Late on Friday afternoon, news broke that Keith Olbermann was leaving MSNBC immediately (Friday’s show was his last with the cable network). Although there’s plenty of speculation as to what Olbermann will do next (a collaboration with Aaron Sorkin for HBO and running for senator in Connecticut are a couple of terrible guesses), both Olbermann and MSNBC are staying mum about the cause of his exit, which apparently resulted from years of tension.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations. [New York Times]
Hmmm… I get the feeling that I’m about to read some accounts of Olbermann being an egomaniacal prima donna A-hole.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
And check out this highlight reel:
As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired… In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN… He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”… His stint [at Fox Sports Network] ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.
Long story short: Keith Olbermann will be off the air for the next six to nine months as part of non-compete clause, and he won’t be saying anything about why he left MSNBC, even though the reason is he’s an assh*le. And so is anyone who watches cable news.
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I liked when he thought people were going to assassinate him. That was humble.
He looks like a tranny in the banner pic
I support his firing (or whatever got him off the air) wholeheartedly, and I’m as liberal as a gay Marxist anchor baby.
At least Hitler never pretended to be a journalist.
The Jets lose and Olbermann gets fired on the same weekend? I’m so overwhelmed with schadenfreude I can’t even see straight.
It’s too bad, really. Zucker and Olbermann deserve each other.
Olbermann and Sorkin would create a black hole of smug, holier-than-thou self-righteousness from which no levity could escape.
And is Ben Affleck busy this weekend? Somebody needs a SNL cameo.
Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
All right, who stole Olbermann’s danish?
I always looked at Keith and his show like an adult version of pro wrestling… he was the guy I loved to hate.
and ohhhhh how I hated him.
Seems like a picture of douche dog would have been more appropriate than the one of birthday dog.
I support his firing (or whatever got him off the air) wholeheartedly, and I’m as liberal as a gay Marxist anchor baby.
Megadittos, DG. Megadittos.
@Patty Boots – Oh yes, and lots of walking and talking in hallways.
I miss ‘The West Wing’ so much.
I wonder where he ends up since he burned his bridges with CNN, ESPN, and FOX. He could do baseball for the Yankees network where his over-paid prima donna nature would fit right in.
The real victim here is birthday dog who will now be relegated to cameos at Warming Glow instead of his lucrative career as a political correspondent.
@UU Douche Dog ironically refuses to work today. He hasn’t shown up to the Uproxx underwater mansion yet.
Fuck this liberal douche. he was a dick at ESPN and got canned there. no different here.
How am i going to know who the worst person in the world is?!
@mfillmore Just assume it is Glenn Beck and you guess right 70% of the time.
Clicking past MSNBC will not have the same meaning.
But if I don’t watch cable news, how will I know what to think???
LaFavre:
Clicking past MSNBC will not have the same meaning.
lol. +1
“…had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability…”
UM WHAT? FNC’s 3am dick joke jambaroo show gets more ratings than this twat ever dreamed of.
UM WHAT? FNC’s 3am dick joke jambaroo show gets more ratings than this twat ever dreamed of.
Olbermann should’ve never turned down the idea to do a daily poop story.
Danger… you’re awesome
How am i going to know who the worst person in the world is?!
Don’t worry, Glenn Beck will still be identifying people who need to be killed.
Blamed. He meant blamed.
Birthday Dog thinks health care for all will be ruff on the deficit.
Birthday Dog wouldn’t hump Ann Coulter’s leg.
Birthday Dog wouldn’t hump Ann Coulter’s leg.
True, but Birthday Dog might still fuck Ann Coulter in the ass, hard.
“lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability” … No. Lies. He, as well as MSNBC, were frequently the lowest-rated program and network in the nightly news ratings race. (It the saddest race since the Special Olympics, mind you.)
Not sure I’ve even in my life worked up as much outrage (about anything) as he could muster on a nightly basis.
Yet I’m sure my TV is not done with him. Like Philbin, he’ll pop up in some other capacity to annoy.
Actually, in terms of ratings, he was in second, ahead of Parker Spitzer Can’t Lose on CNN, but far behind Bill O’Reilly.
MSNBC has never understood what Fox News knows all too well — target your shows to elderly shut-ins, and ratings gold will follow.
But yeah, that’s a contest in which no one really wins. Especially their viewers.
Goddamn close-italics tag.
I SAID GOOD DAY, SIR!!
Otto: Not just ratings gold, but honest-to-God physical gold coins, bought in preparation for the coming financial meltdown and nuclear apocalypse brought on by Obama. Did you know the price of gold never goes down? It only rises! So buy now!
True, Josh. It’s just like the pumpkins I invested in last October.
His pic in this post shows us what Rachel Maddow will look like at 50.
I’m glad Olbermann’s off the air but I hope this means Rachel Maddow gets more airtime. For some reason, Angry Lesbian liberals give me an erection.