Keith Olbermann on The Huffington Post

Huff TV: Arianna Discusses Senate Health Care Reform On Countdown With Keith Olbermann

2009-11-23T21:42:38Z

Arianna stopped by Countdown with Keith Olbermann Monday night to talk about the politics behind the Senate's approach to health care reform, including recent comments by Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and whether Democrats can afford to settle. Her view: "Without a public option, there's no real cost containment. There's no real competition for the health care industry. Why go for something that will not be real reform?"

They also discussed comments made by former DNC Chair Howard Dean in the Huffington Post, arguing that Democrats face only two options: a bad bill, or losses in 2010.

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Bill Clinton Blasts Olbermann For Politicizing Health Care Event, Refuses To Go

2009-11-20T22:01:13Z

On Friday, Bill Clinton decided not to attend a health care event organized by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann because Olbermann had "politicized" the event.

He explained his decision to FireDogLake's Eve Gittelso, who ran into Clinton in a gift shop of the Clinton Library in Arkansas:

"Clinton responded that Olbermann was politicizing the clinic, and that it wasn't helpful for Olbermann to do that. He said he did not feel he could show up now, because the event had turned political....Olbermann, who has invited his viewers to contribute to the National Association of Free Clinics in advance of the event, has said on his show that 'I want Sens. (Blanche) Lincoln and (Mark) Pryor to see what health care poverty is really like in Little Rock.' Lincoln has met recently with Joe Biden and President Obama, but has yet to agree to vote for debate on health care to proceed in the Senate."

Mediaite notes that Olbermann began his endorsement of these free clinics on October 8 and that the Arkansas event is just one of six Olbermann had done.

Watch Olbermann's original health care pitch below.

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Dawn Teo: "Teabagger" Oxford Dictionary Word-of-the-Year Finalist

2009-11-18T13:36:33Z

Lexicographers at the New Oxford American Dictionary have selected teabagger as one of the runner-ups to unfriend for 2009 Word of the Year.

The definition of teabagging, according to Oxford, is "a person who protests President Obama's tax policies and stimulus
package, often through local demonstrations known as "Tea Party"
protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773)." Oxford Senior Lexicographer Christine Lindberg explains the exclusion of the other definition, stating, "It should be noted that the term "teabagger" appears on the Oxford list because of the usage cited on that list, not because of any other meaning."

Lindberg mostly sidestepped direct mention of the word's other definition in a manner befitting an individual closely associated with the esteemed Oxford institution. That is until she told Mediaite that "having deliberated carefully over the word-usage evidence, Oxford lexicographers are confident in their judgment that "teabagger" the political term stands distinctly apart from "teabagger" the vulgar term."

Keith Olbermann is not so sure. Known for monologues spiked with teabagging double entendres, Olberman commemorated the occasion on his show Tuesday:

Rare that an evolution and a word's etymology can be observed in
real-time with such satisfaction. But it was Republicans who embraced
the tea bag as their symbol with Tax Day protests to President Obama's
agenda. And it was Republicans who cluelessly referred to teabagging as
if it had no prior meaning. It was they who openly used the phrase that
begged for double entendres. "Countdown" April 14th Teabag Eve. The
Republican talking heads like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had
pushed their own vision of teabagging down the throats of the original
teabaggers who were in fact Libertarian supporters of Ron Paul.
Cincinnati teabaggers down in the mouth about taxes got a Boehner
endorsement from the House Minority Leader. And the nation's teabagging
of course impossible without this man, a Dick Armey at the head of it.

Other finalists for Oxford Dictionary Word of the Year include hastag, netbook, sexting, zombie bank, birther, death panel, ecotown, and tramp stamp. Oxford Dictionary also included the following word cluster of "Obamaisms" in their press release:

Obamanomics
Obamaeur
Obamarama
Obamanator
Obamasty
Obamaland
Obamacons
Obamalicious
Obamanos
Obamacles
Obamanation
Obamania
Obamafication
Obamacracy
Obamamessiah
Obamanon
Obamamama
Obamalypse

Oxford Dictionary lexicographers select the finalists and winner "to
reflect the ethos of the year and its lasting potential as a word of
cultural significance and use." According to Oxford Acquisitions Editor Grace Labatt, words selected as finalists or winner of Word of the Year do not necessarily become part of the dictionary,

The words on our Word of the Year shortlist are under
considered for inclusion in the next dictionary—they are on our “words
to watch” list. Depending on frequency of usage, which we assess with
the Oxford English Corpus (a two-billion-word collection of texts), we
will determine whether they should be added to the next edition of the
New Oxford American Dictionary, to publish in Fall 2010.

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Susan J. Demas: The Confidence Gap Between Democrats And Republicans

2009-11-18T12:30:58Z

"We are the champions, my friends," crooned Michigan Senate President Pro-Tem Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) the day after the Nov. 3 election.

Former state Rep. Mike Nofs (R-Battle Creek) had won a landslide victory for an open Senate seat, giving Republicans a firm 22-16 majority. It wasn't unexpected, nor was it necessarily a bellwether, but Richardville practically skipped into the Senate chambers and his fellow Republicans couldn't stop beaming. When Nofs appeared for his victory lap, there were handshakes and backslaps all around.

