MSNBC & FOX: Posing Divided, United They Stand

There are days when one's reminded why one works in independent media. August 1st was one of those days, when the New York Times ran a front page media story that might as well have been headlined: GE and Fox Hush Hosts For Profits.

In a nutshell, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC and Bill O'Reilly of Fox have been going at it. For months, Olbermann's called the Fox host out for his lies and smears, regularly dubbing him "Worst Person in the World," while O'Reilly's raised questions about MSNBC's corporate owners, General Electric.

The on-air feud was good for ratings. It wasn't even bad journalism, for these kind of programs. Olbermann held Fox's O'Reilly to account for dubbing Dr. George Tiller "baby killer" in the run up to Tiller's assassination. O'Reilly sent a producer to a GE shareholder's meeting to raise questions about company business in Iran.

The feud wasn't bad for ratings, but it was perceived as a potential threat to other corporate interests.  And so it was that some time this May, the chairman of General Electric (which owns MSNBC), and Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation (which owns Fox News), were brought into a "summit meeting" for CEOs where Charlie Rose played peacemaker.

Said one General Electric employee quoted by the Times, calling the two into line meant, "Fewer headaches on the corporate side."

The sniping's stopped. There's been virtually none of it since the deal took effect on June 1. When Glenn Beck called the President a racist, for example, commentators criticized Beck, but they obediently avoided going after the network that pays him.

It's just another reminder why we don't see stinging reporting, say, of General Electric's investment in the weapons trade, or the healthcare business, or News Corp's dealings with the Chinese government.

Posing divided, united they stand. In the all-about profits media business, ideological rifts are fine for the purposes of gaining notoriety and building audience. Stir things up and deepen divisions among parties, politicians, workers, little people. But go after business interests -- and that's another story. Then, the same media moguls who profit off our social divides sing corporate Kumbaya when their profits are in peril.

Making independent media's tough. It's hard to fund and it's tempting to think there must be a better way. Wouldn't it be easier if some corporation paid the bills?

Not exactly.

The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GritLaura on Twitter.com. 

Comments (48)

1. Olbermann says, it's not so. that he hasn't been gagged by NBC owner GE.

   what's up?

   Posted by sloper at 08/04/2009 @ 09:14am

2. Rupert Murdoch doing business with authoritarian communists?

   GE doing business with Iran?

   Say it ain't so!

   That would be almost like Cheney doing business with Iran and Iraq while he ran Halliburton and then fear mongering about Iran and Iraq!

   I would be shocked!

   OK, time for the neo-cons to defend massive multi-national corporations that do business with axi of evil.

   Posted by crabwalk at 08/04/2009 @ 09:18am

3. The "liberal" MSM paid former Armed services members to go on TV and give "unbiased" information prior to the war in Iraq. The most well known example was Barry McAffery, former leader of another boondoggle, the War on Drugs.

   "liberals" were in bed with the US armed services, rarely showing the actual results of the "liberation" on the civilians of Iraq. Couldn't soil the pretty minds of the US viewer with the result of a phosphorous attack on a village, or an air bombing of a city. Nope, show us a shot of nighttime missile attacks, just not the results. Show us a shot of all the expensive equipment rolling through the desert, but not the bodies of kids left in their wake.

   Tell us again neo-cons how the "liberal MSM" was anti-American and wanted to "help" Saddam Hussein.

   http://tinyurl.com/me72fe,

   worth a quick look.

   Posted by crabwalk at 08/04/2009 @ 09:33am

4. In light that media sources are businesses, it should be expected that they would protect their interests. It is the responsibility of the audience take the news with a grain of salt. Thanks to independent media and the media of other nations, it is not impossible to bypass the self-interest of major media corporations and piece together a semblance of what's actually happening in the world.

   I'll be worried when globalization creates a conglomerate of news reporting. That's when the audience, the regular citizen, should question everything it is told.

   -Politics.com intern

   Posted by SDUPolticsdotcom at 08/04/2009 @ 10:15am

5. If it is on TV one must assume it's a story...ie fiction...Unless backed up with another outside source...not noted in the "story" on TV..When the propaganda machine runs the whole system from radio to the white house..How can one believe anything it says...Including This site...If you believe your a fool...if you questions your sane...A two party system is like arguing which is better my right or left hand. They are both my hands...

   Posted by MplsStyme at 08/04/2009 @ 10:15am

6. If it is on TV one must assume it's a story...ie fiction...Unless backed up with another outside source...not noted in the "story" on TV..When the propaganda machine runs the whole system from radio to the white house..How can one believe anything it says...Including This site...If you believe your a fool...if you questions your sane...A two party system is like arguing which is better my right or left hand. They are both my hands...

