MSNBC's Olbermann suspended

NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann was suspended Friday when the cable channel discovered he made campaign contributions to three Democrats, station officials said.

Politico reported Friday morning Olbermann's contributions were in apparent violation of MSNBC policy.

In a response to Politico, Olbermann, host of "Countdown," acknowledged donations of $2,400 to the campaigns of Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Attorney General Jack Conway of Kentucky, who lost his Senate race to Rand Paul, The New York Times reported.

MSNBC president Phil Griffin, in a statement, said, "I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay."

NBC appeared to be attempting to separate itself from the Fox News Channel, a unit of the News Corp., the Times said.

Media Matters, a liberal media monitoring group, noted Friday two Fox News hosts, Neil Cavuto and Sean Hannity, had given money to Republican politicians in the past.

Michael C. Moynihan, a writer for the magazine Reason, wondered why MSNBC has a "one-size-fits-all policy" about contributions.

"Isn't it unfair to hold Olbermann, who is one of the most partisan people on television (if not of Earth), to the same standards as, say, Brian Williams?" Moynihan wrote.

"Countdown exists to promote Democratic candidates and liberal policies, which is just fine by me. So why shouldn't Olbermann, as a private citizen, be allowed to donate money to those candidates he plumps for on television?" Moynihan said.