COMCAST, MSNBC's NEW OWNER, GAVE $50,000 TO CANDIDATES Olbermann OPPOSED!!

New member, ProgressiveLiberal, posted this in the huge Olbermann thread and I didn't want it to get lost so I'm re-posting with definite kudos to ProgressiveLiberal!

From:
http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/what-role-did-comcast-play-keith-olbermanns

This needs to be reposted during the early evening, so more people can see this.

It's an outrage!!

they were merely targeting and punishing Keith for fraternizing with the enemy - Democrats.

This was clearly politically motivated, and it's clear Comcast wants to give Keith the boot, and send a message to the likes of Rachel, Ed, and Lawrence.

This what you get when you allow corporations huge tax cuts! They can spend all that extra cash on targeting pols who don't cater to them. This is disgusting.

that he shared openly BEFORE the donation and was up front about the matter....MSNBC is claiming Keith never shared that he was going to donate...Donating is not the problem per MSNBC, it;s the not disclosing that a donation was going to be made that rang their bell and caused the suspension until 2099....

even though you've got to ask yourself, how did they find out?

That said, I believe Keith made this happen/leaked out this info to prove a point.

Jon Stewart, if you can recall, compared Keith and Rachel to O'Reilly and Hannity, and MSNBC to Faux. He really took offense to that.

Now, at least, and as Rachel pointed out last night in her show, you can see the huge difference between the two networks.

Fox allows, not only donating to Republican candidates, but they're allowed to let them fundraise right there on air AND advertise rallies and such in favor of their chosen Republican candidates.

she's still an employee there and she'll say what she must to say to appease her bosses.



http://thinkprogress.org/2010/11/05/burke-comcast-msnbc/

Because I already hate the miserable sumbitches.

It is the greediest most customer unfriendly company in America. And that includes Halliburton and BP.

Their service sucks and their politics sucks.

Glad I no longer have to deal with them.

:hi:

:P :toast:

:hi:

and gave nothing to their opponents. The story in the OP is a pile of crap.

Keith stands out as a voice of reason and sanity (you know, like every good progressive should be)...and Comcast fired him for it.

I hope Keith sues...this was so obviously politically-motivated it stinks.

Apart from the fact that the Comcast/NBCU deal is still being reviewed and has not been consummated, and the fact that Philip Anschutz is not a major shareholder of Comcast or a person with any influence over Comcast, or the fact that Comcast's current Chairman (Brian Roberts) and its past Chairman (Ralph Roberts) have given thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates, there is the fact that Comcast's PAC (which overall favored Democrats over repubs by a 55/45 margin) gave $2500 to Grijalva and nothing to his opponent, $2000 to Giffords, and nothing to her opponent. The PAC didn't give anything to Conway, but it also didn't give anything to Paul.

All of the above facts are a matter of public record. The fact that the original story misstates so many facts ought to give anyone saluting this article pause and wonder why they are being used this way.

:kick:

There's a tonnage of ethics issues just in that OP excerpt, while on the other hand KO was yanked off the air not even for ethics but for a trivial company policy technicality - which wasn't even imposed on everybody else.

Ethics? That bunch wouldn't know ethics if it fell out of the sky on top of them. Yet they're the guardians of some "standard" they're enforcing or upholding here?

Bullshit. The emperor isn't wearing any clothes. We didn't fall off a turnip truck yesterday.

This is pure, writ-large, ugly CENSORHIP, and of a major national news figure.

I'll be canceling my cable subscription soon so when they ask me why I'm canceling I can site the firing of K.O. (not really the reason but they don't have to know that).

Here's a story on the merger, Comcast puts in money & gets 51% (control).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34247302/ns/business-media_biz/

Did KO donate in the past to Democratic candidates while he was at MSNBC, and they turned a blind eye? Is this the most convenient time for MSNBCs owners to get rid of him?

Is this monopoly cable company someone we shoudl be permitting to now

be another monopoly corporate owner of NBC????

Corporations....and I in particularly detest fuking right-wing media companies. Do you think Robin Hood could steal the riches from this family and share with the needy?

:kick:

That was the first thing out of my mouth!
I knew it had to be something like that!

The question is - what's the fix? What's the REAL FIX? There needs to be an outlet - a bullhorn, if you will - for OUR SIDE!

Comcast is not going to change their ways. Their not going to all of a sudden have a change of heart. I'm beginning to think Sharon Angle is onto something - the something about 2nd amendment solutions. :nuke:

http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-washington-dc/msnbc-s-owners-give-millions-political-contributions

I posted it on Facebook.

snip:

WASHINGTON - After Politico's reporting that MSNBC host Keith Olbermann recently donated $7,200 to Democratic candidates, in violation of NBC's company rules that restrict employees from making political contributions, MSNBC president Phil Griffin suspended Olbermann indefinitely without pay. However, as reported by media watchdog, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), it appears that MSNBC's parent company, General Electric (GE) along with potential new owner Comcast, both violated the company's "news policy and standards" by each donating millions of dollars in campaign contributions.

In a statement, FAIR pointed to Center for Responsive Politics data, showing that GE made over $2 million in political contributions during the 2010 election cycle alone. In addition, GE spent over $30 million on lobbyists during the same election cycle and gave over $400,000 to Democratic and Republican governors since last year.

When comparing Olbermann's donations to other NBC employee violations that went unpunished, there is a major contradiction in policy enforcement. In 2004, it was revealed that NBC chief executive Robert Wright donated thousands in campaign contributions. Later, in 2007, it was uncovered that fellow MSNBC host Joe Scarborough made a $4,200 donation to a Republican candidate. However, both Wright and Scarborough actions resulted in no suspensions or firings.

~~

More at the link.

We rightly lambaste the right wing for spreading lies and then we accept as true stories on the Internet that can't stand up to a moment's fact checking


First, Comcast's purchase of NBCU (which owns MSNBC) has not been completed. Its still being reviewed by DOJ and FCC.

Second, Anschutz is not a major shareholder of Comcast. He is not an officer or a director and doesn't hold any other position of influence over the company. I'm not sure what sort of "content partner" he is supposed to be since there is no evidence that he's directly involved in any joint ventures with Comcast.


Third, the current Chairman of Comcast is Brian Roberts, who succeeded his father, Ralph Roberts, in the position. Ralph Roberts, Brian Roberts,and other members of the Roberts family donated over $105,000 to political candidates and/or PACs in the 2009-10 cycle -- not a single cent was directly contributed to repubs. Among the Democrats receiving Roberts' family contributions: Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Michael Bennet, Richard Blumenthal, Daniel Inouye, and Sander Levin. Comcast's PAC donated to Democrats over repubs in 2010 by a 55/45 margin.

Check opensecrets.org if you don't believe me.


It would help if folks making these sorts of arguments actually had their facts straight.

your efforts at truth-telling. I count on things on DU being accurate.

And I'm not saying Comcast is a bastion of progressivism or that all of its executives are supporters of the Democratic party. Like most companies, its PAC ends up giving to candidates on both sides of the aisle because that is the way the game is played. And while I'm not a Comcast subscriber (they don't serve my community), I know a lot of folks in nearby areas that have Comcast and its pretty clear that Comcast could do a better job of customer service. But when you dig into the facts, its clear that the claims in the OP are nonsense. Indeed, the Comcast PAC gave money to both Giffords and Grijalva and didn't give any money to their repub opponents.

See posts 34 and 35

to visit my Mom in the hospital...but whenever I see the name Comcast I just see red because I hate them that much

It was an emotional reaction on my part

I get that part, but I don't like it when companies whose top executives include major Democratic party donors get labelled as repub. Thanks for your response!