   Posted by MplsStyme at 08/04/2009 @ 10:16am

7. I'll be worried when globalization creates a conglomerate of news reporting. That's when the audience, the regular citizen, should question everything it is told.

   -Politics.com intern

   Posted by SDUPolticsdotcom at 08/04/2009 @ 10:15am

   We may already be there.

   Posted by Wolfgang1 at 08/04/2009 @ 10:28am

8. I'll be worried when globalization creates a conglomerate of news reporting. That's when the audience, the regular citizen, should question everything it is told.

   -Politics.com intern

   Posted by SDUPolticsdotcom at 08/04/2009 @ 10:15am

   Be worried.

   Posted by crabwalk at 08/04/2009 @ 10:29am

9. So, Ms Flanders, is Rachel Maddow "in on it", too?

   Posted by Mask at 08/04/2009 @ 10:50am

10. Their comments are designed to enrage and inflame, and keep the sides at each others throats. Thier commentaries are one sided, subjective and bring no meaningful dialogue, only the creation of infighting. They are the ones Obama said in his Inauguration speech who would find the "ground shifting beneath their feet" as we became united again. Intelligent Anericans should say "screw them both" and move on.

    Posted by william.harry13 at 08/04/2009 @ 12:13pm

11. What! No! Just more liberal lies. Trying to fool us into thinking major media outlets are controlled by corporate interests, hogwash. Its them darn liberals who are the problem. Its the liberal media.

    liberal media liberal media liberal media

    Don't listen to them lies about corporate ownership and interests...

    Posted by Extraneous at 08/04/2009 @ 12:21pm

12. This is America so it's all about choice, you can be brainwashed by GE, Murdoch & Co, or Time Warner.

    Just ignore that faint clinking and rattle of your chains, hand over your money and nobody gets beaten.

    Posted by mishelley at 08/04/2009 @ 1:15pm

13. Lynne Cheney served on Lockheed Corporation's board of directors from 1994 to 2001

    In late 2001 the company was awarded the world's largest weapons contract ever

    Only 118 people comprise the membership on the boards of director of the ten big media giants...

    Corporate board interlocks include...

    Gannett: AP, Lockheed-Martin

    Washington Post: Lockheed Martin

    Posted by winyahn at 08/04/2009 @ 1:42pm

14. Lynne Cheney served on Lockheed Corporation's board of directors from 1994 to 2001

    In late 2001 the company was awarded the world's largest weapons contract ever

    Only 118 people comprise the membership on the boards of director of the ten big media giants...

    Corporate board interlocks include...

    Gannett: AP, Lockheed-Martin

    Washington Post: Lockheed Martin

    Posted by winyahn at 08/04/2009 @ 1:42pm

    And that has what to do with anything?

    So what, except good for her to get that board seat.

    Posted by antisocialist at 08/04/2009 @ 2:16pm

15. Posted by antisocialist at 08/04/2009 @ 2:16pm

    Keep this handy....gotta figure Larry will eventually post something completely contradictory about a Democrat and THEIR ties to some corporation that benefits from Dem legislation, don't you?

    Posted by Mask at 08/04/2009 @ 2:18pm

16. I heard recently somewhere, I think it was NPR, that Orwell feared the banning of books and central control of information... But Huxley feared that books and information would instead simply be made irrelevant to people.

    Thank goodness right then the Bachelorette was on TV to get me to stop thinking about that stuff...

    Posted by freiheit1 at 08/04/2009 @ 2:59pm

17. Posted by antisocialist at 08/04/2009 @ 2:16pm

    Keep this handy....gotta figure Larry will eventually post something completely contradictory about a Democrat and THEIR ties to some corporation that benefits from Dem legislation, don't you?

    Posted by Mask at 08/04/2009 @ 2:18pm

    I'll spare you the search. The only time I have ever made that kind of post was in connection with Murtha. I did so because I had first hand experience involved in approving a small business in PA that he had connections with in his district. we had to approve them so he would get some changes to funding we needed for a weapons program we were working on.

    But I never suggested hypocrisy or ethics violations. It's part of business.

    Posted by antisocialist at 08/04/2009 @ 3:36pm

18. Both Fox and MSNBC play to the conservatives and the liberals respectively. They have nothing to do with reporting news objectively. Please do not consider either a serious choice for news.

    Posted by abell12ct at 08/04/2009 @ 5:21pm

19. What difference does it make?

    Nobody watches Olbermann anymore!

    Check-out Media Bistro....

    See for yourself.

