Keith Olbermann Takes Swipe at Rachel Maddow

[kentuck]

<snip>
Keith Olbermann called out Rachel Maddow on Tuesday after he tweeted about MSNBC's ratings.

MSNBC has had some rough ratings months as of late, falling into third place in primetime viewers for the second quarter of 2013. In total viewers across daytime programming, MSNBC fell to fourth place behind Fox News, CNN and HLN.

When Olbermann responded to a tweet about the network's ratings performance, another Twitter user asked if he was criticizing Maddow.

Olbermann responded, "It's about the collapse of that network. I don't know anything about her any more; she hasn't bothered to speak to me since I left."

.........more


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/04/keith-olbermann-rachel-maddow-twitter-swipe_n_3542822.html

[CatWoman]

1. Read that earlier on Huff Post

and still don't see the "swipe"......

[kentuck]

3. Yep.

You noticed.

[bettyellen]

5. I know, right....if it's true, then it's true.

[PoliticAverse]

9. "she hasn't bothered" = swipe, "she hasn't spoken to me" = not a swipe. n/t

[BeyondGeography]

2. Bitter, party of one

Your table, sir.

[Samantha]

13. Doesn't sound bitter to me, more like hurt

He is the reason she has that job today. He kept bringing her back to be on his show because he thought she was superlative. At that time, it was pretty obvious that a number of other commentators were not "welcoming" to her. I thought they felt threatened because she was just light years ahead of them. But because he persevered in giving her a spotlight, she managed to gradually become a part of that network on a regular basis. They had an extremely strong friendship at one time, and I read into that statement that has lapsed and he misses it.

But as far as MSNBC is concerned (nothing to do with Rachel who I do like very much), it deserves its pitiful ratings. I used to have it on an awful lot but I seldom tune in now. NBC has made some extremely bad judgment calls (maybe it is the Comcast influence) and I think its numbers have not found their true bottom quite yet. It cares more for the opinions of the dictates of the sponsors than its viewer's preferences. I am sure it counted on people still tuning in despite the disappointing decisions the network made, but it miscalculated.

One of the reasons Olbermann chose to leave was he said he was feared when Comcast entered the picture, he would be muzzled. Two words: Ed Schultz. I truly believe Olbermann was correct in his thinking, and it is a tragedy he is not broadcasting political commentary today because he is the best in his field (IMHO).

Sam

[BeyondGeography]

19. Well, I hope he gets another chance and makes the most of it

Maybe he can learn something from his former protege on the professionalism front.

[Bluenorthwest]

24. Blah, blah, how are her ratings? 'Talk me down!' They suck eggs

In TV 'professional' means people tune in to watch, failure means they don't. Rachel loses audience at an alarming rate, when she gives an interview she loses even more. Not likeable, clearly venal and all about the ladder climb. Seen that show before.

[BeyondGeography]

35. And Keith?

At least she stays on the air. Dipshit loses jobs over access to car service.

[KoKo]

14. I thought that Keith groomed Rachel and promoted her spot on MSNBC?

Am I wrong in thinking that?

[JI7]

4. has he tried speaking to her ?

as much as i like Keith, if Rachel is purposely not speaking to him i'm pretty sure it's his fault.

look at what happened with him and Gore . and MAddow and Gore are not the type who have problems getting along with others.

[Sheldon Cooper]

8. Agreed.

Keith doesn't play well with others, and if there is some kind of problem between him and Rachel, I'm pretty sure she's not the one to blame.

[Hekate]

20. That was my thought: KO has managed to trash relationships with all past employers

As far as I'm concerned his behavior with Al Gore's network was the last straw in his reputation. It was just massive ego overreach.

So, while KO did a great thing by grooming Rachel to get a spot with MSNBC, it's not her fault he then dived off the deep end. She's not obligated to grandstand on his behalf and lose her own job.

I'm truly sorry about Keith Olbermann -- he was terrific to watch on MSNBC and he was a great comfort to a lot of people here at DU during the Bush administration. There's no question he's bright. And liberal. But there is some question about his ability to play nicely with others.

[bluedigger]

6. More of a complaint than a swipe.

I hope they can reconcile any differences they may have. She owes him a lot, but he needs to make an effort as well.

[madinmaryland]

7. And where is Olbermann now??

[Cooley Hurd]

12. He's a multi-millionaire hanging out at baseball games.

Can't fault him for that.

