Current fires Keith Olbermann

[warrior1]

http://thinkprogress.org/alyssa/2012/03/30/456104/current-tv-fires-keith-olbermann/

Current TV Fires Keith Olbermann | The New York Times’ Brian Stelter breaks the news that Current TV has let go Keith Olbermann, and will replace him starting tonight with Eliot Spitzer, denying Olbermann to give a send-off or special comment to his viewers. Spitzer, like Olbermann, did a stint on MSNBC—his show In the Arena was canceled, and his departure from the network does not appear to have been acrimonious. Olbermann had been dismissed from MSNBC when he signed his deal with Current, and though he was at one point a high-profile acquisition for the network, founded by former Vice President Al Gore to provide a more progressive take on the news. But his ratings fell and his relationship with Current quickly foundered.

snip

[WI_DEM]

1. I wonder if his ego got him again, but replacing him with Eliot Splitzer?

it won't help ratings. I wonder how firm a foundation Current is on?

[fasttense]

76. I never heard of Current TV until they hired Keith Olbermann.

So, yeah, I really suspect that Current TV's viewership will drop.

(Thank you DU for bringing spell check back)

[trueblue2007]

77. current tv will be in the toilet.

will be watched by about 7 people nationwide.

they blew it when they canned KEITH

[cynatnite]

2. Not surprised. n/t

[Cleita]

3. What the hey is the matter with him.

Is he suffering from some kind of mental breakdown?

[snooper2]

4. I guess now he has to go all Glen Becky LOL

Maybe the two of them can get together and have a web based version of CrossFire

[Motown_Johnny]

9. Oprah has a network

maybe he can fill some time there

[Riftaxe]

52. I would pay to see that!

Two frothing at the mouth, two diametrically opposed lunatics going at each other would definitely be worth a pay per view event at the very least.

[abelenkpe]

5. damn! nt

[RKP5637]

6. I pretty much saw this one coming ... didn't know when, but not surprised. n/t

[jwirr]

45. I saw it coming when he was absent from the debate nights.

[RKP5637]

46. Yeah, same here. That's when we knew something was really up. n/t

[budkin]

7. Current is a joke of a channel, I'm not surprised

I'm sure Keith was pissed that it wasn't getting bigger or being promoted, or anything. They don't even have an HD feed for Christ's sake.

[RKP5637]

11. They used to be easily accessible on the internet, and also KO was

on ROKU, but then Current took that all away to apparently force one to go to the cable/sat. channels.

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. This doesn't surprise me.

But when was Spitzer on MSNBC? I thought he had a show on CNN for a while.

[senseandsensibility]

31. I think you're right. The Arena was on CNN, wasn't it?

Also, the writing in this article leaves something to be desired. Still, I'm sad to see Keith go. I wish him well.

[RKP5637]

47. Yep, it was CNN. I used to watch it some. n/t

[zappaman]

10. there isn't a cable station large enough

to hold his ego.

[Pisces]

12. Good, he deserved it.

[cali]

13. never liked him. ego maniacs irritate me.

[Snake Alchemist]

14. The T.O. or Ochocinco of cable news. nt

[frogmarch]

15. I'm sorry to hear it.

Current can go f itself.

[Shankapotomus]

16. I think it's safe to say

Keith has a problem. He needs to just set up a website and work by himself. He obviously has issues with working with others. Not saying he's right or wrong, just that he needs to be free to do his own thing.

Usually the problem with people who go from ruining relationship after relationship like this is they are too confrontational and too reactive when dealing with others. My guess is he needs to up his tolerance for others and be more forgiving.

[Cleita]

18. I agree, he needs to form his own media company to do what he does,

much like Cenk Ugyar used to do on one of the streaming websites.

[ecstatic]

34. My guess is that he's not really liberal and Al Gore saw through him

He's a fake. He doesn't even vote!! What type of liberal/progressive just sits out a presidential election?!

[Dragonfli]

69. That just makes no sense at all, if anything he was too liberal for Gore, A DLC alumni. /nt

[DefenseLawyer]

17. I had a hard time getting past the "we can only afford a black screen behind you"

backdrop on the set, but I still like KO. Back in the darkest days when pretty much everyone in the mainstream press was afraid to dare question Flightsuit George and his gang of thugs, Olbermann took them head-on. He just doesn't seem to play well with others, but I would think that that would pretty much be a given going in.

