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At issue is whether Keith Olbermann controls the 8 PM (ET) time slot on Current — or just his show, Countdown With Keith Olbermann, which typically fills the hour. I’m told that the commentator and his powerhouse lawyer Patricia Glaser are reviewing his contract to decide how to proceed after Current preempted his show last night to cover the Republican caucuses in Iowa with Al Gore, Jennifer Granholm, and Cenk Uygur. Olbermann isn’t on board yet to contribute to next week’s coverage of the New Hampshire primary, although Current still wants him to participate. But something would have to give: The control issue was a big deal for Olbermann last year when he left MSNBC and joined Current as an anchor and chief news officer. Current also believes that it has the right to shape its coverage of special events, and has a unique opportunity this year to make a splash by having Gore — a former vice president, and the channel’s co-founder – as part of the mix.
The rift has been building since mid-November when Current president David Bohrman broached the idea of having Olbermann lead the network’s team coverage. The commentator opted to have Countdown run per usual and said on his December 22 broadcast that he’d be back after the holidays “live, live, live” for the Iowa caucus results. Olbermann continued with his plan until yesterday when Bohrman told staffers in a memo: ”There will be NO stand-alone Countdown tonight. For those of you at work who might be preparing a program, I apologize your managers did not communicate this to you.” The memo added that “Keith was asked to be the sole anchor and executive producer of our primary and caucus coverage. He declined.” Olbermann says he was “not given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions.”
If both sides dig in their heels, then the dispute will come down to an interpretation of the wording in Olbermann’s contract. And it was crafted in part by someone who’s an expert in TV contract disputes: Glaser not only negotiated for Olbermann when he left MSNBC, she helped Conan O’Brien win a $45M settlement for himself and his staff in 2010 when NBC replaced him on The Tonight Show.
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They’re supposed to be smart people. Why are they acting so dumb?
Current needs everybody working together to have a shot at success.
It’s all about ratings baby… got no one watching, you can’t control your destiny. He’s done nothing to help Current’s audience flow and yet wants all the clout of someone relevant. It’s painful to be so marginalized, Keith but you have historically been the cause of your own demise. Start taking responsibility for that and you may be able to do segments for a real network some time. Smart guy whose political POV brought out the best in him, while his ego brought out the worst in him.
Ahhh…thanks for the article, David. I’ve seen similar stories on other sites, but they didn’t make any sense.
With this new true-to-form meltdown Keith proves there is something pathological about his need to destroy every work situation he’s in – even one like this, where he was virtually handed the keys to the kingdom. Brilliant, but I wouldn’t hire him to sort my socks.
Did’nt realize that the Asshole was still on TV in any form— particulary after I threw away my tin cans with the string and stopped getting that faint noise called “Current”.
Awesome post and very informative, DJT!
I had no idea Current TV started as one of those “tin cans with the string” shows. I was always finding it on the Internet. Also, I’m dying to know, how long has it been since you upgraded your sweet can/string rig?
Current is a network hardly anyone watches and why in the world Al Gore or whomever is in charge of hiring decided to bring this ultimate pinhead to the network…this guy is a cancer and should be sent packing as quickly as possible. He’s only doing all this to stroke his ego and he’s becoming a hindrance there at this time.
Does this dude get along with anyone? He’s fighting for control of Current? Most people don’t even know they have Current. He should be happy he has a job. What a Douche!
This is the beginning of the end for Olbermann. Soon he’ll fade away like Beck into web obscurity.
Au contraire…lol. I bet he wins the lawsuit…and forces Current to grow up.
Soon? He’s already irrelevant. Current has about as many viewers as GBTV has subscribers.
No one should bother countering the flow of the completely unbiased journalistic nirvana that is Fox News. The GOP, big corporations and banks all have our best interests in mind. Relax and float downstream. It’s easy.
Having worked with KO earlier in our careers, I’ve experienced first-hand his habit of dynamiting every situation he’s handed, even the best ones. It’s one thing to be the hotheaded hotshot when you’re in your 20s and it’s the much more permissive 1980s. It’s something very different when you’re a greying 50-plus-year-old man in more subdued 2012 and there’s lots of younger talent with comparable skills and cleaner personal slates. I hope Ms. Glaser does very well for KO in these coming days since his career next-step options seem to be pretty sparse.
Olbermann is like Jack Burton, sooner or later he pisses off everyone. Olbermann is running out of networks he can go it.
His best bet at this point is to give huffingtonpost a run of its money, liberals are not happy about the sale to AOL, he should create an OlbermannPost and give that a shot. He is not happy unless he is the top dog and they only way to always be the top dog is to own the company
A BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA reference? Bravo, sir!
