NBC is Betting On Pundit Olbermann's Appeal (O'Reilly Skittish Of Keith In Person?)

[Hissyspit]

http://www.mercurynews.com/charliemccollum/ci_6757524?nclick_check=1

McCollum: NBC is betting on pundit Olbermann's appeal
By Charlie McCollum
Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/30/2007 01:34:48 AM PDT

Since its debut in 2003, "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" (5 and 9 p.m. weekdays on the West Coast) has evolved into television's most entertaining and unpredictable newscast, mixing slightly skewed takes on the day's top stories with knowing pop culture references and the host's periodic rants about the state of the nation in general and the Bush administration in particular. (Timing in television is everything; "Countdown" hit its stride just as support for President Bush and the war in Iraq was fading.)

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Over the past month, Olbermann's presence in the NBC world has gone into a steep climb. MSNBC tapped him to moderate an early August presidential debate. NBC Sports added him to its "Football Night in America" and "Sunday Night Football" shows. And last Sunday, the network gave "Countdown" a shot at the big time with a special edition of the show that aired before a "Sunday Night Football" preseason game in most of the country. (It was shown in the Bay Area at 10 p.m.)

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The show rather quickly evolved into an engaging hour built around a countdown of the top five stories of the day. (No. 5 is usually the most important story; No. 1 is usually a bit of pop culture puff.) It started to specialize in finding bizarre video clips (thank you, YouTube) and added a feature called "Worst Person In the World" - in which Olbermann awards gold, silver and bronze to the "worse, worser and worst."

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"Good ol' Bill writes half my material for me. It's how, to some degree, a virus feels about the host."

Before you think that this is a faux rivalry and the two are actually good buddies, it isn't true. In fact, according to Olbermann, O'Reilly goes out of his way to avoid him at events.

At one charity fundraiser, Olbermann said, "I noticed he seemed to be at all times 20, 25 feet away from me. If I happened to move toward him, he would move back the same distance. I would catch him staring at me. I'd look over, and suddenly his head would be turning the other way - not completely around, just the other way.

"It was just the strangest thing in the world."

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[Submariner]

1. Of course O'Lielly is skittish

If you were on the air LYING and SPINNING BS like he does every night you'd be skittish of going eyeball to eyeball with the truth sayer that righteously mocks you every night. Keith is the predator and O'Lielly is the prey, and both know it.

[Bitwit1234]

2. Shouldn't this show the MSM

the country is sick and tired of all the right wing crap on TV. WE WANT A CHANGE.

I think we should start a campaign to pick, one at a time, the sponsors of all this hate and boycott them. Show them WHO they ought to be sponsoring.