It was a palpable return to normalcy, not just in Michigan, but in New Jersey and Virginia, as well. The GOP was victorious and all was right with the world.

Hard to believe that just a year ago, Barack Obama crushed John McCain and the Democrats piled up punishing majorities in Congress. In Michigan, the Democratic base hit 56 percent and the party picked up nine more state House seats.

It was like a morgue on the Republican side of the aisle on Nov. 4, 2008. Some were sullen, some were angry, but almost all looked unmistakably like something had been usurped from them.

Democrats were giddy, but it there was an aura of the surreal. The hand-wringing started immediately over strategy on the stimulus, health care and cap and trade. Instead of enjoying the ride, the question shifted to: how are we going to blow this? Will we micromanage like Carter? Capitulate like Clinton?

Golly gee, why do we Democrats suck so bad (even when we win)?

And therein lies the powerful psychological difference between the parties. It's the confidence gap.

Republicans may be livid, but they soon bounce back, even when they've been absolutely electorally pummeled. That's just an inexplicable aberration, like the popularity of plaid pants. All we have to do is return to our conservative roots and we shall reclaim what's rightfully ours.

It is almost mathematically and historically impossible for Republicans to take back Congress next year. They are 0 for 5 in the last five special elections, including the takedown of Know Nothing Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in NY-23. But you'd never know that from the nonstop, right-wing bravado that the glorious second coming of Newt Gingrich's Republican Revolution is at hand (even though Newt is flagellated these days as a card-carrying communist for backing moderates).

Republicans have a well-oiled propaganda machine to facilitate the fantasy of strength and popularity, from Fox News to The Weekly Standard. The message is always the same: Whether the GOP wins or loses, it always wins (and God bless St. Ronald Reagan).

So even though Tea Partiers represent a shockingly low percentage of the electorate (even a minority of the GOP), they're lauded as "real Americans" and net far more coverage and influence than they deserve.

And forget all the problematic reputable polls showing health care reform is popular. We have our own polling that miraculously says the opposite. Besides, House Minority Leader John Boehner, the epically tanned man of the people, says he's never met anyone for the public option, so that's good enough for me.

Meanwhile, check out MSNBC or The Nation. You might find some cheerleading for the president by Keith Olbermann, but most of it is a scowling gripefest. Obama's not a liberal, boo hoo, he's betrayed us.

We should all have single-payer health care by now, peace in the Middle East, zero carbon emissions and a pony. I voted for him and I want my pony, dammit. Woe is me, when will I ever have the progressive superhero president I deserve?

I can see why indecisive independents might gravitate toward Fox News and the Tea Party crowd. At least they seem to be having fun - and they appear to know what they're doing.

Even more than the ailing economy and slightly rising poll numbers, what Republicans have going for them is that good ole Democratic pessimism. It's all doom and gloom for the donkeys (and yes, Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry's poll numbers do give them reason) but they'd be kvetching if he were 20 points ahead.

So listen up, Democrats.

Laugh all you want at those misspelled signs at Tea Parties. Titter at Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele's endless buffoonery on the cable circuit. And snigger as the GOP tries to detonate itself over dogmatic primary challenges instead of rebuilding a national party.

That doesn't mean you're going to win next year.

Which is fine by the unions and liberal activists, to be honest. They'd rather be screeching in the minority, reveling in their powerlessness to change anything as long as they keep control of their little fiefdoms. Besides, think of all the awesome blog posts you can write shredding new Michigan Gov. Mike Cox.

This week, a brilliant progressive friend of mine railed with a straight face that state Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester) is like Hitler. Sorry, but that's as nutty as comparing the Dems' health care bill to Dachau. A moratorium on Nazi analogies in intelligent political debate would suit me just fine, unless we're talking about actual followers of the Third Reich.

The truth is, Democrats are often terrible at governing, as even liberals complain about Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. That takes leadership and organization. And it just feels more natural being in the minority. Just ask the state Senate Democrats, who have dwelled there for a quarter-century and show little hope of digging out after Nofs' win last week.

I'm not convinced that Republicans are naturally better managers, but most of them project the self-confidence to do the job.

Kind of makes you wonder what a difference it would make if Democrats were that decisive.

Olbermann Names O'Reilly "Worst Person" TWICE! (VIDEO)

2009-11-18T09:38:50Z

Bill O'Reilly achieved the distinction of being named not just Keith Olbermann's worst person in the world Tuesday night, but also his second-worst.

The Fox News host took both the silver and the gold in Olbermann's "Countdown" segment Tuesday.

First, Olbermann slammed "Bill-O The Clown," giving him the "Worse" badge over his recent legal debate with Judge Andrew Napolitano, in which O'Reilly said, "I don't care about the constitution" and called Napolitano a "pinhead" when he invoked it.

Next, Olbermann knocked "Bill-O The Fraud," giving him the "Worst" crown over comments so irrational even Glenn Beck had to disagree with them.

On Beck's radio program, O'Reilly predicted a "tax revolt" and said, "I think people, when they figure out how badly they're going to get hurt in the next few years, there's going to be a tea party on taxes and it's gonna get nasty. Nancy Pelosi's going to be bobbing up and down in Boston Harbor."

