Is there a bigger candy-ass crybaby prima donna than Keith Olbermann?
Current is a start-up of sorts, lacking the backing of a deep-pocketed parent company — something Mr. Olbermann hasn’t contended with in years. When the channel put on Iowa caucus coverage without Mr. Olbermann on Tuesday, it was derided by online commenters as cheaply produced; “the production values were only slightly better than local public access,” wrote Jonah Goldberg of the conservative National Review, calling it “hilarious.”
Mr. Olbermann did not directly cite production values as a reason for his absence, but he said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, “I was not given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions.”
Current TV is a start-up and Olberman apparently has equity, but even a partnership stake and the understanding that things might be lean isn’t enough for this pompous drama queen. Instead of making light of the production values while hosting the show, he took his toys and went home.
Also, too: the sparkling water in his dressing room was Perrier, not Pelligrino, and it wasn’t chilled to the correct temperature, as clearly specified in his rider.
Jean King
In the interest of accuracy, Current TV is not exactly a start-up. It’s been around for several years.
nastybrutishntall
“Look… this, this miniature bread. It’s like… I’ve been working with this now for about half an hour. I can’t figure it out. Let’s say I want a bite, right, you’ve got this…”
He holds up the sandwich for Ian’s inspection.
“You’d like bigger bread?”
“Exactly! I don’t understand how…”
“You could fold it though.”
“Well, no, then it’s half the size…”
“Not the bread. You could fold the meat.”
Nigel tears the sandwich in half.
“Yeah, but then it, then it…breaks apart like this.”
Ian tries to demonstrate his method.
“No, you put it on the bread like this…”
“But then, if you keep folding it, it keeps breaking…”
“Why do you keep folding it?”
Nigel stares down at the crumbled remnants of the sandwich, then tries folding it again.
“And then you… everything has to be folded, and then it’s…”
He keeps folding.
” This. And I don’t want this .”
Disgusted, he hurls the sandwich to the floor.
“I want large bread !”
merrinc
Thanks for this, mistermix. My husband is a huge Keith fan and watches him faithfully but he’s always rubbed me the wrong way.
askew
Is there a bigger candy-ass crybaby prima donna than Keith Olbermann? No there isn’t.
The guy has burned through 5+ stations. Current is the end of the line. If he quits in a snit there, who is going to take him?
I also read in the previous thread that Cenk had 4,000 viewers the other night. No wonder he’s resorted to trolling GOS again.
cervantes
Oh come on. Olbermann is a professional TV personality and he does need to be protective of his brand. He’s already had to accept being part of a lower rent operation, and he’s just drawing the line. Give the guy a break.
redshirt
@nastybrutishntall: Yes yes and yes.
Anyone remember the “Burnt Toast gets Bud Light” ad campaign, which I think was a homage to that Spinal Tap scene.
Though to be fair, half of the humor of that scene is in how stupid Nigel is.
amk
Typical PL.
mistermix
@Jean King: You’re right that they’re not technically a startup, but they’re starting up the part of their operation that is a real competitor to other cable news outlets. Previously, they were mostly homemade media.
@cervantes: When you’re in early growth mode and you’ve signed on for a piece of the pie, sometimes you make do with what you have, if you’re in it to grow the operation. Or you throw a pissy fit, if you’re a candy ass like KO.
Augie
What an idiotic, pointless post. Looks like mistermix is trying to win 2012’s “even the liberal New Republic” award.
CalD
A: Maybe. Can’t swear I’ve seen ’em all. But I’d give you good odds he’s in the top 10.
David Marotta
I used to be a big fan of Keith’s. Not so much anymore…
The Spy Who Loved Me
As has been said of Olbermann in the past, he doesn’t just burn bridges, he napalms them. Given his track record with previous employers, can anyone really be surprised that issues would arise between Olbermann and Current’s management?
Ben Affleck’s rip on Olbermann on SNL a few years ago was absolutely spot on. If you look up “blowhard” in the dictionary, Olby’s picture is right there.
Jennifer
I stopped watching KO way back when his “special” commentaries became nightly features. Feigning over-the-top outrage on every topic made him just the liberal version of Rush Limbaugh.
Villago Delenda Est
Yeah, I just don’t get this. KO is being waaaaay to prima donna for his own fucking good here. The sardonic humor that made him so attractive at ESPN is lost…he’s becoming like Newt Gingrich, all ego, no content.
