Keith Olbermann: 'I'm Coming Out Of Retirement'
Source: Huff Post
Keith Olbermann, the acid-witted broadcaster who cant seem to hold onto a job, said Friday he wants to return to showbiz, but left fans and critics guessing what that might look like.
Im coming out of retirement, Olbermann, a former ESPN and MSNBC host, said on ABCs The View.
Olbermann, 57, said he hasnt lined up an outlet for his new pursuit. So, anybody who wants to, just call me, he told host Joy Behar.
Olbermann, known for sharp and provocative political and sports commentary at his previous gigs at ESPN, MSNBC, Fox Sports, Current TV and CNN, has struggled to hold onto a job. His departures from MSNBC and Current TV were particularly acrimonious. Critics have called him a bridge-burner.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/keith-olbermann-return_us_56f5a93ae4b0143a9b4847d9
His voice is clear and precise. I've missed him and welcome him back.
raging moderate
(4,297 posts)Hurry.
monicaangela
(1,508 posts)It would be wonderful if Keith Olbermann did a show like the one Jon Stewart did, a comedy take on the news or anything where he could actually do what he did on MSNBC with his personal commentary on the news. Loved that show, have missed it since he left.
Old Vet
(2,001 posts)I so miss his personal commentary at the end of his old show.
monicaangela
(1,508 posts)I looked forward to that portion of the show, I tried never to miss it. If I did, I searched the web the next day so that I could see what he said the night before.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)broadside parody that Jon Stewart carried off so successfully.
He's much too thin-skinned and short-fused.
monicaangela
(1,508 posts)be comedy, I enjoyed his thin-skinned, short-fused assessment of what today's journalist call news. I think that could make a great name for the show. "My thin-skinned, short-fused opinion of the news and today's events. Or something to that effect.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)vital "distance" necessary for parodic comedy.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)He gives great oral editorial rants where he rips evil and idiocy to shreds.
.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)often with mixed results.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)He is arrogant, but he gets it right just about every damn time and in a fantastically direct and righteously angry way.
.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Keith has a one-note range: outrage. Gets old really fast.
Give me a seriously outraged, but tonally nuanced, Jon Stewart any day. And, there are others like him.
Jon is a genuinely great guy, whose staff, co-workers and even superiors truly love and respect him.
Obermann appears to have the opposite effect on his colleagues and peers. That weighs heavily in my opinion of a public media figure.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)You like your politics with humor, fine. Olberman does not do that.
The thing that bothered me about Jon Stewart was how nice he was to people who lied us into wars and lie to the American people on a regular basis. And when he put out the false equivalence of "both sides do it" at some rally he had. He fails to get serious enough about very serious matters. Olberman cuts straight to the bone. He doesn't play nice just so he can have guests who are near traitors on his show. He skewers those who deserve it unabashedly. And we need that. That's why I like Bernie so much. He says what others won't say because he calls them as he sees them. That's what we need if we're going to save this country.
.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)whether in the work-place, on the air waves, or on the international scene.
YMMV.
lebkuchen
(10,716 posts)or Hillary Clinton?
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)and both of them exhibit an acceptable level of civility, which is a useful trait on the national media scene or international diplomatic stage.
Hope that answers your somewhat cryptically posed questions.
I see that your avatar is the EU. Are you a European resident? If so, "Hi" neighbor.
lebkuchen
(10,716 posts)and it's difficult for me to understand why. Neither have a slash/burn approach to discussion, and from Rachel in particular, I hear a reasoned tone based on facts presented. I think she's very cause/effect, which I appreciate.
Hillary's "it takes a village" hasn't so far inspired a backlash of public outrage, at least no where close to where Trump's polarizing commentary has brought him today.
Nevertheless, the parameters of "acceptable" discourse for democrats seems to be narrowing due to an aristocratic air while the GOP's is widening, oddly due to a lack of choice.
As far as Keith is concerned, there's too much "beyond the pale" theatrics for him not to come out of retirement. He has a sharp memory and quick wit, and there is much to be sarcastic about.
Frohe Ostern!
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Rachel can sometimes be a bit overbearing, but her no-nonsense, fact-based journalism is impeccable.