"I don't think that's necessary," Beck responded.

"If anybody else had said what O'Reilly had said about the Constitution and about, say, Speaker Hastert, O'Reilly would have called for their arrest!" Olbermann said, calling O'Reilly a fraud.

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"Countdown" Producer Attends Health Care Clinic In New Orleans: "There Are No Words" (VIDEO)

2009-11-17T16:28:22Z

One of the free health clinics launched due to the generosity of "Countdown" viewers took place over the weekend in New Orleans.

While Keith Olbermann was unable to attend himself due to his father's illness, "Countdown" producer Rich Stockwell — who Olbermann credited on air as the brains behind the drive to raise money for the clinics — did attend, and he wrote an essay for MSNBC.com about his experience.

In the essay, Stockwell relays several stories of patients who came to Saturday's clinic: the 50-year-old woman with stage four breast cancer whose cancer was likely diagnosed so late because she didn't have insurance; the nurse who holds down two part-time jobs but can't work enough hours to qualify for medical benefits; the woman sent to the hospital with a 220/180 blood pressure who didn't know why she wasn't feeling well.

"After watching for hours as the patients moved through the clinic, it was hard to believe that I was in America," Stockwell wrote. "Health reform is not about Democrats or Republicans or who can score political points for the next election, it's about people. It's about fairness and justice in a system that knows none. I'd defy even the most hardened capitalist-loving-conservative to do what I did on Saturday and continue to pretend that the system in place right now is working....There are no words that can accurately describe the quiet desperation on the faces of the patients. Every single one I spoke to, and every one I heard talking with doctors, expressed their gratitude for the event and wished that they were held more often."

Stockwell noted that the last time the media convened in the New Orleans convention center was to cover Hurricane Katrina; this time, however, "we were there to cover a man-made disaster of even larger proportions," he wrote.

Read his full essay at MSNBC.com or watch Olbermann's segment on the New Orleans clinic below:

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The next clinic is set for Saturday in Little Rock.

MSNBC "Pressuring President Obama From The Left": NYT

2009-11-16T09:33:08Z

This is how it looks to have a television network pressuring President Obama from the left.

While much attention has been paid to the feud between the Fox News Channel and the White House, the Obama administration is now facing criticism of a different sort from Ms. Maddow, Keith Olbermann and other progressive hosts on MSNBC, who are using their nightly news-and-views-casts to measure what she calls "the distance between Obama's rhetoric and his actions."

Olbermann Speculates About The Chapter Names In Palin's Book (VIDEO)

2009-11-12T21:41:58Z

Countdown host Keith Olbermann couldn't resist speculating about the names of the five chapters of Sarah Palin's forthcoming book. One example: "Chapter Two -- Sports: I Like It When They Win."

He also had Newsweek's Richard Wolffe on to discuss what Palin hopes to gain from her whirlwind book tour. Wolffe is doubtful about the rumor that Palin did not include in an index because she wanted to take a swipe at Beltway insiders (the joke being that people in D.C. will be forced to actually read the whole book instead of using the index to skip right to the parts about them). He thinks it is more likely that the book was so rushed that they simply did not have time include one.

The book reveals that Palin has an interest in having a talk show, to which Olbermann quipped, "I hear there's an opening at 7 o'clock on CNN."

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Olbermann: Send Dobbs To Telemundo

2009-11-12T17:11:06Z

After briefly responding to the news on "Countdown" Wednesday night, Keith Olbermann expanded on his thoughts about Lou Dobbs leaving CNN Thursday in Politico's Arena.

Olbermann said that Dobbs is plagued by "the ultimate self-contradiction" — while he rails against illegal immigrants, his wife and daughters are Hispanic and his daughters are competitive horse riders, a sport that is staffed heavily by undocumented immigrants.

If that isn't the ultimate hypocrisy, it must be the ultimate self-contradiction and very painful psychologically," Olbermann said.

"I worked with Lou as long ago as 1981 and I never heard any of this back then," he added.
"He's always been a bully and one of those put-up-your-dukes clowns, but I think the immigration stance was mostly opportunistic. The insincerity of the xenophobia would explain how he went from 2nd place to 4th. As to what he should do next, his soul would benefit from a few years at Telemundo."

Watch Olbermann's commentary on Dobbs from "Countdown" Wednesday, where he named him one of the worst persons in the world:

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Murdoch, Limbaugh Make "Worst Persons In The World" On Countdown (VIDEO)

2009-11-10T20:13:11Z

On Countdown Monday, Olbermann awarded the bronze medal for "Worst Persons in the World" to Rush Limbaugh. The conservative radio host made light of the reports that the alleged Fort Hood gunman was harassed by his fellow soldiers for being Muslim. Limbaugh likened it to teasing that he has heard all soldiers endure. Olbermann wonders what Limbaugh could possibly know about being in the military since he received deferments.

Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, took the silver for calling himself just a banker who's doing "God's work." Part of that work would include handing out gigantic bonuses despite needing taxpayer money to stay in business.

Finally, media mogul Rupert Murdoch brought home the gold for defending his cable news network Fox News by saying Beck "was right" - Obama did make a racist comment.