Ken
The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstage) doesn’t have a rider for Olbermann. However, it has one for Newt Gingrich – though to be fair, it’s the one for when he’s doing historical consulting at $50,000 a pop, and I would guess his campaign runs a little differently.
There’s a few other politicians, but none are currently running for president.
jsfox
@cervantes: Yes he does need to be protective of his brand and he should do a better job of it. Looking like a prima donna is not protect his image.
Keith, as usual, is his own worst enemy.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
Yes, let’s spend more time discussing how everyone on the left is a horrible irredeemable hellbeast for only for mockery and derision. That is a great use for your worldwide platform.
I liked BJ better when it was a site about politics, rather than sniping at anyone who dares to be further left than Dick Nixon.
Hey, I heard that one time Matt Taibbi tipped 10% instead of the proper 15%. Let’s spend all day talking about what an awful person he is.
Republicans? YAAAWN
Mary Jane
I don’t get Current TV and don’t care. I’ve seen KO and Cenk enough for two lifetimes. Perhaps the wonderful Gov. Granholm’s presence helps balance out their combined mass of ego and grandiosity. god help her.
mistermix
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire: Topics of last 10 posts on anything but sports:
Romey,
This one on KO,
Santorum,
Homeland Security,
Santorum,
Obama went to Mars is stupid,
Romney,
Fundraising post for Obama,
Bachmann,
Obama recess appointment is a good idea.
Conclusion: You’re full of shit.
Yossarian
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire: You’re right. If mistermix puts up one post making fun of Keith Olbermann, how could Balloon Juice possibly have the time–not to mention the bandwith–to also attack Republicans?
It’s simply not possible.
tBone
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
Right. KO is being criticized because he’s too left, not because he’s a whiny, entitled drama queen with a ridiculously overinflated sense of his own importance.
The Moar You Know
No.
handy
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
KO is a douche.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Villago Delenda Est:
Don’t overlook the importance of Dan Patrick to Keith Olbermann’s glory days. It was really Patrick that made The Big Show what it was. As is often the case for the straight man, his proper credit gets shuffled to the showboat.
Cheryl from Maryland
When I hear KO’s name, all I can think about is Ben Afleck on Saturday Night Live playing Keith with that giant Persian cat. Maybe Keith is not on even keel because of his dad’s death a year ago? — that seemed wrenching.
WereBear
Never have understood the Keith-hate.
Shrill enough to be about the only voice on a major venue to call out the Bush Administration.
And when there was so much crap going on he had to mention it every day? Well, there was.
When he said he’d support the Special Olympics with every lie Palin told… he did.
And I don’t think the Free Clinic folks mind all that free publicity, and money, he got them, as well as highlighting the issue.
I followed him to Current and still watch him. Don’t like it? Don’t watch! It is still, despite Fox’s best efforts, a free country that way.
Mattminus
In fairness, we all know that the most important thing about political coverage is having an “Obi Wan Kenobi, you are my only hope” style Wolf Blitzer hologram.
4tehlulz
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire: ‘sup Keith?
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@mistermix:
This is news?
joes527
The thing about Olberman is that he has _always_ been this way. There was a time when he was talking about what no one else was talking about, but even then his constant reaching for the Edward R. Murrow/Joseph N. Welch moment was exhausting.
That said, this thread feels a bit like kicking a corpse. “We put up with his excess when he was going over the top on Bush … but we don’t need him any more, so fuck him.”
Somehow, you have made me feel sorry for Olberman. That is quite a feat, mistermix.
urizon
The technical problems on Current have been pretty egregious. I think KO has a right to be pissed about this.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@tBone:
So?
@handy:
So?!?
Who gives a flying fuck what KO is like? Why the hell should this matter to anyone who doesn’t work or live with the guy?
This is petty gossip. It’s meaningless. It means nothing at all.
Oh! I heard that Cenk Uygur wears Spiderman underoos. Pass that along! That’s such an important topic of discussion.
For the love of Pete, we’ve got people in this thread hunting for KO’s riders. Why? Why the fuck do you care? What does this have to do with you or anyone else?
And even if you do care for some unfathomable reason, this “story” is weak sauce. KO didn’t cover the Iowa caucuses for Current for some reason. That’s all we know. But here we are, with you jackals jumping all over that tiny tidbit like a bunch of giggling gossip queens.
It’s pathetic.
