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Keith Olbermann Forced OUT at MSNBC

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Kristina
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« on: January 21, 2011, 10:00:43 pm »

Keith Olbermann leaving MSNBC, ends `Countdown'


DAVID BAUDER | January 21, 2011 10:38 PM EST | AP


NEW YORK — MSNBC host Keith Olbermann announced Friday that he is leaving the network and has taped his last "Countdown" show.

MSNBC issued a statement that it had ended its contract with the controversial host, with no further explanation. Olbermann hosted the network's most popular show, but his combative liberal opinions often made him a target of critics.

Olbermann did not explain why he was leaving.

"MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors," the network said.

A spokesman said Phil Griffin, MSNBC's president, would not comment on Olbermann's exit. Spokesman Jeremy Gaines would say only that the acquistion of NBC Universal by Comcast, which received regulatory approval this week, had nothing to do with the decision.

Olbermann was suspended without pay from the network for two days in November for donating to three Democratic candidates, which violated NBC News' policy on political donations. Olbermann complained that he was being punished for mistakenly violating an inconsistently applied rule that he had known nothing about.

The host apologized to fans – but not to the network.

Olbermann, before leaving the show with a final signature toss of his script toward the camera, thanked his audience for sticking with him and read a James Thurber poem.

"This may be the only television program where the host was much more in awe of the audience than vice versa," he said.

He thanked a series of people, including the late Tim Russert, but pointedly not Griffin or NBC News President Steve Capus.

Olbermann's prime-time show is the network's top-rated. His evolution from a humorous look at the day's headlines into a pointedly liberal show in the last half of George W. Bush's administration led MSNBC to largely shift the tone of the network in his direction, with the hirings or Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell in primetime.

But Olbermann was known for a mercurial personality behind the scenes and he was almost fired last year for the political donations. He quit a prime-time show on MSNBC in the late 1990s, complaining that management was making him report too much on President Bill Clinton's impeachment scandal.

He was particularly critical of Fox News Channel and his direct competitor, Bill O'Reilly, frequently naming him his "Worst Person in the World" in a segment popular with his fans. Bosses at NBC had discussed trying to keep the tone of the vitriol down.

MSNBC announced that O'Donnell, who had frequently filled in for Olbermann before starting his own 10 p.m. show, will take over Olbermann's time slot starting Monday. "The Ed Show," with Ed Schultz, would move to 10 p.m. Cenk Uygur of the Web show "The Young Turks," will fill Schultz's vacated 6 p.m. time slot.

Olbermann had signed a new four-year contract with MSNBC two years ago. It's unclear what his plans are now.

He could give a boost to struggling CNN's prime-time lineup, but Olbermann would mean CNN would make an abrupt shift in its nonpartisan policy. It was not immediately known how quickly Olbermann could switch to another job if he wanted to.
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Kristina
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« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2011, 10:03:34 pm »

GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK





Keith Olbermann and MSNBC have ended their contract, according to a statement from MSNBC. The last episode of "Countdown" will air this evening, Friday, January 21.

MSNBC's statement reads as follows:

    MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract. The last broadcast of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will be this evening. MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors.

As for the updated schedule, Lawrence O'Donnell's show will be moved to 8 p.m.; while "The Ed Show" with Ed Schultz will air at 10 p.m. Rachel Maddow will stay in her regular slot at 9 p.m.

MSNBC released the following statement on their new programming order:

    Starting Monday, January 24, "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" will move to 8 p.m. ET/PT and "The Ed Show," hosted by Ed Schultz, will move to 10 p.m. ET/PT on MSNBC. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC. "The Rachel Maddow Show" will continue to air live at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

    Also starting Monday, Cenk Uygur, MSNBC contributor and host of the popular web show "The Young Turks," will be filling in as host of the 6 p.m ET hour.

Olbermann says in his final sign off tonight that he was told, "This is going to be the last edition of your show." (Full video below.)

WATCH:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/21/keith-olbermann-countdown-over_n_812506.html

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

More information to come.
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"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."

