MSNBC Vs. Fox News/White House

The feud between GE/NBC/MSNBC and the White House/Fox News has intensified. Below, five links that encapsulate Tuesday's developments in the MSNBC vs. Fox News/the White House saga:

• White House's Gillespie Takes NBC News Complaint To Fox (click to watch video):

  Appearing before Fox's Megyn Kelly, who seemed to have a palpably difficult time wrangling her own sense of skepticism, Gillespie complained of how MSNBC dared edit their interview, and how they were forcing viewers to use "streaming video" to see the unexpurgated session between Bush and Engel. He said that NBC News cut the interview "very artfully" - you know, like a White House sponsored Video News Release? - and that the news organization engaged in "deceptive" "masking" - like, say, the White House/Pentagon "message force multiplier" program did!

  
  

• NBC News President Steve Capus Responds To Ed Gillespie's Charges:

  Mr. Gillespie,

  
  I'm in receipt of your email and want to assure you we take this matter very seriously.

  
  We appreciated President Bush's decision to do the interview with NBC News, and believe Mr. Engel's reporting accurately reflects the discussion with the President.

  
  Let me assure you, there was no effort to be "deceptive," as you suggest. Furthermore, the notion this was, "deceitful editing to further a media-manufactured storyline," is a gross misrepresentation of the facts.

  
  

• Olbermann Responds To White House NBC Complaints: The President Doesn't Know What He's Talking About (click to watch video):

  Olbermann aired the full excerpt and blasted the White House saying, "The White House apparently [doesn't realize] that in full, it is clear the President never actually answered Richard Engel's first question and clear that the President either does not know what he talked about or what he is now talking about."

  
  

• Steve Doocy Blasts Keith Olbermann: "A Guy Who Picks On People's Children" (click to watch video):

  "I have a problem with Keith Olbermann," Steve Doocy said. "Keith Olbermann made my son the world's worst person. How can you make a kid the world's worst person?" Doocy asked. "Next time you see Keith Olbermann on TV, just remember: that is a guy who picks on people's children. He completely sandbagged my son, took his comments out of context, and mangled them around the way he does every night. And I am mad at Keith Olbermann."

  
  

• Is MSNBC A Political Liability To NBC?:

  Monday's letter from the White House aide Ed Gillespie to the NBC News president Steve Capus was a high-profile complaint about NBC News and MSNBC -- ­ but it was far from the first.

  
  Critics are increasingly citing MSNBC for what they say is left-leaning partisan political coverage and commentary. More and more, NBC shares staff, office space and an identity with MSNBC, exposing the news division to complaints about opinionated cable hosts like Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews.

  
  Mr. Gillespie's letter -- although focusing on an interview conducted by an NBC correspondent on Sunday -- purposefully tied the news on NBC and the opinion on MSNBC together. The letter requested reassurance that Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews, who are vocal critics of the Bush administration, "don't hold editorial sway over the NBC network news division."

  
  

Comments

[nyckingpin]

I watch Keith almost every night, I'm a big fan, but I DO get the impression from him that he has somewhat of a favorable bias towards Obama. However, I won't go as far as to say he or MSNBC at large is "in the tank for Obama". Are they a little left leaning? Yes. So what? They're closer to the journalistic center than Fixed News can ever dream of being.

[Susani]

Oh my God, what are you drinking? The Koolaid again? Anyone who agrees with KO must have the hateful mentality that he has. He is a pompass ass, and a liar. And those that agree with him don't know their facts.
And if you don't think that MSNBC is not in the "tank for Obama", you don't know good journalism, which is very rare anymore.
If Fox is "fixed news" then MSNBC is "fake news"

[Grulg]

Keith Obamamann is SEVERELY in the tank for Lord Prince Obama. Das News is SEVERELY in the tank for the GOP. Deal with it.