Judas Escargot
Full Disclosure: KO was the lone voice in the wilderness for me back in 2003-2006, a very lonely time for anyone against Bush and the Iraq war (at least in my real-life). The fact that his show helped me realize that no, I wasn’t the sick and crazy one, earned him a lot of loyalty from me.
To be fair, here’s who was on CurrentTV: Cenk, Jennifer Granholm (the former governor who’s starting a show on the network soon), and Al Gore. It was in the Young Turks studio, which is set up in a sort of ‘dot com startup’ format with energetic young things in front of iMacs and laptops, a sort “We’re surfin’ the net in REAL TIME, Yo” vibe.
But again: Al Gore. The owner of the network. Former VP and almost-President. If you were a pro TV pundit, would you want to be giving commentary with your boss sitting right next to you? In someone else’s studio?
I wouldn’t have been there, either.
Gin & Tonic
@urizon:
He has a right to be pissed, true. But he has equity in the company, so I’d think he has an obligation to be pissed in private.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN): Wow, the most dishonest commenter on the site thinks I’m full of shit. I’m crying over here, I really am.
Go back to enabling financial crime, you fucking scumbag. Lotsa money to be siphoned from the middle class, after all, and it ain’t gonna steal itself.
barkleyg
Look in the mirror MISTERMIX
Keith poops out more healthy knowledge weekly than you do in a month. I like Balloon Juice and LOVE John, but you is just a blip on my radar screen as far as blog contributors are concerned!
And that, my liberal friends, is why we have both chocolate and vanilla ice cream
Southern Beale
Yeah I’m sorry, I loved me some Keef when he was the lone voice crying in the wilderness but now he’s sounding like a cry baby. I think he’s the typical “difficult personality.” He should write a book and be done with it.
Speaking of liberal media, I was pleased that the New York Times put on its front page a story about the death of America’s cherished dream of upward mobility and a classless society, but less pleased that what the Times deemed newsworthy was the fact that Republicans are now talking about it. Not, you know, that it’s happening in the first place.
Agggh.
Villago Delenda Est
@WereBear:
All true.
But the thing is, Keith lets his ego go nuts, as in this case, because he thought (and it’s quite possible that someone at the network led him to believe this) he “owned” the 8PM ET slot and had total control over it at all times.
It’s impossible to tell who’s at fault here. I like KO a lot, I really do. But damn, he seems to be going out of his way to dynamite bridges everywhere, which sucks, because it cuts him off from an audience that likes or loves him. It seems to be due to his own inability to compromise or to be reasonable about things.
urizon
@Gin & Tonic Not disagreeing with you. But I’ve been watching since the debut. The stream of technical glitches has been comical, to say the least. And do we know for certain that KO hasn’t already tried to make this point privately? We don’t. Not saying you’re wrong, only that the jury is out on this. Current needs to get its shit together, like yesterday. Otherwise, it’s nothing more than Al Gore’s vanity project.
Sloegin
I haven’t seen KO on current, my cable won’t carry it; I was a huge fan of KO on countdown until near the end when he slid into his Allistair Cooke imitation to read stories to us.
That being said, blogging about how KO is a douche is so much windbaggery. Look up “firebrand” and “lightning rod” in the dictionary. You’re just channeling some of that spillover 2-minute Fox hate there Mix.
handsmile
As a matter of fact, yes there is: Bill-O the Clown and the entire troupe over at Fox Noise. Pretty much every day Media Matters highlights their repertoire of white butthurt, faux outrage, and “candy-ass crybaby prima donna” antics.
Keith Olbermann is a progressive hero. Alone among broadcast and cable news anchors in the first years of the Bush/Cheney regime, he was exposing their lies, deceptions, and corruption. This at a time when virtually ALL other corporate print and broadcast media personnel (as well as many here from what I understand), were happy members of the “America Fuck Yeah!” chorus. For that courage and perspicacity, all of which was vindicated, Olbermann deserves lasting praise and gratitude.
This kerfuffle between Olbermann and Current TV management was first floated last week by the Huffington Post. I’m only surprised that it’s taken this long for the NYT, which has long slagged him, to goose it.
There is a related story in the Hollywood Reporter (linked to by another BJ commenter in a previous thread) headlined, “Olbermann’s Attorney: Keith’s lawyers and Current’s lawyers are communicating.” The article’s penultimate paragraph is all one needs to know about the import of this contractual negotiation:
Sad Iron
You, sir! You, sir! (Are correct.)
handy
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
I dunno, maybe I am enjoying this little meltdown by KO because I can’t stand the guy, I always thought he was overrated as a “journalist,” so forgive me if I indulge a bit.
