Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small.
Statement To The Viewers Of Countdown from Keith Olbermann
Note: I received this from the organization that pulled together the petition of 250,000 Olbermann viewers. The Wall Street Journal has reported this as well, referring to the full text on this website. The version you see below is edited down by that organization. The original is better. –efc
I want to sincerely thank you for the honor of your extraordinary and ground-rattling support.
Your efforts have been integral to the remedying of these recent events, and the results should remind us of the power of individuals spontaneously acting together to correct injustices great or small.
…I also wish to apologize to you viewers for having precipitated such anxiety and unnecessary drama. You should know that I mistakenly violated an inconsistently applied rule – which I previously knew nothing about — that pertains to the process by which such political contributions are approved by NBC.
Certainly this mistake merited a form of public acknowledgment and/or internal warning, and an on-air discussion about the merits of limitations on such campaign contributions by all employees of news organizations.
Instead, after my representative was assured that no suspension was contemplated, I was suspended without a hearing, and learned of that suspension through the media.
You should also know that I did not attempt to keep any of these political contributions secret; I knew they would be known to you and the rest of the public. I did not make them through a relative, friend, corporation, PAC, or any other intermediary, and I did not blame them on some kind of convenient ‘mistake’ by their recipients.
When a website contacted NBC about one of the donations, I immediately volunteered that there were in fact three of them; and contrary to much of the subsequent reporting, I immediately volunteered to explain all this, on-air and off, in the fashion MSNBC desired.
I genuinely look forward to rejoining you on Countdown on Tuesday, to begin the repayment of your latest display of support and loyalty – support and loyalty that is truly mutual.
By the way, here’s another poll that has numbers growing fast: http://pol.moveon.org/millionairebailout/display.html?id=25105-7046220-ebbkrZx#
As I post this, it was at 11, 985. When I first saw it, they were at 800 or so this afternoon.
Fe,
That will be easy; we ALWAYS watch Keith and Rachel.
BTW, somewhere I saw that someone wrote to watch at 8 PM EDT. It is not 8 PM EDT, daylight time ended already so be SURE of the time so you don’t miss it. :::smile:::
We all need to be tuned in to MSNBC to give Keith the highest share ever tonight!!
Although point taken about Mercury square Chiron-Neptune, and this is probably the beginning of the progressives and liberals claiming their numbers and taking back their power from the fear that’s paralyzed a lot of people since the W. takeover a decade ago. I’m also not a small bit pissed at myself over my own years of paralysis and silence, and I am not just throwing stones.
Hi guys! [waves]
Apparently liberal and progressive Americans are good at standing up for their right to watch what they want to on TV. If 300,000 people jammed a major media outlet’s phone and email systems over the atrocity perpetrated in the Gulf of Mexico, what would happen? Or if 250,000 marched on Washington over jobs and freedom — Hmm… I wonder if anyone ever thought of doing that before?
Amen to that, Fe. Amen to that.
Bravo, KO. and to everyone who stood with him.
e. and len:
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling a kind of fire in the heart, reminiscent of the 60s, which is far deeper than just political.
It feels like a humanity-wide mumur that is soon to be a rallying cry – like we finally see the edges and towers of the behemoth before us, and we begin to apply our efforts towards its defeat.
But like the 60s, we need to re-own the sense of fun and pleasure. We are in the driver’s seat if we want to, with the planet supporting us. We need the music, the laughter, the sensual happiness and the reality of a community safety net — the tribe –ready and there to watch your back.
Keith’s suspension was a warning shot by the corporations and also a trial run for us. We won this time. We need to keep it up.
Is there a better anthem to what the next four to six years are going to be about?
Eric, may i say bingo and thanks?
Mercury square Chiron-Neptune indeed.