    Posted by bleedingheart at 08/04/2009 @ 7:17pm

20. In Larry-Rand-bubble world, corporations never rape, pillage, pollute, corrupt, run rough shod over democratic institutions. In mine, some do. Some don't. Maybe some of my favorite toys are from exploitive corporations. To the extent I know of this, I do pull back. I don't mind holding some Intuitive Surgical but did dump Exxon years back. Peace and good luck with the Mormon Monavie Corporation.

    Posted by winyahn at 08/04/2009 @ 7:29pm

21. Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews have the same jobs O'Reilly and Hannitty do: sell product, whether GE munitions and Corn Flakes in the case of MSNBC or Archer-Daniels Midland or whatever in the case of FOX.

    Or Kraft. Or whatever. It's all very silly, really.

    I think THE NATION, though, is a pretty good publication and website, by and large. While mainly they flack for Barack Obama, often they do pretty good investigative reporting and usually offer strong dissenting opinion about half the time.

    The writers who spend more face time on TV generally speaking do more of the pro-Obama stuff and the ones not famous or cute enough to be on TV do the investigative stuff.

    I wouldn't know how to write and investigative piece because it's not my job or field of expertise. Writing a pro-Obama thing is easy. Just write something critical of one of the goof-balls like Limbaugh or O'Reilly or any of the zillon Republicans (other than the handful of libertarians) who just reflexively oppose Democratic initiatives where progressive or regressive.

    All of this is why I'm much more into sports than politics.

    Posted by HebrewHePour at 08/04/2009 @ 7:34pm

22. Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews have the same jobs O'Reilly and Hannitty do: sell product, whether GE munitions and Corn Flakes in the case of MSNBC or Archer-Daniels Midland or whatever in the case of FOX.

    Or Kraft. Or whatever. It's all very silly, really.

    I think THE NATION, though, is a pretty good publication and website, by and large. While mainly they flack for Barack Obama, often they do pretty good investigative reporting and usually offer strong dissenting opinion about half the time.

    The writers who spend more face time on TV generally speaking do more of the pro-Obama stuff and the ones not famous or cute enough to be on TV do the investigative stuff.

    I wouldn't know how to write and investigative piece because it's not my job or field of expertise. Writing a pro-Obama thing is easy. Just write something critical of one of the goof-balls like Limbaugh or O'Reilly or any of the zillon Republicans (other than the handful of libertarians) who just reflexively oppose Democratic initiatives where progressive or regressive.

    All of this is why I'm much more into sports than politics.

    Posted by HebrewHePour at 08/04/2009 @ 7:35pm

23. Mr. Dolittle? Obama's no Truman nor Reagan and he's more Bush-lite. Bubba should do Iran than that Nkorean dwarf.

    --------

    Obama treads fine line on North Korea By Alexander Bolton Posted: 08/04/09 07:49 PM [ET] President Barack Obama walked a careful line in arranging the release of two American journalists imprisoned in North Korea, sending former President Bill Clinton but keeping his distance to deflect GOP criticism.

    A congressional source briefed on Clinton's negotiations told The Hill that the Obama administration asked Clinton to meet with Kim Jong-il after the North Korean leader rejected the administration's offer to send former Vice President Al Gore.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/04/2009 @ 9:51pm

24. Helen, who did you support in the election?

    Posted by winyahn at 08/04/2009 @ 10:09pm

25. Jobs Leaving U.S., Not Returning: Conference Board Tuesday, August 4, 2009 8:09 AM

    US companies are increasingly turning to offshoring their functions to achieve cost savings, and few plan to bring those jobs back to the United States, the Conference Board said Monday.

    The number of US companies with a corporate offshoring strategy in place more than doubled in the past three years, according to the fifth annual report on offshoring trends, published by Duke University in collaboration with the Conference Board.

    Of the companies surveyed, 53 percent had a corporate offshoring strategy in place, up from 22 percent in 2005, said the Conference Board, a nonprofit business research organization.

    "Sixty percent of companies that had already offshored say they have aggressive plans to expand existing activities, and very few plan to relocate activities back to the United States," it said.

    The report also said the globalization of innovation - defined as engineering, research and development (R&D), R&D support functions, product design, and software development, is accelerating.

    "Speed to market and the domestic shortage of science and engineering talent are two key drivers for offshoring projects," the board said.

    In the 2007-2008 survey, the financial services industry has the highest proportion of companies adopting corporate-wide offshoring strategies.

    In 2004, offshoring strategies were largely focused on information technology and help desk support and aimed at reducing costs.