You obviously don’t find value in a post like this, I understand. I sometimes don’t take an interest in what FPers post on occasion myself. I know what to do then, I think you do too.
Dr. Squid
No.
SATSQ
Froley
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire:
“Proper” tip for good service is 20%, not 15%.
Dr. Squid
@Mary Jane: I think I’ve seen Cenk for 2 minutes on youtube.
That’s quite enough for me.
Mouse Tolliver
@urizon:
This exactly. One night the set went dark while he was on the air, and the lights kept flickering during the broadcast as if the studio was being blitzed or something, prompting him to switch to a plain black backdrop like Charlie Rose mid-broadcast. I doubt you could find anyone on TV at the national level who would put up with that.
Violet
@urizon:
That’s a stupid way for Al Gore to run the network. The guy has plenty of money. Reasonable quality technical production equipment isn’t that expensive these days. Okay, it’s a “start up”, albeit a start up that’s been around for quite a few years. But it’s a start up TV NETWORK. They should find a way to make themselves look professional.
I used to watch it when they first started broadcasting. A bunch of hip 20-somethings “anchoring” video segments on a variety of subjects. The “anchor studio” was relaxed, with a long bench seating and a wall of video, but it looked reasonably professional. If they could make that happen right out of a bag, why in the world can’t they create a professional-looking set with some quality equipment. Don’t understand at all.
joeyess
@Cheryl from Maryland:
Interesting point. When his dad was dying he took to reading Thurber to him in the hospital. Then as a tribute that translated into a feature on his show every Friday night. It seemed both strange and sad. I like Thurber and I know what it is to lose a father (having lost mine in the last 18 months), but I never understood why he thought his audience would indulge him in such an obscure and detached exercise.
We all grieve differently. I just found it to be a bit self-absorbed that he would grieve so openly on his news show. I enjoyed his polemic stance and his biting wit, but it just didn’t seem professional nor did it seem germane to the task at hand.
I still like KO. I just seemed to have grown out of him.
Kane
I will always be grateful to Keith Olbermann for being a voice of sanity in a time of insanity. While many in the media were busy pounding the drums of war, waving their pom-poms for the Bush administration and defending the indefensible, Olbermann had the courage to speak the truth.
There are those who will never forgive Olbermann for that, so they take every opportunity to slam him. If Olbermann had done coverage of the Iowa caucus, the same people would be criticizing him for his commentary.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN)
@Mouse Tolliver: Keith’s problem is that he’s antagonized and completely alienated every outlet that could provide him better production values. He’s not in a position to be cranky about it, because his next job will be on cable access.
He has to demonstrate that he *can* put up with anything not to his liking. Yeah, that’s going to be hard with the things he needs to put up with at the Current, but he’s already blown his easier chances.
ornerycurmudgeon
With the vanishingly few voices we have on ‘our side’ … to attack Olbermann, to actually put effort into destroying one of the few trying to be progressive voices. I don’t understand.
What’s the upside of all these attacks against imperfect voices that have tried to speak out on behalf of the middle class?
I think it’s MrMix who also hates Kucinich, and Cole and others here hated Spitzer and joined the chorus to hound him out of office (btw that hitjob helped cost your fellow Americans and set the stage for the unimpeded looting on Wall Street. Thanks guys!)
MrMix and other bashers of Progressive voices: You are a liability. It would be better if you went away and just volunteered or worked out or something. Your presence is toxic to any kind of consensus.
It just makes NO DAMN SENSE that you spend free time destroying other Progressive voices. And it is a regular feature here.
Augie
Hey I’m all for criticizing one’s own side (cough, cough President Obama), but this comment thread is madness. We are tearing down Keith Olobermann? Really? Do you think there is a 50+ comment thread (and counting) on the National Review tearing down Sean Hannity because he didn’t tip his postman? Somehow I doubt it.
r€nato
I have not watched Current TV so I can’t judge whether its Iowa coverage looked like cable access or not, but in general I can completely understand why Keith Olbermann wouldn’t want to appear on a program that didn’t look broadcast professional. Like Cervantes said, he has a brand to protect. Image is everything if you’re a broadcast personality.
OTOH… he used to be on ESPN and MSNBC and now he’s on Current TV, which isn’t exactly a top-tier network. What’s up with that, Keith? pretty soon it’s going to be infomercials for you.