Agree completely:
How do you watch her in your German-speaking country of residence? (D, A or CH?) I have to stream her on-line.
lebkuchen
(10,716 posts)All three are incredibly intelligent yet different in their approach. What I particularly like, and I think Keith did it first, was to get away from the usual talking-head guests and bring in non-mainstream experts who are otherwise marginalized by much of the media. That's how Rachel got her start.
Other than streaming, I'm dependent on CNNI and BBC. About a year ago I watched (as much as I could handle) John Bolton being interviewed--and made to look like a laughable fool--by BBC. I e-mailed BBC to request that they stop promoting overused "experts," that BBC's time could be better spent on knowledgeable, thoughtful and non-neurotic guests. Ultimately, I've stopped watching both CNNI and BBC in favor of streaming.
Now I welcome Keith as a mouthpiece with which to vent my outrage abroad.
Alles gute!
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)on the TeeVee. There's also Sky News, but they are an affiliate of Fox, which tells you all you need to know. France 24 is actually very good, but with limited "field reporting" resources.
I also stream Chris and Lawrence. They each have their pluses and minuses, but are generally interesting with, as you say, their selection of "non-mainstream" experts.
Comme tu dis, c'est tout bon...LOL!
lebkuchen
(10,716 posts)I felt sure that if I lived in France, I could learn French just by listening to him every day.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)I cried when he announced it was his last night on MSNBC. He got me thru the Bush years...
90-percent
(6,829 posts)blown and on 98% nitro
-90% Jimmy
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)He and Frank Rich of the NYT helped me stomach the Bush Administration. I hope that he lands in a place where the powers to be allow him to do his thing. I have a feeling that if he gets a show, we'd better enjoy it while we can because sooner or later he will piss someone off or someone will piss him off and it will be all over.
RKP5637
(67,102 posts)Jenny_92808
(1,342 posts)As you said "he tells it like it is"
yuiyoshida
(41,831 posts)but no one can say he doesn't have talent! Or...as someone once said,
"He's a son of a bitch, but damn it, He is OUR son of a bitch!"
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)at every gig he's had.
Maybe we can hope that he'll mellow with age.
mdbl
(4,973 posts)otherwise he'll turn in to tweety.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)keep another job in broadcasting, unless he buys the media outlet and runs it himself.
mdbl
(4,973 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Keith. MSNBC has stagnated, never flourished, never grown and let's face it MSNBC runs through on air talent like most people run through a box of cereal. How many people of how many different personality types have they fired or caused to walk off? How many remain on air with them for anything like a large number of years? Chris, Joe, Rachel. Were all of the rest of them diva like ego trippers? Or is it that MSNBC, like Current, has actual systemic issues that one anchor after another battle until they eventually part ways.
How long did Cronkite site in that same chair?
It's not Keith, nor is it Melissa, or Ed nor any of the many dozens of departed. MSNBC does not know what it is doing.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)He's got issues dealing with people and structures.
Like I say, the only way he's going to get and keep another job in broadcasting, is to buy and run his own outlet.
ETA: Cronkite was a decades-long anchor at CBS.
MADem
(135,425 posts)The MSNBC and Current fiascos are just the most well-known. I agree entirely with your analysis.
Maybe it's a function of years, but I don't have a large amount of tolerance for people who are deliberately disruptive and take a "My Way or The Highway" approach to everything. And when you abuse staff, which he has done, my sympathy for him goes out the window. You don't shit on the workers--particularly the ones who attend to your individual needs.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)JI7
(89,246 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I don't watch it. I'd rather get their take on the news first-hand, rather than sanitized/prettified for US audiences. RT does the same thing--they dress up their propaganda so it appeals to the American masses. It still is what it is, though.
greiner3
(5,214 posts)Against Keith
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)Appears to take his "superior" intellect too seriously by half.
Nothing personal, just observational.
Case in point: the yawning gap between a Jon Stewart or a Stephen Colbert and Keith. No contest.
Jon and Stephen can do comedic, ironic or serious, and still be credible.
Keith has a one-note range: outrage. Gets old really fast.
ETA: The wagging finger reminds of Bernie...LOL!
yuiyoshida
(41,831 posts)but I know Arrogance when I see it.
MADem
(135,425 posts)A "personal attack" would be to call him a misogynist, child molester, or a thief, or a con artist, or a liar--and no one is saying that.
