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UPDATE: Keith Olbermann & Current TV Confirm Settlement In $50M Lawsuit

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 4:54pm PDTTags: Big Deals TV, Current TV, Keith Olbermann

UPDATE, 4:54PM: A day after a deal was reach in Keith Olbermann’s $50 million lawsuit against Current TV, the former TV host and his former employer have issued a short joint statement officially confirming the settlement:

“The parties are pleased to announce that a settlement has occurred, and that the terms are confidential. Nothing more will be disclosed regarding the settlement.”

PREVIOUSLY, TUESDAY PM: Looks like Bay Area mediation worked where LA litigation could not for Keith Olbermann in his $50 million lawsuit against Current TV. A daylong session in San Francisco at the offices of Antonio Piazza of Mediation Negotiations has led to a settlement between the parties. While specifics of the agreement are confidential, a source tells Deadline that Olbermann is set to receive a significant payout from Current. The former ESPN and MSNBC anchor’s deal also means it won’t impact the Al Gore co-founded Current’s recent $500 million sale to Al Jazeera. Late last week, in heavily redacted court documents filed under seal in LA Superior Court, the former Countdown frontman requested an April 24 hearing for a summary judgment to rule in his favor over Current.

Related: Olbermann On His Current TV Gig: “I Screwed Up Big Time”

Olbermann sued his former employer for breach of contact and other claims on April 5, 2012 for the full multimillion-dollar sum of his five-year contract, this after Current fired Olbermann that March after less than a year at the network. On April 6, Current filed a cross complaint claiming it had “every right to terminate Mr. Olbermann’s services.” Both parties are expected to file documents relatively soon to dismiss the case. READ MORE »

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Keith Olbermann Slams Current TV Again In Latest Legal Move

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Friday March 8, 2013 @ 9:21pm PSTTags: Current TV, Keith Olbermann, Lawsuit

The ongoing sideshow that is Keith Olbermann and his employment woes just continues. Within days before a high level mediation meeting in San Francisco, the one-time TV host is now seeking a summary judgment in his $50 million lawsuit against Current TV (now being sold to Al Jazeera). In heavily redacted court documents (read them here) filed under seal in LA Superior Court on Thursday the former Countdown frontman wants an April 24 hearing to rule in his favor over his former employers. The documents filed this week are Olbermann’s evidence why the court should rule for him. While most of the document is blanked out, the introduction to the 25-page filing gives a pretty good sense of where the former talking head is coming from:

Current breached 16(a)(i) of the Agreement by making disparaging and derogatory statements in the public and to its staff about Mr. Olbermann and by disclosing confidential terms of the parties’ Agreement to the press. Current breached 2(a)(ii) of the Agreement by using Mr. Olbermann’s likeness in connection with advertising the Program properties, all without his prior approval. Current breached 5(c) by using Olbermann’s name, without his approval, in connection with a commercial for AT&T. Current breached 2(a) and 2(b)(ii) by denying Mr. Olbermann editorial control over “Program Specials” broadcast on Current, and breached 2(a)(i) by refusing Mr. Olbermann editorial control of the website when it denied his request to stream segments of Countdown over the Website. Current breached 13(d) of the agreement by improperly terminating Mr. Olbermann’s employment.

 

Olbermann and his lawyers are scheduled to meet with Current TV executives on March 12 at the offices of Antonio Piazza of Mediation Negotiations in San Francisco. Former Vice-President and Current co-founder Al Gore and Current president David Bohrman are expected to attend.

Related:
Al Jazeera Paid $500M For Current TV
Keith Olbermann Talks To David Letterman About His Current TV Gig: “I Screwed Up Big Time”
Read More »

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Murdoch Once Again Has To Clarify A Tweet

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Tuesday January 15, 2013 @ 4:31pm PSTTags: Keith Olbermann, Rupert Murdoch, Twitter

Rupert Murdoch has had to apologize for, or clarify, so many of his tweets that you’d think he’d have learned to edit himself — or just think a moment longer before hitting the “send” button. But it happened again … Read More »

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Current TV President On Olbermann, Thoughts On ‘The Newsroom’: TCA

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday August 1, 2012 @ 11:07am PDTTags: Current TV, Keith Olbermann, TCA

Ray Richmond contributes to Deadline’s TV coverage.

The liberal cable stronghold Current TV hosted a breakfast this morning at TCA complete with its very own on-site radio show. The syndicated Stephanie Miller Show was broadcast in the background and simulcast live on Current, as it is every weekday. In fact, the network has ramped up its homegrown live programming significantly since the beginning of the year after losing its signature primetime show hosted by Keith Olbermann (who departed at the end of March in an acrimonious huff, followed in April by the inevitable multi-pronged lawsuit over his termination). The Olbermann situation “is going to be in litigation for the rest of my life,” said Current president David Bohrman with only a trace of exaggeration. But he was wistful about the lingering impact that Olbermann had on the network. “It’s unfortunate (how things ended),” he said, “but Keith was transformative in that when we put his program on, it really showed (Current partners) Joel (Hyatt) and Al (Gore) what we should be doing. And to that end, it was critical. It helped set us on the right path”.

