With one abrupt announcement at the end of his show on Friday, Keith Olbermann ended his run on MSNBC, where he had hosted Countdown since 2003. The fiery host is “a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits,” wrote The New York Times after his departure.
Howard Kurtz characterized Olbermann’s righteous rhetoric, especially throughout the Bush years, as a double-edged sword:
Olbermann’s abrupt departure Friday demonstrated, in a very real sense, the limits of anger as a tool of television. The same fervor that draws cheers from partisan viewers almost invariably leads to clashes with the people who sign the checks, as their pit bull starts gnawing on the furniture.
What will you remember about Olbermann and Countdown, for better or for worse? And on the eve of a merger with Comcast, and the MSNBC lineup still in flux, where does NBC go from here?
I liked another more recent headline you used on another persons departure from public life: No Surprises; Good Riddance, but I suppose you all have different opinions on the two (not that it would come out in your publication).
#1 Posted by Mike H, CJR on Tue 25 Jan 2011 at 03:57 PM
Howard Kurtz is delusional. Anger sells just fine. Just listen to Glenn Beck, Limbaugh, or the rest of those clowns. The problem isn't anger, the problem is that Olbermann doesn't toe the corporate line particularly well.
#2 Posted by Thaia, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 03:52 AM
What’s next for NBC?"
Probably, more of the same: state-worship.
#3 Posted by Dan A., CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 11:09 AM
The fact that for all the help given to him and his cable channel by parent NBC, Olbermann never came close to Fox in the ratings.
#4 Posted by Mark Richard, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 12:25 PM
What a relief. Often liked his ideas but the extreme arrogance and righteousness were too much. Watching the MSNBC team after Obama's speech last night was a much improved experience. It felt like a lively and smart exchange instead of like being batted around a cage Olberman-style.
#5 Posted by Betty Medsger, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 01:31 PM
According to my own analysis, billions of people on our planet receive the loans at various creditors. Thus, there is good possibilities to receive a student loan in every country.
#6 Posted by DiannPreston21, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 02:09 PM
I will miss Keith Olbermann. He was the counter foil to much of wrong labeled as the right. In his anger I worried for his health. He seemed on the point of having a heart attack or a stroke.
His comments while pointed were mostly on targer in my opinion. He criticized President Obama, and those who hung Sarah Palin in effigy.
When he realized he went over the line HE APOLOGIZED on the air. When have the Fox talking heads done this?
I will miss Evenings with Thurber. I wish him success in his future endeavors. Perhaps a teaching position.
Since the media is intend on investigating numerous things, I would like to have someone who is neither an Obermann fan or critic do an indepth study of what the reasons were for his termination. Are there any takers?
#7 Posted by David Reno, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 02:36 PM
Something I think no one is paying enough attention to is huge: The man can write! Even when he made me cringe a bit, he towered over other commentators, our own Mencken or Murrow. I expect to see and listen raptly again to this remarkable orator.
#8 Posted by Gailkate, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 02:52 PM
No one enjoyed Keith as much as Keith. I found his effectiveness completely undercut by his ego, meanness, and self-aggrandizement. He damaged left and progressive efforts much more than he helped them, and that annoys me the most.
#9 Posted by Susan, Madison WI, CJR on Wed 26 Jan 2011 at 05:54 PM