Countdown with Keith Olbermann Review

Overall 2.67 of 5 view all 3 reviews

kyriakideso
Norwalk, CT

Olbermann Belongs on Comedy Central

Open-minded

Pros

Spoke up when no one else did!

Cons

Violated some journalistic ethics

FEB

2009

On April 2, 2007, MSNBC unveiled its new tagline: "A Fuller Spectrum of News." Perhaps this was in response to the broadening content of its most popular show, Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Just last week Olbermann spent 1 minute and 9 seconds reporting on a clip of a runaway Parisian police horse. It was a segment one might expect from Comedy Central's The Daily Show, but not from a network whose name ends in the letters N-B-C. Olbermann and the other talking heads of the Mainstream Media (MSM) damage their credibility by blurring the lines between news and entertainment.
On weeknights at eight o'clock, the MSM puts on a three-ring circus of "infotainment;" where Olbermann goes up against FOX News's Bill O'Reilly and CNN's Campbell Brown. As defined by the Dictionary of Mass Communication and Media Research, infotainment is "information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers."
Edward R. Murrow once said that television has the ability to "distract, delude, amuse and insulate us." To Marvin Kitman of The Nation, Keith T. Olbermann may be the next Edward R. Murrow. However, Murrow did not aim to contribute to this distraction and delusion in the way that Olbermann does. For Countdown's "Puppet Theater" segment, Olbermann plays puppeteer and ventriloquist to cut out faces of celebrities and politicians. It is certainly amusing and timely but the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) deems "distorting the content of news photos" and performing "misleading re-enactments of news events" unethical.
Olbermann himself maintains that, "[Countdown is not] a show in which opinion and facts are juxtaposed so as to appear to be the same thing." Still the former Sportscaster lends more artistic flare than journalistic meat to the program. Each night Olbermann counts down his five favorite news stories of the day. They are peppered with amusing segments such as "Oddball", and the "Best and Worst Persons in the World." Countdown's five focuses on a range of issues; they often include the underreported scandals of the Bush administration. Olbermann's tone grows up a bit when he references the torture at Guantanamo Bay and the death toll in Iraq. But one short commercial break later and Olbermann is overanalyzing the namesakes of Sarah Palin's children (2/6/09) and taking cheap shots at Bill O'Reilly (2003-present). By now, his tone reflects mild amusement; and even he seems unconvinced by his content's place in the newsroom.
Olbermann's work with the colorful ESPN influences his style as a news anchor as well. He inundates his audience with a barrage of stats. Yet he takes care to annunciate and speak clearly, emphasizing the serious implications of his stories. Unfortunately, Olbermann hosts a variety of guests who undermine his credibility as a hard-hitting journalist.
On January 18, 2007, Olbermann hosted retired U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey. When asked about ending the war, the "MSNBC Military Analyst," answered, "We need to get [into Iraq] with equipment so we can get out." A satisfied Olbermann thanked the former General for his insight and deferred to a commercial break.
McCaffrey's appearance on a number of NBC Universal programs prompted The Society of Professional Journalists to investigate his credentials. The Society discovered that, "McCaffrey has a financial interest in the war. His firm has earned millions of dollars in consulting fees from defense-oriented companies." Not surprisingly, he used platforms such as Countdown to promote the sale of military equipment. In their Code of Ethics, the SPJ advises journalists to "be free of any interest other than the public's right to know." The report concluded, "NBC had failed to hold itself to that standard by relying on McCaffrey in its reporting without revealing his connections. This failure is a grievous violation of one of the most basic tenets of journalism ethics."
Yet above all, Countdown has served as Olbermann's platform to oppose the war in Iraq. And if his program benefits the American people in one way, it is through his fearlessness as a member of the Mainstream Media. His harsh criticisms of the Bush Administration have earned him both fans and foes.
But Olbermann has not made it his mission to appeal to a Republican agenda. He aims at entertaining those who generally agree with his political views by presenting them with at least five mildly shocking news items each day. So, to those in the mood for a rousing hour of quasi-serious left-leaning political banter, Countdown will do just fine.