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Olbermann: Murdoch "Worst Person" For Using Fox News As Vendetta Machine (VIDEO)

2009-11-06T12:20:23Z

Keith Olbermann named News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch "Worst Person in the World" Thursday night for his admission that Fox News decided to "retaliate" against MSNBC after what Mudoch characterized as "abuse."

Earlier this week, on News Corp's earnings call, Murdoch responded to a question about the broken MSNBC-Fox News truce by saying, "We didn't started this abuse, which we thought went way beyond. Finally, we had to allow people to retaliate. When they stop, we'll stop."

Olbermann argued that, in this response, Murdoch admitted that he uses News Corp media outlets to pursue personal vendettas. From the transcript:

Fairly straight-forward sounding statement, until you analyze it a little bit. Murdoch is claiming that his alleged news people at Fox, like Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly, did not decide to do stories about MSNBC or NBC or GE. He did. And he did not decide to do stories about MSNBC or NBC or GE because it was any news value to them. He decided to do them out of personal pique.

When O'Reilly spent hour after hour reporting fabricating stories about GE parts allegedly, possibly, maybe--well, I read some graffiti about it--in roadside bombs, he was not doing so because the story was true or Americans were in danger or just to fulfill any premise of journalism. He did it because Rupert Murdoch had agreed to, in Murdoch's own words, allow people to retaliate.

When O'Reilly a stalker producer to interrupt a GE business meeting, it wasn't reporting. It was, again to use Murdoch's term, abuse.

And most importantly, all of it, from Fox's petulant, defensive name calling, to O'Reilly's slandering of GE, Murdoch will stop all of it if MSNBC simply stops watch-dogging Fox.

Thus, simply, Rupert Murdoch has revealed his company's news coverage and the people who deliver it are there simply to pursue their own petty vendettas.

Rupert Murdoch, not only doing his carnival fun house version of actual journalism, but stupid enough to admit it, in public, today's worst person in the world.

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Keith Olbermann, Sean Hannity Friendly At Yankees Game

2009-11-05T10:00:35Z

If there's one thing that could bring Keith Olbermann and Sean Hannity together (apart from the occasional CNN-bashing), it's baseball.

Both cable news stars showed up for Game 6 of the World Series Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.

Olbermann wrote about the game on his MLBlog, where he said of Hannity, "And lastly, a reminder that baseball does erase boundaries. The guy I'm taking a photo of, who's taking a photo of me - we get along perfectly at the ballpark - less so during our day jobs."

Mediaite's Steve Krakauer notes that Hannity pre-taped his 9PM show, while Olbermann's "Countdown" aired live at 8PM with guest-host Lawrence O'Donnell.

Pics of Olbermann and Hannity below, via Olbermann's MLBlog, Baseball Nerd:

Olbermann Slams Beck For Exploiting 9/11: "Go To Hell" (VIDEO)

2009-11-04T12:38:29Z

Keith Olbermann slammed Glenn Beck Tuesday night, naming him "Worst Person in the World" for exploiting the 9/11 attacks and telling him to "go to hell."

Olbermann read Beck's recent comments on health care reform, in which he compared his anti-health-care reform advocacy to pre-9/11 shouts about Osama bin Laden.

"Ten years ago, I could have shouted every single day about Osama bin Laden and his wacky, crazy threats to kill Americans in New York," Olbermann quoted Beck as saying. "And nobody would have been willing to stand in line for two hours while some security officer made grandma take her shoes off. No one would have done it. But don't you see, while the government is still not willing to do these things, today America is different. America has changed. Washington, we're not going to let you get away with it anymore. The 9/12ers are willing to stand in line and take our shoes off before the plane actually hits the tower."

"You and the 9/12ers have the nerve to exploit 9/11 for your lousy TV ratings?" Olbermann responded. "You cannot make light of 9/11, nor bandy about as if your petty political grievances are comparable to it, and still be an actual patriotic American. In short, Glenn, 9/12ers, if you're invoking 9/11 to oppose health care reform, go to hell."

Watch:

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Olbermann Rips Glenn Beck For Exploiting 9/11: "Go To Hell" (VIDEO)

2009-11-04T09:20:14Z

Keith Olbermann slammed Glenn Beck last night for invoking 9/11 in his opposition to health care reform. Beck launched into a rant about how he could have shouted for years about Osama bin Laden and warned of the attack and still no one would have taken the precautions necessary to stop it. Olbermann was having none of it:

Beck, you and the 9/12ers have the nerve to exploit 9/11 for your lousy TV raitings? You cannot make light of 9/11, nor bandy about as if your petty political grievances are comparable to it and still be an actual, patriotic American. In short, Glenn, 9/12ers, if you're invoking 9/11 just to oppose health care reform, go to hell.

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Matt Osborne: Campbell Brown Smears MSNBC

2009-10-30T06:32:45Z

When CNN's Campbell Brown played the MSNBC card against Valerie Jarrett, she was engaging in the fallacy of false equivalence. Faux Noise is all slant, all the time, while MSNBC is absolutely not a liberal mirror-image. The slant is not equal, nor do the two channels offset like penalties in a football game. Brown's comparison is a smear.

Yesterday morning on Fox and Friends, there were twenty-two mentions of ACORN, even though there hasn't been any actual news about ACORN in weeks. There were only two dismissive mentions of good economic news. That's their standard template for mornings.

