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The Standard of Excellence ("The Media Died" when MSNBC Fired Keith Olbermann)
Washington Monthly ^ | January 10, 2016 | D.R. Tucker

Posted on 01/18/2016 3:42:04 PM PST by presidio9

It was, perhaps, the day the media died.

Next week marks the fifth anniversary of the bitter night-January 21, 2011-when progressive Americans, and indeed Americans of all political persuasions who value honor, truth, respect, intelligence and decency, were shocked to learn that MSNBC had decided to end Countdown with Keith Olbermann, perhaps the single best news program ever to air on cable television in the United States. The abrupt cancellation of Countdown was a victory for the dishonest political forces Olbermann had forcefully condemned during his nearly eight-year run-and a demoralizing defeat for democracy.

Things just haven't been the same since Olbermann left. Yes, Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes are still maintaining the high standards Olbermann set on MSNBC. Yes, independent media entities such as the Young Turks are continuing Olbermann's tradition of great journalism. Yet I still miss Olbermann's soul, his style, his skill. The man embodied excellence.

Think about just how important, just how vital Olbermann was: during a time when so much of the mainstream media knelt in fealty and obedience to the George W. Bush administration, Olbermann had the courage to stand up and declare that the President of the United States and members of his Cabinet were wanton and pathological liars who deceived this country into war, exploited fears of terrorism for political gain and left thousands to perish in post-Katrina New Orleans. Olbermann also boldly stood up to other forces of deceit and division in this country: Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, the Tea Party movement, climate deniers, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, former Senator Scott Brown, Carrie Prejean…and the list goes on.

It could not have been easy. Just imagine how much hate mail, how many threats, how much crap Olbermann had to put up with during those years. It would have broken a lesser man…but it never broke Olbermann. He grew in stature with every attack-and by standing strong in the face of savage right-wing criticism, he became an icon of American journalism.

Joni Mitchell wasn't lying when she sang, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." I think about that line every time I see a clip of an Olbermann "Special Comment." Today, with falsehoods trumping truth every second of the day, we need Olbermann's voice now more than ever. Do the executives at MSNBC realize just how much he is missed?

What Keith Olbermann did for this country was profound. His courage and contributions should never be forgotten. He told the truth, defended what was right in the face of unrelenting political and cultural pressure, stood up for the powerless and voiceless. He did more than just live up to the highest standards of American journalism. He did more than just stand up when so many around him stood down. Keith Olbermann kept our democracy safe'and each one of us owes him our profound thanks.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: clowncarmedia; dnctalkingpoints; douchebags; gq; journolists; keitholbermann; liberalmedia; msnbc; olberdork; partisanmediashills; radicalleft; ratherbiased; washingtonmonthly
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To: presidio9

We, err, I control your vertical, I control your horizontal ... I am bizzaro, the human analogue of non-intelligence.

What is this moron smoking?


21 posted on 01/18/2016 4:00:54 PM PST by SES1066 (Quality, Speed or Economical - Any 2 of 3 except in government - 1 at best but never #3!)
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To: presidio9

Keith Olbermann? Didn’t he used to pretend to be somebody?


22 posted on 01/18/2016 4:05:09 PM PST by Milton Miteybad (I am Jim Thompson. {Really.})
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To: presidio9

“Maddow and Chris Hayes are still maintaining the high standards Olbermann set on MSNBC”

WTF? I want some of whatever drug this guy’s on.


23 posted on 01/18/2016 4:15:46 PM PST by dynachrome (We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.)
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To: presidio9

Satire?


24 posted on 01/18/2016 4:15:46 PM PST by NativeSon ( Grease the floor with Crisco when I dance the Disco)
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To: wideawake
Report: Al-Qaeda was saddened by Keith Olbermann's MSNBC firing
25 posted on 01/18/2016 4:17:38 PM PST by presidio9 (Islam is as Islam does.)
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To: presidio9

The media has been dead for a long time. There has been no standard of excellence for 50 or 60 years. Olbermann was just one of many 2nd and 3rd rate media people.