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Brendon Webb
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« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2011, 10:17:31 pm »

This country is really going down the tubes.
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Goddess of Love, Hate & Fury
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« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2011, 02:24:52 pm »


mediainquiries@msnbc.com

Contact MSNBC and let them know your displeasur­e.

Here's another link:
http://www­.msnbc.com

Not sure if the Countdown email address still works, but it's worth a try:
countdown@­msnbc.com
« Last Edit: January 22, 2011, 02:39:36 pm by Goddess of Love, Hate & Fury » Report Spam   Logged
Byron
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« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2011, 02:58:55 pm »

Actually, its:

Phone MSNBC at: 212-664-4444, 212-664-2456, 1-888-676-2287

Fax MSNBC at: (212) 664-4426
Email Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, and Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal - as well as
letters@msnbc.com
jeremy.gai­nes@msnbc.­com
phil.griff­in@nbcuni.­com
viewerserv­ices@msnbc .com
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Trina Demario
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« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2011, 03:37:56 pm »

Olbermann needs to be in charge of that network, which has been going downhill since Tim Russert died. Phil Griffin is a well-known dick, and Comcast is all about only having it's shitty corporate agenda pushed, to the exclusion of everything else.
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Misty Ezelle
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« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2011, 05:11:11 pm »

Blame Comcast. Any & all dissenting voices will soon be silenced, as the empire goes out with a whimper, not a bang.
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Misty Ezelle
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« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2011, 05:19:00 pm »

Sign the Petition!



I stand with Keith

Keith Olbermann was just fired by MSNBC.  According to Keith, he received notice that "this is going to be the last edition of your show," and bam, he was out the door.

Keith's commentaries gave voice to our hopes and our fears. He helped so many of us survive the Bush years, and while a staunch Obama supporter, he wasn't afraid to stand up to his own President either.

We will all miss Keith, and wish him well wherever he ends up next.

Please sign the petition and show Keith that we stand with him today.

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6006/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3151
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Misty Ezelle
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« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2011, 05:21:05 pm »

Mr. Oberman IS MSNBC.
Comcast can go screw itself.
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Jeanetta Clash
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« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2011, 05:52:19 pm »

January 22, 2011, 2:48 pm
Olbermann’s MSNBC Exit Was Weeks in the Making
By BILL CARTER




Keith Olbermann on “Countdown” on Jan. 21.MSNBC, via Associated Press Keith Olbermann on “Countdown” on Jan. 21.

On Thursday, NBC’s news division staged an elaborate presentation for advertisers, seeking to sell commercial time in NBC’s news programs over the next year. All the members of MSNBC’s prime-time lineup spoke at the lunch with one exception: Keith Olbermann, the network’s biggest star.

For the last several weeks, Mr. Olbermann and the network have been in negotiations to end his successful run on MSNBC, according to executives involved in the talks who requested anonymity because the talks were confidential. The deal was completed on Friday, and Mr. Olbermann made the announcement on his final “Countdown” hours later.

Friday’s separation agreement between MSNBC and Mr. Olbermann includes restrictions on when he can next lead a television show and when he can give interviews about the decision to end his association with the news channel.

The executives involved in the discussions confirmed that the deal carries limitations for Mr. Olbermann in terms of when he can next work on television, though he will be able to take a job in radio or on any forum on the Internet. The deal also prohibits the host from commenting publicly on the deal, the executives confirmed.

Mr. Olbermann did not respond to requests for comment Friday or Saturday. None of the executives who discussed the deal would reveal the exact length of the restrictions.

The decision was completed one year to the day from the last time NBC decided to end a relationship with an on-air star: Conan O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien agreed in the deal not to start up a new television show for nine months, and not to grant interviews for five months. The executives involved in the discussions with Mr. Olbermann said his agreement was not dissimilar to Mr. O’Brien’s.

