Sideshow: 2d cable talker is suspended
MSNBC's time-out corner is occupied again. On Friday, the network suspended conservative morning-show host Joe Scarborough for two whole days for giving money to politicians. He'll be gone Monday and Tuesday.
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MSNBC's time-out corner is occupied again.
On Friday, the network suspended conservative morning-show host Joe Scarborough for two whole days for giving money to politicians. He'll be gone Monday and Tuesday.
A couple of weeks ago, liberal evening show host Keith Olbermann got the same harsh treatment from superiors for the same offense.
Olbermann gave $2,400 to three Democrats, including one who appeared on his show. In a statement released by MSNBC Friday, Morning Joe Scarborough says he gave $500 each to his brother and three family friends, all Republicans in his home state of Florida, all in supposedly non-competitive local races. "I had no interest in their campaigns other than being kind to longtime friends," Scarborough said.
The website Politico initially uncovered the contributions of both men. It says Scarborough dished out $4,000, not $2,000.
Both blabbers violated NBC policy forbidding employees from making political gifts without getting the OK from higher-ups. In 2006, Scarborough gave $4,200 to the congressional campaign of an Oregon Republican who then appeared on his show, but MSNBC execs had approved the contribution.
Box office wizardry
The Boy Who Lived had a lively night on Thursday, but still couldn't beat the undead. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, the first installment in the boy wizard's final smackdown with Voldemort, made its debut at the witching hour of midnight and levitated $24 million right out of the pockets and purses of domestic movie audiences. Impressive as that opening was, it still came in third to the last two Twilight vampire movies: last summer's Eclipse with $30 million and 2009's New Moon with $26.3 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. Expect Deathly Hallows to pull in more than $100 mil over the weekend, predicted Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Around the world, the Potter franchise, based on the novels of J.K. Rowling, has taken in almost $5.5 billion since the first Harry Potter movie debuted in 2001.