[senseandsensibility]

36. Agree. I will always remember him fondly for that.

I wish him well.

[nadine_mn]

53. It seemed that KO was put in the dark closet of a set when they brought in Cenk

Personally, I love Keith and will miss him. Dammit - I was hoping things would work out for him on Current. As someone who also doesn't play well with others, I wish him well

[valerief]

64. Yep! KO will always have a place in my heart for that. nt

[Fawke Em]

19. Oh, well... won't be watching Current now.

Jennifer Granholm may have been a great governor, but she's a yawner on the tube.

I like Cenk, but I can watch him online.

And I am not home when Bill and Stephanie are on.

[Dragonfli]

70. Is Cenk next? Say what you will about Keith (easy if you were never in the studio or even met him)

but his shows were quite good.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

20. Too bad. I think he's a good guy.

He provided me with boundless comfort in the early period of ChimpoCo when he was virtually the only voice in the wilderness on TV that dared to speak out.

[Plucketeer]

24. We're gonna miss him in this household, but

I could see this coming. Too bad also causer now I have to buy that Thurber book to see how that doggie tale ends!

Good Luck Keith!

[Jello Biafra]

21. He's about to tweet a comment.....n/t

[frogmarch]

23. Please post it for

those of us who don't Tweet, okay? Thanks.

[Plucketeer]

26. Yeah

please share what he tweets. Thanks!

[chrisa]

22. I always thought he was a ego maniac, screaming baby

[EFerrari]

49. That doesn't make him special. Most performers are like that. n/t

[Jello Biafra]

25. Here it is....

Keith Olbermann ? @KeithOlbermann

1/ I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV. Editorially, Countdown had never been better.

[zappaman]

27. "the failure of Current TV"?

Wow.
What a dick.

[Fawke Em]

39. Joel Hyatt is the dick, quite frankly.

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/13/us/law-bar-lawyer-with-aids-wins-legal-victory-gives-his-employer-some-unwelcome.html

Hyatt Legal Services Inc. provides more legal advice to more Americans than any other law firm. But if the company's behavior in a recent AIDS discrimination case is any indication, Hyatt's own legal judgment isn't always so sound.

In an opinion issued here earlier in April, Federal District Judge Raymond J. Broderick ruled that Hyatt, a pioneer in low-cost legal clinics, had illegally removed the head of its Philadelphia office, Clarence B. Cain, after learning he had AIDS.

By making ''absolutely no effort'' to accommodate Mr. Cain, Judge Broderick ruled, Hyatt had mounted a ''corrupt assault'' on his dignity. The firm's conduct, he said, ''was not merely inexcusably insensitive'' but ''so outrageous'' that punitive damages were warranted.

[XemaSab]

66. Anything more recent than 22 years ago?

[budkin]

28. LMAO he just called CurrentTV a failure!

That is awesome.

[Fawke Em]

32. It will be now.

Granholm is a yawner.

Spitzer is, too, for that matter.

P.S. If Keith prevails in a lawsuit, the station might have financial difficulties, as well.

[Fawke Em]

29. All of 'em:

4/ Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program,

3/ while I've been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff.

2/ But for more than a year I have been imploring @AlGore and @JoelHyatt to resolve our issues internally,

1/ I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV. Editorially, Countdown had never been better.

I'll be putting out my statement in two ways: 140 characters at a time, and then in one fell swoop via Twitlonger.

[frogmarch]

44. Thanks, Jello.

I'll say it again. Current can go f itself.

[Jello Biafra]

30. more....

Keith Olbermann ? @KeithOlbermann

2/ But for more than a year I have been imploring @AlGore and @JoelHyatt to resolve our issues internally,

Keith Olbermann ? @KeithOlbermann

3/ while I've been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff.

4/ Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program,

5/ finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract. It goes almost without saying that the claims against me

6/ in Current's statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently.

[budkin]

33. Wow he's tweeting like crazy now explaining it all

[link:https://twitter.com/#!/keitholbermann|

[budkin]

35. Sounds like an internal mess n/t

[RKP5637]

51. Thanks for posting this!!! n/t

[Pisces]

68. Who cares, no one will want to hire this buffoon.

[julian09]

37. It was just a question of time

He was taking a lot of time off, didn't want to cover the primary election nights. If he worked the extra few hours covering the primary elections, he would take equivilant hours off during week so as to not work xtra hours. I could see there was some kind of friction. Too bad if he was as dedicated to the progressive cause, as we assumed; he should realize the message is important, not the set or atmosphereics. He could have helped bring Current up to a better place as he did Msnbc. I'm glad that Spitzer is replacing him. I also mentioned when Keith went to current, I hoped that Spitzer would follow but, CNN got him first. I hope he will find a way to help the progressive cause, we will need all the help we can get. His ratings fell because he was seldom there, had no lead in or anyone to follow before Gov Granholm.