Stephen1947
I’ve always liked much of what KO says but cringed at how he aays it. Esp. when he was in Special Comment mode I always wished that, if our side was only represented by one person, that person wouldn’t be so bombastic. But he’s almost as completely out of the spotlight now as Snowflake Snookie, so who cares?
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@Froley: Well, the server was kind of rude. Never refilled his water, acted annoyed when he asked for some cream. It wasn’t busy either.
It wasn’t really her fault, though. Her manager grabbed her ass and leered at her just before Matt came in. She wanted to punch him and storm out, but rent was overdue and she needed her tips today. So what Matt perceived as simple laziness was in fact a roiling internal struggle.
That server seems far more interesting than KO. Let’s gossip about her instead.
eemom
meh to Olbermann.
meh to threads about Olbermann.
meh to people who have nothing better to do than become outraged at threads about Olbermann.
so much meh, so little time.
r€nato
@Mouse Tolliver: this shit isn’t that hard, but you have to have the money to hire professionals who know what the fuck they are doing. I would imagine that every single video production professional in Iowa jacked their rates way up for the caucus, and why not? It’s not like Iowa is the center of the production biz. They gotta make hay while the sun shines, just like their farmer neighbors.
I’m thinking that somebody is being tightfisted at Current and refused to pay the going rate for good crew talent. As someone who gets hired by people in that position, I’m pretty well fed-up with producers and their managers who don’t understand that the quality of the product you put out is far more important than the fact that you found someone to work for you who let you bend them over on their day rate. A pro knows his worth and isn’t going to let you chisel him; he’s also not going to let you down, he’s not going to make the mistakes that rookies or the inexperienced make.
Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, you get what you pay for, etc etc.
feebog
The fact that KO has burned a lot of bridges is true enough. But no one can take away the fact that he was essentially a lone voice in the wilderness during the early days of the Iraq invasion.
I tuned into Current Tuesday night and watched about 10 minutes before I had to switch to MSNBC. The Current set up was horrible, and the dialouge between Cenk, Granholm and Gore was stilted and uncomfortable. I don’t blame KO for bailing.
shortstop
@WereBear: Never have understood why some people interpret legitimate criticism as “hate.”
Everything you said about KO is true. It’s equally true that he’s a self-centered, preening, crybaby asshole who has dug his own grave through his inability to get along with management, any management. Yes, both things can actually be true.
ruemara
I’ve both liked KO and disliked KO. I find it interesting that he’s now a sacred cow on the left. From everything I’ve heard, he can be nice, but as much of an egomaniac as O’Reilly, which makes sense if you’ve ever seen any pundit in front of microphone. They all have huge egos, Maddow, Schultz, Beck, Limbaugh is large enough to blot out the sun and collapse the universe. KO knew he was getting into a start-up with people who were not experienced in running a station. If he wanted better quality, as a person with equity stakes, he should have put some real effort into improving things and, frankly, not shot himself in the foot with this prima donna move.
pamelabrown
@shortstop: I agree with you, shortstop. I also wonder if it’s true that Olbermann is paid a cool 10 mil. a year with a stake in the company why didn’t he put up a few hundred thousand of his own to boost production quality and keep this squabble private. Seems a better solution for Current and himself.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@r€nato:
Well, we can certainly rule out his unapologetically liberal views as a factor in the decision to fire him, since such views are so common on the news channels. I’m sure it’s all because he’s a bad, bad man, and a desire to remove another liberal voice from the air had nothing to do with it.
When MSNBC suspended Olbermann for doing something that Joe Scarborough had also done earlier, it was entirely because KO was a douchebag, and not because Scar, a former Republican congressman, donated to a Republican and KO to a Democrat.
And when you folks get giddy at the thought of taking that primadonna KO down a peg, be certain that you feel this way because of your rational and logical examination of the facts. Just like a rational and logical examination of the facts tells you that Al Gore is less trustworthy than George Bush.
Bubblegum Tate
@Villago Delenda Est:
Ouch. It’s brutal because it’s true.
Mike E
Calling KO a whiny bitch makes you look like one too. Also.
I think I’ll go over to GOS now. Not. As well.
MildlyAmusedRainbowPerson
I have former Senator Santorum on hold, with Mittens LoveGlove Romney next in the queue. Sarah Palin is going to connect as soon as she works out how to use this phoney thingy.
r€nato
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire: I don’t really care one way or the other about Keith, though his hyperbolic outraged ‘Special Comment’ shtick wore thin after a while, even during the Bush/Cheney regime when there was plenty for any sensible person to be outraged about.
