Second Bozell Letter to Comcast Chairman: I Am Taking My Message Directly to Comcast’s Board of Directors
MRC President L. Brent Bozell's Letter to Brian Roberts, Chairman of
Comcast (MSNBC's parent company) Demanding He Fire MSNBC President Phil Griffin
March 20, 2012
Mr. Brian
L. Roberts
Chairman
Comcast
Corporation
Dear Mr. Roberts,
By now, you are
well aware of the Media
Research Center’s
(MRC) concerns with MSNBC. Last week, I wrote letters to both you and Mr. Griffin asking for Ed Schultz’s
termination because of highly controversial and deplorable comments he routinely
makes about women and conservatives. Yesterday, I posted an open letter to Mr.
Griffin
about equally controversial and appalling comments made by Al Sharpton;
comments that are blatantly racist and xenophobic, and which in one instance
led to the death of an innocent bystander.
Because of these well documented instances of unacceptable comments made by
both Sharpton and Schultz, I have called for their termination. I have
also called for Mr. Griffin to resign as president of MSNBC. In my March
15 letter, I called on you to clean house at MSNBC.
As unrealistic as it may appear, perhaps it is the case that you
were unaware of their statements. Now you know. Why, then, after all the
evidence we have provided on Ed
Schultz and Al Sharpton’s unacceptable track
record, have you done nothing? Why are mudslingers like Schultz and
Sharpton still at MSNBC, when there are thousands of promising, talented young
journalists who would objectively report on the big news of the day?
Because of your silence, I can only assume you think we will cease our efforts.
And/or you agree with Al Sharpton’s and Ed Schultz’s racist, xenophobic,
and misogynistic bombast.
Let me assure you, we will not stop our campaign to hold MSNBC responsible for
disseminating hate. You would be well advised to consider the impact this
campaign will have on Comcast’s reputation, as well as the reputation of
Comcast’s subsidiaries, such as NBC. Comcast owns MSNBC. You own the content.
Take responsibility for it.
Do you agree with the hateful remarks made by Ed Schultz (here is our most recent
letter about him)?
Do you agree with the racist remarks made by Al Sharpton (here is our most recent letter
about him)
Let me allow you to set the record straight. Your response will be
reprinted, in full.
If you choose not to respond, I will assume you, along with Al Sharpton, think
that it is okay to throw around the N word. I will assume that you agree
with Ed Schultz that women who disagree with you are “sluts.” I
will assume that you agree with all the other hate filled rhetoric these hate
mongers spew on a regular basis.
As the Chairman of MSNBC’s parent company, Comcast, you are ultimately
responsible for Ed Schultz’s and Al Sharpton’s unhinged and uncivil tirades. Ed
Schultz and Al Sharpton have been at the forefront of a breathtakingly
disingenuous and hypocritical campaign to fire Rush Limbaugh over controversial
comments he made about Georgetown Law student and leftwing activist Sandra
Fluke. For two of the most vicious and vulgar MSNBC hosts to declare war on
Rush Limbaugh over a remark he later apologized for, pushes the limits of
hypocrisy.
Mr. Roberts, the ball is in your court. So far, Phil Griffin refuses to take
responsibility for his hires. As the chairman of Comcast, I hope that you would
agree that Comcast should not give a platform to rabble rousers like Al
Sharpton and Ed Schultz to engage in slander, hate, and divisiveness.
I want to give you another opportunity to do the right thing on behalf of your
board and your shareholders and immediately ask for Phil Griffin’s resignation.
By hiring and promoting unhinged, unrepentant hatemongers, Mr. Griffin has
demonstrated beyond any doubt that he is unfit to oversee a news network.
You are welcome to set the record straight about any of the issues we raised at
any time. I will post your comments on MRC’s website. However, at
this point, since I have not heard from you I am taking my message directly to
Comcast’s Board of Directors. They will soon hear from the hundreds of
thousands of Americans who agree with me that hate speech from the likes of Ed
Schultz and Al Sharpton has no place in a news organization.
Sincerely,
L. Brent Bozell III
Founder and President
Media Research
Center
