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MSNBC suspended "Countdown" host Keith Olbermann Friday following the news that he donated to three Democratic candidates.
"I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night," said MSNBC president Phil Griffin, in a statement. "Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."
Politico reported Friday that Olbermann gave the maximum individual donation of $2,400 to three candidates in Tuesday's election: Arizona Congressmen Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva, and Jack Conway, the Kentucky Senate hopeful who lost out to Republican Rand Paul. (Grijalya appeared on Olbermann's "Countdown" on October 28, the same day the host donated to his campaign; Conway was last a guest in May).
Olbermann, in a statement to Politico, said that he "did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns nor to any others in this election or any previous ones." Also, Olbermann said he had not "previously donated to any political campaign at any level."
But the revelation raised clear ethical issues.
Olbermann, a liberal commentator, gives his opinions each night on the air. But NBC News editorial staffers -- like journalists are most news organizations -- are forbidden from giving to political candidates. Also, Olbermann anchored election coverage Tuesday night without disclosing that he'd given to candidates who were running for office.
By punishing the network's biggest star, Griffin showed how little tolerance there is for hosts to make political contributions while covering politics.
MSNBC already attracted criticism this week for having its liberal hosts and commentators anchor election night coverage. Typically, nonpartisan journalists anchor major news events—such as election results—with commentators like Bill O'Reilly (Fox News) or James Carville (CNN) offering analysis.
It's ironic that Olbermann gave to political candidates after criticizing Fox News following reports that its owner, Rupert Murdoch, gave $1 million donation to the Republican Governors Association. "Fox News has put its money where its mouth is," Olbermann said in an August segment where questioned the network's impartiality.
In October, Olbermann again raised the issue of Murdoch's donations during an interview with Congressman James Clyburn. He asked if there is "a legislative response to the idea that there is a national cable news outlet that goes beyond having a point of view and actually starts to shill for partisan causes and actually starts to donate to partisan groups of one party."
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