Meanwhile on MSNBC, former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough enjoys the spotlight with Mika Brzezinski, who...well, let's just say that apple fell far from the tree. Alongside Bob Cesca's term "barbecue media," we now have "cupcake media."

And that's just the morning show.

For the rest of the day, regular commentators on MSNBC may include Pat Buchanan, who declared "culture war" in America and says Hitler was misunderstood; Mark Halperin, who said "white men need not apply" for Supreme Court vacancies; Maria Bartiromo, who brings the stupid on health care; Todd Harris, a Republican strategist; Michael Medved, who says your children are being indoctrinated by the Obama administration; Mort Zuckerman, apologist for right-wing West Bank settlers; Michelle Bernard, death panels-for-breast cancer propagandist; and Clifford May, neocon warmonger.

Repeating: these are the guests on MSNBC. There are no equivalent left-wing personalities on Faux Noise. The essential difference is that MSNBC courts controversy with right-wing pundits, while Faux Noise manufactures nontroversy with right-wing pundits. Here's just one example of very, very many:

But let us examine the evening lineup. From his doom bunker, Glenn Beck plays to his adoring audience with racist redbaiting, lunatic chalkboard diagrams, and boiled plastic frogs; Sean Hannity smears without correction; and Bill O'Reilly uses a propaganda technique every four seconds to convince us there's a war on faith in America.

I have yet to see Ed Schultz, Keith Olbermann, or Rachel Maddow manufacture alarmist nontroversies. Yes, Olbermann had a lot to say about Bush's abuses of power -- but those were real, whereas Faux Noise may scream about abuses of power but they invariably turn out to be projections of fertile imaginations.

Indeed, here is another telling difference between Faux Noise and MSNBC: The latter has been falsely accused of "doctoring" video, while Faux Noise doctors video all the time to invent conspiracies out of thin air. And while a gulf yawns between the editorial MSNBC and the daytime-news MSNBC, there is no such gap at Faux Noise, where Chris Wallace regularly echoes Glenn Beck.

Nor does MSNBC promote astroturf movements. Faux Noise has given tea parties prominent coverage; hosts have invariably praised them, and spread across the country to cover the events. Neal Cavuto was captured on camera inflating crowd figures and a Faux Noise assistant was caught coaching the crowd. When Faux Noise lied about other networks' coverage, Brown's colleague Rick Sanchez famously called them out on it. To date, Sanchez has not had to correct MSNBC for reporting lies as if they were facts.

Faux Noise is, and has always been, a GOP propaganda organization. Party research and talking points appear on air every day -- right down to the typos. On-air personalities routinely use the first-person plural when referring to Republican claims, proudly call themselves "the opposition," and declare "victory" in legislative battles.

Last, but certainly not least, no MSNBC personality has demonized an individual and inspired viewers to kill them. The same cannot be said for Faux Noise.

I should like Mrs. Brown to explain, in detail, exactly how the two channels display anything like the same amount of bias, even opposing bias. I would also ask that she examine the cult-like characteristics of Faux Noise viewers, remember a little history, and tell us how this ends well.

Brown should do that because she's an actual, honest-to-God journalist. Otherwise, we'll be forced to conclude she was inspired by CNN's plummeting ratings to smear a rival network. Any honest examination of Faux Noise can have only one conclusion: it is not a news organization, and what they do is not journalism.

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Olbermann Compares CNN To TV Dinners, Calls Network Strategy "Nonsensical"

2009-10-28T15:26:54Z

NEW YORK — MSNBC is much less likely to start a third prime-time news show because its executives are pleased with how well a repeat of Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" is doing at 10 p.m. ET.

MSNBC chief executive Phil Griffin talked this year of actively searching for a new 10 p.m. host. Reruns of Olbermann's 8 p.m. show have aired there since March 2008.

Read more: Cnn, Keith Olbermann, Media News

Michele Bachmann Was Gretchen Carlson's Nanny (VIDEO)

2009-10-27T20:45:37Z

Tonight Keith Olbermann awarded conservative columnist George Will the medal for "World's Best Person" for his revelation that controversial Minnesota Congresswoman (R) Michele Bachmann was once the nanny of Fox & Friends host Gretchen Carlson.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and CNN anchor Lou Dobbs also made the list.

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Send us tips! Write us at tv@huffingtonpost.com if you see any newsworthy or notable TV moments. Read more about our media monitoring project here and click here to join the Media Monitors team.

Peter A. Ubel: Fat Lazy Neighborhoods?

2009-10-26T12:24:02Z

If I told you that neighborhoods cause people to develop diabetes, would you believe me? And would that make you more or less willing to see your tax dollars spent researching ways to treat and prevent diabetes?

That is essentially the question my colleagues and I posed to a wide swath of Americans, and a question, we discovered, that polarizes people along political party lines.

What do I mean when I say that neighborhoods can cause diabetes? Well, social scientists have linked neighborhoods to disease. People living, for example, in neighborhoods with poor sidewalk access end up walking less than people in other kinds of neighborhoods, thereby gaining weight and developing diabetes. By a similar token, if a neighborhood is too dangerous for people to exercise outdoors, people become more sedentary and, voila, diabetes predictably ensues in a subset of the population. What's more, some neighborhoods have a terrible supply of grocery stores -- people living in such neighborhoods can easily avail themselves of fast food restaurants, but can't necessarily find fresh produce.

