You may have noticed at some point over the past seven years or so that Keith Olbermann falls to the left on the political spectrum and seems to be generally supportive of the Democratic Party. In case that somehow went undetected, we now have definitive proof, thanks to a discovery by Politico: In late October, Olbermann donated the maximum allowable amount, $2,400, to the campaigns of three Democratic candidates — Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Senate candidate Jack Conway in Kentucky.
Coming from someone who chastised Fox News’s parent company, News Corp., for donating $1.25 million to the Republican Governor’s Association and $1 million to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Olbermann can expect to face accusations of hypocrisy. And since his donations violated NBC company policy if he didn’t get prior approval for them, he could face disciplinary action — or at least a stern talking-to — as well.
As far as the act of donating to politicians, though, who cares? It makes sense to maintain a sense of impartiality for unopinionated news anchors like Brian Williams, for example. But Olbermann is a political commentator and demonstrates his liberal and Democratic bias every night on his show. Why should his employer hold him to a standard of impartiality in his personal life when they encourage partiality on his nightly broadcast?
Keith Olbermann contributed to three Democrats [Politico]
Related: Gabriel Sherman on the cartoonish blood sport of cable news.