Keith needs to sign with Bloomberg if this Current TV deal doesn’t work out…..for Bloomberg, it brings more viewers to their network and for Keith there’s way more potential for viewership because there’s way more subscribers here in the US and internationally.
1. BBC America is another good destination, same problem as Bloomberg and Current in terms of subscriptions and the fact that they are shifting away from news, but Keith would have an international audience
2. ABCNews/Yahoo or YouTube are good options for him too, if your Yahoo/ABC, give him an online show but produce it like a TV production, let him do Special Comments either for GMA or World News or he can be a daily contributor analyzing different political moves on GMA or World News while continuing with an online show…..With YouTube, you can give him an online network of his own with the YouTube channels experiment at YouTube.com/Live or you can put him on one of the online channels that are already established including ironically The Young Turks which took his spot last night on Current, for YouTube it brings you added star power
3. Al Jazeera and RT America are other options…..But it doesn’t look like this Current/Olbermann move is gonna work and that The Young Turks will take over, I say by April he’s gone; maybe he changes to just covering sports again at MLB Network while doing occasional blogs and online videos about politics for a liberal site like Daily Kos or HuffPo who are increasing their original video as the internet becomes a new growing market for original high-quality video….What do you guys think?
I don’t think any of those scenarios will work. I just think that no network will want to work with Keith Olbermann period. He’s far too much of a hassle. There’s a reason why CNN, CBS News, ABC News, or Fox News didn’t hire him after NBCUniversal fired him, they didn’t want him.
Olbermann’s political ideology isn’t the problem. It’s his attitude. He’s become really arrogant over the past couple of years attacking anyone who doesn’t agree with him and thinks that the rules set by his employers don’t apply to him.
Interesting but I don’t think Bloomberg would touch him with a 10 foot pole.
@Jessie,
I hope you were just jesting about this clown working for BBC America! They are the only quality news organization on cable today and adding him would be like tossing mud on the Mona Lisa.
Now Al Jazeera would be the perfect spot for him. If he mouths off to the bosses there he will find an IED waiting at his desk when he comes to work the next day.
“Now Al Jazeera would be the perfect spot for him. If he mouths off to the bosses there he will find an IED waiting at his desk when he comes to work the next day.”
Yeah, that’s not just slightly bigoted, now is it?
You can always spot a dumbass by how they feel about Al Jazeera.
If you actually did a little research, Dale (just kidding, of course — I know guys like you don’t like to get bogged down with facts or reality), or maybe, I dunno, watched some Al Jazeera clips, you might come off as less of a bigot.
Al Jazeera’s editorial staff is made up of a lot of former BBC employees, as well as a number of US journalists as well. But of course, because they questioned the Bush Administration’s lies leading up to the Iraq invasion, they are anti-’Murrican, turr’rists.
He wouldn’t necessarily be working for BBC News, he would be providing commentary for the BBC and it would be produced by BBC News, but it wouldn’t be associated with it….sorta like how Brian Williams’ side of NBC News disassociates themselves with MSNBC’s primetime lineup…..Keith to Al-Jazeera English would be great because he’d have a major online presence because of Al Jazeera’s live feed on YouTube, and an international audience, maybe he could even help them get more carraige, although that didn’t really seem to work for Current. But I totally agree with Jesse…I’m gonna use a sports analogy here, people who act like assholes are usually dropped when there’s better younger talent out there that can fill ur position i.e. Terrell Owens who can’t find a job right now. Olbermann is going to end up on the same boat as Glenn Beck and may have to either find a way to go into radio, go into an even more obscure network than Current like HDNet and team with Dan Rather and Mark Cuban, go into sports via MLB Network and do politics on the side via a blog or start and online network or online show, I mean the internet is the future of television viewing and he would be his own boss. I just can’t believe that there’s such a big possibility that Keith’s voice will be missing during the 2012 election
Keith Olbermann on Al Jazeera? Love it. For reasons I can’t quite articulate or even understand, that scenario makes sense to me, and I would pay through the nose to see it happen.
Oh Heavenly Father, if you are really listening, please make Keith Olbermann sign with Al Jazeera. Amen.
Yeah, Keith is a blowhard but those are not new stripes on that tiger. Hell, even those who hate him (if honest) will acknowledge the guy can be really effing funny. The real item here is the mother-of-all-blowhards, Al Gore. Nobody gave a shit about him or Current until they brought Olbermann aboard. That asshole is more than happy to scorch-earth anything and anybody, even a company he (supposedly) co-owns to sustain his own fragile and massive ego. Still smarting from eight years of that Bubba Clinton smackdown, Al? I say dump Al Bore and give Keith what he wants, for better or worse. That’s why they brought him in, isn’t it?