Rachel Maddow proves that an outspoken liberal can indeed have a show on a major network, provided that the network is capable of putting its bottom line ahead of the politics of its highest brass. That she’s still there and Keith isn’t, seems to me to lend credence to the POV that he’s difficult to work with. Only the biggest rainmakers get to be difficult assholes and keep their jobs. Clearly, Keith was not one of them.
Jay
Wow. I don’t think anyone’s used the word “candyass” since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson so often did so during pro – wrestling’s brief resurgence in the late ’90s.
Ro-cky! Ro-cky! Ro-cky!
Finally, if KO’s so worried about production values at a cash – strapped operation like Current, he ought to toss some of his own salary into improving them.
Brachiator
The question is whether Olbermann, or any other media person, is informative and pulls in ratings. Whether the person is a prima donna or a “regular guy or gal” really is nobody’s business but the employer.
Radio station KGO recently laid off all their on air talent, except for Ronn Owen, who had a contract that specified that he had to be paid even if he were to be let go. Smart prima donna.
Mnemosyne
I’m not sure why people are taking this as an either/or story. Olbermann is, and always has been, an egotistical douche. I remember him being an egotistical douche when he was doing local news here in Los Angeles.
The fact that he’s an egotistical douche doesn’t mean that he’s not also is a valuable voice on the left. It just means that him leaving Current in a huff is not exactly a surprise since he’s left a lot of previous jobs in a huff. It’s kind of what he does.
Who decided that our heroes have to be perfect? Olbermann has well-known, long-standing feet of clay. That doesn’t diminish what he can do when he’s on his game.
matt
current isn’t a startup exactly. they aren’t giving people equity like startups do. they are paying people like startups do. they are giving people the kind of work hours and working conditions startups do.
pseudonymous in nc
The barriers to entry have changed. The Verge is filming shows in front of an audience to talk about the latest gadget news shit, and they manage to avoid the lights going out. Louis CK is editing his own fucking shows on his laptop to make them under budget.
You can respect Olbermann’s talent while noting his obvious ego, his long history of bridge demolition at every network he’s worked, and his apparent unwillingness to depart from the anchor-at-desk model.
Ian
This thread has shown me that we can never, ever! criticize someone on the left. We must goosestep like the Republicans do or else!
Marc
@Judas Escargot:
One of whom actually claimed, with a straight face, that Obama was just as much a candidate of Wall Street as Romney. Gore and Granholm tried to drag him back down to earth but he would not be swayed.
And that was the only two minutes of Current that I will ever need to watch.
Someguy
Yes. Baron JRod of Keeblershire… And if saying so makes me the Worst Person in the World, so be it.
The Populist
@WereBear: Hey, KO was the poster boy who was attacked nonstop by the right because his opinions and decent ratings scared them. Points to him.
He helped MSNBC figure out liberal leaning prime time hosts can draw decent ratings (most notably bringing Rachel onboard). Points to him.
Sure he’s a candy ass whiner but honestly? I thank him for being the lone voice in the nightly cable news back when it was all carrying water for Bush. Points to him.
He also proves that we can eat our own too!
Carry on I guess…
The Populist
@Ian: I am all for criticisms. KO has focused way too much on the protests and less on politics of late. I also believe his special comment rants can get tiresome and his humor has lost a bit of it’s edge.
Lately I’ve been watching Stewart and Colbert more and more simply because it’s not only brilliant comedy but they are informative too.
The Populist
@Mnemosyne: Nobody is denying this. I wish we’d give him his props on the things he’s done right vs. trashing him for having an ego.
We all have egos. His is more outsized than most BUT I thank him for keeping me sane in the Bush years.
justawriter
ABL?
The Populist
@Gin & Tonic: I work in the entertainment business. Your name is your brand and he’s never been one to hide his frustrations with his employers.
A lot of folks in media are like that. Current does need to clean up it’s problems.
FromTheBackOfTheRoom
@Marc:
“One of whom actually claimed, with a straight face, that Obama was just as much a candidate of Wall Street as Romney. Gore and Granholm tried to drag him back down to earth but he would not be swayed.”
Snark right? Right? Be careful or someone might notice Obama’s mountain of Wall Street campaign donation loot and the Wall Street toadies that he employs.
