In this one Paragraph from his Blog...does Olberman admit bias?

[KoKo]

I thought this deserved a thread because I've read about what Bev did in Palm Beach to that witch LePore who has a long history of dirty dealing and suspicious,(for us Dems), affiliations in her life before supervising voting in Palm Beach County. And, since I'm TV free since the "selection II" I don't watch Olberman but rely on DU and his blog for updates.

My read from his Blog tonight is that he had a "built in bias" against Bev from the beginning no matter what else he says in his blog to justify his reasoning about Bev and make her sound "difficult" this one paragraph seemed to me to show he was already biased against her.

Whatever problems Bev has had with some other DU'ers (justified or not) and in her dealings with the "press" she didn't deserve this.. They had already decided Bev wasn't mainstream on November the 8th. From KO's own blog:

-SNIP-
It has been pointed out that Bev Harris was scheduled to be on Countdown back on November 8 but her appearance was cancelled. I haven’t addressed this before, either. But we didn’t cancel on her - we wanted, on that first night raising this touchy subject nobody else had previously covered, to have more mainstream guests. And we wanted her back another night. And since then we’ve wanted her to come back with her video. And she hasn’t.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6210240

[Patsy Stone]

1. No.

just breaking it in easy...

[goclark]

2. Keith needs more MSM support and they

are ROVing him out.

He doesn't want to be out there all alone and he has been brave.

[knowbody0]

10. also as a journalist,

his job is to report what he sees. cannot always be on OUR side.

[KoKo]

32. Is Keith a journalist? What is a journalist these days. He was a sports

announcer, but that's entertainment. I love him and he's really quick and he does select what goes on his show that catches his eye (according to him) but he doesn't go after any story on his own. So, what obligation does he really have to what we "think" are journalism standards.

I wonder if he thinks his show is journalism or something else?

It's a question I wonder if even the Media itself knows the answer to today..:shrug:

[JohnnyCougar]

3. Bev is rapidly losing credibility in my eyes

especially after she threatened to sue DU. I don't care what the circumstances were, threatening to sue people that are only helping her cause was an idiotic and selfish move. And if she can't take the heat, get out of the oven.

[intheflow]

6. Bev threatened to sue us? n/t

[texpatriot2004]

7. I agree, she is losing credibility and I didn't even know about the

DU threat to sue. What the heck was that all about?

[Verve]

8. Sue? Why? When?

:wtf:

[New Earth]

11. yeah, when, and what for?

[JohnnyCougar]

12. If I could search the archives, I'd have a link.

Maybe someone else has the thread bookmarked.

[crispini]

17. It's in the archives by now, so we can't search it at this time.

It was in the Voting Issues forum. Some of the threads were titled BBV Cleanup Crew and she got pissy about the title, because of her trademark. She pretty abruptly demanded that they change the title of the thread and said something like, "I have already consulted my lawyer like this." She also said that she had doubts about Elorial's "motives" in using that title for the thread.

It really wasn't the right way to handle it, IMO.

[SueZhope]

15. her trade mark

people were using her trade mark name and she
got very upset and did threaten to sue on the message baord....
maybe its in the archives..the people were trying to help the cause
I remember..they meant no harm

[KoKo]

22. I know about that. It seemed that she was trying to distance herself from

DU by being very harsh in threatening to sue Skinner. I was as upset as many folks reading it. I sat back and thought about it in a different light, though. I think she distanced herself from us to be more "mainstream" and to position herself as "non-partisan." To be affliated with DU (even though DU'ers were the ones who got her started with research and publishing her BBVoting Book) she decided on her own that being affiliated with the Democratic Party and DU would not get the message out. She's very clever. But, not a saint.

She is just like Olberman or really MSNBC in that she cut us loose to be more mainstream and yet MSNBC didn't think she was "mainstream" enough for them.

At least I tried to give her the benefit of doubt and see her reasoning for her harsh statement. I think she could have worded what she said much better than she did. And, it has made me be cautious about her because what she did was hurtful to all those who spent time for free working for her.

These are hard times and one has to fight dirty now that the Media and our own Government and Party have marginalized us. I don't like to fight dirty, but we better get used to it because they will grind us under their boots if we don't. :shrug:

[JohnnyCougar]

27. If she was "distancing" herself from DU to become more "mainstream"

then how do you describe her recent actions concerning LePore? If anything made her look like a kook, it was that.

No, Harris is out for fame and money. She is unwilling to work with others, and hasn't produced any proof of anything yet. If she had, the FBI would be on it right now.

[crispini]

4. No.

He means what he says. They wanted someone more mainstream, maybe little more middle of the road, who would ease into it.

that's their choice.

[w13rd0]

5. No, don't think so...

...he's saying on the first night of coverage, they wanted to have more mainstream guests. Bev is convinced fraud occurred, as are many of us here, but that isn't a "mainstream" position. It can be, but it'll take more than one night to convince enough citizens that Bush has effectively killed democracy in this nation.

[texpatriot2004]

9. No, I don't get any bias from that n/t

[Straight Shooter]

13. Raising a touchy subject by introducing mainstream guests

It certainly would raise the level of credibility in the average viewer's eyes. I have no problem with that.

Now it is up to Bev to address the challenge he has raised: And we wanted her back another night. And since then we’ve wanted her to come back with her video. And she hasn’t.

Bev, if you're out there, why haven't you come back with your video to be on Keith's show? Have you responded to the gentleman?

I'm a little perplexed, myself.

