Some Monday "Byko" Blather Redux

I was really hoping that Stu Bykofsky of the Philadelphia Daily News would give the Keith Olbermann story a rest, but no such luck (here)…

Anyone who thinks Olbermann is an impartial journalist would also have to believe Eliot Spitzer's whore was a virgin.

Wow, what astute commentary from “Byko” (and he’d better be careful when it comes to invoking philandering episodes involving TV personalities; he just got done writing this idiotic column alleging that his hero Bill O’Reilly was more “fair and balanced” than Olbermann – good luck trying to pin something like this on K.O., whereas all you have to do is Google Billo and Andrea Mackris to discover some truly interesting legal revelations involving a loofah and a shower, and I’ll leave it at that).

Continuing…

(MSNBC) has wanted it both ways. He's a commentator on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," which The New York Times recognizes as "a leading forum for liberal politicians." As my column last Thursday showed, it is a forum for liberals only. But MSNBC also allowed him to anchor, as he did for the network's Tuesday election-night coverage.

Being openly partisan kills your credibility as an objective journalist, which anchors should be. They, and reporters, must avoid even the appearance of partiality.

I would add that wishing “another 9/11,” as Bykofsky did here, does a hell of a lot more to “(kill) your credibility” than making a political contribution (and just for the record, I’ll let go of that when Bykofsky apologizes for it, if he ever does).

Continuing…

Last month - proving you're never too old to learn something stupid - K.O. self-righteously grumped about "a national cable-news outlet [Fox News] that goes beyond having a point of view and actually starts to shill for partisan causes and actually starts to donate to partisan groups of one party."

Do as I say, not as I do?

More trouble rolled in. After the Murdoch donations were disclosed, MSNBC president Phil Griffin last month told The New York Times, "Show me an example of us fundraising."

Donating is worse…

Really?

I’ll tell you what, Byko – here is Rachel Maddow’s commentary once more from last Friday on all of this, in which she contrasts the $7,200 donated by Keith (of course, Bykofsky doesn’t mention that Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough donated to Republicans before this mysterious change in network policy at MSNBC) with the millions raised by Fix Noise on behalf of Republican candidates.



Oh, and Byko concludes by saying "The fact that Olbermann is MSNBC's most popular personality explains why the suspension was so brief."

I would say that that's true. I would also say that a petition with about 200,000 signatures demanding Keith's reinstatement was a factor also (here - actually, I think the final total was closer to 250,000).

Do us all a favor, Byko, and write about Center City Philadelphia scofflaws, ethically compromised public officials and abuses of the Parking Authority next time, OK? If you feel the inclination to comment on things you don’t know about, talk to your editor (do you have one?) first. It will help to have input from an actual grownup in these matters.

Or, if all else fails, just go ahead and launch another ad hominem attack on bloggers again as you did here. After last Tuesday, I could use a good laugh.

Update 11/11/10: Sounds like “Byko” got “pwned,” as they say, here (of course, Carlson is a juvenile idiot – in other news, water is wet and sky is blue…wonder if Bykofsky will now write a column or two comparing Carlson’s scribble page to HuffPo?).