Olbermann and Matthews out at MSNBC

MSNBC has made the decision to pull Olbermann and Matthews out of the news anchor position for any future political coverage.

After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.

Given the depth to which Olbermann in particular has sunk during this election campaign, I can only say that this decision is more than past due. I will add that MSNBC only regains a modicum of respect if they also employ some more conservative analysts during the news casts. News casts aren't editorial programs and should not be stacked with "analysts" that only see one side of all issues. More established NBC news personalities agree with the decision.

Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, the past and present anchors of “NBC Nightly News,” have told friends and colleagues that they are finding it tougher and tougher to defend the cable arm of the news division, even while they anchored daytime hours of convention coverage on MSNBC and contributed commentary each evening.

As someone who has followed media bias for years, I am still in shock that networks are starting to realize the issue themselves. This decision is a start, but they have a long way to go to reestablish credibility as a unbiased source of information.

As a final thought consider a potential 10% lead among likely voters for McCain. Consider liberally biased news anchors removed from the big chair. If you are at all a student of the political process can you not sit back and be amazed at the change wrought by Sarah Palin on this election cycle? Whether you love her or hate her, her impact is undeniable.