Many of Mr. Olbermann’s fans responded to the decision by accusing Comcast, the incoming owner of NBC Universal, of forcing him out for political reasons. Several of Comcast’s top executives have been financial supporters of Republicans; Mr. Olbermann is largely credited with establishing MSNBC’s liberal voice.

Comcast issued an official statement Friday denying any involvement in the decision, saying it had no operational control of the company yet, and adding: “We pledged from the day the deal was announced that we would not interfere with NBC Universal’s news operations. We have not and we will not.”

But the company is still drawing criticism for the move. Marvin Ammori, a law professor at the University of Nebraska, said in an e-mail Friday, “Keith Olbermann’s announcement tonight, the very same week that the government blessed the Comcast-NBC merger, raises serious concern for anyone who cares about free speech. Comcast proved expert in shaking down the government to approve its merger. Comcast’s shakedown of NBC has just begun.” Professor Ammori is a former adviser to the nonprofit group Free Press, which opposed the Comcast-NBC deal.

Months before Comcast was expected to gain control of NBC Universal, Comcast officials were worried about the perception that they might interfere with MSNBC for political reasons.

One executive, who asked not to be identified because Comcast had instructed employees not speak about the situation, said the company dreaded the prospect of being blamed if Mr. Olbermann were to quit soon after the takeover.

Mr. Olbermann had butted heads with his superiors long before the Comcast deal, including Phil Griffin, the top MSNBC executive. According to several senior network executives, NBC’s management had been close to firing Mr. Olbermann before, most recently in November after he revealed that he had made donations to several Democratic candidates in 2010 — one of them, coincidentally, was Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who has been the subject of many of his recent shows after being shot in an assassination attempt.

Mr. Griffin said the donations had violated NBC News standards. Mr. Olbermann was suspended.

Brian Stelter contributed reporting.
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/olbermanns-msnbc-exit-was-weeks-in-the-making/?hp
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Jeanetta Clash
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« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2011, 05:54:16 pm »

Bummer about the restrictions.  I'd watch him wherever he goes tomorrow.
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Volitzer
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« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2011, 10:07:42 pm »

Figures anyone with any kind of education in the Globalist-Media-Complex can and will be run out  !!!!   While they subsidize losers like O"Reilly and Van Sustren who could never make it in the free market.

Maybe he can get a job at GCN ?
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Adrienne
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« Reply #12 on: January 23, 2011, 01:14:54 am »

What is GCN?
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« Reply #13 on: January 23, 2011, 01:16:16 am »

Keith Olbermann Fired? MSNBC Relationship Was 'Failing For A Long Time'



DAVID BAUDER   01/22/11 09:42 PM

NEW YORK — Keith Olbermann's exit from MSNBC appeared abrupt to viewers of his show, but the talk-show host and his network were involved "in a relationship that's been failing for a long time," an NBC Universal executive said Saturday.

Olbermann's announcement at the end of Friday's "Countdown" that it would be his last show quiets, at least for the moment, the most dominant liberal voice in a cable-television world where opinionated talk has been the most bankable trend over the past several years.

As Olbermann read from a James Thurber short story during a three-minute exit statement Friday night, MSNBC simultaneously e-mailed a statement to reporters that the network and host "have ended their contract." Neither indicated a reason nor addressed whether Olbermann quit or was fired.

But the NBC Universal executive characterized it as a mutual parting of the ways, with Olbermann taking the first step. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because settlement talks were kept confidential.

Olbermann was nearly fired in November but instead was suspended for two days without pay for violating an NBC News policy by donating to three political campaigns, including the congressional campaign of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He returned and apologized to his fans, but not the network.

Last fall, Olbermann saw his role on NBC's `Sunday Night Football" eliminated. Olbermann, a former sports anchor, had willingly worked six days a week to be involved with the highly rated football telecast. NBC said he was removed so he could concentrate on his MSNBC job.

MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines insisted Olbermann's exit had nothing to do with the acquisition of parent company NBC Universal by Comcast, which received regulatory approval Tuesday. That deal marks the exit of NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker, who saw Olbermann's value in turning around a once-unprofitable network, despite headaches the mercurial personality sometimes caused his bosses.