Instead of focusing on news coverage, it seems that Olberman wants to fight with everyone he has ever worked for.
Last night was the first time I watched Current since Keith started, and I was once a fan.
Current bet the farm on KO and lost.
His current ratings of around 200,000 are not worth anywhere near what they are paying him.
It’s not all his fault.
Lewis & Clark can’t find Current on their TV.
So they will begin the process of getting him to quit because there is no way in hell that they can dump him and not pay out the nose.
I doubt it will work.
His lawyer will be telling him to just keep cashing the checks.
One things for sure its going to be fun to watch from the sidelines.
Why might Al Gore – a career politician nee’ new media entrepreneur – want to shut down Keith Olbermann during election coverage? (I dunno.) Were Keith’s expectations mismanaged? If so, how and why? (Again, I dunno. I’m not trying to allege anything. I just don’t understand.) I want to hear Keith’s opinions during this political year. And I don’t want him reduced to participating on a panel being moderated by Cenk Uygur, Jennifer Granholm, or Al Gore.
Keith Olbermann should go the Louis C.K. route. He should get Louis C.K. do do a show with him (they could each get a half-hour) and then sell it directly over the internet. Because of course, for as long as you can continue to download The Rachel Maddow Show in it’s entirety for free, no one is going to pay to subscribe to Keith Olbermann. (And everybody who enjoys KO probably also loves Louis C.K.)
“And everybody who enjoys KO probably also loves Louis C.K.”
What? Why? Olbermann’s a tool. Louie’s awesome. And making a shitload of money on his own. Why would he want to be in business with KO? There’s no upside at all.
If Current hired Keith Olbermann to be Chief News Commentator- why would the network pre-empt his show ? What a boneheaded move! If I were President of Current I would want and need Keith’s commentary and overview. Keith gives Current some clout that they don’t have on their own. Dear Al Gore— what gives ?
Olbermann is and always has been (since KTLA days) an asshole. Current should buy him out and fire him.
I’ve never understood how this guys ever got any work. He used to be the only sportcaster in LA who seemed to hate sports, working or even trying to entertain. When he left town I thought he was headed to Starbuck’s as a grumpy barrista but somehow there are a lot of people in the world who think having someone mistreat them from the idiot box is a good thing.
Having said that. Some idiot will probably hire him after this dabcle ends because he’s like a cockroach – you can’t seem to kill him.
I support Keith because he is a much needed voice and presence. I absolutely valued his OWS coverage. It was incredibly informative and satisfying on a human level. It also brought out the best in Keith; revealing rarely seen humility and a superb set of listening skills. There is a place for Keith in media and I hope he finds it. Current is in no way blameless; however, Keith truly needs to find new and more productive ways to get a grip on his deep rage and possible self-hatred. I had to stop following him on twitter because he seemed to find it impossible to not take the bait. I don’t judge any of these flaws, but good lord all this bridge burning has to get old at some point!
Then again…maybe he is always surrounded by a-holes. It’s not unheard of.
I wish Olberman would go back to sports. I liked him better then.
In this economy, Olbermann should be glad he even has a job let alone pitch such a bitch fit with Current.
Keith, be grateful Current wanted you in the first place, go quietly into or just stop your bitching and do your show or just go the hell away.
Keith, we are sick and tired of your antics. Be a grown up and do your job or flat out go away.
Years from now, Keith will a guest on the late night shows. He will hawking a book with a self-aggrandizing title such as: “Genius Denied”. He will be wearing a muu muu and an excessive amount of eye shadow. The host will be having a hard time suppressing giggles.
Current is already dead. It used to be groundbreaking and catered to a college to mid thirties audience with alternative programming but they scrapped all of their original programming in one fatal swoop. The whole appeal of the channel was changed for unknown reasons and has been sinking ever since. Olberman while maintaing his ego is really not that interesting of a broadcaster or personality on such a low fi network to turn around the ship.
If his salary numbers being thrown around are accurate ($10m/year) then keith earns about $40,000 every time he comes to work to record a show. So what if hardly anyone’s watching, that’s Current’s problem.
It takes a truly a vile man in this economy, to demand even more (control, money, lights, whatever), from a cable channel which has already clearly bet the farm on him. Hell, they can barely afford a set for their second show.
Sounds like him and Glaser will now try to greedily squeeze that network to death, leaving them that bit richer while a few hundred more skilled Americans are out of work. For a guy who casts himself as an anti-establishment hero of the people, he does a solid impersonation of an obnoxious 0.1er%.
$40k a day to read the newspaper to a bunch of other old people. It takes a special person to f**k that up.
Keith Olbermann? I thought he was dead. I guess being on Current is the same thing. Next stop….direct to DVD.