[Moses2SandyKoufax]

16. He's slated to host TBS's coverage of the MLB postseason... n/t

[TreasonousBastard]

23. On the neverending quest for more bridges to burn.

[madinmaryland]

28. Heh! Yeap.

[Cooley Hurd]

10. I've been in a position where I expected a reply to a message...

...i thought worthy of a response. When the response wasn't forthcoming, I assumed that the respondent didn't wish to communicate with me at all. So I never wrote to them again.

I'm assuming that the respondent was confused by my lack of correspondence after that event, and it was my wish to not communicate with them further.

Sometimes, that's how these things go.

[HiPointDem]

11. what's the swipe? i could do worse than that.

[burnodo]

15. I didn't see a swipe

Nt

[HiPointDem]

18. i thought he'd say something like, 'low ratings & the cocktail feature doesn't belong on a news

show, don't you wish i were still there'?

but no.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. For June, they are back in 2nd

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/07/02/msnbc-is-the-2-cable-news-network-in-june/190115/

[dembotoz]

21. i miss keith

to me he had the only
had to watch show

nobody else is a have to watch so quite often I do not

[Botany]

22. Keith O. is the person we see right now and that is a person who was fired ....

.... and or quit every job he had in the business and whose former co-workers and
employers will not talk about him or have anything good to say about him either.
1 time is random chance, 2 times, it is bad luck, and yet w/ KO it has been every-
time and everyplace he has been.

Al Gore wanted to build an network around Keith but he was such an ass hole that
they dumped him.

[Bluenorthwest]

30. Al Gore and Joel Hyatt wanted to and did flip Current TV for profit without putting

any effort into making it work. They ran it on the ultra cheap, they fired every single on air personality or host they had employed for years prior to adding Keith, then firing him. They sold it to AJ for big buckets of cash, which was always the point, always the agenda, and if you ask me they were less than honest with any and everyone involved. Current did not succeed and MSNBC loses viewers each week. They are reduced to hiring people who don't know how to do TV, in part because their audience sucks and in part because no one wants to work for a company that fires so many people. They way both companies do business is shameful.

[Bonobo]

25. Rachel has disappointed me a lot lately.

Her snarky love for politics seems to have taken over her commitment to honesty on issues.

[TreasonousBastard]

26. Seems to me this guy has whined about just about everyone who isn't him...

and MSNBC is not collapsing without him, much to his amazement if he bothers to notice.

If I was Maddow I wouldn't return his calls either.

[mimi85]

29. Guess she didn't send him

a birthday card this year. I enjoyed his MSNBC show at first, now I find him totally insufferable. In every job he's had, he want to BE the story, not report the story. Kinda like Cenk. Egos run amuk.

[senseandsensibility]

27. I saw Rachel on some show (I think Letterman) and she said the same thing.

She announced that she hadn't talked to Keith since he left. That's it. No, I miss him, I wish him well...nothing. So actually, I don't blame Keith for what he said. She made it public first.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. She's venal as hell and simply not honest about herself

to the public. Last time I will ever give her a shred of my time was an interview in which she complained openly that people thought she was rich 'they say I bought a boat, it's a canoe, that's how rich I am' says a woman whose base salary is and has been in excess of 2 million dollars a year. 'I'm not rich!' Millions per year, for drawing an audience the size of a pea.
I love folks who make tons of money, I hate, hate those who do and claim they don't. 'What, me? Rich? I just make millions, that's not rich.' She's so full of bullshit. This is why she is not very watched. That and the cocktail thing, which is a huge turn off.

[Hekate]

33. Okay, we get it: You are pissed as hell at Rachel. But "venal"?

Is she supposed to work for peanuts if she can get the going rate?

She has strayed from her original focussed self, and I wish she'd stop repeating herself, but that's about it.

Oh, how I do wish that NBC would replace David Gregory with Rachel Maddow on the sinecure that is Meet the Press. She still gets very good guests and gives a great interview.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

36. Do you have an actual link to what she gets paid?

People makes assumptions that everyone on TV makes at least a million dollars a year.

[tularetom]

32. Keith Olbermann having a snit isn't exactly news

The guys in his 50's(?)and it's time for him to grow up.

Used to watch him faithfully but quite frankly I'm fed up with all the drama.

[Skip Intro]

34. Why IS MSNBC's ratings dropping?

I visit tvbythenumbers.com frequently and the ratings have been sucky for MSNBC for months. But once they were nipping on Fox's heels, coming in strong second with a lot more viewers. What happened?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

37. Post election burnout

I don't think Democrats and liberals watch "their" station except when it's "in season" so to speak, where as right-wingers have to watch FAUX all the time to be consoled and told what to think.