Keith Olbermann Abruptly Fired. Again.
Just over a year after he was finally let go by MSNBC after years of doing everything possible to annoy his bosses, Keith Olbermann has again been abruptly fired from his position at Current TV:.
Current TV said Friday afternoon that it had terminated the contract of its lead anchor Keith Olbermann, scarcely one year after he was hired to reboot the channel in his progressive political image.
In a letter to viewers, the channel said Friday, “We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet. We are more committed to those goals today than ever before. Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.”
Mr. Olbermann will not be given an opportunity to sign off. Starting Friday night, the former New York governor Eliot Spitzer will replace him at 8 p.m., according to the letter to viewers. His program will be titled “Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer.”
The decision to dismiss Mr. Olbermann was unanimous among the senior managers of Current, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The firing comes after months of open hostility by Olbermann toward his own network for reasons that nobody could ever quite figure out which came to a head when Olbermann refused to anchor election night coverage for the network in January. Not just fired, but fired and replaced by a guy who had to resign in disgrace and whose CNN show was canceled after less than six months? That’s gotta hurt.
This dude is the Air America of the left-wing puditocracy.
WHO?
Keith Olbermann is a high maintenance diva – he’s just not built for the long run.
this turd that won’t flush down for the third time..
@Tsar Nicholas: smells the same as “Air America”…turd stench
@nigbojigbo: “this turd that won’t flush down for the third time..” and “smells the same as “Air America”…turd stench”
Have you thought about another analogy that might present your “thoughts” on Olbermann coherently and in a less juvenile and middle-school manner?
He should go back to sportscasting, when he was actually good, instead of being Angry Man. I actually liked him when he was doing some of the NBC Football.
I’m not sure how, for the reasons listed by Doug, the change from Olbermann to Spitzer represents a positive move for Current TV. But then again, I don’t really understand the concept in the first place. I mean, come on now, do we really want information media to look like the blogosphere? Am I really the future of news?
Did Current TV simply use Keith to gain attention and higher ratings? They KNEW what they were getting! Keith injects emotion into his commentary, his intelligent and incisive reporting, his humor, and his relationships….all of which makes his program so interesting. You FEEL his pain, you FEEL his anger, and you FEEL his heart-felt sincerity when he covers a story. He’s never just a talking head! If Keith is absent from Current TV, then I too will be absent from Current TV. Keith is unique- one of the best- hands down; as shown by is coverage of OWS, which was outstanding. I wish him well and hope he is back on the air soon.
he was good on ESPN, one of my favorite but his brain fell out and was replace with Donkey poop.
It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving guy. good riddence.
He wasn’t much of a sportscaster, either.
Is Spitzer supposed to correctly represent the integrity of the left?
LOL…. I suppose he does, at that.
Never mind.
@William Teach: He was terrible on NBC football. That’s why they fired him. I could not watch it. I catch maybe 15 games a year on TV and I am more knowledgeable about the NFL. Every now and then some guy scores a touchdown for the first time in eight or ten years. Keith says on Countdown….”What took you so long!” Never occurred to him that guy’s job is defense. He isn’t suppose to be scoring. If you listen to him it’s clear he only knows about baseball and I’m not positive about that.