It is DOCUMENTED that he is rude, surly, mean to his subordiates, rude to his peers, obstreperous to his superiors and -- in general -- an utter pain in the ass in the workplace.
If you got in his way, he'd do the same to you. He wouldn't care that you are fond of him and call him "Keith" on message boards.
He's a talented on-air personality, but he is just not a very nice person in his work-day life.
mountain grammy
(26,614 posts)makes me think, "I'll bet this is how Rush's listeners feel." The difference is, of course, truth, because "he is OUR son of a bitch." Keith is often over the top, but he's also, usually, dead on target. He did one of the best take downs of Bill O'Reilly's bullshit I've ever heard.
HughLefty1
(231 posts)Yeah my feelings too. I enjoy listening to him.
I did however run into him one time at a restaurant in Santa Monica during the height of his MSNBC days. He was a real jerk demanding they open the kitchen for him when it was closed between the lunch and dinner shifts. He walked out in a huff. Like I said I did enjoy his show but IRL he was rude and demanding.
Chemisse
(30,807 posts)I dislike his style. It's too dramatic, too hyperbolic, for my taste.
Logical
(22,457 posts)mdbl
(4,973 posts)unless you weren't concerned about the subject matter.
Jenny_92808
(1,342 posts)so I can do a full-ignore.
Chemisse
(30,807 posts)No discussion or diversity allowed.
stopbush
(24,395 posts)No more so than during his "special comment" essays. The stumbling always diminished the impact of his exercises in Edward R Murrow wannabeism.
lark
(23,091 posts)Come on down, Keith Olberman, share your veiws with us, point out the Repug hypocrisy and lies in your inimitable way. We've missed you. Try to get along with your bosses this time so you don't have to leave again so soon, please.
Wednesdays
(17,342 posts)He could go independent and make a vlog or something like TYT.
JustAnotherGen
(31,809 posts)I hope he comes back and lands on his feet!
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Oh this gonna tick some freaks off!
Go Keith!
dembotoz
(16,799 posts)and if you are offended by the reference....ask me if i care.....
fasttense
(17,301 posts)Before Olbermann, the only one railing against the bushes was Lou Dobbs. But Lou Dobbs also railed against immigrants and with that Trump like ranting, I was desperate for someone else.
And then came Olbermann who said things that I was thinking. When I first heard Olbermann's show, I couldn't believe the bushes allowed him on TV. It was rumored that Dick had sent anthrax to reporters for reporting on the bushes. Olbermann was a dream come true during the nightmare of the bush regime.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)maybe not if you lived it. i was a kid.
TryLogic
(1,722 posts)He is a very sensitive person. I presume just reading a news script is way too boring for his taste. I hope he can find his niche. Main stream, corporate, for profit media does not seem to be a good fit.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)self-important diva. How long will it be before he's off the air again?
Logical
(22,457 posts)FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)Even making such an announcement is full of ego.
Make some calls, line up a gig then make your announcement.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)Jenny_92808
(1,342 posts)I reject your narrative. Ignore for you.
GreydeeThos
(958 posts)Overseas
(12,121 posts)ladjf
(17,320 posts)zentrum
(9,865 posts)peace13
(11,076 posts)What a comfort to come home from standing on a protest line, something very American should have been doing, and hear Keith address the issue. If not for him, zero people would have known.
mdbl
(4,973 posts)Hope he comes back so I can replace them with some new ones.
90-percent
(6,829 posts)Are we sure we're not just regurgitating some long ago blog posters opinion, that eventually turns into "conventional wisdom"?
Keith does not strike me as a petulant self absorbed egomaniac. He valued humor too much to be that way. I think he does have supreme confidence in his intellect and I'm sure he doesn't like working with incompetent people or empty suit bosses, but he was so generous over the years giving quality time to offbeat and unusual guests.
I just don't buy that Keith was a spoiled celebrity-monster-egomaniac. I do think he might have chafed at being second guessed by corporate suits scolding him for pulling back the curtain on the scam that is modern corporate MSM.
I don't work with him or know him. I just like him and he almost single handedly got me through the dark repressive totalitarian times of the GW Bush treasonous 21st century dark ages.
-90% Jimmy
Hydra
(14,459 posts)I think he has the same problems Cenk was having- the News channels want ratings, but they don't want people rocking the boat. It puts them at odds with the people who are successfully calling out the system- it's what people want to hear and gets massive interest, but then the Establishment calls up through their parent companies and tells them to knock it off.