    Now, members of senior management are expressing a growing interest in existing offshoring initiatives and future opportunities in a variety of areas, including engineering, software development, marketing and sales and procurement.

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/04/2009 @ 11:49pm

26. Ton Heijmen, senior advisor for outsourcing and offshoring at The Conference Board, and one of the report's authors, said that companies that have implemented a corporate-wide offshoring strategy often report significantly better performance.

    Such companies often have improvements in cost savings, meeting target service levels, improving relations with providers and overcoming internal resistance, he said.

    "Outsourcing innovation in engineering, research and development, product and software development, and knowledge processes makes companies, whatever their country of origin, more competitive by increasing speed to market and compensating for domestic talent gaps," Heijmen said.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------- Now the funny thing is 9,000,000. Americans are jobless and they are NOT coming back and Obamanation and the Demoncrats are doing NOTHING about that but they DO and ARE using your taxpayer dollars to bailout their major supporters like the banks, wall street, and the unions making those cars which they are giving you money to buy! (but you buy honda , huynda, and toyota?)

    Question is when will the oblivious leftwingnuts understand the the national liberal media is doing the bidding of the Demoncrats and won't touch ANY stories not supporting them ?

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/05/2009 @ 12:09am

27. Posted by BigPasture at 08/05/2009 @ 12:09am

    Duh!

    It's called "free trade" moron, and you have supported it. I would challenge it to find much support for these policies or the demons from your feared "leftwingnuts".

    Who finds the door for you in the morning?

    Posted by crabwalk at 08/05/2009 @ 05:06am

28. Helen, who did you support in the election?---Posted by winyahn at 08/04/2009 @ 10:09pm

    Helen is the last of the PUMAs....or so she claimed.

    More like a right-wing poser or a Dixiecrat.

    Posted by Mask at 08/05/2009 @ 07:56am

29. So anyway,,, Thanks Laura for once again sharing your independent insight that is so needed in todays media.

    Posted by DW99 at 08/05/2009 @ 08:40am

30. Posted by DW99 at 08/05/2009 @ 08:40am

    I'd still like an answer from Ms Flanders...

    Does she think Rachel Maddow is "in on it", too?

    Posted by Mask at 08/05/2009 @ 09:52am

31. More wins for the progressives all through this string, per Harvard Debate Rules:

    Neocon silence / non-responsiveness to valid questions and challenges.

    Posted by winyahn at 08/05/2009 @ 12:30pm

32. Posted by winyahn at 08/05/2009 @ 12:30pm

    Sorry, winy, but all final calls on following debate rules are decided by the Final Arbitor, not you....

    urmy?

    heheh

    Posted by Mask at 08/05/2009 @ 1:42pm

33. More wins for the progressives all through this string, per Harvard Debate Rules:

    Neocon silence / non-responsiveness to valid questions and challenges.

    Posted by winyahn at 08/05/2009 @ 12:30pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    Yea, youwin the golden whoopee cushion of Obamanation for the most jobs lost ever by a Pres. and congress due to inaction except to reward political cronys!

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/05/2009 @ 10:15pm

34. Posted by BigPasture at 08/05/2009 @ 10:15pm

    Yeah, vague nonsensical talking point echo chamber reduced brained failed GED pointless compensatory exclamation points!!

    Posted by winyahn at 08/05/2009 @ 11:39pm

35. Posted by winyahn at 08/05/2009 @ 11:39pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    At least you know the name "harvard" thats good! Doubt you know much else about it! Say here's a quiz for you, who was the ONLY Pres. of law school students NEVER to publish a paper which is the usual prerequisite for attaining that position?

    -

    -

    -

    Clue; some idiots voted for him as Pres. of the U.S.A.!

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/06/2009 @ 12:31am

36. Hey RIO someone's stolen your ID and is posting without exclamation points!!!

    Posted by winyahn at 08/06/2009 @ 5:45pm

37. Oh, there it is - but just one? Must be you. Not feeling well? You miss a little of your twelve daily hours of Savage / Limbaugh / OReilly / Hannity?

    Posted by winyahn at 08/06/2009 @ 5:47pm

38. I don't get news from any of those outlets anyways. They are irrelevant to me, and should be to everyone else IMO.

    Posted by Milhaus at 08/06/2009 @ 8:58pm

39. Don't get mine there either, just what comes over the air on T.V. which is liberal biased wasteland. Don't listen to talk radio either and very seldom music. Do read a lot on the net and books! Have no idea what you are talking about?

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/07/2009 @ 8:16pm

40. Big P... If you are going to go as far to the wing nut right, don't do it half ass.. You look foolish. I mean for god sake, this article is about BOTH the right and left and corporate interest..?? Can you honestly find a slant in this article too..??

