Keith Olbermann resigns from MSNBC

[Oblivion]

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41201964


Good night, sweet prince. 

[Diunx]

whats a msnbc?

[EmCeeGrammar]

Do dominicans even have tv?

[ToxicAdam]

Poor Keith didn't have Bush as a nightly whipping boy anymore. His ratings plummeted something like 40% since Obama took office.

[Diunx]

Do dominicans even have tv?

That's racist.

[Stoney Mason]

Was never a fan and I'm very liberal. (Although a realistic liberal I prefer to term myself)

There was a need for someone to be saying the things he was saying during the bush years which were INSANE but he never found a way to really balance his opinions which made the show relatively useless for me.

Then again FOX news is an entire network dedicated to that style so I guess I can't blame him too much. Preaching to the choir is always easier.

[Trent Dole]

But now how will I know who is the day's worst person in the world? 

[Phoenix Dark]

good fucking riddance

[Oblivion]

What happened to you, PD? You used to be cool.

[chronovore]

I thought Keith was pretty full of himself, but as Stoney said, it was needed to have someone confident and in the mainstream media saying, "Hey, this is some insane horseshit going on right here" when Keith was saying it.

He'll be fine. He'll probably get a talkshow deal in no time flat.

[Diunx]

PD

[Brehvolution]

I hope he goes back to Sportscenter and is reunited with Dan Patrick.

[Dickie Dee]

good fucking riddance

Stop with this bullshit please? What if you didn't like his tone, so what? Make some substantial criticism about the content of his rheotoric and why it's better snuffed but please don't burden us with your internal logic about how you might be liberal but not like *those* liberals

FYI - didn't much enjoy Olbermann, think he deserves credit for being one of the only strong voices of decent through the worst of the Bush years. Despite his blowhardness, he always argued on the side of truth, rather than trying to obfuscate it. So any comparisons between him and OReilly or Hannity show someone who's *pox on both their houses* is the sign of someone making the tritest of points and thinking their "evenhandess" is a substitute for insight.

[Van Cruncheon]

false equivalency -- it's how you show you're open-minded!

[Stoney Mason]

There is a way to do advocacy journalism that doesn't suck. It's why I like Maddow but not Olbermann. Or why I like Talking Points memo and think huffington post mostly sucks.

It's a quality thing rather than a position thing. But honestly most people prefer the blunt hammer approach which is why the blunt hammers generally get better ratings or viewers. Average people don't want nuance in their journalism. They just want it to confirm their pre-existing position very aggressively. 

[Phoenix Dark]

good fucking riddance

Stop with this bullshit please? What if you didn't like his tone, so what? Make some substantial criticism about the content of his rheotoric and why it's better snuffed but please don't burden us with your internal logic about how you might be liberal but not like *those* liberals

FYI - didn't much enjoy Olbermann, think he deserves credit for being one of the only strong voices of decent through the worst of the Bush years. Despite his blowhardness, he always argued on the side of truth, rather than trying to obfuscate it. So any comparisons between him and OReilly or Hannity show someone who's *pox on both their houses* is the sign of someone making the tritest of points and thinking their "evenhandess" is a substitute for insight.

Nah, can't stop won't stop

Olbermann is a hyperbolic diva. The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right and is not entertaining.

Maddow can be petty at times, but overall she's VERY good at what she does. Olbermann's staged outrage is pathetic, as is his sense of worth with all this "good night and good luck" dick riding. Yea he was the only anti-war voice of reason during the Bush years. Good for him. Dude's still an asshole

/willco

[Mandark]

I've gone from being all "eh, he's kind of a blowhard" when everyone loved him, to defending him now that he's annoyed everyone and gets regularly compared to Limbaugh and Beck.

Never been crazy about the guy, but it's important not to value tone over substance.  If anyone was following politics enough in the early aughts to think Shrillblog is a clever idea, they understand why.



I do feel sorry for all the centrists and apoliticals, though.  Last year they lost ohyeahwhataboutRobertByrd, and now they lost ohyeahwhataboutKeithOlbermann.  How will they sustain their feeling of moral superiority?

[Dickie Dee]

good fucking riddance

Stop with this bullshit please? What if you didn't like his tone, so what? Make some substantial criticism about the content of his rheotoric and why it's better snuffed but please don't burden us with your internal logic about how you might be liberal but not like *those* liberals

FYI - didn't much enjoy Olbermann, think he deserves credit for being one of the only strong voices of decent through the worst of the Bush years. Despite his blowhardness, he always argued on the side of truth, rather than trying to obfuscate it. So any comparisons between him and OReilly or Hannity show someone who's *pox on both their houses* is the sign of someone making the tritest of points and thinking their "evenhandess" is a substitute for insight.

