O'Reilly Blasts at GE Coming From Upstairs

(NEWSER) - It took the intervention of a PBS peacemaker to halt the bitterest media fight of the decade, insiders tell the New York Times. Bosses at Fox and at MSNBC owner GE were fed up with Keith Olbermann and Bill O'Reilly's long-running feud—especially after they started savaging each other's networks—and proved receptive when PBS interviewer Charlie Rose spoke to chief executives Rupert Murdoch and Jeffrey Immelt about ending it. More»

Olbermann calls O'Reilly 'worst'; O'Reilly attacks GE

(NEWSER) - The feud between Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann continues, despite word of a peace deal: On Monday Olbermann said there was no truce and awarded O’Reilly the silver medal for “World’s Worst Person.” Then he gave the gold to Fox News honcho Rupert Murdoch. O’Reilly kept up the battle last night with an attack on MSNBC-parent company General Electric, the Huffington Post reports. More»

Trouble is 'thin line' between journalism, commentary: Meghan McCain

(NEWSER) - Keith Olbermann shouldn’t have been taken to task for donating to Democrats because he’s not a journalist—he’s a commentator, argues Meghan McCain in the Daily Beast . But the kerfuffle spotlights a key issue as the lines between entertainment, journalism, and commentary blur: News outlets need to decide which category they fall into, and be clear about it. More»

'Countdown' host appears to breach NBC ethics rules

(NEWSER) - Keith Olbermann donated $2,400—the maximum individual contribution—apiece to three Democrats before Election Day, apparently breaking NBC rules, Politico reports. The MSNBC host, who has acknowledged the contributions, gave to two Arizona representatives the day one of them, Raul Grijalva, stopped by his show (the other was Gabrielle Giffords); he also gave to failed Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway. Like many news outlets, NBC bans its employees from giving to campaigns. More»

With O'Reilly and Olbermann, lets wingnuts 'let off steam'

(NEWSER) - Glenn Beck infuriates many liberals, but they should really be thanking him: His rhetoric tempers fringe sentiments and prevents violence, writes Reihan Salam for the Daily Beast. Talking heads like Beck and Bill O’Reilly “take unspoken anxieties very seriously,” giving voice to a “small and alienated minority,” he contends, arguing that they have “done more to keep Americans safe than 10,000 public service announcements.” More»