Keith Olbermann on David Letterman

[UnrepentantLiberal]

Last edited Thu Apr 5, 2012, 10:24 PM - Edit history (1)

[jjewell]

1. Thanks for posting this...

Somebody please, give this man a show!

[Ganja Ninja]

2. Got ego?

I thought the whole idea for him going to current was his talent would pull in the viewers. It sounds to me as if he's blaming all the little people he forgot to thank for the poor production standards and the failed ratings.

[Enrique]

4. he's not as much of a chandelier as he thinks he is

his success at MSNBC was in some ways a fluke, imo. It had more to do with his viewers, not with him.

[1monster]

8. Doesn't the $10,000,000 refer to the amount Current contracted to pay

Olbermann? Because personally, I wouldn't think that referring to oneself as a chandelier as being egotistical. A chandelier is an unnecessary expense when one is just beginning and only has enough cash flow to support a floor lamp.

[Ganja Ninja]

9. He wasn't fired because they were paying him too much.

He was fired because he kept missing work. And yeah equating yourself as being the chandelier in an outhouse is egotistical. His would be loyal viewers were tuning out because he never showed up not because the production values were lacking.

[marble falls]

12. I was pissed because he wouldn't show up and I liked the dark studio with one spot.

[1monster]

13. Did you miss the part about the throat ailment? My husband was a radio

DJ and he got lesions on his throat. He wasn't allowed to talk for a month...

If your living and career depends on your voice, you do stop talking if the docs tell you to do so. It is very difficult to do a television/radio news show without talking.

[glinda]

17. He still sounded like he had a throat issue.

[marble falls]

25. I think the timing of the throat issue was a little suspect in relation ....

to the issues regarding production and the primaries.

[chervilant]

18. Really?

(Be wary of pointing a finger at someone else: three will be pointing back at you...)

About two years ago, I began to research various websites to determine whether online anonymity promotes bigotry, sarcasm and personal attacks. I soon realized that the level of vitriol extant on political blogs is ubiquitous, with quite a few participants relentlessly spewing vulgarities that were once considered the exclusive milieu of the narrow-minded. In short, anonymity does not seem relevant to the pervasive vilification of 'others' on political websites--here on DU, 'others' usually being Republicans. It seems that "we all do it."

Of note, too, is the misogyny one often encounters here and on other websites. I find it fascinating that merely pointing out misogyny garners at least a few disclaimers from members who feel that just a 'whiff' of sexism besmirches the entire community.

Olbermann has his own version of vilification of 'others' in his "Worst Persons" segment. I mention this not to excuse this human foible, but to emphasize its omnipresence in our personal and political discourse du jour.

(On whether or not Olbermann's ego is the nexus of his 'current' problems: I remain hopeful that he will soon resume broadcasting, since liberal and progressive voices are a rarity in our co-opted media.)

[timesup]

3. Don't have current TV, so I miss Keith a little bit and don't watch late night talk shows.

I hope he gets back to a mainstream channel, We'd be viewers, but in my area, not available unless I switch over to crummier satellite service, and I am not doing that.

If he is charging 10 million a year, that's a little limiting, oh well, I watch too much news any way.

win either way for me |chuckle|

[BeyondGeography]

5. Get help

Your talent is going to shit.

[Botany]

6. It was my fault (KO) but the blame lies w/ these other parties

excuse after excuse ...... KO knew it was a start up gig when
he signed up.

ESPN quit and or fired
Fox quit and or fired
MSNBC quit or fired
Current TV fired

I will always be thankful for KO's coverage of Ohio 2004 but he needs some help
and he needs to learn to get along w/ other people.

[xtraxritical]

21. Big head (swollen).

[midnight]

7. I loved his chandler explanation, and hope he finds a great place to show case it...

[LittleGirl]

10. Thanks for posting.

Miss him.

[Myrina]

11. He was excellent up until the past couple years ...

... when he seemed to turn Glen-Beck-ian with the ranting and yelling.
I think folks on our side of the aisle prefer our 'news'/viewpoint with a bit more demeanor and sharp wit - like many of his special comments were - but when he started to basically mimic Beck's out of control/over the top style, I know I stopped watching.

