If you’ve ever watched The Wire, you have an appreciation for how it brilliantly characterizes the actions of entire organizations as the whims of a few men in power. Even in a fictionalized world imbued with caricature to prove a point, it’s still frightening to see back-scratching and petty power struggles between city officials dictating whether the police can build a true difference-making case.
By that logic, it’s scary as hell to read the first section of the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz’s “Media Notes,” which details how an ideological feud between Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly escalated into a smear campaign of General Electric and a pissing match between Rupert Murdoch, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker, and Fox News head Roger Ailes using coverage as bargaining chips.
Everyone is well-aware of MSNBC’s third-place ranking behind CNN and Fox News in 24-hour news network primetime ratings, with Fox News scoring three times as many viewers in that slot back in August 2007. A January 2008 ranking of the top programs by network also confirms MSNBC’s lagging position.
Olbermann’s status as the #1 rated MSNBC show is (at least) partially due to his constant trash-talking on O’Reilly. Preaching to his allegedly smug, collegiate choir. Everyone loves a good controversy! Except when journalistic integrity is completely obliterated at its expense.