[JamesEB]

Sorry, Douchey, but a 20 year-old is not a child, buy any standard. If you're going to put your son out there to ask idiotic questions and generally behave like the typical FNC apparatchik, then he's fair game. Douchey, Sr.'s outburst was truly embarrassing.

[fignozzle]

if his son is old enough to kill iraqis for bush, well then......­.....

[tlcutter]

You people are all a joke. You actually enjoy watching adults bicker like 4 year olds. And you morons pick sides defending one from the other.Chil­dren it is time to grow up.
When was the last time you learned anything useful watching any of these guys. GROWUP. LOL

[Johnbo]

Oops, that comment was directed to MutualDistain.

[IslandGyal]

Keith Olbermann has the neo-cons for lunch; I LOVE it!

[Kari422]

I guess the White House forgot. This is America and one of our rights is freedom of speech. I know Bush thinks he is a dictator. This country is founded on the principle of the rights of the people. To all like minded liberals "Power to the people"! 2009 a change is coming. Big hugs.

[IslandGyal]

Steve Douchie put his son up to discredit the Dems, what he got from his attempt in the BIG boy world of politics and the media, he should take, without daddy coming to his rescue.

[toby25]

Keith Olbermann is a complete hack and irritating as hell. Him and his "special comments" what a tool.

[ProfEvil]

The truth must really hurt.

[NHGranite]

Can't stop watching, though, can ya?

[frappe]

Keith's "Special Comments" are special. Yes, indeed. :))

[Johnbo]

I eagerly await your detailed critique of his comments on the fabricated outrage created by the White House over the editing of Bush's remarks. Please tell us how NBC was biased.

Thanks in advance for your prompt reply.

(chirp . . . chirp . . . chirp)

[ENK727]

I think he's hysterical. I actually enjoy watching the news again. I love when he does the various voices for O'reilly, Beck and a few others.

[wellinformed08]

So all I got from this is that it's ok for the White House and the Right Wing to have their opinions and truth twisters and spin scientists sponsored by FOX and led by Sean Hannity (who is one of the only people alive still talking about Rev. Wright because he can't find anything on Obama), Joe Scarbrough and Bill "talk dirty to me" O'Reilly (who has no idea what he is talking about so he SHOUTS all the time) but Keith Olberman (who I fell in live with after he called Hillary Clinton out and vowed to reproduce with after he told Bush to SHUT THE HELL UP) and Chris Matthews (who doesn't hold back on the left or right wings) need to be kept under control. Are you kidding me? I try very hard to listen to both sides and I flip between MSNBC and FOX every night between 6pm and 11pm. It's just getting so hard to listen to ANYONE (except Colmes) on FOX now because they give me such headaches. They will interview people and then completely flip their words in front of them and NOT let them clarify. I always wonder if they got college degrees in journalism or psychology.

[Chris]

Wellinformed

Joe Scarbourough is not a host on Fox. He actually has had two shows on MSNBC

[continental]

Keith Olberman for president!!!! He tells truth to power, and if there's one thing the right wingers just can't handle, it's the truth.

[era996]

Keith Olberman wouldn't know the truth if it hits im between his eyes
Must be all that botox
Guess has paralized his only brain cell
And I thought Hannity was bad

[Economike]

You must be looking for the entertainment section.

[janeb]

Keith not only knows the truth, he tells it to the liars! Right to their lying faces! I am so proud of him and of MSNBC for letting him. I was boycotting all MSNBC shows except for Keith O and Dan Abrams because I can't stand Joe Scarborough and Pat Buchanan, but if FOX is against them then I am for them. I am back on the MSNBC bandwagon. GO MSNBC and Keith Olbermann!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!

[NHGranite]

That's all you got? Botox?? HAhahahaha

[Johnbo]

The attack on NBC is a manufactured "outrage" designed to change the subject from the "appeasement" speech while at the same time focusing the right-wing attack machine, once again, on the MSM - in this case, NBC. Notice how Gillespie conflats NBC with MSNBC in the attempt to smear Mathews and Olbermann with the "biased" charge.

