At best, Richard Wolffe should have disclosed his new connection with a firm representing a major interest opposing health care reform when doing a segment on the subject during a recent edition of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann."
The fact that he didn't while doing pieces on the subject raises serious questions about whether he can be counted on an objective communicator of news or as a host.
I don't think Keith Olbermann can ignore this and he needs to explain Wolffe's connections and why the show keeps having him discuss health care insurance reform.
More below.
Here's what Firedoglake reported:
Saturday, Glen Greenwald and Ana Marie Cox noted that Richard Wolffe has left the practice of journalism to join the staff of Public Strategies, Inc, a public relations firm headed by former Bush Communications Director Dan Bartlett.
Public Strategies is contracted to provide services to several companies or organizations that have a direct stake in the outcome of the health care debate.
The Firedoglake piece continued:
Wolffe has reported, or commented on, health care reform for Countdown on numerous occasions. He has interviewed Obama confidant David Axelrod. Wolffe asked Axelrod banal questions like, "Have you lost control of the framing of this debate?" without disclosing that his full-time employer had accepted $60,000 in 2009 to represent the interests of Bristol-Myers-Squibb, one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical companies.
Further, Wolffe didn't mention the fact that the US Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the charge against health care reform, paid his employer $60,000 to represent their interests. On July 21st, Wolffe parroted Chamber talking points as an "analyst" on Countdown:
"I mean, one of the worst numbers he has is on his handling of health care. Well which piece of health care? It‘s so vague and nebulous. I think, at this point—at this moment, it‘s really processy (ph) to focus on approval ratings for issues people don‘t fully understand."
Did Keith know anything about Wolffe's connections before he spoke on "Countdown." If so, he should be answering questions about why Wolffe's connections weren't disclosed.
If not, this presents serious credibility and objectivity problems for Wolffe, things that cannot be ignored, especially on healthcare reform. Not only should Keith explain this situation, he should (at the very least) disqualify Wolffe from discussing the subject on his show unless he discloses Wolffe's role in the company representing reform opponents.