[Jello Biafra]

38. more..

11/11 That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.


10/ that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one.

9/ In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out. For now, it is important only to again acknowledge

8/ Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee. That employee’s name was Clarence B. Cain: http://nyti.ms/HueZsa

7/ To understand Mr. Hyatt’s “values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty,” I encourage you to read of a previous occasion

[Major Hogwash]

48. Thanks for copying them here.

It looks like it is going to go to court.

[dembotoz]

40. finally get a way to see current and now keith is gone

aw shit

he was the best thing on msnbc

sorry rachel but liked keith much better

what ever he does i will try to track it down and listen in.

[Jello Biafra]

41. I'm guessing he's upset....n/t

[Jello Biafra]

42. Full text of Keith's statement....

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/gnlt4t

[Amerigo Vespucci]

50. Jennifer Granholm's Current TV show is much better than "Countdown"

I'm sure the channel will survive.

I watched Countdown the other night and KO was doing his Thurber thing again. I changed the channel.

[DefenseLawyer]

54. To each his own.

The "discussion" format of her show is a bit tedious for me.

[julian09]

57. I watched them all

Chris, Al, Cenk, Keith, Jennifer, Lawrence, Ed, Rachel, except for fridays Msnbc doesn't repeat.
So fridays Chris, Al, Cenk, Ed, Rachel, Anderson Cooper, Keith, Jennifer.

[zappaman]

58. That "Thurber thing"

is the height of boredom and self-love.

[Justice wanted]

73. I liked the Thurber Thing. It was a nice way to relax after stressful news week AND it was always

done as the last part of the show. I personally will NEVER watch the channel again.

[Greybnk48]

55. Love KO. Done with Current n/t

[Raine]

56. I'm not suprised, I like KO but he has a big swelled head and seems to be very difficult

to deal with.

[cash__whatiwant]

59. Too bad.

he might as well just record youtube videos on his iphone at this point...

[greytdemocrat]

60. Dang.

How does Rove pull this stuff off???

[dems_rightnow]

61. "The one constant in all your failed relationships is you".

Saw that somewhere a few years back. I think at this point some self-reflection might be warranted.

[Recursion]

78. To repeat my snark from another thread: I have a friend banned from every bar in Boston

At some point I had to stop blaming the bars.

Since he has managed to get fired from ESPN, Fox, MSNBC, and Current, I really have to conclude those stories about his being impossible to work with are true.

[marlakay]

62. Be interesting to see what he does now

He might be a hot head and a rebel and have ego problems but he is the one that got many of us through the Bush years. I am grateful to him for that.

[Broderick]

63. He's gonna sue Gore and current tv

Thats what he is gonna do. Probably get the 40 million left on his contract.

[Canuckistanian]

65. He's filing suit against Current TV?

6/ in Current's statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently.

[Liquorice]

67. Narcissists are always insufferable. I've never liked him. nt

[Dragonfli]

71. It is an election year and Gore is a DLC alumni, I expect Cenk will be next

All that will likely be allowed for the next year is Obama love fests.
It is the way of our party I guess. Protect the conservatives in our party from any and all criticism.

[Jennicut]

97. Gore has not been DLC for years.

Really, I am surprised that some people refuse to point at Olbermann who has burned so many bridges in his years on tv. Sometimes the problem is not political but personal.

[Dragonfli]

98. Yes and liebermann was a solid progressive choice for a running mate, Let me shift paradigms

to keep up with those that create reality, as I am free to merely comment on it.
I have heard how that all works before.

Still I watch what they do instead.

[JVS]

72. Why was he fired?

[Dragonfli]

74. The peanut gallery is saying "big headed egomaniac" (but I don't think they like him) they also

have posted nothing but an opinion that that is the cause, so, I don't think we really know.

He has posted a response to being fired (posted above), one may glean some things from that, but that is all I think that is known in any factual way. It would help if Current put out a statement as well.