[KoKo]

14. He says she was "scheduled and then cancelled." Who made the

decision to cancel her? Who decided she wasn't mainstream enough. If he hadn't invited her in the first place I would give him a break on this because he's gone out of his way to help us...but to say she was scheduled and then cancelled admits that someone said "she's not mainstream." And, what would they base that on? They have all kinds of people on the cable news extreme or out of the mainstream, but Bev is not "mainstream?" What about Ann Coulter and the other crazies who shill for Bush...are they more mainstream than Bev?

[cyn2]

16. I don't think so

I just read his entire post and I agree with his assessment. If you remember back to his first night's coverage of this topic he featured two mainstream journalists (Jon. Alter? and someone else) who said that this was worth pursuing.

I think that was a smarter way to go than having Bev on the first night. For the audience who doesn't read DU and the other blogs, it would lend an air of credibility.

So the bias he reveals is toward credibility with a main stream audience.

I respect the way that KO is doing this. I'm thankful that he's doing this. So, I'll stay tuned.

[KoKo]

20. I understand and respect your view of this..BUT MSNBC is cutting off

another Democratic Activist attempt to get a message out. We wouldn't have to "pull stunts" (if that's what many feel she did) if we got even the slightest coverage that didn't call us "tinfoilers" and "crazies armed with spread sheets."

It's the hypocracy that makes me angry. I too admire Olberman for what he's tried to do. But his ally at NBC just lost his son in a plane crash and is in the hospital. We have to look beyond Keith and think about MSNBC...they are GE/Universal...they don't want to rock any boats here.

[crispini]

25. Keith has been covering this every night this week!

How is he cutting off the black box voting issue? He's not. He doesn't have a good feeling about BEV HARRIS.

And, honestly, I don't either.

[KoKo]

34. kick....

[Old and In the Way]

18. You probably wouldn't have liked his comments about Bev tonight.

He said something to the effect that, "If you think fraud is a wacko conspiracy theory, the following isn't going to change your mind." He then reported on Bev's unplanned visit to LePore's meeting....he showed Bev (I think it was her) talking without sound. Sounded like she crashed the Party....I don't think he was aware that it was scheduled as an official meeting on the voting results because he made it sound like she barged in and people thought that it was a joke at first, but booed her as she left the podium.

[crispini]

23. She DID crash the party.

It was not an official meeting about voting results. She was not invited, and she came in through the kitchen. She told us that herself when she posted about it.

[KoKo]

24. Geraldo Rivera made a career out of stuff like that....He's still employed

and had a very sucessful show on MSNBC at one time when he was defending Clinton. He's now a Fox Whore....but in those days he was a hero to many of us.

[Old and In the Way]

26. I just read another thread where it was originally scheduled as

official business, but was turned into a going away party at the last minute? Sounds like a PR opportunity turned into a PR nightmare for a PR specialist.

[ebayfool]

29. 'he made it sound like she barged in' ... she did, through the kitchen.

It's on her website. http://www.blackboxvoting.org/ Looks to me like he has been holding back on saying anything up till now, & I see nothing bad @ his blog. Fair & just asking the questions that should be asked. He has a point @ the shelflife value of her film (if it's to be used to help in the fight to bring voting questions into the MSM light & not just for personal use in a documentary). It would be of immense value if spotlighted on network tv, isn't that what we've been trying to get - major coverage? So why not bring it to the show? He's raising valid points, & in a way that shows some sensitivity to the bloggers that have been asking him for help these last 4 weeks. Bev needs to address this, if only to show she's working to the same ends as the good people here that have backed her financially & emotionally.
imho

[txindy]

19. No, no bias, just an honest statement about how to intro. voting problems

The show needed "more mainstream guests," as in, guests with faces familiar to the audience. Guests with credibility from past appearances on 'Countdown' or other shows. They wanted to introduce the story of voting 'irregularities' in an informative way without the audience saying, "Who IS that person and why is she talking about fraud and Florida and black boxes and...." An unfamiliar face would've taken away from the message that first night.

That was my take on it, anyway. I thought Keith's blog was excellent, by the way. He has a sense of urgency about the subject along with a strong determination that I can relate to very easily. I'd feel the same way in his position. Heck, I feel that way, now! LOL!

[Timebound]

21. I agree. I don't think it was biased.

He was trying to be nice about it, cause he knows a lot of DUers out there love Bev.

He was just stating the facts objectively.

[merh]

28. I agree with how you are reading his statement.

However, I just can't help wondering if the plane crash that injured his mentor has caused him to tread lightly and to be "more objective" when reporting the election fraud stories.

Afterall, his mentor protected him at MSNBC and now he may be out of the picture for a while recuperating from his injuries and the death of his son. Who knows what type of chill the crash has caused KO.

I do read the "bias", but I also notice how his tone has tempered from possible fraud to skeptical story telling.

:shrug:

[KoKo]

30. Yes...see my Reply #16 here on this thread... I hope not, but I fear

losing his "protector" at CBS for awhile due to this tragedy might be bad for getting any more voting fraud messages out. I hope I'm wrong about that, though. But, every time I've trusted the media in the last four years I've been shot down...eventually they all turn. Lou Dobbs was great for awhile, Tweety had a small turn..they've all eventually left us out here by ourselves.

[merh]

31. If they would realize that their jobs as journalists is to report

the facts and not be "pretty talking heads" we all we be so much better off.

I had a dream the other night that the fraud issue was investigated and members of BFEE were brought down and the media heads running some of those shows that purport to be equitable were taken down with them. We were freed from the BFEE and the media was freed from the corporate grip that is stifling the truth. That would be so sweet!

[yourout]

33. Short of legal reasons Bev should get on Countdown....

with the video. Unless the video is evidence in criminal case she most definatly should let KO see it if he is willing. As far as the suprise she sprang on LaWhore the jury is still out. Did make me laugh picturing it though.