The reason Keith Olbermann was suspended from his job as host of MSNBC’s Countdown is because he violated an MSNBC rule by donating money to three Democratic political candidates in the election just passed. The reason MSNBC has this rule is because MSNBC is a news organization. Numerous on-air Fox hosts have not just made political donations, but have actively fundraised — on the air, on their shows — for Republican political candidates, in the election just passed. The reason that Fox News has not suspended them for doing this, as MSNBC did Olbermann, is because Fox News does not have a rule barring its on-air hosts from fundraising for political candidates or donating their own money to the campaigns of political candidates.
The reason that Fox News does not have such a rule — despite the fact their official name is Fox News — is that they are, in fact, NOT a news organization. MSNBC is a news organization, and that is why they do have a rule saying that on-air news hosts cannot contribute money to political candidates.
As usual, Rachel Maddow both grasps and expresses the central point with passion and brilliance. Watch it.
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