[Recursion]

79. Do you remember when he got fired from ESPN?

That's what coworkers said then, and have said at every network since. The peanut gallery isn't just making things up.

[Dragonfli]

82. No, I don't watch sports shows, never have. I remember msnbc and it's purge

I imagine the Cenk was also too hard to work with explaining that whole thing away.

It is an election year, Gore is helpful to the cause of the Environmentalists, but let's face it, the guy is and always has been a conservative Democrat (who was his running mate again?). It could be about "no one gets to criticize conservative Democrats during an election year". But I don't post that as fact, it may just be Gore's partner is an asshole, or actual unresolved business differences between Current and KO, maybe he thought they were going to do what the originally told him regarding the show and they changed their minds (perhaps for a good business reason) all of this would be sideline speculation and rather meaningless without knowing what happened between them.

Rumor is rumor.
Giving rumor the weight of fact is to be a rumor monger, I'm just not that into such things.

[Snake Alchemist]

84. According to Keith it's Al Gore's greed and lack of ethics.

Or you can believe EVERY other source that says Keith is impossible to work with.

[Dragonfli]

85. I was considered impossible to work with because I wouldn't build

with unsafe substandard building materials. Who needs to work with slumlords tho right?

Perhaps there is too much greed and lack of ethics in the "pundit show business" for everyone to be able to get on board as a team player. If you are in an environment where stubbornness about what you feel is right is not tolerated for long, you would earn such labels as well.

[Snake Alchemist]

86. So just to be clear, you agree with Keith that it is Al Gore's greed and lack of ethics

and choose to ignore the myriad of sources who say that he is impossible to work with from no less than FOUR networks.

[Dragonfli]

87. No, I think it is the business it'self that is based on greed and lack of ethics

Some are better able to adapt perhaps. That is all I am saying, Is that a bit clearer?

[Snake Alchemist]

88. But as we both know, that is NOT what Keith said. nt

[Dragonfli]

89. I think he just can't separate the man from the standard business practices of networks.

Probably because he is too stubborn to adapt so easily himself to network politics and sponsor ass-kissing. He can't get how someone can.

[Snake Alchemist]

91. So he has all this ability, but he can't do that?

I'm sure he'll be rehired soon at MSNBC or ESPN.

[Dragonfli]

92. I couldn't repair a foundation in the projects with bad materials either

But no one has ever questioned my ability.
I can't adapt to the slum lord game. Perhaps he should give up on a corrupted medium and write instead.

[Snake Alchemist]

93. So we're back to Al Gore asking him to compromise his ethics?

Keith is one unlucky guy.

[Dragonfli]

94. You know all you have to do is read what I write, reading all that crap into it must be hard work.

Namaste

[Snake Alchemist]

95. I can read his own words via twitter. nt

[Dragonfli]

99. Then why do you have so much trouble reading my words? Without adding crap I don't say? /nt

[Snake Alchemist]

100. if you are agreeing with Keith, then that is what your saying

Contortions are being performed by people to avoid what he actually said.

[NuttyFluffers]

75. meh, current seems to be orphaned anyways

the idea was good, but youtube makes it redundant. if they really cared about the channel they'd bottom out its value and have it part of basic cable or continue 'net streaming. but at this point, who really cares?

[cherish44]

80. Keith seems like the type who doesn't do well working for others

He needs to start up his own thing where he can call the shots. (hope he does, we need his voice right now)

[DemocratAholic]

81. next stop...FOX

I used to have an employee like this, my clients loved him but he was an absolute fricken nightmare to work with. He had no sense that he was expected to follow direction. If you're going to fire Olberman, be prepared to have him tear you down in the process. These are not the actions of a professional. As much as I once enjoyed him, I am now disgusted by him. If he thinks Democrats are going to take sides with him over Al Gore, he is delusional. Olberman is now a pariah in the Democratic Party...next...Fox News will hire him as a consultant like they do all bad Democrats.

[Dragonfli]

83. KO is a "bad Democrat" that will now work for FOX? well at least you made me laugh a little

before I threw up in my mouth a little over how nasty your post was.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

90. Not as free a hand as he thought, imho.

Sadly, it's the children that'll be hurt most.

[B Calm]

96. As much work as he missed, I'm

a little surprised he wasn't fired a long time ago. I love his show, but damn you have to go to work once in a while. . Hell he was missing more work than George Bush!