Current TV -- a little-known network which mostly airs documentaries but which has been trying to get into the political teevee business -- has stormily fired Keith Olbermann, barely a year after Keith had a stormy exit from MSNBC. Obviously, Olbermann has...issues. Even his fans will have a hard time swallowing his continual contentions that someone else is at fault.
Olbermann alienated me pretty thoroughly in 2008, when he became part of the lie machine against Hillary Clinton. He and the Kossacks had a thing going on: The Kossacks would invent or circulate a smear-of-the-day ("Hillary once ate the heart of a baby -- a black baby!") and someone downthread would raise the oft-heard cry: "OMG! Get this to Keith!" And sure enough, Keith would bellow that very smear the next day. He and Moulitsas became symbiotic organisms, like a tapeworm in a jackal.
At least Olbermann finally apologized for the worst moment of his career, when he made a public call for Hillary's murder. I was grateful for that show of contrition, but at the same time we must recognize that some offenses need penance beyond "I'm sorry." His parting shot at Current is unprofessional and childish, while the owners of Current -- Al Gore and Joel Hyatt -- have made a far more polished statement. Olbrmann will have a difficult time convincing liberals that Al Gore is the bad guy.
I caught Olbermann's act a number of times on Current. Too often, there was no electricity, no juice. (Apparently, the lack of electricity was quite literal for a brief time.) And too often, he simply was not there. The man was being paid $10 million a year to put on a surprisingly dull show that fetched a viewership of 177,000 and falling.
On the other hand, it is indeed true that Olbermann gave coverage to the Occupy movement at a time when no-one else on TV was willing to acknowledge its existence. That fact alone carries much redemption.
I don't think that Olbermann is the worst person in the world, and he may one day prove that he still has something important to contribute. I would suggest that he work on a book -- a book offering fresh investigative journalism on an important topic, not a me-me-me book. Right now, though, his day seems done on television. Even the Kossacks can't work up much outrage to mark his departure from Current. Liberalism needs a new face.
3 comments:
It's not liberalism that needs a new face, it's that progressivism is two faced.
Olbermann is a rabid progressive and is to the democratic party what the neo cons are to the republican party, the loudiest, squeakiest part that will vote and will donate, but only if their agenda is
favored over centrist policies.
I can't believe that Olbermann was making 10 million a year. As I recall, during his time at MSNBC, Olbermann had a four deal worth 8 million a year, and after he successfully led a charge to get Obama past Hillary Clinton at all cost, he got a new four year deal worth 16 million a year.
Now at 10 million a year, Olbermann probably was the most expensive part of his own show by a huge margin.
Joseph says "Liberalism needs a new face." and I say 2 things:
1.) There was never a true consensus that Keith was the new face of Liberalism.
2.) Keith could be insightful & good and I was a loyal viewer for a while but I still think Rachel Maddow might be the new face for Libs way more than Keith might've been.
I agree that by 2008 he got worse. I'm very glad Keith apologized on-air for his awful comment on Hillary but he should've never made that comment in the first place and even after he apologized he could still be a ridiculous blowhard.
What I find curious here is that when he tried to "soften up" like when he read those James Thurber stories every Friday - I kept thinking maybe his audience lost interest because they prefered him harder?
I also thought it was odd when he left his studio at Current to do his show in a darker smaller place and even more weird when he stopped doing his "Worst Person In The World" segment.
But for me The most odd (if not LOL funny) part of this news for me is that both MSNBC & Current still might have Keith beat even in the "Tough As Nails"/Blowhard category.
I actually think that Ed Shultz on MSNBC is just as hard on Repubs & Dems as Keith was (sometimes harder) and that Cenk Uygur of the Young Turks on Current is a very close 2nd.
But with Cenk and now Stephanie Miller on the Current line-up I'm still can't figure out why Current couldn't see eye-to-eye with Keith. Cenk & Stephanie can be just as outrageous as Keith so what really is the problem?
I'm not so sure how long Keith's new replacement - Eliot Spitzer - will last but I wish him & Keith (whatever new job will be?) good luck.
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