I think it's interesting that Keith did his best work during the Bush admin, but now are saying he was over the top in his criticism because Bush policies are now mainstream policies.
Crazy, looking at it from the outside.
Kip Humphrey
(4,753 posts)davidpdx
(22,000 posts)Except he do it only for a short term between now and November. If he really wants to come back full-time he needs to do something online with his own resources so he is the boss and he can say what he wants to unfiltered.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)would be welcome. As to the "bridge burner" reference. The PTB can't handle it when their bridgees are burned with the truth and ALWAYS try to put it off on the other guy.
MadDAsHell
(2,067 posts)I agree with his politics of course but clearly this man was not meant to work directly with other human beings.
It's in fact a little embarrassing that someone who so clearly is such a jerk to his colleagues is basically worshipped by our Party.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)turbinetree
(24,695 posts)he nailed the absolute hypocrisy of what it meant to be a jerk for here is "one" example;
I do hope that he finds a place to bring back his "Countdown", .............................his research team he had was one of the best..................., and he informed us the collective to know what was going on around us............maybe on Free Speech TV
Honk--------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)thanks for sharing!
turbinetree
(24,695 posts)he was and is still one of the best when it came to exposing the right wing, right along when David Shuster would take over when he was doing something else MSNBC, (More stupid News, Bull Cr**p), and when he moved out of the drumpf tower, that also was classic..here's another one you might enjoy watching..................
Honk-------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2106
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)thanks for sharing!
turbinetree
(24,695 posts)Honk-------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016
SCVDem
(5,103 posts)Time for the ...."ACTION POINT!!!"
indivisibleman
(482 posts)He left MSNBC right before the Madison Wisconsin protests and his commentary on Scout Walker was sorely needed.
WishfulThinker
(21 posts)We've missed you!!!
Duval
(4,280 posts)I hope at least one media will hire him.
PatrynXX
(5,668 posts)I don't watch ESPN
ahem dads called me a bridge burner I believe it's BS
bbgrunt
(5,281 posts)independent, intrepid voice. Big welcome back!
Joe Shlabotnik
(5,604 posts)Jester Messiah
(4,711 posts)It would be great, take off independently, and he wouldn't have to answer to any network suits.
rockfordfile
(8,701 posts)Wednesdays
(17,342 posts)Would I had just a slice of his "failure!"
Ztolkins
(429 posts)"He might be a douchebag, but he's our douchebag."
I think I can live with that, particularly when compared to the Fox crew.
MADem
(135,425 posts)...the acid-witted broadcaster who cant seem to hold onto a job....
Could he have burned through all that money he got when he left Current?
He IS a bridge burner. It's questionable if the amusement he generates is actually worth the agita behind the scenes. I've heard views from both sides.
porkified
(24 posts)How can you say anything bad about a guy that doesn't see eye to eye with the network brass? All a bunch of tools.
Jenny_92808
(1,342 posts)Well said!
Jenny_92808
(1,342 posts)So I will wait until I choose "FULL IGNORE" for you, until I see more from you.
I like Olbermann and think that he is a true lefty, progessive.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)It's funny that those who don't like him are not the viewers....
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)Olbermann definitely has good points, but his ego sometimes gets in the way of them.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)too many blowhards in the world of Big Media
"showbiz" is right :/
Elmer S. E. Dump
(5,751 posts)LovingA2andMI
(7,006 posts)Cannot wait to see K.O. Back on a screen talking politics -- on my TV!
Zira
(1,054 posts)There's plenty in this election for a comic. Welcome back Keith!
Jackilope
(819 posts)We need actual and legit news and needed it yesterday, heck, years ago. Programs like HBO's Vice is great as it goes in depth on issues. We truly need something that doesn't go soft on issues and people and I do think Olbermann would have the strong sense to not cave.
Nothing would give me joy like seeing Keith team up with Big Ed, Young Turks and taking away viewers and kicking MSNBC's butt regarding real news, real reporting. Let's get away from other journalists as pundits and "experts" discussing issues. Put those in power on the hot seat with real questioning. If they don't show up, discuss the issue and comprehensive events snd background without them and how they declined to be interviewed. No more softball crap.
