AP Uncritically Reports Giuliani Campaign’s Efforts To Marginalize Olbermann

[CatWoman]

Last week, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann delivered a special comment criticizing Rudy Giuliani for his recent partisan fearmongering. This week, he hosted MSNBC’s coverage of the Republican presidential debate.

Olbermann’s presence on debate night coverage angered the Giuliani campaign. The AP reports:

The Giuliani campaign privately expressed its concern to NBC News about Olbermann’s role in the days leading up to last Thursday’s debate. … MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said a Giuliani campaign representative had called NBC News to complain about Olbermann being part of the debate telecast following his commentary.

The Giuliani campaign has a right to make its complaints known, just as many on the left have raised arguments about the bias of Fox News’ participation in Democratic debates. But it’s the role of the media to place the story in its proper context, and the AP account fails to do that.

Blindly accepting the Giuliani campaign’s argument, the AP story singles out Olbermann for criticism. “Olbermann’s popularity and evolving image as an ideologue has led NBC News to stretch traditional notions of journalistic objectivity,” the story reports. It continues, “Even for television hosts unafraid to say what they think — Chris Matthews, for instance — there’s still a little mystery about what they’ll do inside a voting booth.”

The AP fails to note that another MSNBC host who was involved in debate night coverage — Joe Scarborough — campaigned for President Bush in 2004. Media Matters has noted that Scarborough also helped propagate partisan talking points. There is certainly no mystery as to who he voted for.

The issue here isn’t Olbermann, who fairly and ably quarterbacked the debate coverage. By uncritically reporting the Guiliani campaign’s argument, the AP engaged in the very bias that its report implies it is above.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/05/05/ap-on-olbermann/

[Patsy Stone]

1. Really now

Doesn't the AP have other things to worry about besides Keith? Who's in charge over there? Bob Cox?

[Kurovski]

2. K&R.

It never ends.

[JTFrog]

3. There is no

mystery who KO votes for. He doesn't vote. He doesn't believe it would be ethical given his career choice.

[Der Blaue Engel]

6. Where did you hear that?

That sounds like a foolish stand for him to take.

[eleny]

7. Monica Novatny told it to Stephanie Miller earlier this week

It was when MN made a brief appearance with Miller on Wednesday.

[Berry Cool]

12. And he's said it in many interviews.

It's hardly a secret. Whoever wrote this piece could have found the information easily. Yet whoever that was preferred to deliberately make Keith look partisan.

[Horse with no Name]

8. Actually it is quite a good stance

I can "take" the bad news even when it is on our side and I expect Keith to report it.
He has stated in the past he doesn't vote because he doesn't want to feel like he is compromising his principles by being afraid to tell the truth about who he voted for (paraphrased).
I wish more journalists were that honest.

[Der Blaue Engel]

15. I think every citizen has a responsibility to vote

no matter what their job is.

This is one area where I cannot agree with Keith.

[UTUSN]

4. "hosts unafraid to say what they think — (Tweety), for instance" - hmmm

Let's see. Tweety is unafraid to say he loves RAYGUN, Nancy, Shrub's crotch, Shrub's blue jeans... Other than that...

[EFerrari]

5. That's rich. Authorized Propaganda has heard of

"traditional notions of journalistic objectivity"?

lol

[immoderate]

9. Olbermann an idealogue? LOL!

Olbermann never discusses ideologies. He exposes people's words and deeds and weighs them as to truth and integrity. What's the AP ideology?

--IMM

[Garbo 2004]

10. Rudy wants to play the big man and take on terraists but he's skeered of Olbermann's comments. n/t

Can't handle the truth, Rudy?

[Downtown Hound]

11. Olbermann is a commentator, AP

He is an opinion mouthpiece. So when you accuse him of stretching the limits of journalistic objectivity, you don't even know what the hell you're talking about.

The thing that's cool about Kieth is that he admits right up front who he is. He doesn't try and pass himself off as an independent like O'Lielly does when he's really just working for the Bush administration. He doesn't bully people and threaten them, he just feels passion and anger about what's happening in the country. And he doesn't LIE, like all of the right wing pundits do. And he doesn't work for a news network that claims to be fair and balanced when they are really just a GOP mouthpiece. MSNBC has more than enough conservative credentials to discredit any claims to the contrary. Remember when they fired Phil Donahue? So the fact that they have a liberal like Keith should dissuade anyone from making the claim that they are biased liberally except for the Conservative morons out there that always feel they are being persecuted even when they control everything. Keith is a lone warrior that rose to the top because there were people out there hungry for someone like him.

So AP, just shut the fuck up. Because we're sick to death of your lousy reporting, which is why we are moving to the internet and the few honest people like Keith.

[Vinca]

13. If Rudy is so taken off his game by Olbermann, how does he expect

to keep us safe from the "terra-ists?" Suck it up Rudy, be a man . . . and taking that dress off couldn't hurt either.:rofl:

[gollygee]

14. There's a mystery as to whom Chris Matthews is going to vote for?

Really? LOL