Joe Scarborough: What Is It About Keith Olbermann's Experience You Don't Understand?

Or the discipline for misconduct or lapses from the ethics standards in place in every serious journalistic organization?  That of course, excludes Fox News.

Even Jonathon Berr, of Daily Finance put it, in his article arguing for a lesser enforcement of the MSNBC standard - suggesting a warning would be more appropriate, "The fact that Fox News has no such restrictions in place does not mean they are right."


I disagree with Berr.  MSNBC has opted for a consistent rather than a variable enforcement of their standards, given that this is apparently not being followed consistently by their employees.  Clearly, under other circumstances, Scarborough HAS in fact sought permission before making a donation.

Unlike Berr, I applaud MSNBC for not excusing these unapproved donations for some races but not others.  Mr. Berr himself admits this MNSBC policy "serves a useful purpose.  It helps to ensure that broadcasters don't hijack MSNBC's airwaves for their own political purposes."

I would argue that the potential influence of a national broadcaster on the smallest of races, as these donations were, carries a greater relative influence than one of these national broadcasters would on a national level race.

Either it is right, or it is wrong.  Fox, and the other talking heads on the right are only ON the relative political right in their political position, but they are IN the wrong.  And in being in the wrong, they bring down the larger standards of the media.  We need better standards, including for accuracy.  Fox and the other networks like Salem Broadcasting represent in that context, dilution and pollution of ethical media standards, be it neutrality, or observing and commenting rather than active involvement, or the shameful lack ongoing disinformation and journalistic sloppiness of the right.

The only other question of course continues to be......why does the audience on the right embrace these sloppy standards, these chronic inacuracies with such enthusiasm?  Becaues they wouldn't exist, if the right weren't perfectly happy to be consumers of them.  Shame on the right media, but also shame on the right wing audience for this.

And good for MSNBC for setting a higher bar than their partisan opposites.  Good for CNN, good for NPR for having ad holding those higher standards as well.

I wonder how long it will take the rest of the media stable at MSNBC to recognize those are serious standards?