So, It Looks Like Keith Olbermann Was Fired After All

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I get that former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann had a reputation for being difficult to work with. I get that his liberal viewpoint probably gave the conservative higher-ups at GE (and now Comcast) acid indigestion. But I still can't see the wisdom of firing their biggest ratings grabber, apparently for company politics.  But I wonder if they did a little studying on how this was all going to pan out. Their calculus may be playing out for them, since their ratings--at least in their first Keith-less week--don't seem to have gone down all that much.

As for Olbermann, I'm sure he'll land on his feet. Eight years was a long time to be on the same channel at the same time. It's a longer stretch than many if not most cable news programs. I mean, remember Rita Cosby Live & Direct? The Verdict with Dan Abrams? Scarborough Country? Those are just three of the shows that followed Countdown with Keith Olbermann in recent years, before the debut of The Rachel Maddow Show.

[Excerpt]


Burke on Olbermann: ‘This Was a Decision Made By NBC News Management, Steve Capus and Phil Griffin’


At noon today, NBC Universal (now called, apparently NBCUniversal) held a town hall meeting in the “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” studio, where new CEO Steve Burke was interviewed by “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams. . .
 
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