Why Keith Olbermann is muzzled while Jon Stewart isn't.

[backscatter712]

Nothing is one hundred percent certain, but it's pretty likely that Keith Olbermann was muzzled by his bosses, which is why he didn't talk about Stewart and Cramer today.

Yes, GEM$NBC could fire Keith if he bucked his bosses and talked about Cramer and Stewart - hell, he wouldn't have to do anything particularly controversial - it's not like he'd be uttering ethnic slurs on the air - he'd just be covering a story his bosses wanted to be kept quiet. But would GEM$NBC fire one of their cash cows? Keith probably has the best ratings of any program on MSNBC, and if they canned him, they'd feel the hit right in the pocket book as people like us went elsewhere for their news.

Likely, other consequences were threatened, like the usual threats to withhold access to various Congresscritters and bigwigs. That's probably it right there. In order to do his show, he routinely interviews elected officials, various media personalities and experts, who are also on a leash, and if Keith pisses off too many powerful people, he'll get his access to many of those people cut off. He would lose sources, he would lose scoops and Countdown would suffer. So Keith and his producers have to pick their battles.

Ironically, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have far more freedom than Keith and Rachel do to cover controversial stories that piss off important people. Since they're purportedly comedians, not journalists, they're expected to "throw cream pies" and piss everyone off. Their entire shows are full of satire and insults which are likely to draw the ire of influential people. All the important bigwigs and Congresscritters who would deny Stewart and Colbert access for interviews have already done so, which means they have nothing to lose. They don't get the scoops very often, but they don't need them, as their schtick isn't scoops, but making people laugh. And their shows are Comedy Central's cash cow, so they'd have to do something truly horrible before the executives fire them. Pissing off bigwigs by doing things like calling out CNBC and Cramer, or Colbert's roasting George W. Bush TO HIS FACE in 2006 only makes them more popular.

Stewart and Colbert, by being the 21st century court jesters, can say and do things that nobody else dares to say.

[knowbody0]

1. and tonight we see truth

news reported to us is pre approved by the puppet masters. period. to pretend otherwise is only fantacy. sigh.

[rcrush]

2. Comedy Central loves the publicity

When South Park pissed off Scientology and got Tom Cruise all hopping mad the worse thing they did was promise not to air the scientology episode anymore (But they did anyway). As long as it gets people watching Comedy Central loves it.

[Quantess]

4. You've got to think that CNBC affiliates like it too,

since NBC and MSNBC have drawn attention to it.

[JDPriestly]

3. Whoever silenced Olbermann about the Stewart show has too

much power. These people need to get with the times. Anybody worth talking to would be delighted to talk to Olbermann any time without conditions. I wouldn't want to see an interview of anyone who would refuse to go on Olbermann's show just because he discussed the Stewart/Cramer interview.

Stewart was more than fair with Cramer. After all, he gave Cramer lots of opportunity to defend and explain himself.

Cramer is a Harvard grad with a law degree. He is not stupid. What are Stewart's bona fides? No match, I suspect. Stewart's advantage was that he was telling the truth. Cramer's disadvantage was that he was covering up years of pretense and lies. That's why Cramer lost the debate.

[SoCalDem]

20. Jon's bona fides... (he's no "dummy")

and one look at our recent president should shed some light on the "value" of some Harvard diplomas.
...................................

From wiki:

His mother, Marian, is an educational consultant and teacher, and his father, Donald Leibowitz, is a physics professor at The College of New Jersey

(so Jon grew up in a quite educated household..some had to have rubbed off:)..)
....................................

He graduated from Lawrence High School third in his class

Stewart attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, majoring in psychology and playing on the men's soccer team.

After graduating from William and Mary in 1984, Stewart held numerous jobs, including: contingency planner for the New Jersey Department of Human Services, contract administrator for City University of New York, puppeteer for children with disabilities, construction worker, caterer, busboy, shelf stocker at Woolworth's, assistant soccer coach at a high school, and bartender at a local blue-collar bar, the Franklin Corner Tavern. During part of this time, Stewart roomed with future congressman Anthony Weiner, who, to date, is the only politician to have received campaign donations from the Daily Show host.<19>

...........................................................

[masuki bance]

5. MSNBC Producers Asked Not To Highlight Cramer/Stewart

Friday, Mar 13
MSNBC Producers Asked Not To Highlight Cramer/Stewart

A TVNewser tipster tells us MSNBC producers were asked not to incorporate the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart interview into their shows today. In fact, the only time it came up on MSNBC was during the White House briefing, when a member of the press corps asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs if Pres. Obama watched. Gibbs wasn't sure if the president had, but Gibbs did. "I enjoyed it thoroughly," the Press Secretary said.

JCramer_3.13.bmpOn Cramer's network, CNBC, the subject has only come up twice today, including when master marketer/CNBC personality Donny Deutsch brought it up briefly around 1pm on "Power Lunch." "I'm a huge Jon Stewart fan," said Deutsch, "He does what he does he does his job. But I'm also a huge Jim Cramer fan. He sticks up for the little guy, he cares, he puts his neck out, and I respect that. I respect both those guys."

