Olbermann’s Ouster: ‘In the Barracuda Tank, No One Reads a Memo’

[highplainsdem]

http://ctwatchdog.com/2011/01/24/olbermanns-ouster-in-the-barracuda-tank-no-one-writes-a-memo

What really caused Keith Olbermann’s stunning announcement Friday evening that the show would be his last on MSNBC? Most of the first stories quoted unnamed sources, who said the forced departure was for confidential reasons and had nothing to do with approval by federal regulators last week of Comcast’s acquisition of a majority stake in NBC Universal, which controls MSNBC. That’s not good enough for something this important.

-snip (snipping out paragraphs to focus on comments on the Olbermann ouster by John Kelly, a former writer and editor at NBC News)-

Like others, Kelly says, “We haven’t seen real investigative reporting by the networks on any sustained basis in decades.” He ascribes Olbermann’s departure to a long-simmering plan by network authorities to curry favor with the commentator’s powerful opponents in and out of the government. “Olbermann was the most controversial, outspoken on-air personality,” Kelly says. “In the barracuda tank, no one needs to read a memo to know what to do.”

Savvy executives create deniability for such decisions in the confusion before a transaction is complete. The main mystery is how much of the dismissal was to please NBC Universal’s current owner, General Electric, the nation’s top defense contractor. Paying off Olbermann’s contract and losing profits from the show would be small change for a defense contractor to please those in power whom Olbermann antagonized.

By the same token, Comcast must have acquiesced at the minimum, or otherwise they would have complained about damage to their new network. Comcast’s motive? To curry favor in Washington, both with a recently revived Republican Party and an Obama administration that wouldn’t like more sharp-tongued lectures from Olbermann as it pursues an agenda that appears to many Democrats to be pro-war, pro-Wall Street.

-snip-

[warrior1]

1. Rachel

said last night the her content was not going to change. Until Keith speaks about this we are left with guessing.

[ananda]

2. This is just stating the obvious, which we all already know.

nt

[highplainsdem]

4. This quotes a former NBC News writer and editor contradicting all the unnamed sources at

NBC quoted in stories claiming Keith's ouster was all about office politics.

So it seemed worth posting here.

[Supersedeas]

3. pleasing those in power in a quid pro quo political hit job....really?

[roguevalley]

5. really. if comcast wanted to protect an investment and its biggest

income stream from a bad decision they would have. They didn't. case solved.

[glinda]

6. I can believe this added to it.

[Leopolds Ghost]

7. How can a CABLE provider own a BROADCAST network?

And more importantly, why is Obama lobbying to make broadcast, radio and print journalism OBSOLETE?

And make Cable TV the owner of both the airwaves (eliminate broadcast programming altogether as NBC
has been doing to prepare for sale to Comcast, under Jeff Zucker -- the guy who fired Conan and
eliminated ALL of NBC's actor's-equity scripted-drama programming)

selling off the digital broadcast spectrum to
broadband cell-phone users) and the Internet?

His FCC chairman says (just touched on it in SOTU speech) he wants all Americans to receive their news
and Internet from the same UNIVERSAL SET-TOP BOX.

I.e. universal Cable TV-Internet on one machine (with an eventual utility mandate, like electricity
in your home).

Meanwhile Microsoft has renewed its "Trusted Computing" technology push at a recent security conference
to remake the Internet as a keychain operation from beginning to end. Every computer would have to have
a digital keychain containing info on what software was on your computer, whether it had the "required"
MSN software, before you could connect to the Internet, much less use it.