Against all odds, it finally happened, and it reflects a glorious state of affairs in the establishment media.
Yes, it took criticizing a fellow establishment propagandist, but at least longtime liberal commentator Keith Olbermann finally wrote something sensible.
Late last month on the social media platform X, Olbermann accused former protege and current MSNBC host Rachel Maddow of lacking principle on account of the contract she recently signed at a time of uncertainty and distress for nearly all of her like-minded colleagues.
“She just re-signed for $25m,” Olbermann posted on Nov. 22. “If you think she’d do anything for principle, I’ll light a candle for you.”
She just re-signed for $25m. If you think she’d do anything for principle, I’ll light a candle for you
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) November 22, 2024
Last month, Maddow reportedly renegotiated her $30 million deal with MSNBC and took a pay cut down to $25 million. But that number represents compensation for only one weekly show, plus special appearances.
Moreover, that still-massive new salary came amid plummeting ratings and an uncertain future for the establishment network.
Does Maddow care about anyone other than herself?
For instance, upon learning late last month that media giant Comcast planned to spin off MSNBC and other networks into a new company, “Morning Joe” co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski joked that they could lose their jobs within the next year — or perhaps any day now.
That sort of gallows humor probably did not go over so well once news of Maddow’s new contract broke.
Olbermann, of course, shares Maddow’s intense hatred of President-elect Donald Trump. In fact, both patients’ Trump Derangement Syndrome has advanced so far that it now amounts to a kind of dialect.
Moreover, Olbermann helped Maddow advance her career at MSNBC. But Maddow, according to the New York Post, reportedly vetoed the idea of Olbermann returning to the network in 2022.
In other words, Olbermann might have cause to feel resentful and even jealous.
“Someone’s still smarting that his protégée eclipsed him,” one X user wrote.
Someone’s still smarting that his protégée eclipsed him.
— beganin67 (@whitja) November 22, 2024
Olbermann’s possible motives aside, his comment about Maddow had merit.
“Obviously Rachel is a true champion of the proletariat. You know, like she’s always pretended to be,” another X user sarcastically wrote.
Obviously Rachel is a true champion of the proletariat. You know, like she’s always pretended to be.
— Kevin W. Mattingly (@KevinWM2) November 22, 2024
To put the situation in context, X owner and Trump ally Elon Musk has joked about potentially buying MSNBC. Trump voters, of course, probably found that hilarious.
The people who work for MSNBC and have legitimate concerns about their futures, however, probably found it less funny. And Maddow’s still-gargantuan contract could not have improved their spirits.
The good news — at least for those who do not work at MSNBC — is that Maddow’s renegotiated contract shows that the going rate for uniquely shameless propagandists is still quite exorbitant.
After all, many on-air establishment propagandists can read what their bosses put in front of them. But to allow yourself to become the face of so much gaslighting? That kind of propagandist costs money. They have expensive souls for sale.
Maddow, of course, never paid the price for her relentless lies about the Trump-Russia collusion.
Nor did she suffer for uttering untrue words about the COVID “vaccine” on-air.
“Now we know that the vaccines work well enough that the virus stops with every vaccinated person,” she said in 2021.
#thursdaymorning
Why I don’t trust the media especially, Rachel Maddow as she spread lies and never once apologized for her misinformation or faced any consequences for her vaccine lies .
“Now we know that the vaccines work well enough that the virus stops with every vaccinated… pic.twitter.com/zrY5AHSI9Z— 🦅 Eagle Wings 🦅 (@CRRJA5) April 18, 2024
In short, Olbermann has peddled many of the same lies for less money. So he is almost certainly bitter and jealous, but he is also not wrong about Maddow’s selfishness.
Happily, this state of affairs in the establishment media cannot last. As more people awaken to the lies, establishment propagandists will cannibalize one another and eventually fade into irrelevance.
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