Keith Olbermann Signs Off MSNBC For The Last Time

Despite there being no lead up to it, tonight was the last episode in the history of Countdown with Keith Olbermann and he signed off MSNBC for the last time.



David Shuster went on Anderson Cooper 360 this evening and stated that due to a clause in Olbermann's contract, Olbermann will not be back on TV for awhile. Once he is back, my guess is he will wind up on MLB Network doing random stuff for them. Outside of possibly Turner, he has burnt bridges at every other relevant organization.

Call me totally nutty, but I do not think it is a coincidence that this is coming three days after the Comcast and NBC merger was approved by the federal government. It's been long thought that Comcast wants a different direction with MSNBC. Now whether or not he was fired, stepping down on his own terms, or being forced to step down is a matter of which is not yet known.

Olbermann may be out at MSNBC, but he will land on his feet at somewhere doing something, I'm sure. He likely is not yet done in TV. For Olbermann fans who need to get their Olbermann fixture, you can follow him on Twitter @KeithOlbermann and he will be returning to his MLBlog The Baseball Nerd on February 14.

And for those wondering, maybe it is the ridiculous cold weather, but I am not as joyous and giddy as I thought I would be when this news eventually broke. It's true I have not watched his show in over a year, but maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or maybe I'm just numb to everything about him. Or maybe I miss watching his show a bit. Or maybe it's just cold and I'm incapable of feeling anything right now because my skin gets numb real fast when it's exposed to this bitter cold for more than a few minutes. Yeah, let's go with that.

Keith Olbermann Suspended Indefinitley

To start the NFL season, Keith Olbermann was kicked off Football Night In America to focus on his political show on MSNBC. Now, he might be finding himself struggling for work. Per sources at Politico.com, Keith Olbermann committed a huge MSNBC sin this election season.........donating money to 3 political candidates, something that is a no-no at the company, even if the political candidates are Democrats. From MSNBC.com

Msnbc TV host Keith Olbermann was suspended indefinitely on Friday for making campaign donations to three Democratic congressional candidates, apparently in violation of NBC News ethics policy.

The announcement came in a one-sentence statement from msnbc TV President Phil Griffin: “I became aware of Keith's political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”

The donations were first reported by the Politico website earlier in the day.

Olbermann acknowledged the donations in a statement to Politico, saying he gave the maximum legal donation of $2,400 to Arizona Reps. Raul Grijalva and Gabrielle Giffords and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate against Tea Party standard-bearer Rand Paul.

Like most news organizations, NBC News, parent of msnbc TV, prohibits political contributions by its journalists without prior approval of the president. (Msnbc.com, a joint venture of NBC News and Microsoft, also has a policy against its journalists contributing to political campaigns.)

"Anyone working for NBC News who takes part in civic or other outside activities may find that these activities jeopardize his or her standing as an impartial journalist because they may create the appearance of a conflict of interest,” it reads. “Such activities may include participation in or contributions to political campaigns or groups that espouse controversial positions. You should report any such potential conflicts in advance to, and obtain prior approval of, the president of NBC News or his designee."

Oy ve. The stupidity of some people. I mean seriously, did he actually think he could get away with violating company policy in such blatant, obvious form? While not a technical firing, per se, I can only imagine that Olbermann will be out for a long time and this will do even further harm to his already damaged image. He may return to MSNBC, but if this suspension turns into a firing or a "leave on peaceful terms and go on separate ways" type deal, then one really has to wonder where he would end up next. He would have burnt bridges with all 3 cable news stations, NBC as a whole (and now by default Comcast), and not to mention that ESPN never wants to associate with him ever again. Now as mentioned, Keith could be back on MSNBC in a month and everything could be dandy, but if not, what is he going to be reduced to? A full-time baseball blogger?

Update: Inside sources at TVNewser say Olbermann will not be returning to MSNBC, although the fill-in host for Countdown tonight, Thomas Roberts, seemed a little more optimistic that Olbermann will return.

Keith Olbermann Dropped From Football Night In America

I guess we should be renaming today the day of sports media demotions? First, the announcement came that Pam Ward will be relegated to working with Danny Kanell on the afternoon ESPNU game. And now the announcement that Football Night In America kitchen has lost one of its way too many cooks. Per this report from Sports by Brooks, you can say goodbye to Keith Olbermann on FNIA!

Multiple media and network television sources confirmed to me Thursday that Keith Olbermann will not appear on NBC’s Football Night In America Sunday evening NFL broadcasts this season.

Some members of the FNIA cast and crew were made aware of the news Tuesday at a preseason production meeting in New York City. Afterwards, the cast and crew adjourned to Yankee Stadium to watch the Yankees-Blue Jays game.

I’m told that NBC News officials requested the move, citing Olbermann’s weekday commitment to MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann. During the 2009 NFL season, Olbermann periodically did not appear on Friday editions of Countdown.

Network television sources confirmed to me that Olbermann’s departure from FNIA was not due to any conflict with cast or production crew members. I was also given no indication that Olbermann’s politics had anything to do with the move.

All in all, this is a good move for NBC. There is no doubt that Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick were wildly popular and successful hosting SportsCenter together, and to an extent, NBC tried to re-create that past magic. There was just one problem with that line of thinking: Today's not the past, and we don't need to relive it. Repeating the same jokes over and over they coined a decade ago does not make for good television. Olbermann drew nothing but criticism, and when NBC brought in Dan Patrick to complement Olbermann on highlights only to tone down the highlights like they did last year, Olbermann became expendable for FNIA. It looks like NBC is finally taking steps to getting the too many cooks out of the kitchen. And that, my friends, is a good thing.