Opinion: KOed.... MSNBC or Keith Olbermann?

by Christine Maginnis

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC’s Countdown has been suspended indefinitely without pay due to political contributions. According to Politico, Olbermann made three separate donations of $2,400 to three different Democratic candidates.

This move on the part of MSNBC has the same corporate, underhanded stench that reeked when NBC fired Conan O’Brien from the Tonight Show. Phil Griffin, the head of MSNBC said in a statement released late Friday afternoon, "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."

Blogging? That will be $300 please, if you live in Philly

Talk is cheap.  But it's not free if you live in Philadelphia.

The Consumerist reports that if you're a Philadelphia based blogger, you need to purchase a business license for $300 if you want to continue blogging.  Why?  Well, because blogs are populated with advertisements, Philadelphia considers blogging is a business.  Never mind that most bloggers make hardly a penny from blogging, according to Philadelphia, if you blog you're officially running a business.

So much for the purpose of blogs being the dissemination of ideas, information and opinions.  You can still do that in Philadelphia, but it's going to cost you.  This story was originally reported on City Paper, where you can read more about Philly's new money grab.

What do you think?  Should bloggers be treated as a business? Or does imposing a mandatory fee on blogging prevent bloggers from exercising their first amendment rights?