Often when people learn that forces beyond individual control contribute to illness, they become more supportive of public funding to combat those illnesses. In fact, in our study we provided a random subset of research participants with a news story explaining that diabetes is caused by genetics (this is true, by the way -- genes do contribute to diabetes.) People reading this news story -- whether Republican or Democrat -- became more supportive of spending public funds to treat and prevent diabetes.

Then we gave another subset of participants a different news story. This one explained that diabetes is caused by neighborhoods. Once again, hearing about the forces that contribute to diabetes made Democrats more interested in spending money on diabetes research. But the Republicans who read this news story weren't persuaded; in fact, they became less willing to use tax money to tackle the diabetes epidemic.

It is easy to believe that our country is politically polarized simply because people have gravitated toward partisan media outlets. Watch Fox news and you will hear about Tea Party demonstrations; watch MSNBC and you will hear about Gay Rights demonstrations. No surprise that when people receive imbalanced information, they end up with polarized attitudes.

However, our study shows that our nation's political divisions run much deeper than the Glenn Beck/Keith Olbermann divide. In our study, Republicans and Democrats came to starkly different opinions from each other even after receiving identical information about the cause of diabetes. Hearing about neighborhood effects on diabetes brought out compassion among Democrats, but not so much among Republicans. As some of my Republican friends tell me when I talk to them about neighborhoods and illness: "The neighborhood doesn't force people to eat at McDonalds. Even if a neighborhood is dangerous, people can do Pilates in their living rooms if they're motivated."

True enough. Human behavior is ultimately the main cause of diabetes. But no person's behavior is completely under their own control. Social forces can influence people's behavior -- the kinds of social forces that differ across neighborhoods, for example. Sadly, when people think about these other forces, some are more convinced than others, and these divisions run across predictable party lines.

To reduce partisanship in this country, we need to educate more people about the complexity of human nature. I wonder if the 24 hour news channels will find the time to do that!

Our study, led by Sarah Gollust, was published in the October issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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John W. Whitehead: Can You Really Get the "News" From Watching TV?

2009-10-24T13:06:41Z

"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree."--James Madison

Truth is often lost when we fail to distinguish between opinion and fact, and that is the danger we now face as a society. Anyone who relies exclusively on television/cable news hosts and political commentators for actual knowledge of the world is making a serious mistake. Unfortunately, since Americans have by and large become non-readers, television has become their prime source of so-called "news."

This reliance on TV news has given rise to such popular news personalities such as Keith Olbermann, Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Wolf Blitzer and Lou Dobbs, among others, who draw in vast audiences that virtually hang on their every word. In our media age, these are the new powers-that-be. Yet while these personalities often dispense the news like preachers used to dispense religion, with power and certainty, do they really deliver up objective reporting about the news? Or are they merely a conduit for propaganda and advertisements delivered in the guise of entertainment and news? Moreover, given the preponderance of news-as-entertainment programming, have viewers lost the ability to differentiate between news commentary and news reporting?

Sadly, in the short term, there is not much that the average viewer can do to change the nature of television news. Yet while television news cannot -- and should not -- be completely avoided, the following suggestions will help you better understand the nature of TV news and minimize its impact on you.

1. TV news is not what happened. Rather, it is what someone thinks is worth reporting. Although there are some good TV reporters, the old art of investigative reporting has largely been lost. While viewers are often inclined to take what is reported by television "news" hosts at face value, it is your responsibility to judge and analyze what is reported.

2. TV news is entertainment. There is a reason why the programs you watch are called news "shows." It's a signal that the so-called news is being delivered as a form of entertainment. "In the case of most news shows," write Neil Postman and Steve Powers in their insightful book, How to Watch TV News (1992), "the package includes attractive anchors, an exciting musical theme, comic relief, stories placed to hold the audience, the creation of the illusion of intimacy, and so on."

Of course, the point of all this glitz and glamor is to keep you glued to the set so that a product can be sold to you. (Even the TV news hosts get in on the action by peddling their own products, everything from their latest books to mugs and bathrobes.) Although the news items spoon-fed to you may have some value, they are primarily a commodity to gather an audience, which will in turn be sold to advertisers.

3. Never underestimate the power of commercials, especially to news audiences. In an average household, the television set is on over seven hours a day. Most people, believing themselves to be in control of their media consumption, are not really bothered by this. But TV is a two-way attack: it not only delivers programming to your home, it also delivers you (the consumer) to a sponsor.

People who watch the news tend to be more attentive, educated and have more money to spend. They are, thus, a prime market for advertisers. And sponsors spend millions on well-produced commercials. Such commercials are often longer in length than most news stories and cost more to produce than the news stories themselves. Moreover, the content of many commercials, which often contradicts the messages of the news stories, cannot be ignored. Most commercials are aimed at prurient interests in advocating sex, overindulgence, drugs, etc., which has a demoralizing effect on viewers, especially children.