Related: Current TV To Launch Primetime Show Hosted By Comedian John Fugelsang Read More »

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Keith Olbermann To Appear On ‘This Week’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday April 19, 2012 @ 4:31pm PDTTags: George Stephanopolous, Keith Olbermann
Nellie Andreeva

In his first stint on a political talk show since his own was yanked off the air by Current TV, Keith Olbermann will appear on ABC News’ This Week With George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “Keith Olbermann will join George … Read More »

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Gavin Newsom Lands Current TV Show

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday April 18, 2012 @ 10:08am PDTTags: Al Gore, Current TV, Keith Olbermann

Gavin Newsom Current TVCurrent California Lieutenant Governor and longtime liberal talking head Gavin Newsom has landed his own show on Current TV. The former San Francisco mayor, who briefly ran for California governor in 2009, will host the weekly … Read More »

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Right-Wing Fueled By Olbermann Vs Gore Feud: But Real Loser Is Liberal Current TV

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Monday April 9, 2012 @ 5:52am PDTTags: Current TV, Keith Olbermann

Conservative media are immensely enjoying the legal combat which erupted last week between Keith Olbermann and Al Gore’s Current TV cable network. The lawsuits and countersuits have prompted headlines like “Epic Ego Fail” to describe Olbermann. But Gore, too, is coming in for ridicule as shown by the Internet illustrations above. “Would anyone like some popcorn as two of the biggest meatheads in cable news duke it out?” wrote Breitbart.com. “One behaves as though he invented broadcasting, the other claims he invented the Internet.” Still another right-wing article hypes the battle between Gore and “favorite lefty TV spokesboor” Olbermann, even claiming the day Olbermann sued the employer (April 5th) ”will henceforth be known among conservatives as ‘National Schadenfreude Day’. … Keith is dissing Al as a goof, which makes Keith what kind of doof for being suckered by him?” For that matter, what kind of dork goes on Letterman and describes himself as “a $10 million chandelier” while detailing what is basically a run-of-the-mill employment dispute. Which prompted the right-wing Washington Times to snark in a headline: “Yes, Olbermann is like a $10 million chandelier: Fragile and vastly overpriced.” Even more to the point, Olbermann’s $70 million lawsuit and Current’s countersuit over his $50 million TV contract confirms conservatives’ worst stereotypes about the left-wing media. It turns out they really are limousine liberals: among examples of Olbermann’s misbehavior, Current cites more than $50,000 spent among 8 limousine companies. And so on.

Much to the glee of the GOP, the legal battle also lays bare the dysfunction inside Current TV run by the former Democraic Vice President Al Gore and his longtime pal Joel Hyatt, who was 2000′s National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party. Liberals wondering why the channel doesn’t get more audience traction only need to read Olbermann’s legal complaint for the answers. Read More »

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Keith Olbermann Talks To Letterman About His Current TV Gig: “I Screwed Up Big Time”

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday April 3, 2012 @ 5:54pm PDTTags: David Letterman, Keith Olbermann
Nellie Andreeva

In his first TV appearance since his ouster from Current TV, Keith Olbermann guests on CBS‘ Late Show With David Letterman tonight. In a preview released by CBS, Olbermann and Letterman talk about Olbermann’s short stint at Current TV. “I screwed up, I screwed up really big on this,” Olbermann … Read More »

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Keith Olbermann To Appear On Letterman

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday March 30, 2012 @ 9:21pm PDTTags: David Letterman, Keith Olbermann
Nellie Andreeva

After his abrupt exit from MSNBC last year, Keith Olbermann made his first TV appearance on CBS’ Late Show With David Letterman. He will do it again after his latest acrimonious departure, this time from Current TV. Olbermann will sit down with Letterman on Tuesday. During his previous visit, Olbermann called the offer to join Current TV “manna from heaven.” That probably won’t be the choice of words he will use about his now-ex-employer this time around. Last May, Letterman asked Olbermann about the nine employers he has left during his career and the state of the bridges he’s left behind. “Some people have said, I did not burn the bridges,” Olbermann said. “I have napalmed them. My argument was I did not burn the bridges, I burnt the rivers.” Ten months later, the only thing that has changed is the number of jilted employers, which has climbed to 10. Here is a video of last year’s chat:

Related: Keith Olbermann Fired From Current TV, Vows To Sue For “Improper” Termination Read More »

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UPDATE: Keith Olbermann Vows To Sue Current For “Improper” Termination

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Friday March 30, 2012 @ 2:14pm PDTTags: Current TV, Keith Olbermann

UPDATE, 2:45 PM: Olbermann’s fighting back: “Keith’s termination is baseless,” his lawyer Patricia Glaser says. “We will sue them for their improper conduct. They made a bad decision. They can expect a bad result.” And here’s Olbermann’s statement, an apology to viewers for joining Current which he says was a “sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one”:

I’d like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV.

Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally, while I’ve been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff.  Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program, finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract.