    And to claim you don't listen/watch Savage / Limbaugh / OReilly / Hannity is an outright lie. Your a liar. Everything you spout on about, comes from one of the above. You don't have an independent thought in your head. Not one.

    You are being played by the same corporate interests as the rest of us. Don't pretend you are not.

    Now run along, put on your Glenn Beck Tee, get a cup of joe in your platinum member 'No-spin Zone' mug, and hit the Drudge report for some "Troof"...

    Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/08/2009 @ 12:48am

41. Big P... If you are going to go as far to the wing nut right, don't do it half ass.. You look foolish. I mean for god sake, this article is about BOTH the right and left and corporate interest..?? Can you honestly find a slant in this article too..??

    And to claim you don't listen/watch Savage / Limbaugh / OReilly / Hannity is an outright lie. Your a liar. Everything you spout on about, comes from one of the above. You don't have an independent thought in your head. Not one.

    You are being played by the same corporate interests as the rest of us. Don't pretend you are not.

    Now run along, put on your Glenn Beck Tee, get a cup of joe in your platinum member 'No-spin Zone' mug, and hit the Drudge report for some "Troof"...

    Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/08/2009 @ 12:48am

42. Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/08/2009 @ 12:48am | ignore this person | warn this person

    So how do you get Fox without dish or cable, please let me know, it sounds good!

    Can't believe you are ignorant enough to hate corporations that provide jobs! Guess you are one of the Demoncrats that want to keep 15,000,000. unemployed and out of corporate generated work so you can play Hitler with them while you tax them from cradle to grave to their deaths?

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/08/2009 @ 06:43am

43. So how do you get Fox without dish or cable, please let me know, it sounds good!

    Can't believe you are ignorant enough to hate corporations that provide jobs! Guess you are one of the Demoncrats that want to keep 15,000,000. unemployed and out of corporate generated work so you can play Hitler with them while you tax them from cradle to grave to their deaths?

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/08/2009 @ 06:43am | ignore this person | warn this person

    LOL... So you, who dosen't have a pot to piss in, are a conservative Republican..?? LOL...

    And whats with your mancrush on Adolph ..?? Kinda creepy...

    Listen, if you are pro-insurance, pro-pharma, just say so. Don't be disingenuous and say otherwise. Im sure your health insurance is tip-top.. Is it not ??

    PS.... I work for GD now.. So no chief, I don't hate corporations... I'm more Radical Moderate than Dem...

    Taxes I could do w/o, but that grave part sounds good for most of you and your ilk.

    Sincerely, Your Pal

    Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/08/2009 @ 6:44pm

44. Vuf1969 I understand special needs children want attention and deserve if, but your being a total fool isn't charming in the least. The Amer. w/Disabilities act may have gotten you a job, but don't expect them to hand you CEO.

    If you took the time you'd know I'm Independent registared longer than you've been sucking a sugar tet! Yea, I've got great health and health insurance!

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/09/2009 @ 10:42am

45. "Is the world flat?

    We report.

    YOU decide!"

    That in a nutshell is 24 hour cable news.

    :-)

    Posted by toritto at 08/10/2009 @ 10:45am

46. Vuf1969 I understand special needs children want attention and deserve if, but your being a total fool isn't charming in the least. The Amer. w/Disabilities act may have gotten you a job, but don't expect them to hand you CEO.

    If you took the time you'd know I'm Independent registared longer than you've been sucking a sugar tet! Yea, I've got great health and health insurance!

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/09/2009 @ 10:42am | ignore this person | warn this person

    LOL.. Your independent.. Independent from what ..? Logical thought ? Clean underwear ? Because your politics sure reek of right wing religious fruitcake... So yeah, give us all a break chief..

    Your about as independent as Bill O'reilly.. Take credit for your looniness. Please.. It would be a good first step in your recovery.

    Have a great day !

    Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/10/2009 @ 6:10pm

47. Ps.. Mr. Pasture,

    Im not the worlds best spelllor, but you should hit spell cheek every so oftan...

    and pps... I'll turn the big 4-0 in a few months, so i have been officially off the teet for at least 11 years now.

    sincerely, your pal

    can I get some of those reservation Marlboros's from you ..??

    Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/10/2009 @ 10:27pm

48. Your about as independent as Bill O'reilly.

    You must have missed his article in the "Parade" insert in our local paper where he listed the FIVE qualities children can learn from President Obama! But, not being a reader or a writer I'm sure that is too Independent thinking for you?

    Posted by BigPasture at 08/10/2009 @ 11:18pm