Olbermann and his manager did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

One clue Olbermann offered in his goodbye statement was that he'd "been told" that Friday was his last show. But Olbermann also said that "there were many occasions, particularly in the last 2 1/2 years, where all that surrounded the show – but never the show itself – was just too much for me. But your support and loyalty and, if I may use the word, insistence, ultimately required that I keep going. My gratitude to you is boundless."
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Adrienne
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« Reply #14 on: January 23, 2011, 01:16:53 am »

"He did more than anybody to establish the credibility of progressive views through market-driven success," said David Brock, founder and CEO of the left-wing media watchdog Media Matters for America.

Olbermann's show was also an incubator for left-wing talent on the air, he said. Two-thirds of MSNBC's prime-time lineup, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, got their own shows after successfully subbing for Olbermann. His show also gave platforms to bloggers like Josh Marshall and Markos Moulitsas, as well as his own organization and the Center for American Progress, Brock said.

"Countdown" took off at a time when there was a large imbalance toward conservatives in radio and television political talk, Brock said.

"Keith led the way in correcting that," he said. "Now we're back to some degree of the balance going the other way."

After Giffords was shot in the head on Jan. 8, Olbermann came into the studio and took to the air on his day off with an emotional editorial saying politicians and talk-show personalities – including himself – need to swear off any kind of violent imagery so as not to incite anybody into acts like the Giffords shooting. He said on Jan. 10 that he was ending his "Worst Person in the World" feature because some viewers took literally a feature that was "born in humor."

The aftermath of the Giffords shooting led to a discussion about the need for more civility in political talk, but Olbermann made no mention of that issue on Friday night. MSNBC is replacing him with O'Donnell and moving anchor Ed Schultz into the 10 p.m. time slot and, along with Maddow, all of them swing left politically.

Phil Griffin, MSNBC's chief executive, expressed confidence in his new lineup Saturday while declining to talk about what happened with Olbermann.

"They're tested," he said. "We didn't have to bring anyone here who is new. We brought in people we know and who will succeed and that's why we're confident going forward."

Anyone who expects the volume of political rhetoric on MSNBC will go down will be "rudely surprised" in about a week, said Brent Bozell, founder of the conservative watchdog Media Research Center.

O'Donnell "is every bit as mean-spirited (as Olbermann), but not as creative," Bozell said. "I don't think the philosophy of MSNBC will change one iota."

While he disagreed with most everything Olbermann said, "he had probably the best-produced show on television," Bozell said. That's the danger for MSNBC and liberals – Olbermann may be replaced by someone who has the same viewpoints, but not necessarily with a show people are as eager to watch.

"I'm not in the slightest bit surprised" by Olbermann's exit, Bozell said. "I've been expecting this to happen for a long time. But I was expecting a more spectacular blow-up."

Olbermann's peripatetic career landed him at MSNBC eight years ago – his second prime-time stint on the network – with a humorous show counting down the day's top stories. That changed on Aug. 30, 2006, when Olbermann aired the first of a series of densely worded and blistering "special comments," this time expressing anger at then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's criticism of opponents to the war in Iraq.

More anti-Bush administration commentary followed. Olbermann dropped any pretense of journalistic objectivity, and he became a hero to liberals battered by the popularity of Fox News Channel and its conservative commentators. Olbermann openly feuded with Fox, often naming personalities like Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck "worst persons in the world" for some of their statements.

"Countdown" became MSNBC's most popular show. Instantly, a network that had often floundered in seeking a direction molded itself after Olbermann.

The Cornell graduate first became known for his work on ESPN's "Sportscenter," where he also cultivated a reputation for being talented but difficult to work with. His first MSNBC stint ended in the late 1990s when he quit, complaining his bosses were telling him to talk too much about President Bill Clinton's impeachment scandal.

Olbermann's plans are unclear. He signed a four-year contract with MSNBC two years ago; contract buyouts typically include noncompete clauses that keep a personality off TV for a period of time.
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