4. It is vitally important to learn about the economic and political interests of those who own the "corporate" media. There are few independent news sources anymore. The major news outlets are owned by corporate empires. For example, General Electric owns the entire stable of NBC shows, including MSNBC, which it co-owns with Microsoft (the "MS" in MSNBC stands for Microsoft). Both GE and Microsoft poured millions of dollars into the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush. CBS is owned by Westinghouse, while Disney owns ABC. CNN is owned by the multi-corporation Time-Warner, while Fox News Channel is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

This begs the question: How can a corporate news network present objective news on any issue if it is financially supporting a political candidate or promoting a message to a specific audience? For example, Fox is aimed at conservatives, while MSNBC is the mirror image aimed at liberals -- two sides of the same coin -- and so are their commercials. "One doesn't have to be a Marxist," note Postman and Powers, "to assume that people making a million dollars a year will see things differently from people struggling to make ends meet." This is why it is so vitally important to get differing views on news stories and from sources that present a different view than what is seen on the corporate news networks.

5. Pay special attention to the language of newscasts. Because film footage and other visual imagery are so engaging on TV news shows, viewers are apt to allow language -- what the reporter is saying about the images -- to go unexamined. A TV news host's language frames the pictures, and, therefore, the meaning we derive from the picture is often determined by the host's commentary. TV by its very nature manipulates viewers. One must never forget that every television minute has been edited. The viewer does not see the actual event but the edited form of the event. For example, presenting a one- to two-minute segment from a two-hour political speech and having a TV talk show host critique may be disingenuous, but such edited footage is a regular staple on news shows. Add to that the fact that the reporters editing the film have a subjective view -- sometimes determined by their corporate bosses -- that enters in.

6. Reduce by at least one-half the amount of TV news you watch. TV news generally consists of "bad" news -- wars, torture, murders, scandals and so forth. It cannot possibly do you any harm to excuse yourself each week from much of the mayhem projected at you on the news. Do not form your concept of reality based on television. TV news, it must be remembered, does not reflect normal everyday life. Studies indicate that a heavy viewing of TV news makes people think the world is much more dangerous than it actually is. One "study indicates that watching television, including news shows, makes people somewhat more depressed than they otherwise would be," say Postman and Powers. This may lead to chronic depression and constantly being alarmed. Of course, a bevy of commercials pitch drugs at you that allegedly relieve the depression.

7. One of the reasons many people are addicted to watching TV news is that they feel they must have an opinion on almost everything, which gives the illusion of participation in American life. But an "opinion" is all that we can gain from TV news because it only presents the most rudimentary and fragmented information on anything. Thus, on most issues we don't really know much about what is actually going on. And, of course, we are expected to take what the TV news host says on an issue as gospel truth. But isn't it better to think for yourself? Add to this that we need to realize that we often don't have enough information from the "news" source to form a true opinion. How can that be done? Read good books, newspapers and the Internet. Listen to the radio. Study a variety of sources (including television commentators) and carefully analyze issues in order to be better informed.

The bottom line is simply this: Americans should beware of letting others -- whether they be television news hosts, political commentators or media corporations -- do their thinking for them. If not, then I fear for the future of this country.

Keith Olbermann Helps Raise $1.2 Million For Free Health Care Clinics

2009-10-22T13:10:13Z

Because of an appeal during his special comment on health care, Keith Olbermann has helped raise $1.2 million for free health care clinics, resulting in new health fairs in Little Rock, Kansas City and New Orleans.

"I propose tonight one act with two purposes," Olbermann said then. "I propose we, all of us, embrace the selfless individuals at the National Association of Free Clinics. You know them, they conducted the mass health care free clinic in Houston that served 1,500 people. I want a mass health care free clinic every week in the principle cities of the states of the six senators key to defeating a filibuster against health care reform in the Senate."

Olbermann said he wanted "Sens. Lincoln and Pryor to see what health care poverty is really like in Little Rock....Sen. Baucus to see it in Butte....Sen. Ben Nelson to see it in Lincoln....Sen. Landrieu to see it in Baton Rouge...Sen. Reid to see it in Las Vegas."

Wednesday night on "Countdown," Olbermann announced that, thanks to the generosity of "Countdown" viewers, a health fair would take place in New Orleans on November 14. This is on top of health fairs already planned for November 21 in Little Rock and December 9-10 in Kansas City.

How did this idea come about?

"We were looking for something to relieve the frustration so many people felt," Olbermann told the Huffington Post. "I thought of an insurance strike, but insurrectionist as that might sound, it would endanger lives. So Rich Stockwell, one of my Senior Producers, suggested that the Free Health Clinics group turns every dollar donated into five in services. Thus if we helped them stage clinics in the key cities, we'd get help to thousands of people, we'd relieve that sense of near-paralysis, and we might even put some pressure on those Democratic Senators who won't even commit to precluding a filibuster. So this one was Rich's."

As for the re-brand of the Public Option as "Medicare for Everyone" — which Rep. Jim Clyburn attributes to the "Countdown" host — Olbermann said, "I'm sure that originated elsewhere but I think I might have been the first to put it out there nationally."

"Get a Blue Dog to support the option and raise a million-two," he added. "I'm pretty happy with that Comment."

