GE/NBC Punishes "Hollywood Reporter" For Covering Stockholder Revolt

During General Electric's shareholder meeting two months ago there was much anger. Not only because of Board Chairman Jeff Immelt's destruction of the once blue chip corporation, but because of the bias of MSNBC.  Things got so bad that shareholder's mikes were shut off after the constant questioning of the "News"Channel's bias."

At the time Hollywood Reporter published a report that said in part:

 First up was a woman asking about a reported meeting in which Immelt and NBC Uni CEO Jeff Zucker supposedly told top CNBC executives and talent to be less critical of President Obama and his policies.

Immelt acknowledged a meeting took place but said no one at CNBC was told what to say or not say about politics.

During the woman's follow-up question, her microphone was cut off. Later, during the umpteenth question about MSNBC, another shareholder's microphone was cut, according to multiple attendees.

"The crowd was very upset with MSNBC because of its leftward tilt," one attendee said. "Some former employees said they were embarrassed by it."

One specific complaint about MSNBC concerned Keith Olbermann's interview of actress Janeane Garofalo, who likened conservatives to racists and spoke of "the limbic brain inside a right-winger."

"They were upset that Olbermann didn't bother to challenge her," one GE shareholder said.

It seems that the GE/NBC executives only believe in freedom of the press when it is convenient.  Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that since the article was published, Jeff Immelt, GE's Grand Poobah has been ordered that Hollywood Reporter be punished for publishing the truth:

 It became a widely posted news story on conservative and liberal and media websites e

verywhere. That's when, sources inside and outside Nielsen Business Media tell me, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt ordered a GE company-wide ban on all of The Hollywood Reporter's parent company Nielsen: advertising, editorial, the works. After a few days, the ban was reduced to GE's NBC Universal which chief Jeff Zucker carried out against Nielsen Business Media's The Hollywood Reporter and lasted six weeks. My NBC Universal sources believe the ban was lifted yesterday.

Tonight I checked the original link to the story I published back in April, the page was taken down, that may be why the ban was lifted...

My reporting is the first about the ban or what led to it. "People need to know that GE is using its media arm to stifle coverage about its company, and this is coming from Immelt and Zucker," a Nielsen Business Media insider said. I'd attempted multiple times over several weeks to speak with NBCU about this story but the company won't discuss it....

....Because of that story, sources inside and outside Nielsen Business Media tell me, GE Chairman Jeff Immelt personally issued a GE ban on all of the Nielsen company. "Jeff Immelt severed relations between all of GE with all of Nielsen over that story. Immelt called Zucker, and Zucker took it from there. Then, after a few days, GE backtracked, and then it became NBC Universal severing relations with The Hollywood Reporter."

According to my sources, Zucker ordered NBC Universal employees "not to talk" to THR. "They took away passes and tickets," says one insider. Another told me advertising was affected: it appears all or almost all advertising was stopped by NBC Universal at what was and continues to be a very important revenue time for the trade -- just before the Emmy nominations. Still another told me that NBC Universal employees stopped returning THR reporters' calls. One NBC Universal employee actually said to a THR reporter: "I'm not allowed to talk to The Hollywood Reporter."

Its seems disenguous that GE/NBC a company who owns two cable news networks and the once proud NBC news would punish a media vendor for reporting the news.  But that's what happens in this new era where the media tries to control the news rather than report it.


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