Hold The Phone! Was a “Handler” Listening In During That Olbermann/USA Today Interview?

We’re following the volley between USA Today columnist Lorrie Lynch and MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann.

It started here on Sunday and continued here this morning. After Olbermann named her “worse” person the other night for criticizing CNBC and its policy of staffing interviews with PR handlers, Lynch wrote that she had in fact interviewed Olbermann without a handler in November, 2005.

Well, late this afternoon, after an exhaustive investigation, MSNBC assures TVNewser that yes, in fact, there was a PR handler present when Lynch interviewed Olbermann. Since the interview was done on the phone, Lynch might not have known if there was or wasn’t a PR handler listening in.

MSNBC VP of communications Jeremy Gaines tells TVNewser, “This writer has a bad memory. It’s our policy to staff our talent and executives when they conduct interviews. She obviously doesn’t understand the role of a media relations department.”

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