Keith Olbermann Beats Bill O'Lielly

For about a year now, I've been a religious devotee of the only (and utterly last) American newscast that matters ... Countdown with Keith Olbermann. He is the only anchorman doing what anchorpeople should be doing ... speaking truth to power, and diffusing the BS effect of the various spin machines (right and left) for the benefit of the public.

Sure, the show is sometimes quite silly ... with as much bad news as there is to report about the systematic destruction of America And All We Hold Dear by the Bush administration, you need those laughs that dominate the second half of the show ... but the first half particularly continually impresses me with the depth and variety of reporting Olbermann manages to squeeze in, often filled with wry commentary and pointed questions of his (a little too) regular guests, not to mention his delightful and "liberal" use of pop culture references.

I used to watch the CNN's newscast as my source of "real" news until I realised that The Daily Show was doing a better job of actually informing me about what's going on. I switched around for a while and discovered that the other news channels were, without exception, horribly biased towards conservatives and focused almost exclusively on gossip and entertainment rather than actual news. Gad I loved Newsworld International, the channel that exposed me to the CBC and other countries' newscasts. What a complete change from the babble and rabble of America!

Anyway, I finally stumbled upon Keith and now it's one of the very few shows I try hard never to miss. The news today that he has finally beaten his rival O'Lielly in the key demographic is great news not just for Keith, but hopefully for MSNBC and beyond when they realise that an actual informative newscast (as opposed to propaganda lecture like Faux Noise engages in) will actually attract viewers -- new viewers no less! -- and change the almost totally truth-free newscape into an actual advocate for the people (you know, what journalists are supposed to be doing!).

High five, Keith!