The only thing I DON'T miss about Keith is his Thurber readings.
tularetom
(23,664 posts)I'm sure his spotty employment history is partly due to his attitude toward the state of US broadcast media in the 21st century, and the fact that he had the balls to take on the corporate news establishment.
But the fact remains that Olbermann is his own worst enemy. He lacks a filter and has a wildly exaggerated sense of his own importance. He is the patron saint of disgruntled employees.
I agree with 99% of what he says. But that doesn't mean anything if he doesn't have the opportunity to say it.
redruddyred
(1,615 posts)cmon you guys, let's show some support for the guy who was brave enough to tell the truth, night after night, and not hide it behind the guise of "comedy".
Marie Marie
(9,999 posts)have missed his presence during this election, but I fear he will end up someplace that I can't access. I want him back on MSNBC at 8:00 and I want the bosses to let him alone to do what he does so well. MSNBC needs him because lately, they suck - and they could use his ratings. Hey a girl can dream.... Welcome back Keith, may you land somewhere worthy of your talent.
Moostache
(9,895 posts)The media lacks an outlet for progressive voices and thoughts, but the stage is set for a clarion call to be sounded...get to work Keith, fill the void! I will be watching once more...
highoverheadspace
(307 posts)He was the best of the best at MSNBC.
Response to Stuart G (Original post)
Still Blue in PDX This message was self-deleted by its author.
libodem
(19,288 posts)I like him.
brooklynite
(94,493 posts)Is he going to present information I didn't know about, or just state opinions I'm supposed to already agree with?
jwirr
(39,215 posts)and save their ass now that they have betrayed so many other progressives.
sakabatou
(42,146 posts)tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)The corporate-run media, in so far as politics is concerned, is starting to lose it's shine and the movement is going AWAY from them faster than they can handle it. As the next generation works its way into YouTube and other online media, networks are becoming less valuable, and will only continue that fall, much like typesetter-careers fell to desktop publishing, and videotapes & CDs fell to direct-digital.
There will simply not be a market for expensive, slanted coverage. People will choose to walk to the truth rather than be pulled into lies.
Crabby Abbey
(66 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)I've always said that once you think you're indispensable that's when they dispense with you.
DAMANgoldberg
(1,278 posts)Also, a sister company, Turner Sports, is in MLB, one of Keith Olbermann's pure loves. A break from "hard" news of AC360 and CNN Tonight, plus baseball in the interim for this year 2016. Then the same for 2017, and only baseball until 2019.
bkkyosemite
(5,792 posts)pacalo
(24,721 posts)He's one of the most gifted linguists around & I miss hearing his perspective.
Crowman1979
(3,844 posts)I almost pissed myself laughing.
marble falls
(57,073 posts)polynomial
(750 posts)Think about it, Keith Olbermann worked in that very fine tuned industry called television Journalism. Actually, similarly, as to Hollywood yet loaded in the backroom connected high power political money types.
It was news editorials at a contrasting level when you listened to Mr. Olbermann. His arrogance is misinterpreted as earnest effort to educate the American audience when he had the chance.
Some of Mr. Olbermanns efforts did form sort of shock news approach. But so did Rush Limbaugh offer the same, yet Limbaugh was pure arrogance that was equally brash on loan from God.
God does not loan talent, God will bless you with it. Keith Olbermann is more righteous than the best Right Wing news there was, that is telling what is really happening. The Conservative people want to avoid such honesty or integrity of analysis that affected either party
Mr. Olbermann taught me about hate radio, and now we have to endure the conservative hate news medium that directs information to create common behavior rather than serving the public.
Our current news media is just a commercial for new French fries at McDonalds or a new Coffee at Starbucks beside unfair cops killing blacks or Islam jam up Jihad. Its my view Conservative America is grooming John Doe citizen for Gitmo in the streets to keep power
Paladin
(28,252 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Old Vet
(2,001 posts)AngryOldDem
(14,061 posts)Sad, because we need his voice right now.
Jackie Wilson Said
(4,176 posts)he will point out mostly how ugly and terrible they are.
What he will not do, other than about 5% of the time, is SLAM Hillary over and over and over and over like here.
He understands the consequences.
He will be a Bernie supporter but will act like Bernie, on camera that is. Off camera he can be a real ass, but I dont care about that now.