Olbermann-O'Reilly Plot Thickens: Howard Kurtz or NYT: Who Got Punk'd by Their Sources?

[masuki bance]

Howard Kurtz attempted a valiant face-save for Keith Olbermann after the scalding Jason Linkins story at the Huffington post accused Olbermann of having "lied" to his viewers. (BTW, Dan Froomkin new Washington DC editor, way to go HuffPo.)

Kurtz claims that Olbermann's decision to stop talking about Bill O'Reilly actually precipitated the negotiations between Fox and GE:

The day after Olbermann's comments about the Tiller slaying, executives convened a large meeting and talked about Fox and the importance of striking the right on-air tone. Olbermann later expressed a willingness to make minor adjustments in his style, but he and his allies, concerned about setting a precedent, dug in for a fight.

Not so, says Brian Stelter of the New York Times:

Mr. Olbermann told viewers on June 1 that he would halt his jokes about Fox News because he believed that Fox had played a part in inciting the death of the abortion doctor George Tiller. Inside Fox, executives chuckled. They knew that a pact had already been struck by Mr. Olbermann’s bosses to end the feud.

It's like the teenager busted for a big bag of weed in his backpack whose story just keeps getting better and better.

If it turns out that Kurtz's "source" played him like a Stradivarius, do you suppose he'll salvage his credibility by giving them up?

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/7040

[rocktivity]

1. But did "Olbermann's bosses" strike the deal with OLBERMANN?

"Olbermann later expressed a willingness to make minor adjustments in his style...
Expressed to whom--his bosses, or is this a reference to his June 1 special comment?

...but he and his allies, concerned about setting a precedent, dug in for a fight."
A fight against whom--Keith's bosses, O'Reilly, or O'Reilly's bosses?

:crazy:
rocktivity

[Medusa]

3. You be the judge.

According to Glenn Greenwald at Salon: from Feb to May 2009, Olbermann mentioned O'Reilly 40 times and named him in the Worst Person in the World segments 23 times. Rupert Murdoch received 25 mentions in that same time period. But each received only one mention from June 1st to the end of July when the deal became public. O'Reilly meanwhile made 27 negative mentions of GE from Feb to May (he never mentions Olbermann directly, he attacks GE-Univeral instead) to just two in June and none in July.

[asjr]

2. I have never know Kurtz the Klutz to have

any credibility. He is as right wing as they get.

[Gabi Hayes]

4. his wife is a PR hack for them, too. but what about Greenwald?

how does he fit in with this?

did he have the same rotten sourcing as HK?

I've pretty much bought most of what I've read of his stuff, including his revelations concerning what the function of Politico as RW publicity arm.

wonder what he's going to have to say about this

[Medusa]

6. Greenwald got a statement from Olbermann

which said that nothing he had reported was factually incorrect. What we're seeing now is just more of the spin cycle on this story as those involved scramble to establish higher ground on this but that's hard to do when all parties involved look like the corporate media whores they ALL are. And Kurtz is one of the biggest--how can he be a media critic when he's also a CNN employee? More media incest.

[Berry Cool]

5. The Jason Linkins story was "scalding"? It is to laugh!

Look at the comments on HuffPo...even they aren't impressed, and are blaming him for writing an article under the influence of his Olbermann-hating boss.

I mean, I don't think Howie Kurtz has any credibility either, but come on...

As of now, Olbermann is ridiculing Billo regularly again. So much for the so-called "truce"...