Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Nolan, On Think Progress, vs. Comcast and O'Reilly ...It's Not The Whole Story


This is one of those low-buzz, barely on the radar stories of lowly local news guy who takes on Bill O'Reilly and gets fired.


Sounds good, right?

Barry Nolan, who has been around the block, of CN8 Comcast, in Boston, took umbrage of Bill O'Reilly getting the Governors Award at the local New England EMMY chapter annual gathering.

After railing about it to his colleagues in the industry, Nolan simply handed out flyers to the attendees, quoting O'Reilly from his Sexual Harassment lawsuit, that he settled for millions.

Naturally, the enormo-corporate giant, seat-paying, Comcast suspended Nolan, for two-weeks, for said action.

Today, on Think Progress, they have a guest post from Nolan, explaining "The Story Behind My O’Reilly Protest".

All fine and good ... Anyone that beats up on the Pinhead-of-Pinheads is okay in our book.

But don't shed too many tears for Nolan.

While, almost certainly, the O'Reilly Protest contributed to his firing, there was another action Nolan took, that he doesn't mention in his Think Progress guest post, which likely had just as much, if not more, reason for his firing;

Nolan accepted, while on suspension from CN8 Comcast, an assignment from the television rag, Extra (who Nolan once worked for), covering the breaking Ted Kennedy brain tumor news.

It's all here, in a streamcast from the local WGBH-TV program, Greater Boston;

Greater Boston, with Emily Rooney: CN8's Barry Nolan is fired


Nolan says in the interview with Rooney (yes, daughter of cranky Andy) that he emailed his bosses at Comcast, seeking permission to do the 'Extra' assignment and they replied back that they "preferred" he didn't.

Nolan, in faux outrage, says he would have "preferred" he wasn't suspended, so, with a "To-hell-with-it" attitude, off he went on the assignment.

Now, maybe, and especially if O'Reilly and Fox put some heat on Comcast, that the suspension would have turned into a firing, that they were just setting the stage to axe Nolan.

However, not being in the industry, I'll take a wild stab here;
That, when you work for one media company, they don't want you going off and doing work for another media company
Especially not cool, when you're already in the doghouse.

Nice try at riling up the masses, there, Nolan ... Keep banging away on O'Reilly, but chill out, or at least, be up front, on all the details of your firing.


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