Read More »

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Current TV Ad Campaign Brands Channel As “Politically Direct”

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday January 30, 2012 @ 7:41am PSTTags: Cenk Uygur, Current TV, Keith Olbermann

I don’t know why Current avoided calling itself a politically progressive channel with its new ad campaign and slogan: “We Are Politically Direct.” If you’re direct, then why not just say what you are? In any event, here’s the campaign’s first spot for Current’s primetime lineup with Keith Olbermann, Cenk Uygur, … Read More »

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TOLDJA! Keith Olbermann Put In Charge Of Election Coverage On Current TV

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday January 8, 2012 @ 6:49pm PSTTags: Current TV, Keith Olbermann

EXCLUSIVE: My insiders say there’s finally an agreement tonight between Keith Olbermann and Current TV giving him ”carte blanche” to plan and program the channel’s 2012 election coverage. But the truce doesn’t come in time for Olbermann to do the entire 4-hour … Read More »

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Pat Buchanan Status At MSNBC Doubtful

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Saturday January 7, 2012 @ 12:19pm PSTTags: Keith Olbermann, MSNBC, Phil Griffin

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of TCA.

After the TCA session, I asked MSNBC president Phil Griffin  to clarify the status of MSNBC pundit Pat Buchanan, who has been off the network since October 22nd while making the rounds promoting … Read More »

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Will Keith Olbermann Control All Election Coverage On Current TV Or Won’t He? He Gets Channel To Blink – But It’s Just A Wink

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday January 6, 2012 @ 9:13pm PSTTags: Current TV, Keith Olbermann

EXCLUSIVE: This week there was a rift. Then tonight what looked like an outright win for Keith Olbermann over his current employer Current TV. But now the rift is back on after the channel is ”doing a complete 180,” sources tell me. Here’s what happened: Earlier tonight Olbermann was assured by Current TV that it was giving him ”carte blanche” to plan and program and book participants for the entire 4-hour block of New Hampshire GOP presidential primary coverage this coming Tuesday night. And that wasn’t all. “It can be said that Current has seen the light. It can be assumed that Keith will have control over election coverage going forward,” one of my sources assured me. But later tonight Current TV changed its mind and now is refusing to give Olbermann the time slot. Stay tuned. I have a feeling this is going to seesaw throughout the weekend between Current TV and its chief news officer/controversial liberal commentator. Read More »

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Keith Olbermann Weighing Legal Options In Dispute Over Current TV Election Coverage

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday January 4, 2012 @ 5:32pm PSTTags: Countdown With Keith Olbermann, Current TV, Keith Olbermann

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 Read More »

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Aaron Sorkin’s HBO Series Gets New Title?

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday December 5, 2011 @ 12:01pm PSTTags: Aaron Sorkin, HBO, Jeff Daniels, Keith Olbermann
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: Has Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming HBO drama series, known as More As This Story Develops gotten an official title? That’s according to TV Newser, which says the show will be titled Newsroom. That indeed is the top choice for … Read More »

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Jennifer Granholm Joins Current TV For Weeknight Talk Show

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Wednesday October 12, 2011 @ 9:09am PDTTags: Al Gore, Cenk Uygur, Current TV, Joel Hyatt, Keith Olbermann

UPDATE, 12:45 PM: Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm will anchor The War Room from San Francisco so she and her husband can continue with their temporary appointments teaching at the University of California at Berkeley. She’ll also continue to appear on Meet The Press. Granholm says her show will focus primarily on politics and public policy with a special focus on “solutions to the most pressing problems out there.” But she hopes to leven the mix by regularly featuring contributions from satirist Brett Erlich as well as viewer-generated content such as videos from the campaign trail. Granholm describes herself as being “on the left end of the spectrum” but with views that were shaped by her experience as “a pragmatic governor.” Current co-founder Al Gore says that he’ll appear from time to time on the network’s shows, including Granholm’s — and may participate in coverage of election news events. Although Granholm has no experience as a talk show host, the former vice president says he’s confident that she’ll be a fast learner: “If she had not been born in Canada, she’d be a leading candidate for president,” he says.

Here’s Current’s release: Read More »

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David Bohrman Named Current TV President

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday August 8, 2011 @ 9:46am PDTTags: Al Gore, CNN, Current TV, Joel Hyatt, Keith Olbermann
Nellie Andreeva

Following last month’s executive shakeup at Current TV in which CEO Mark Rosenthal abruptly resigned and was replaced by co-founder Joel Hyatt, the fledgling cable network has hired veteran news executive David Bohrman as president. Bohrman, who starts immediately, … Read More »

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Where To See Rupert’s Scandal Testimony

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Monday July 18, 2011 @ 4:31pm PDTTags: BBC, Current TV, Keith Olbermann, News of the World, News of the World Hacking, News of the World Phone-Hacking Scandal, Rupert Murdoch

Most cable news networks and their Web sites plan to cover Tuesday’s 6:30 AM PT parliamentary hearing about the News Of The World phone hacking and police bribery scandal. Members of the Culture, Media and Sport committee will have first … Read More »

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