Watch as Olbermann discusses the accomplishment with the executive director of the National Association of Free Clinics, Nicole Lamoureaux:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Norman Horowitz: News

2009-10-22T10:01:15Z

News as defined by dictionary.com is the presentation of a report on recent or new events [intelligence; information] in a newspaper or other periodical or on radio or television.

In my rarely ever humble opinion, the use of the word to describe those few moments dedicated to what ABC, CBS, and NBC call news is more or less a sham, as is almost everything carried on those cable channels purportedly in the news delivery business. Disguised and sold as news, virtually everything on cable news channels is simply programming.

This will be arguable for many, but not for me.

In my opinion, those purportedly delivering news on CNN, MSNBC, and FNC are all the same. They position themselves as journalists and deliver a small bit of headline stuff. Programs are designed to draw as large an audience as possible to be sold to an advertiser for as much money as possible. I have no problem with this other than how they say they are delivering news, when they are and have been the forerunners of the quintessential reality show!

There has recently been a "dust up" between the White House and the cable entity that sells itself as Fox News.

Had the White House been critical of the Cartoon Network, okay, this would be a bad thing, but being critical of the News Corp cable network pretending to be in the news business is quite another thing.

Fox senior vice president Michael Clemente responded to the criticism by saying: "It's astounding the White House cannot distinguish between news and opinion programming. It seems self serving on their part." I wonder if senior vice president Clemente or people at Fox can distinguish between the two types of programming themselves.

That great newsperson and journalist Glenn Beck compared the White House partisanship to when Richard Nixon attacked the press when the White House began compiling an enemies list.

What happened is not exactly the same as the White House attacking the New York Times, Washington Post, etc. Just because Fox calls itself a "news network" does not make it immune from criticism from the White House, the Catholic Church, or the Board of Rabbis.

Fox News has little to do with news. They are almost all opinion almost all the time.

I would be pleased to have FNC, CNN, and MSNBC identify much of what they do as "opinion" or just "programming" yet they never do that.

MSNBC has little to do with news. They are almost all opinion almost all of the time.

CNN has little to do with news. They are almost all opinion almost all of the time.

Glenn Beck is not a journalist or a news reporter.

Keith Olbermann reports not as a journalist or news reporter.

Wolf Blitzer reports not as a journalist or news reporter.

All of these guys in my opinion entertain an audience because that is the business they are in.

"THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT" -- nothing more!

Fair and Balanced

Norman Horowitz

George H.W. Bush: Olbermann And Maddow Are "Sick Puppies" (VIDEO)

2009-10-16T20:42:51Z

Former President George H.W. Bush feels that the tone of the national discourse lacks civility. "I don't like it," Bush told CBS. "The cables (TV) have a lot to do with it."

Bush said he believes Obama was "entitled to civil treatment" when it comes to his critics. But it was not just those on the right, who presumably make up a majority of Obama's critics, that Bush felt were responsible for the angry tone. The left was guilty as well.

Singling out MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann, Bush said, "the way they treat my son and anyone who's opposed to their point of view is just horrible." Maddow and Olbermann, he added, are "sick puppies."

Needless to say, Maddow and Olbermann weren't taking Bush's criticism lying down. Watch their response:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Dr. Oz's Free Clinics Help The Uninsured

2009-10-15T18:33:16Z

On Saturday, September 26, television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz hosted a free clinic in Houston, one that attracted over 1,700 people. It was the largest non-disaster-related free clinic in United States history.

The free clinic featured over 700 volunteers, 200 doctors and 300 nurses. Oz chose Houston because of its high rate of uninsured residents, nearly one out of every three. The Reliant Convention Center hosted Oz's team and volunteers from the National Association of Free Clinics, an organization mentioned on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and by the Stein family in a recent feature on HuffPost Impact.

The complete special on Dr. Oz's free clinics can be seen through his website.

In an interview with CBS news, Dr. Oz and Dr. Jonathan LaPook discuss a man who could not afford to see a doctor, despite having a six-figure income just the previous year. Oz flew this man to New York where he was given a free examination and colonoscopy.

WATCH:

Auto-Tune The News Takes On Health Care Debate, Obama's Nobel Prize (VIDEO)

2009-10-15T13:40:05Z

Michael and Andrew Gregory are back with their NINTH installment of "Auto-Tune the News." So far they've taken on Sean Hannity in a gorilla costume, spiced up climate change speeches by GOPers, and used Arianna Huffington's serious words on the drug war to make light of their own reckless youths. Now they've moved on to the health care debate and the president's Peace Prize.

WATCH:

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Glenn Beck Mocks Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews (VIDEO)

2009-10-15T00:57:14Z

Glenn Beck mocked his cable news competitors Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews Wednesday afternoon on his Fox News show.

"The president has an entire network devoted to singing his praises," Beck said of MSNBC. "There's a guy on at night I love, and he's like Shakespearean. He is waxing poetic about his oratory skills, writing soliloquies," he said, showing off his impression of Olbermann.

"And then another guy's like, 'I've got a thrill going up my leg' when they just hear him speak." he said of Matthews. "It's incredible!"

Beck also knocked the network news broadcasts and "Saturday Night Live," claiming they haven't been tough on Obama.

Watch: