After MSNBC peremptorily sacked star anchor Keith Olbermann for donating money to three candidates in the 2010 elections, there is widespread sympathy for him and more than 50,000 MSNBC viewers have thrown their weight behind him in a bid to put him back.

Viewers are signing a petition asking that if the channel wanted them to tune it, they better re-instate the anchor who made the MSNBC network a success in the first place. The Campaign Committee for Progressive Change too is organizing the people in a bid to save Keith Olbermann from suspension.

Facebook and Twitter is abuzz with the petition being shared and Michael Moore too joining in to promote the emergency petition signing flurry.

Hated boss Phil Griffin said that it was NBC News policy to suspended people indefinitely if they made donations to political candidates without letting the network know. He said that Olbermann’s failure to get prior approval from the News executives of NBC was what caused the trouble as political donations in themselves were not prohibited.

MSNBC president Phil Griffin’s view may sound sane but there is an undercurrent of hostility that smacks of an ego clash between Phil Griffin and star anchor Keith Olbermann. Given that after Democrats got a “shellacking” from the public after alienating their support base, it would be canny if Phil Griffin paid heed to the irate viewership and made light of the not pre-approved political contributions. Gabrielle Giffords , Jack Conway the Kentucky Senate contender and Raul Grijalva were beneficiaries of Keith Olbermann’s contributions.
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