Wait Up Keith, I'm Leaving Too!
Say it isn't so!! I keep searching; hoping to find out that it is a joke. But it appears to be another kick to the head, by the powers that be, for those of us who enjoy truth delivered by one with so much integrity that his very presence oozes goodness & honesty. Now, for me anyway, there's no reason to keep the package Dish charges me for delivering MSNBC. Without Countdown MSNBC will just be too sad to watch. :-(
thinkingblue
Keith Olbermann Leaves MSNBC
Keith Olbermann, the controversial host of MSNBC's "Countdown," abruptly announced his departure at the end of last night's show.
The cable news network's officials released a statement saying that they and Olbermann decided to end his contract, but no further explanation was given.
In saying goodbye, Olbermann thanked his fans for sticking with him through good times and bad, especially over the last few years.
"There were many occasions particularly in the last two-and-a-half years where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me," said Olbermann. "But your support and loyalty and, if I may use the word, insistence, ultimately required that I keep going."
Olbermann was suspended for two days last November for donating money to Democratic candidates, a violation of NBC News policy.
He later claimed he was being punished for violating what he called an "inconsistently applied" rule he had known nothing about.
Olbermann and MSNBC: a failing relationship
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer David Bauder, Ap Television Writer – Sat Jan 22, 6:17 pm ET
NEW YORK – Keith Olbermann's exit from MSNBC appeared abrupt to viewers of his show, but the talk-show host and his network were involved "in a relationship that's been failing for a long time," an NBC Universal executive said Saturday.
Olbermann's announcement at the end of Friday's "Countdown" that it would be his last show quiets, at least for the moment, the most dominant liberal voice in a cable-television world where opinionated talk has been the most bankable trend over the past several years.
As Olbermann read from a James Thurber short story during a three-minute exit statement Friday night, MSNBC simultaneously e-mailed a statement to reporters that the network and host "have ended their contract." Neither indicated a reason nor addressed whether Olbermann quit or was fired.
But the NBC Universal executive characterized it as a mutual parting of the ways, with Olbermann taking the first step. The executive spoke on condition of anonymity because settlement talks were kept confidential.
Olbermann was nearly fired in November but instead was suspended for two days without pay for violating an NBC News policy by donating to three political campaigns, including the congressional campaign of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. He returned and apologized to his fans, but not the network.
Last fall, Olbermann saw his role on NBC's `Sunday Night Football" eliminated. Olbermann, a former sports anchor, had willingly worked six days a week to be involved with the highly rated football telecast. NBC said he was removed so he could concentrate on his MSNBC job.
MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines insisted Olbermann's exit had nothing to do with the acquisition of parent company NBC Universal by Comcast, which received regulatory approval Tuesday. That deal marks the exit of NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker, who saw Olbermann's value in turning around a once-unprofitable network, despite headaches the mercurial personality sometimes caused his bosses. MORE HERE