griffin

From the wake of the Keith Olbermann suspension comes this new bit of news:

MSNBC said Friday that it is suspending “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough for two days after he acknowledged giving eight previously unknown $500 contributions to friends and family members running for state and local offices during his tenure at the network, a violation of parent NBC’s ban on political contributions by employees without specific permission from the network president.

“I recognize that I have a responsibility to honor the guidelines and conditions of my employment, and I regret that I failed to do so in this matter,” Scarborough said in a statement. “I apologize to MSNBC and to anyone who has been negatively affected by my actions,” he said, adding that after he was made aware of some of the contributions, he called MSNBC president Phil Griffin “and agreed with Phil's immediate demand of a two-day suspension without pay.”

I wonder how much longer this rule will last? MSNBC has become more partisan over the years and they can’t expect their hosts to not give to campaigns or remember to seek “permission” for every single donation.

Talk about a short suspension:

STATEMENT REGARDING KEITH OLBERMANN - SUNDAY, NOV. 7

From Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC:
After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night's program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.

And it turns out this was all over something I suspected – egos:

Network sources tell Playbook that Keith Olbermann was suspended because he refused to deliver an on-camera mea culpa, which would have allowed him to continue anchoring "Countdown." Olbermann told his bosses he didn't know he was barred from making campaign contributions, although he is resisting saying that publicly. Olbermann may not hold as many cards as he thinks. He makes $7 million a year and MSNBC's prime time is not as dependent on him as it was before the addition of Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, who make considerably less.

Seeing more details come to light makes me think that we’ll see more stories like this in the future. Olbermann’s contract is up in 2012, so I wonder if he’ll be looking to go elsewhere, or if Griffin will look to push him out, when that happens.

Mediaite has obtained an email from MSNBC boss Phil Griffin to a viewer who was upset over Shuster not being on the air. Here’s what Griffin said:

From: Griffin, Phil (NBC Universal)
Sent: Wed 4/07/10 11:16 PM

Sorry, but this is a business and I need team players. He was not moral, ethical or professional and that is not fair to the 500 people who work at msnbc.

Thanks for your note,
Phil

Anyone who knows anything about human resources would quickly describe Griffin’s email as nor moral, ethical or professional. Actually this email could very well give Shuster a way out of his contract if he decided to pursue it through arbitration. Of course that could be exactly what Griffin was thinking when he wrote it.

Joe Scarborough’s tweet last week slamming Keith Olbermann has gained some attention, including from their boss:

Griffin sent a memo, obtained by the Huffington Post, to network talent and executive producers clamping down on infighting within the network.

"We have many strong personalities with differing, passionate opinions, but it is important to remember that we are all on the same team," Griffin said in the memo. "I want to reiterate my long-standing policy: We do not publicly criticize our colleagues. This kind of behavior is unprofessional and will not be tolerated."

Earlier this week, "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough blasted Keith Olbermann on Twitter for his comments that Scott Brown is "an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees."

The Huffington Post has the full memo here. Mediaite, a site founded by MSNBC legal analyst Dan Abrams, adds:

We hear Scarborough apologized to Griffin for his comments. Griffin also talked to Olbermann, and Olbermann didn’t think it merited punishment. So the letter to staff (but really to Scarborough) went out instead.