The Bushies are taking a beating on the "appeasement" speech (see responses by former Sec. of State James Baker, Sec. of Defense Robert Gates, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, not to mention Obama and the Democrats). Bush created a PR disaster when he used a public forum in a foreign country to take a cheap shot at a domestic political foe and now the loyal toadies like Gillespie and their syncophants at Fox are helping change the subject and make the media the issue. This is red meat to the base and helps drive the useful idiots into the arms of the right-wing rant machine like Faux News and their tools on talk radio.

Their problem with Richard Engel interview is that, when Engel summarized the part of Bush's speech to the Knesset about "appeasement", Bush's first response is to disagree with Engel's summation and that was edited out. The problem for the toadies is that Bush's long, unedited answer does nothing to correct Engel's summation. He just mentions other subjects that were covered in his speech and never offers a rebuttal of Engel's summation.

[RonNYC]

sorry you are so mentally impaired.

[LynndaMaree]

Keith, keep on doing what you're doing. Calling it like you see it. Fox shouldn't even have the word News behind it. I have know idea where they got those bunch of morons from anyway. The females all bleach blondes with their dresses and skirts so short you can practically see their Poo-Nannies. Greta is about the only one on that station with some sense. Bill-O is just a big bag of wind bully. He can dish it, but he can't take it.

[rcozad]

In Tucson Arizona the latest radio ratings just came out and every , EVERY, right wing talk show has dramatically reduced audiences. The most conservative of the bunch that has Limbaugh, Dr. Laura et el had the most dramatic declines particularly in the 24-54 age groups. They were required to take Michael Savage off the air because of poor ratings as well as listener disgust. What does this all mean? People are becoming very weary of the constant yelling and ad hominum attacks parading as news or honest opinion. I see more disclosures like the outing that took place on Hardball fully disclosing that these "pundits" take the marching orders from the RNC and ape them without ever even looking up the references in an Encyclopedia. Hopefully discussions this election may revolve around the economy, military strategy, decent access to health care, and fair as well as free trade. I want every McCain rally to feature groups in the front row chanting " four more years" loudly and in unison! McCain may not carry Arizona if the facts are known.

[DoomtoNeoCons]

How is telling the truth about the Neo Con's lying?! DEMOCRATS! Stop be so damned pigheaded! The real enemy are the Neo Cons! Olbermann was one of the very few to stand up to the Whitehouse and Fox news when most were bowing to them! So what if he leans towards Obama! We need to stay strong and NOT be pulled apart by the Right!

[JiminNC]

Joe Scarboro is liberal and left-leaning? Hmmm

Keith is great and I am sure there are plenty of people that want to silence him.

[Lemeritus]

Morning Joe is "the real deal" conservative but, most of the time, you best get out of his way when the neo-cons start shredding the Constitution.

[DoomtoNeoCons]

Finally, a media outlet actually questions the lies coming from Bush&co. and FOX. Keep it up MSNBC! question everything, and hold the liars accountable!

[DFDoerr]

Keith is just lying to get his audience back.
After all he just threw half his audience, Hillary supporters, under the bus.

[era996]

Hanity and the rest of Fox never were as nasty to Hillary as Mr Botox
Good bye Obama network
Ignore Olberman

[robiform]

Fox was never nasty to Hillary??? Pray tell, were you in the womb or on another planet during the late nineties when practically every commentator on Faux Noise was denouncing Hillary for having murdered Vince Foster! I?! I can assure you that if Hillary was practically the Democratic nominee instead of Obama, Faux Noise would be trashing her all over the place with the usual finesse and innuendo that they are known for. If the current occupant of the White House and his toadies don't like NBC, MSNBC, or any other media outlet that doesn't kiss their collective butts, TOO BAD!! January 20, 2009 can't arrive soon enough!

[missusam]

Can't please everybody.