It may have been a gimmick to mock Beck, I dunno, but it was rather unappealing. I tried to watch him a few times when we went to Current but I felt the same nasty, on-the-edge vibe from him that he had when he left MSNBC, so I found other things to do during KO's eppy-time.

Am more than pleased at this point with Elliot Spitzer. Proof that one can intelligently and concisely bash the right and their stupidity without frothing at the mouth.

[amuse bouche]

14. I love Keith

and am a little po'd at him for not trying harder to make it work

I loved his 'Worst Persons' his righteous rants and his analytical mind.

The last thing we need is having a progressive voice silenced

[AsahinaKimi]

16. +100

agree!

[brightertomorrow]

19. I will really miss his voice

and his intelligence and his wit. I too wish both he and current had tried harder to work it out as we need every progressive voice we can get right now and his is a very powerful one. I would have preferred to see him do his show by candlelight with no fancy set compared to not seeing him at all and have his voice silenced. Current really needed him to get that channel going and maybe Keith really needed them too and neither seemed to realize that. But even more WE really needed his voice. The whole thing just makes my heart sad.

[peace frog]

22. Ditto

and will turn in to any programming that features him. Come back soon, Keith, we'll be there for you.

[peace frog]

15. Hope he doesn't stay off the airwaves for long

Looking forward to wherever and whatever his next incarnation will be. He is a valuable voice for progressive issues and hopefully he will find the right niche to express it. We'll be there when you find it, Keith.

[amuse bouche]

23. Today and yesterday his tweets

Last edited Fri Apr 6, 2012, 10:44 AM - Edit history (1)

are all about baseball with a little bit of snarkiness thrown in about Al Gore

He doesn't seem too choked about about not having a gig

[UnrepentantLiberal]

26. He needs to take a break for awhile and reflect.

[amuse bouche]

27. He's gung-ho on the lawsuit

He posted a link to the complaint for his twitter followers. They seemed to agree with him

I didn't read it. I'm just too upset about him and Al Gore.

Al's network may be small but it is still a place getting out the progressive voice. I hate to see it go down

[UnrepentantLiberal]

28. Yeah, just sorry I can't watch his show.

Al Gore picked the wrong person to run his channel.

[Justice wanted]

20. What Ego?! Yeah He joke BUT he was sencere! He's right. Al Gore didn't take think this

through.


I got an e-mail from a friend of mine who's Cousin saw both sides. Trust me THIS EGO B.S. wasn't that big a part of it.


Make fun of him all you want. I'm staying loyal to him.

[90-percent]

24. I'm with Keith

I have had bosses that I liked and respected, or at least had an understanding. A few have quit or been demoted and are replaced by empty suits. Self serving middle management weasels that manage to get an excellent job are not types that bring out the best in me.

I quit half the time and get laid off the other half. Saw a lot of empty suits climb up the ladder, with $600 bottles of wine in each hand. Self absorbed corrupt pricks. Most of my work life was a Dilbert cartoon. Except more aggravating. Career tip - don't loose your temper at work under any circumstances!

-90% Jimmy

[big lu]

29. In an ideal world MSNBC drops the early Morning Redneck hour & makes space to take KO back primetime

[Life Long Dem]

30. One second he's complaining about the lighting going out.

And the next second he "is" the lighting. Which is it Keith?

[fox09]

31. Shouldn't of done it for his career

If keith really likes doing his show, you'd think he'd appreciate having current help him put it on TV, even if their production sucked. I like olbermann, he stood up to bush when no other host would. But I just feel Cenk & TYT were always true to their audience, and not in it for their own interests of fame & what have you. There's more nuance to that for olbermann, but I just felt he wasn't really in it for the people who enjoyed his show.

That said, his bosses really did suck, and it's a shame, but from what I've read I don't really see it as that bad. Olbermann isn't exactly a poor man, he could of paid for a better earpiece and what have you , but it just doesn't seem like he has it in himself to invest in his own show like TYT has.

Best of luck to him, I hope he finds a way to get his show going again.