Big news doesn’t usually break on Friday night, but while I was enjoying a Chris Potter’s Underground concert in Des Moines, Keith Olbermann announced on the air that tonight would be the last broadcast for his “Countdown” program on MSNBC. It sounds like he was fired, because he “told viewers he had been informed ‘this was going to be the last edition’ of his show.”
I’m not an Olbermann fan and didn’t watch Countdown, but the show got relatively good ratings. It’s an ominous sign for a Democratic-leaning commentator to be fired right after the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. Lots of people were thinking the same thing:
The announcement triggered immediate speculation over whether the coming takeover of NBC Universal by Comcast had anything to do with his departure. NBC has denied that the move had anything to do with the impending takeover, New York Times reporter Bill Carter told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Olbermann signed a four-year extension on his contract in 2008, Carter said, which will prevent him from appearing on television. He can still do radio and online appearances, he added.
Olbermann was briefly suspended in November for donating to three Democratic candidates (including Gabrielle Giffords). That was a violation of MSNBC’s policy on commentators making political contributions. Somehow I doubt MSNBC will fire conservative host Joe Scarborough, who was also suspended for a couple of days over donations to Republican campaigns.
This is an open thread. What’s on your mind this weekend?
Do you think Representative Steve King is happy Olbermann won’t be around to keep naming him “worst person in the world,” or will he miss that occasional bit of free publicity?
FEBRUARY 8 UPDATE: Olbermann landed at Al Gore’s Current TV network as chief news officer and host of a forthcoming prime-time show.
3 Comments
KO frequently admonished friends and foes alike
that the 1st Amendment “does not extent to having your own show.”
He has demonstrated in the past he could toe the Company line if he chose to, most notably by refraining from making any reference to his ideological counterparts at MSNBC, and tweeting that “contracts are contracts” when disputes involving others arose there.
He will land on his feet, and other, possibly less limiting progressive media ventures are in the offing even now. They may not all be on cable TeeVee. And KO may not want, or be able to be part of any of them for a while.
We have known for some time that MSNBC is a corporation first, a Club House, second, and that being an ally to progressives was far down, if even ever on, the list.
Don’t expect to hear the details from KO, other hosts, or MSNBC staff, and be wary of “insider” sources. They run a ruthlessly tight ship where Company loyalty is concerned, and NO ONE there is privy to the details of each others contract issues. Their “settlements” always include “non-disparagement/non-compete” clauses.
sgarystewart Sat 22 Jan 8:59 AM
What was the local reaction
to Michele Bachmann? Could she be the credible Palin/anti-Palin that may be even scarier than Palin herself?
rf Sat 22 Jan 1:33 PM
hard to say
She spent some time with Ed Failor of Iowans for Tax Relief and kept a roomful of activists waiting for an hour. Not a great way to make a first impression.
But Don McDowell (formerly of Cyclone Conservatives blog, now working for Iowa Senate Republican caucus) seemed impressed.
desmoinesdem Sat 22 Jan 6:39 PM