Olbermann vs. Dobbs…

Bill who?

Deal or No Deal?

And the posturing continues. Today Salon’s Glenn Greenwald writes about Olbermann’s on air statements regarding “the deal” and has a statement from Olbermann himself…

As for the piece I wrote on Saturday, my basis was, quite obviously, Stelter’s NYT article. But my basis for the added facts about the GE/Fox deal which I wrote in yesterday’s piece were statements made in not-for-attribution emails from a person who has first-hand knowledge of GE’s newsroom edict. Today, after I told Olbermann that his on-air denial last night had made it appear that what I wrote was untrue, when we both knew it was entirely accurate, Olbermann issued the following on-the-record statement to me about this matter (emphasis added):

I honor Mr. Greenwald’s insight into the coverage of GE/NewsCorp talks, and have found nothing materially factually inaccurate about it. Fox and NewsCorp have continued a strategy of threat and blackmail by Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and Bill O’Reilly since at least 2004. But no matter what might have been reported by others besides Mr. Greenwald, and no matter what might have been thought around this industry, there’s no “deal.” I would never consent, and, fortunately, MSNBC and NBC News would never ask me to.

I certainly believe that Olbermann is telling the truth when he says he was never a party to any deal and that nobody at GE or MSNBC asked him to consent. That’s because GE executives didn’t care in the least if Olbermann consented and didn’t need his consent. They weren’t requesting that Olbermann agree to anything, and nobody — including the NYT’s Stelter — ever claimed that Olbermann had agreed to any deal. What actually happened is exactly what I wrote: GE executives issued an order that Olbermann must refrain from criticizing O’Reilly, and Olbermann complied with that edict. That is why he stopped mentioning O’Reilly as of June 1.

So what are we to make of all this? There’s a deal, except there isn’t? Olbermann isn’t a party to it, except he is? I don’t think Olbermann went willingly. But he went.

Press Releases: 08/04/09 Part 2

MSNBC (1)

Msnbc.com wins prestigious award

National Press Club Awards site with 2009 online journalism award for The Elkhart Project

The President of the United States will answer msnbc.com readers’ questions in Elkhart tomorrow

REDMOND, Wash. – August 4, 2009 – Msnbc.com captured the National Press Club’s Online Journalism Award recognizing its original web-based journalism for “The Elkhart Project” (http://elkhartproject.msnbc.com). The Elkhart Project won the National Press Club’s (NPC) Joan M. Friedenberg Online Journalism Award for its dramatic multimedia presentation of how one community hard-hit by the recession is struggling to survive and preserve its community spirit. Msnbc.com launched The Elkhart Project in April 2009 as a special editorial initiative to tell the story of the nation’s economic crisis through the eyes of the residents of Elkhart, Ind. The Washington-based National Press Club (NPC), the world’s most renowned press club, presented the 2009 awards Monday evening after evaluating 139 entries in 18 categories.

Press Releases: 08/04/09

CNN (1)

CNN Reaches More People Across More Platforms for Second 100 Days

CNN.com to poll the country by web, phone, text messaging and Facebook

Anchors Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown and Soledad O’Brien will lead CNN’s second prime-time special focused on analyzing President Barack Obama’s presidency and airing report cards from CNN contributors and the general public. The CNN National Report Card: Second 100 Days airs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday, August 6. The network will give viewers the opportunity to grade how President Obama, Congress and other elected officials have handled the second 100 days in office and how the country is progressing on significant issues.

Willie Geist Interview…

The Village Voice’s Brian Parks interviews MSNBC’s Willie Geist…

We’re pleased to see that our Morning Joe favorite Willie Geist has finally been given his own TV show. Way Too Early With Willie Geist now leads off MSNBC’s morning schedule, airing (if one “airs” on cable) at 5:30 a.m. (That’s 2:30 a.m. Pacific time, where the show is no doubt known as Way Too Late With Willie Geist.) Among other highlights, Brian Williams, Maureen Dowd, and Donald Trump have all phoned in from their beds to chat with Willie. Rod Blagojevich is scheduled to call on Monday, perhaps from a bed in a country with which we share no extradition treaty.

On the occasion of his new show, we sent Willie some questions about our local baseball teams. His replies demonstrate yet again Willie’s well-deserved reputation as the Ring Lardner of morning cable news programming.

Free for All: 08/04/09

What’s on your mind?