26 posted on 01/18/2016 4:19:39 PM PST by mulligan (I)
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To: presidio9
Beck on Olberdork ...a classic.
27 posted on 01/18/2016 4:21:07 PM PST by RckyRaCoCo (Political Correctness is a kool-aid drinking suicide cult)
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To: presidio9
perhaps the single best news program ever to air on cable television in the United States

No need to read another word from The Washington Monthly EVER.

28 posted on 01/18/2016 4:23:12 PM PST by The Truth Will Make You Free
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To: presidio9

Wonder what color the skies are in the writer’s world? Delusional at the very least!


29 posted on 01/18/2016 4:31:13 PM PST by Road Warrior ‘04 (Molon Labe! (Oathkeeper))
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To: presidio9

Keith O. was probably the least intelligent person on ESPN. He had no clue about sports so he injected politics. They moved him to news/commentary where he proved he would say anything to promote the liberal agenda. Even the Libs fired him for his pompous BS. Good riddance to trash.


30 posted on 01/18/2016 4:51:55 PM PST by DrDude (Does anyone have a set of balls anymore?)
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To: presidio9

This whole thing reads like a satire piece. Can’t. Be. Real.


31 posted on 01/18/2016 5:48:01 PM PST by Newtoidaho (Sprinkles are for winners.)
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To: presidio9

Our country is doomed.


32 posted on 01/18/2016 5:51:12 PM PST by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the Occupation Media. #2ndAmendmentMatters)
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To: presidio9

The first time I ever saw this imbecile he was raging against GWB. I had never seen such a level of vitriol on TV.


33 posted on 01/18/2016 5:52:30 PM PST by AlaskaErik (I served and protected my country for 31 years. Progressives spent that time trying to destroy it.)
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To: presidio9

He was an unpolished t@#d. LOL!


34 posted on 01/18/2016 6:04:26 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: presidio9

I think his mom wrote this or maybe grandma.


35 posted on 01/18/2016 6:22:03 PM PST by windcliff
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To: presidio9

36 posted on 01/18/2016 10:01:08 PM PST by BuckeyeTexan (There are those that break and bend. I'm the other kind. ~Steve Earle)
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To: Milton Miteybad

I think people needed five minutes of Olbermann a week...just to remind themselves how stupid journalists have become. Maybe one time out of a hundred, Olbermann would stumble across something and actually say something brilliant.


37 posted on 01/19/2016 12:06:12 AM PST by pepsionice
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To: sauropod
DR Tucker is full of bullsqueeze.

And then the bull squoze.

38 posted on 01/19/2016 2:36:43 AM PST by lentulusgracchus ("If America was a house , the Left would root for the termites." - Greg Gutierrez)
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To: mulligan
There has been no standard of excellence for 50 or 60 years. Olbermann was just one of many 2nd and 3rd rate media people.

I can't go back beyond about 1960, but I've read sample pieces by Walter Lippmann from 100 years ago, tossed out in an English class to show us larvae what journalism in Standard English (no, not the Times Stoolbook) looks like.

Other than that, we've had damn few. Howard K. Smith, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, and Edwin Neumann come to mind as first raters, and maybe Sander Vanocur. And Carole Simpson, one of the very early women to break into TV news. I didn't care for her as she seemed to me then hard and bitter, but I process that differently now and recognize a first-rate newswoman.

(By contrast, I liked Jessica Savitch very much, but had to process the fact that she destroyed herself by living in the fast lane.)

39 posted on 01/19/2016 2:52:31 AM PST by lentulusgracchus ("If America was a house , the Left would root for the termites." - Greg Gutierrez)
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To: presidio9

This Tucker guy must be hallucinating.


40 posted on 01/19/2016 8:22:29 PM PST by The_Media_never_lie (The Bush family needs to just go away. The Clinton family needs just to go to prison.)
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