FromTheBackOfTheRoom
@ornerycurmudgeon:
“This”as the kids say. Fuckin’ nailed it.
huckster
Olbermann is a fucking asshole, but he’s our fucking asshole, so shut up about it already.
gil mann
Aw c’mon, the guys’s a jagoff, but what’s sad is the wasted potential–the dude can write like a motherfucker and he’s got that starpower X-factor that the left rarely harnesses (and seems to actively discourage). Thank God Maddow’s the heir to his throne because the other contenders are the TV equivalent of Monday morning.
I’d like to think even Olbermann wouldn’t second you on that, friend.
Mnemosyne
@The Populist:
I don’t think mistermix is trashing KO for having an ego. He’s saying that it’s not exactly a shock that KO is leaving Current in a huff since that’s been a repeated pattern of KO’s over many years.
I mean, we’re supposed to think that every single one of KO’s employers have been totally unreasonable, so therefore his leaving Current is totally justified, too? If someone has a pattern, I don’t think it’s unfair to point out that he’s following the same pattern over and over again.
I like KO, but he makes a habit of storming off sets and abruptly leaving jobs.
El Cid
Somehow this vague though possible story fails to outrage me about Keith Olbermann.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@Ian:
Snickering over petty gossip does not equal criticism.
But nobody’s stopping you from doing so if you want. I’m not stopping you from doing a fucking thing. I’m just saying that it’s a sorry thing to waste your time on.
Do you also call it “criticism” when some right-wing fuck spends a bunch of ink talking about Obama’s bowling score or Michelle Obama’s eating habits?
Yeah, I’m the real whiner here. The people invoking Nazi goosestepping imagery when they learn that someone thinks their gossiping is stupid aren’t pathetic whiners at all.
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@El Cid: But what if you also heard that my brother’s babymama’s cousin’s nephew heard from his gardener’s hairstylist’s aunt that Olbermann was rude to a checkout person at Safeway? Oh, and my mechanic’s girlfriend’s dog-groomer says that KO once bought a box of chocolates for his wife… then ate them all himself!
Oh man, there are so many saucy stories!
brewmn
@Baron Jrod of Keeblershire: Hey, Baron, do you remember when the True Left was ready to crucify Olbermann because he supposedly agreed in secret not to criticize Bill O’Reilly on his show anymore, don’t you? Where was your outrage then, troll?
Baron Jrod of Keeblershire
@brewmn: My outrage was directed at Republicans working to destroy the Americans middle class.
You think I’m outraged by this? I’m saying that this is deeply stupid. I save actual outrage for shit that actually matters.
handsmile
@Mnemosyne:
Reasonable people evidently differ, but in my view employing the descriptive phrases “bigger candyass crybaby prima donna” is trashing someone’s ego, not addressing that person’s work history. But then again, you also referred above (#70) to Olbermann as an “egotistical douche” while asserting that he is “a valuable voice on the left.” So our respective standards of approbation differ as well.
Also, in both comments you write Olbermann “leaving Current.” Neither the NYT or Hollywood Reporter article make that claim, but perhaps you have another source?
Kathy in St. Louis
I have and always will cut Keith a huge amount of slack for being one of, or possibly THE FIRST person to take on W over the war. He was the only voice in the desert at one time, that called the war a sham. I will always be grateful that my opinion of the war was finally affirmed by a member of the media, after years of rah, rah, for that debacle. How soon we forget, Mistermix. How soon we forget.
The Other Chuck
I’ll take my voice of reason in the form of Rachel Maddow, thanks, not a bombastic pompous blowhard like KO. He’ll adopt the same tone of sputtering outrage over someone taking his parking space as he would over genocide. Bill O’ Reilly looks calm and reasonable next to him.
As for Current? Everyone knew they were a low-rent operation from the get-go. When KO went there, it was clear it was because he wasn’t welcome anywhere else.
Joel
Loved Olbermann and Patrick on Sportscenter.
That’s all I got.
ice weasel
Sorry, this is an article slamming Olberman because Dougbob Loadpants said something about him?
Did I enter an alternate world or something?
David Koch
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH
I am laughing my ass reading this thread as Keith’s cult followers defend their “Dear Leader” against the evil Al Gore.
Al Gore must be destroyed to save face for “Dear Leader’.
David Koch
@feebog:
This is mythology. He supported the invasion for the first two years. His show was originally titled “Countdown to Invasion”. Go on Lexis or Factiva and pull up transcripts from 2003, 2004, and most of 2005. It was nothing more than banal, Beltway pablum.
