Check in if you *don't* watch Olbermann (if you dare) [View All]

[BurtWorm]

:hi:

This would explain why I'm not particularly upset about this news, and why I view the emotions it provokes here with some sense of alienation. Not that I think Olbermann should be suspended for contributing to campaigns. If that's a rule at MSNBC, I think it should change. I'm opposed to the idea that journalists should preserve the illusion of ideological neutrality. i agree with Jay Rosen of Press think (http://pressthink.org/) that the illusion of bias-free journalism is more of a lie and therefore more harmful than the fact of bias in journalism.

But I have to add that from my perhaps ignorant perspective, this issue is very low on the totem pole of issues worth getting worked up over. I don't view this as a first Amendment issue. I view it as a philosophy of journalism issue. And perhaps to really underscore my difference on this issue, I've never found Olbermann to be a particularly good journalist or even entertainer, which is why I don't watch him. But then I do admire Rachel Maddow's work and I don't watch her all that much either. I just don't think there's anything you can learn from MSNBC that you can't learn from the Internet--from right here on DU, as a matter of fact--and you don't have to put up with commercials or Chris Matthews to get it.