Nah, can't stop won't stop

Olbermann is a hyperbolic diva. The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right and is not entertaining.

Maddow can be petty at times, but overall she's VERY good at what she does. Olbermann's staged outrage is pathetic, as is his sense of worth with all this "good night and good luck" dick riding. Yea he was the only anti-war voice of reason during the Bush years. Good for him. Dude's still an asshole

/willco

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

This is apparently a minor point!

[Phoenix Dark]

It's not minor in the grand scheme of things. But in terms of being a colossal blowhard? They might as well be related

[Oblivion]

good fucking riddance

Stop with this bullshit please? What if you didn't like his tone, so what? Make some substantial criticism about the content of his rheotoric and why it's better snuffed but please don't burden us with your internal logic about how you might be liberal but not like *those* liberals

FYI - didn't much enjoy Olbermann, think he deserves credit for being one of the only strong voices of decent through the worst of the Bush years. Despite his blowhardness, he always argued on the side of truth, rather than trying to obfuscate it. So any comparisons between him and OReilly or Hannity show someone who's *pox on both their houses* is the sign of someone making the tritest of points and thinking their "evenhandess" is a substitute for insight.

Nah, can't stop won't stop

Olbermann is a hyperbolic diva. The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right and is not entertaining.

Maddow can be petty at times, but overall she's VERY good at what she does. Olbermann's staged outrage is pathetic, as is his sense of worth with all this "good night and good luck" dick riding. Yea he was the only anti-war voice of reason during the Bush years. Good for him. Dude's still an asshole

/willco

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

The only difference between him and O'Reilly is that he gets his facts right

This is apparently a minor point!

Dude, I was JUST about to quote that very same point.

[lordmaji]

hrmmm, I dunno how I feel about it. I watch/listen to his show on Itunes everyday at work... Maddow has gotten better over the years, I've actually been enjoying her show more then Keith's as of late. A bit of a bummer, but you could tell it was on it's way out if you watched it on the reg.

You could also tell he wasn't as into it as he once was.

[ManaByte]

Did he ever say anything bad about Comcast? Because it's when Comcast took over NBC Universal that they axed his contract.

[Phoenix Dark]

"This was all Keith's choice. He has several times over the years said that he wants out of his contract. He never meant it until this year. He started lawyers negotiating twice this year. He stopped them in the spring. Then, about a month ago with the guidance of his new ICM team and a new LA manager (who were making zero $ on his current deal), he once again said he wanted to leave and this time they negotiated the full package.

"Because of all the false threats in the past, it was impossible for the network to know if he was really going to sign the final document yesterday. That's why promos for his show were still running after he quit on the air. The network couldn't really believe it or act on it until he said it on TV. They couldn't tell the promo people to pull Keith's show out of the cycle until they were sure. His staff learned he was quitting when they heard him say it on TV.

"Comcast has had no impact at all on MSNBC [yet]. Phil Griffin has complete authority. He makes deals without having to consult with anyone. He has made proposals over the years on the fly and in high-speed contexts where he is acting alone and with full authority. MSNBC is Phil Griffin's network and no one at NBC thinks they have a better idea than Phil about what to do next." 

http://www.deadline.com/2011/01/nbcu-statement-msnbc-and-keith-olberman-have-ended-their-contract-last-show-tonight/

Makes more sense than Comcast forcing him out due to politics. Why not oust Ed Shultz (that's a good idea actually) and the other lefties too? Or just keep Maddow since she has good numbers, and replace everyone else with either right or center-right hosts to create some balance.

[ManaByte]

The Deadline post doesn't make sense with his goodbye speech where he talks about what it's like to be told it's your last day.

[lordmaji]

The Deadline post doesn't make sense with his goodbye speech where he talks about what it's like to be told it's your last day.

Yeah, I agree.

[ManaByte]

Apparently he has been working on the condition of leaving the network for several weeks and it sounds like he got a big payout.

Then why all the stuff about being told it's your last day and the whole Network comparison?

[chronovore]

IT MUST BE A CONSPIRACY!
 

[ManaByte]

No it's just it's completely different from last night to today.

His goodbye speech last night made it really sound like MSNBC came to him before the show and told him that it would be his final show. And then MSNBC released a statement saying that they did not continue his contract.

Now today there's a anonymous tip on Deadline that claims he planned it all.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

did we ever find out what the deal was with Lou Dobbs bolting from CNN way back?

and god forbid they replace Keith with, I dunno, a straight newshour on a news channel.

[ManaByte]

Dobbs was bashing illegals as normal and he claimed someone shot at his house, so he quit.