!
Submitted by circusstorm on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 9:13pm.
Ho Ku gets his panty's all in a bunch when anyone suggests a liberal media bias. I guess howard is trying to reach the 2nd graders walking thru the living room on their way to the bathroom. HEY HOWARD! Wake up the election is over. Yes, We are waiting for the Liberal Media onslaught heading the consevatives way. So we can punish CNN even more at the cash register. Oh life is good... dont spend on that new vacation home just yet!
Hey, they do it too
Submitted by exLib on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 9:55pm.
MSNBC is employing a bunch of 2 years olds.
I am constantly reprimanding my 6 year old twins that bad behavior on someone else's part is no excuse for bad behavior on their part.
Now, I am not saying Fox is engaged in bad behavior, but MSNBC seems to say, look what Oblie did was wrong, but look, Fox is worse, when Fox has a different rule.
Comparing Hannity to Olberman is also a joke.
Olberman claims to be "down the middle", claims he attacks both sides, when in fact he rarely is ever has a dissenting voice, and is clearly a partisan. NBC has let this guy anchor straight coverage of elections, debates and until this year, football and he is marketed as straight coverage.
Hannity never claims to be anything but a partisan conservative, claims to not be totally beholden to the Republican party but says they are the only game in town. Did cheer for Tea party and more conservative candidates. Never hosts straight coverage, but regularly has at least ONE liberal on his show each night to debate.
Well then
Submitted by octavioj on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 10:21pm.
If that is the case no one should be able to ask George Soros any question about politics. Tim Kaine and Michael Steele could not be interviewed. Neither could the RGA and the DGA chairmen could make pronouncements. This kind of rationale is just plain wrong. I am still dubious about Olbermann's suspension. I personally think he did nothing wrong but he may have violated contract clauses.
NBC, MSNBC, as well as the
Submitted by Chris Norman on Sun, 11/07/2010 - 11:06pm.
NBC, MSNBC, as well as the entire MSM, has contributed untold millons of dollars of airtime to promoting Democrats and particularly Barak Obama's elections and agenda. MSNBC, over all the others, has made themselves, in effect, a 24 hr Democratic campaign ad - and they then sanctimoniously sniff about their "high standards".Olbermann should have been fired, but not for his campaign contributions, but for his general nastiness, taunts, and distortion of the truth to suit his pompous political conclusions. However, as I have noted before, the FBI didn't get Al Capone for his worst crimes, but for the comparitively benign transgression of tax evasion,,,
The traffic at Kurtz's new
Submitted by d1carter on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 12:00am.
The traffic at Kurtz's new site must be terrible. He is simply trying to drive traffic to "the Beast"...that old WaPo gig must be looking a little greener.
Journalist celibacy
Submitted by KC Mulville on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 3:24am.
A couple weeks ago, when Juan Williams was discussing his love of journalism, he mentioned that he treated it like his vocation ... his priesthood. Needless to say (I'm an ex-Jesuit), that word stuck in my mind. Then, Juan Williams was fired for expressing an opinion. Olbermann was suspended for lack of journalistic purity. Now Howie Kurtz (of all people) is condemning political consultants for not being journalistically pure.
Journalists are treating opinion as (they must imagine) priests treat sex ... like it was bad, or impure. But that's a false stereotype. So let me offer some advice from a guy who had a vow of chastity.
No. Take it from someone who took a vow of chastity. Sexuality is part of who you are. If you merely try to suppress it, it will come out ... usually at the worst time, and in the worst possible way. The only way to live a vow of chastity is to incorporate sexuality into your life. There's a bit of suppression involved of course, but it can't be that alone. It takes a lot more work, and a much deeper discipline. Mere repression is denying reality. You have to admit ... to yourself and to God ... that you're a sexual being, and there's nothing wrong with it. Work with it, channel it, ride it like Secretariat, do whatever you do ... but if you only try to suppress it, you're a fool. The true discipline of chastity comes with time, grace, and experience. It ain't for beginners. I speak from experience here.
Now take that same paragraph and substitute "opinion" wherever it now says "sex." Is the profession of journalism incorporating ideology and point of view into a deeper understanding of truth? Or (as Griffin and Kurtz suggest) do they simply try to suppress it and pretend you can just shut it off?
Priests aren't children. They don't think about sex simplistically. Only the ignorant these days think the church considers sex dirty, and that purity comes by simply denying what's natural. That stereotype is completely untrue. But I listen to these journalistic "purists," and that childishness is exactly how they're treating opinion. They treat it as if it was dirty. They think they can wipe it away by suppressing it. We can't have that!!! Just stop having opinions, and then you'll be factually PURE! You'll be full of pure truth.
Trust ... me ... that ... won't ... work.
Brett Baier
Submitted by dmaley1714 on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 10:23am.
Who on MSNBC is a straight news person like Brett Baier
Last I checked, Rove and
Submitted by marpel on Mon, 11/08/2010 - 3:45pm.
Last I checked, Rove and Morris don't have their own shows on Fox (they're pundits) and they don't compare themselves to Edward R. Murrow like that jack ass, KO...
"Deep within my heart lies a memory. A song of ol' San Antone..."
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