Ethics

Has Olbermann Been Silenced?

By Ed Brayton

The New York Times reports that MSNBC and Fox News have reached an agreement to prevent Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly from attacking one another as they have done on an almost nightly basis for the last couple years.

At an off-the-record summit meeting for chief executives sponsored by Microsoft in mid-May, the PBS interviewer Charlie Rose asked Jeffrey Immelt, chairman of G.E., and his counterpart at the News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, about the feud.

Both moguls expressed regret over the venomous culture between the networks and the increasingly personal nature of the barbs. Days later, even though the feud had increased the audience of both programs, their lieutenants arranged a cease-fire, according to four people who work at the companies and have direct knowledge of the deal.

In early June, the combat stopped, and MSNBC and Fox, for the most part, found other targets for their verbal missiles (Hello, CNN).

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on August 04, 2009 (boomark / email).