They were two of the biggest perpetrators of sexist comments during this election - MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews - and now they have been dethroned from their anchor posts and returned to commentary roles at the network.

Their displays of extreme gender bias were not cited as even a factor in the reshuffling, but WomenCount heralds the move as a victory in the fight to stamp out sexism on the campaign trail. Our efforts specifically call on party leaders - or corporate chiefs, as the case may be - to “stop the silence” on sexism. Booting those in high-profile media posts is a good step.

Olbermann famously suggested that someone should take Hillary Clinton “into a room and only he comes out.” His attack reached a new low in its threat of violence.

Chris Matthews called Hillary a “she-devil” and “witchy” and lamented that the reason she was a United States Senator and candidate for president was that her “husband messed around. We keep forgetting it. She didn't win [the Senate race] on her merit.”

Offensive is an understatement. The only thing worse is that Olbermann and Matthews sat in their anchor chairs for as long as they did.

We find it mysterious that no one's talking about their well-documented patterns of gender bias as a factor in their dismissals. In today's news coverage of their removals, we could not find any mention of their sexist and offensive behavior, from the New York Times to NPR. These are news organizations that know better.

Such a lack of recognition of their role in this year's sexist treatment of candidates proves our work is far from finished. Congratulate MSNBC for dropping Olbermann and Matthews but remind them we are still watching closely! We will forward your message.

Gov. Sarah Palin's spot on the Republican ticket has launched the subject of sexist treatment of woman candidates back into the spotlight. As Melissa McEwan wrote on her popular blog Shakesville last week, we will defend Palin “against misogynist smears not because we like her or support her, but because that's how feminism works.”

And today, liberal talk show host Rachel Maddow launches her new show on MSNBC so overall the network has a chance to get it right in their coverage of women and women's issues. Let's remind them and others we'll be watching.

And don't forget to forward this message to a friend so they sign up with WomenCount and we have all hands on deck!

Warmly,