Sure, he turned against the war by 2005, but by then, so did the majority of the country.
Judas Escargot
@David Koch:
Well, he is still fat.
Ruckus
@Mouse Tolliver:
I doubt you could find anyone on TV at the national level who would put up with that.
This is exactly why tv/cable news with very, very few exceptions is atrociously bad. It’s not about the product(news or sports), it’s about the brand, the talking head. KO has been like this since he was a local sports doofus in LA.
I think mistermix’s post was about someone with skin in the game still not being able to put aside their own extra large ego, even if long term that might get an overall better outcome, even/especially for him. How many people in power(political and/or financial) does that describe?
SBJules
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym (JMN):
Yes, Dan Patrick was “his tag team partner.” When KO took a job in LA, he had to have a driver which pretty much made all the other sports writers & sportscasters crack up.
JC
Mistermix,
Isn’t this simply ad hominem sniping, for someone who criticizes Obama?
Really, such a strange little post.
tones
@WereBear:
Could not agree more -he was THE lone voice of reason during the Bush Decade Debacle – I would have lost my mind or moved to another country without that show.
“It takes one to know one”
I do not see him as egotistical at all , nor do I see any reason to think he thinks the show is about him -he does not.
I love the guy and have never watched an episode without a heartfelt “May God bless you Keith”.
MSNBC has already all but completely neutered Rachel, Ed and Lawrence -it is getting harder to sit through those shows.
Cenk is like Ed but smarter.
Keith’s is still the only show that says the things MSNBC never seems to get to…
Looking forward to Jennifer Granholm,the only sensible politician from MI in a very, very long time.
JoeShabadoo
@cervantes:
This.
Olbermann is a big star. His image is FAR more important to the Current than everything else. I haven’t seen Current TV but Olbermann is the biggest name and draw. Hurting his image would be absolutely devastating to the fledgling station. They also most likely cheaped on everything because covering the Iowa caucuses is just not important outside of the end results, particularly to a progressive station.
Not only that but his answer to a question they asked him isn’t even bad. He was asked, he didn’t just start badmouthing anyone, and he gives a one sentence response that says the company cheaped out on the coverage so their biggest star wasn’t there. This should be expected.
Too many people are coming into this with a chip on their shoulder and are looking for any excuse to attack.
virag
@SBJules:
you know why he needed a driver right? he wasn’t doing it because he was a huge egomaniac. he needed a driver because he can’t drive a car due to some injury impairing his depth perception. supposedly that was one of the reasons he hated espn so much; it’s sitting on the border of two small towns with nowhere to go and, in his case, no way to get there.
virag
it looks to me like this current tv situation is another al gore cock-up. why would you hire someone like olbermann and then not let him do his job? you had to know he’d be pissed if you misrepresent the deal to him. the gossip is that he didn’t pick cenk or granholm; that’s another plus for keith. cenk is maybe a fifth starter, not a number two, and granholm is so boring that she’s almost invisible. olbermann can’t be happy with those choices if they weren’t his. eliot spitzer woulda’ been phenomenal. maybe jeff madrick would take a show…
path
@Kane:
I agree totally with your first paragraph.
And I also agree that KO has become a sputtering prima donna.
Both things can be true.
pseudonymous in nc
@virag:
ESPN HQ is indeed next to a giant parking lot in WhoGivesAFuck, CT. It’s basically sitting on the border between Yankees Country and Red Sox Country.
Gus
@WereBear: I don’t hate the guy. I just think he loves himself so much he doesn’t need anyone else’s love.
Mike
@tones:
You hit the spot with what MSNBC primetime news is now. For the past couple of months it’s practically been in 90% campaign mode for obama.
And to reiterate, KO made MSNBC primetime what it is now FWIW.
And back to egos, it’s not just the egos we see out front on our TVs, there’s a lot more ego packed in behind the scene.
Jason
To be fair, he’s been working since the eighties. That’s not a large number of employers to be going through.
But I’m not a fan of the man nad his narcissistic antics. I always found KO’s special commentaries horribly over the top. He did one commentary that was particularly effective because he allowed himself to get angry, and then seemed to decide every single issue on every single day deserved the same deserved the same fulminating, frothing-at-the-mouth anger.
Current TV has lots of problems, by the sound of it, but what he’s doing is not helping to improve the quality. He’s on the absolute bottom tier and pretty soon he’ll be lucky to have a gig on youtube interviewing Hannah Minx and LisaNova. Cenk’s already at that point, after all.