Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
Olbermann's latest stunt surely pleased most of his fans, many of whom hate Fox News as much as he does. I personally appreciate the candor of Olbermann's comments, and it's hard to disagree with him. The truth is that Fox News disrespects the entire concept of journalistic integrity and represents a part of America that many thought had disappeared long ago.
I am especially appreciative toward Olbermann for defending me in the past when Bill O'Reilly spent an entire week on his show trying to get me fired from Syracuse University. Olbermann rightly pointed out that O'Reilly used lies to attack me, and provided the quote to prove it. Olbermann's efforts didn't really work, however, as many of my Syracuse colleagues were so spooked by O'Reilly's electronic terrorism (he even sent a reporter to stalk the chancellor) that I spent the next two years dealing with underhanded shenanigans from scholars who share O'Reilly's disdain for African American scholarship. No matter who you are, the life of a black scholar is never easy and there are thousands of horror stories to prove it.
Another interesting aspect of this on-going dispute is that while we're all riled up over the feud between Fox and MSNBC, the truth is that it's all about "the Benjamins." O'Reilly earns tens of millions of dollars every year by engaging in exactly what Olbermann is complaining about: Misleading rhetoric that is designed to incite racial animosity and political feuds, which may lead our nation to eventual civil war and anarchy. Fox loves when we complain about their network, for it fuels the fire of racial hatred on which our nation was founded.
But the same way Batman needed the Joker, Olbermann and MSNBC benefit handsomely from Bill O'Reilly's existence. By having O'Reilly as a consistent rival and getting the rest of us pumped up about it, MSNBC has seen it's ratings climb significantly over the past couple of years. So, the last thing that Keith Olbermann would want is for Bill O'Reilly to go off the air, for every hero needs a villain.
But while the two big name anchors fight it out at the top of the pile, one group that is consistently left behind in the rhetoric is the African American community. As much as MSNBC might seem to be a friend to African Americans, the truth is that they have the exact same number of branded night time hosts as Fox News (zero). Well, actually Fox can now claim to own the infamous Juan Williams, one of the few black men in America willing to stand alongside those who hate African Americans.
Rev. Al Sharpton refers to the lack of African Americans on any of the "Big Three" cable news networks as "All white, all night." So, while Keith Olbermann was correct to point out the BS in the Fox News approach to making news, he may want to take a look at his own network. None of us are innocent in the game of racial oppression.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.