Keith Olberman and MSNBC have parted ways. Last Friday (January 21, 2011) was the last broadcast of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”, the highest rated program on MSNBC. To viewers, the end was sudden and swift. To those in the know, the end was inevitable and in fact had been negotiated over the last several weeks. In other words, the separation was mutual. The seperation may have been mutual but questions remain as to how amicable the seperation was. There is a report in The New York Times that tensions between Olbermann and MSNBC's upper management had been at the boiling point for the last several years. ("Olbermann split came after years of tension") Olbermann was suspended from the network in November 2010 when it was discovered that he had made personal campaign contributions to two Democrat candidates for Congress in the November 2010 midterm elections. One of those candidates, ironically, was Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords who was nearly shot to death on January 8, 2011.
There are conflicting reports of the separation, though. TMZ reported that Olbermann had been fired by MSNBC. Howard Kurtz wrote in The Daily Beast that Olbermann's alleged angry disposition fueled his rise AND fall at MSNBC.
There is also rampant speculation about what’s in the future for Keith Olbermann. In a story in The Wrap, the question is asked if Olbermann's departure from MSNBC will lead to the creation of his own media empire similar to what Arianna Huffington has done at the Huffington Post.
Whatever his future plans are, Olbermann won’t exactly have to seek employment soon. Reports are that he will receive a severance package that will include the final two years of his reported $7.5 million annual salary.
As for Keith Olbermann the broadcaster, a case could be made for him being the most versatile broadcaster in television. In addition to hosting “Countdown”, he co-hosted "Football Night in America" with his former ESPN sidekick Dan Patrick during the 2007-2009 NFL seasons. In fact, during the period of November 4, 2008 through February 1, 2009, Olbermann hosted MSNBC’s Election 2008 coverage, hosted “Countdown” on weeknights and co-hosted the Super Bowl XLIII pre-game coverage for NBC Sports. What television broadcaster in America
Both MSNBC and Keith Olbermann will be just fine. The network has announced it’s reshuffled prime time lineup: "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" will move into the 8 pm Eastern time slot, "The Rachel Maddow Show" will stay put at 9 pm Eastern and "The Ed Show" will move to the 10 pm eastern time slot. These are all good programs hosted by above average talent. They’ll do just fine. So will Olbermann. I wouldn’t be at all surprised that his return to television would be on HBO on a show similar to "Real Time with Bill Maher". He probably has outgrown commercial television. However, if I were an executive at Showtime, I would start conversations with Olbermann NOW in an effort to land him. That would be direct competition to HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher”. Now THAT would be an interesting talk show battle.
One question remains that we may never know, though: what REALLY happened between Keith Olbermann and MSNBC?
As Keith would say, “Good night and good LUCK”.
Peace, peace ...
Craig Riggins
Follow me on Twitter: @TheProdigal517
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showtime has landed pac man and bob arum, it may be a good idea to get keith plan a hostile takeover
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