For O’Reilly and Olbermann, it’s business as usual

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The question isn’t who broke the alleged truce between Bill O’Reilly of Fox News and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann first but whether there was any real truce in the first place.

Sure, some executives at Fox News and its parent News Corp. and at MSNBC and its parent General Electric have had on-again-off-again chats over the last few years about getting their two respective loudmouths to tone it down a little.

But both seemed to have forgotten to tell the loudmouths themselves. At least that’s what Olbermann has been saying. O’Reilly hasn’t really talked about any of the behind-the-scenes gossip about the alleged peace talks, choosing instead to make some pretty strong and, in his own words, ‘unconfirmed’ accusations about GE materials being used in roadside bombs.

Bottom line is whatever both companies were hoping to accomplish blew up in their faces. On the surface, MSNBC and GE looks worse for wear since they seem to have been the ones more out front on this whole truce thing in the first place. It was GE spokesman Gary Sheffer who told the New York Times ‘we all recognize that a certain level of civility needed to be introduced into the public discussion, we’re happy that has happened.’

The only problem was it hadn’t happened when he said it late last month, and it certainly hasn’t happened since then. Fox and News Corp. were at least smart enough to keep quiet, as far as the public is concerned, on this whole truce thing.

While the rhetoric is only getting uglier, the ratings are getting bigger and ultimately that is only language that the bosses really understand or care about. That’s the bottom line.

-- Joe Flint

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