Cramer appeared on his regular "Stop Trading" segment during "Street Signs." But the Daily Show did not come up. With anchor Erin Burnett in Washington, the discussion was about banking policy and the Federal Reserve, ending with Cramer saying, "Ben Bernanke's got the magic." (A far cry from Cramer's "Wake-Up" call to Bernanke in August '07.)

Insiders tell TVNewser Cramer will talk about Stewart tonight on "Mad Money" (6pmET & 11pmET).

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/nbc/msnbc_producers_asked_not_to_highlight_cramerstewart_111307.asp

Why did KO go along with this?

[backscatter712]

7. He was probably forced to.

Granted, it'd probably be very difficult to fire Keith Olbermann for daring to cover a popular news story, but I imagine that advertisers (big money corporations who have their tentacles in Wall Street) may have made threats to pull ads, and some bigwig may have threatened to withhold access to analysts, Congresscritters, etc. There's probably twenty different ways to twist arms when you're a big-league asshole in the NBC/CNBC/MSNBC organizations.

[tabbycat31]

8. Rachel mentioned it

which surprised me

[backscatter712]

9. She could probably get away with it...

because her program, while it has its following, is mostly progressives like us, who've already seen it, rather than independents and conservatives who could be potentially swayed.

It was also on a Friday evening, so chances are ratings weren't going to be especially high.

I do wonder if she got an ass-chewing from the boss for it though. Her show's popular enough that she could probably take a tongue-lashing and still keep her show though. I'm surprised Keith didn't try it, though I don't doubt he got arm-twisted into staying silent.

[Faryn Balyncd]

6. K & R - Corporate "media" has become the biggest threat to our democracy. Thanks for posting.

[otohara]

10. Maybe KO Is Friends w/ Cramer & Didn't Want

to kick the guy while he's down.

Yes it's true, when you work in the same offices/building with other people 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, you bond with those around you. Even in the world of broadcasting, which is brutal and one of the most backstabbing atmospheres I've ever worked in.

I've also never worked in a business where everyone pats each other on the back daily and congratulate anyone and everyone for doing a "great job" over the smallest of things.

Cramer started this whole thing by sticking up for his network and his co-worker Santelli. He stepped in a big pile of shit, when all he really was trying to do was help out. He no doubt was being celebrated by his co-workers on Monday and all were groaning by Friday.

Cramer fucked up, and we're all the better for it. Hopefully CNBC/Cramer & others in the financial business will take this episode and stop cow-towing to the liars & crooks on Wall St.

I don't understand why you think it is so necessary that KO & others at GE networks continue to kick the guy to the curb even more.

[bullwinkle428]

11. Olbermann didn't say a word about Santelli, either, if I recall, did he?

[Berry Cool]

12. Yes, he did mention Santelli...twice.

It was the first time he ever said ANYTHING negative about a sister network of NBC on his show.

As for his being a personal friend of Cramer, I think that's groundless speculation with no foundation in reality.

Olbermann has said on Daily Kos that there was no pressure placed on MSNBC producers to avoid the Stewart/Cramer story, that the story about "producer pressure" was planted on TVNewser by a FOX person and was entirely false. And that his show's decision not to cover Stewart/Cramer had more to do (this is paraphrasing him) with its lack of newsworthiness in their eyes than anything else.

And I have to say, sadly, that I don't buy what he's saying. At all. It just rings entirely false with me.

ed. for clarity

[backscatter712]

13. No, earlier this week, he was calling him Sick Rantelli...

He was going to town on him earlier after he did his little rant.

My guess is that the bigwigs at CNBC pulled strings yesterday.

[NYCGirl]

14. He calls him Sick Rantelli. How's that? NT

[dd20045]

16. ko

is simply a tool like everyone else....pains me to say it though...

[NYCGirl]

17. I'm sure it pains you. Right.

:eyes:

[elizfeelinggreat]

15. Keith said he was NOT muzzled and he wasn't going to

elevate the druge-wannabe's rumor into more than it was, a lie. If he had to explain his position every time someone attacked him because he didn't do what THEY wanted him to do it would take his entire show every night.

I believe him and watch him all the time.

Edited to add link so you can read for yourself what he said:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/3/13/182441/605/592/708251

[dkf]

18. I bet Olbermann feels as I do...that Jim Cramer is the scapegoat

and that there are a lot more worthy targets that Jon Stewart should have done that too.

If so, Olbermann would know that he is on the other side of his more liberal audience who LOVES that Jon Stewart did this to Cramer.

So he shut up.

Pure conjecture on my part, but I think I've got it right.

[depakid]

19. Cramer's no scapegoat- he's a high profile racketeer

rubbing everyone's noses into it.

That's one indictment I'm definitely looking foward to seeing.