Kurtz: The War Between Olbermann and MSNBC Brass Opened Vicious Infighting

Howard Kurtz at The Daily Beast has the inside details of the battle between Keith Olbermann and his superiors at MSNBC over his recent suspension for making unapproved political campaign contributions. Those contributions, sources tell Kurtz, are upsetting other NBC top journalists who are worried that they damage the reputation of the network, and thus their credibility.

Keith Olbermann was having dinner with his manager at an Upper East Side restaurant, chewing over their battle to lift his suspension at MSNBC, when Phil Griffin called.

Michael Price stepped out of the Atlantic Grill to talk to MSNBC’s president, leaving his client with a platter of 18 oysters. It was Sunday, Nov. 7, and Price informed Griffin that if they couldn’t resolve their differences quickly, Olbermann would take his complaints public by accepting invitations from Good Morning America, David Letterman, and Larry King.

Keith Olbermann (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images) “Why are you putting us in the position where you’re daring us to do this?” Price demanded, his voice rising.

“If you go on GMA, I will fire Keith,” Griffin shot back. Such a move was clearly grounds for dismissal.

The manager returned to the restaurant. He and Olbermann, who had been pushing hard to end the suspension the next day, discussed whether they would be burning bridges by carrying out the threat. Minutes later, their phones buzzed with emails from reporters, asking about a statement that NBC had just released. Olbermann, it said, would be allowed to return to his prime-time show on Tuesday—a day later than he had wanted.

Price called Griffin again. “What compelled you to do that in that way?” he asked.

“We are at war,” Griffin responded.

If so, it was a war that had spread beyond the principal combatants to many of the journalists who work at NBC and MSNBC. From the moment Olbermann was found to have donated money to three Democratic candidates, there has been a deepening sense of anger and frustration among his colleagues, according to interviews with eight knowledgeable sources. These sources, who declined to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the situation, say that several of NBC’s front-line stars, including Tom Brokaw, have expressed concern to management that Olbermann has badly damaged MSNBC’s reputation for independence. (NBC and MSNBC executives declined to comment, and Olbermann declined to be interviewed.)

Kurtz Looks at Obama Press Conferences and Their Value to the Networks

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz this morning examines the value of President Obama's news conferences both from the perspective of the major networks and their overall news value. He also looks at how Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel went to the top of the ladder to persuade the networks to broadcast the most recent event.

Rather than calling ABC, the White House chief of staff phoned Bob Iger, chief executive of parent company Disney. Instead of contacting NBC, Emanuel went to Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive of General Electric. He also spoke with Les Moonves, the chief executive of CBS, the company spun off from Viacom.

Whether this amounted to undue pressure or plain old Chicago arm-twisting, Emanuel got results: the fourth hour of lucrative network time for his boss in six months. But network executives have been privately complaining to White House officials that they cannot afford to keep airing these sessions in the current economic downturn.

The networks "absolutely" feel pressured, says Paul Friedman, CBS's senior vice president: "It's an enormous financial cost when the president replaces one of those prime-time hours. The news divisions also have mixed feelings about whether they are being used."

But are the events worth it to the networks?

The financial stakes are considerable. ABC, CBS and NBC have given up as much as $40 million in advertising revenue to carry this year's East Room events. "We lose more than $3 million a show," Moonves told Mediaweek. The Fox broadcast network has declined to carry the last two Obama sessions.

Every president exercises considerable control over his encounters with reporters, picking on selected journalists and deflecting questions he doesn't like. But Obama's discursive style has also tended to depress the news value of the sessions.

He began the last one with an eight-minute opening statement. His answer to the first question, including a follow-up, lasted more than seven minutes. All told, the lengthy responses allowed time for only 10 reporters to be recognized. And Obama's professorial style of explaining policy at length, rather than offering punchy sound bites, may serve him well, but rarely yields dramatic headlines.

One result: The audience is gradually dwindling. The last presser drew 24 million viewers, a significant number but a 50 percent decline from Obama's first such event in February.

Media Stars Shine for Obama's Inauguration

Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post reports that the media stars are out in full force today for President Barack Obama's inauguration:

It's turning into the royal wedding, isn't it?" asks Tina Brown, who threw a brunch Sunday at the Council on Foreign Relations with MSNBC's Joe Scarborough.

Every inauguration is a major media moment, with nonstop television coverage, newspapers churning out special editions and correspondents parachuting in from around the globe. But it is hard to envision this level of intensity if John McCain were taking the oath of office. All the hoopla has left the impression that many in journalism are thrilled by Obama's swearing-in.

"We wanted to celebrate the key themes of the Obama era," says Arianna Huffington, who hosted more than 1,500 guests at the Newseum last night at a bash featuring massive computer screens -- and live-blogging stations -- and entertainment by Will.I.Am, Sheryl Crow and Sting. These include "the rise of the Internet and new media and the role they had in getting him elected, and the way he's going to use it to govern."

At times, the line between celebrity and journalist seemed to vanish. Sharon Stone began interviewing 11-year-old Adrian Kali Turner, one of a group of kids picked to sing with Will.I.Am, on a reporter's behalf.

Why was she excited by Obama? "It's a benchmark in history," Adrian said. Can we get past color? "We're all the same inside," she said.

Beaming at her journalistic handiwork, Stone declared: "It wasn't Will.I.Am who said that. It was a little girl who said that."

Bill Press, a radio host at WWRC (1260 AM) -- now renamed "OBAMA 1260" -- arranged for other liberal hosts, including Stephanie Miller and Randi Rhodes, to join a radio and television broadcast on Sunday at George Washington University, complete with a live band. "We wanted to celebrate the inauguration of someone we all worked hard to get elected, and the role that progressive talk radio played," he says.

Kurtz: No Standing O for Obama in Washington Post Newsroom

Contrary to the reports on the Internet yesterday, Washington Post editors and reports did not give president-elect Barack Obama a standing ovation yesterday when he worked the newsroom, according to Post media critic Howard Kurtz. But, he writes, there was a mob scene that underscored the fact that Obama is not only the incoming president, but a worldwide celebrity.

Camera phones flashed as Obama, trailed by Post Co. chief executive Donald Graham, began his stroll around the fifth-floor newsroom's perimeter, shaking hands and greeting nearly 200 staffers. "Where are the sportswriters?" he asked. "I want to ask about the Redskins, Nationals and Wizards."

The shouted questions were about what you would expect from the heart of one of the world's great newspapers.

"Did you like Ben's Chili Bowl?" asked Metro reporter Theola Labbe-DeBose, referring to Obama's recent visit to the downtown eatery.

"That half-smoke's all right," Obama said.

Another staffer asked about the family's dog search.

"Haven't decided yet," said Obama, who visited USA Today earlier in the day.

The president-elect had the foresight to ask about the weather. "What's Tuesday looking like?" he wondered.

... Does the episode, which some staffers muttered was a tad embarrassing, mean the paper's staff has a soft spot for Obama? Not really. It means that when an extremely famous and soon to be very powerful person shows up at the office, journalists act like people everywhere. They gawk.