Is Olbermann the victim of his own success?

[babylonsister]

http://www.salon.com/news/keith_olbermann/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/01/21/countdown_rip

Is Olbermann the victim of his own success?
By Steve Kornacki

snip//

At the end of his Aug. 30, 2006 show, Olbermann looked directly into the camera and spoke: "The man who sees absolutes where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning is either a prophet or a quack. Donald H. Rumsfeld is not a prophet." His blistering takedown of the defense secretary was a viral sensation. Millions of liberals were equally exasperated with the Bush administration; but few could express themselves as exquisitely and powerfully as Olbermann. They asked for more, and Olbermann gladly gave it to them; over the next few years, there would be dozens of “special comments,” each delivered in the same dramatic style.

Nor did Olbermann limit himself to criticism of the war and its planners. He became an all-purpose critic of the administration and its cheerleaders, and then of the Republican Party and the modern brand of conservatism it has embraced. For years, liberals had watched the growth of Fox News with dismay and alarm. With "Countdown," they finally had their own prime-time cable news show to flock to. Olbermann embraced the rivalry, skewering Fox and its personalities -- particularly Bill O’Reilly -- with biting humor and sarcasm, daring them to respond and acknowledge him. His ratings climbed -- not to Fox levels, to be sure, but to levels that had been unheard of at MSNBC.

MSNBC, for its part, embraced the identity Olbermann was offering them. By 2008, his frequent guest, Rachel Maddow, was given her own show at 9 p.m. And liberal radio host Ed Schultz was given his own shortly after that. Lawrence O’Donnell, another left-of-center voice, was added just a few months ago. Eventually, the network adopted a new motto -- "Lean forward" -- that’s about as subtle as Fox’s "fair and balanced" pledge. MSNBC’s prime-time lineup is now awash in progressive politics. The most conservative voice after 5 p.m. belongs to Chris Matthews, a former aide to Tip O’Neill who nearly ran for Senate in Pennsylvania as a Democrat last year. After casting about for years, MSNBC at last knows exactly who it is -- and isn’t -- trying to reach.

Of course, now that he’s surrounded by similar voices, Olbermann isn’t nearly as essential to MSNBC’s brand, which surely has something to do with his abrupt departure on Friday night. Exactly what led to his exit remains unclear, but it’s hardly a secret that he’s had several intense clashes with his bosses recently, one of which led to a brief suspension in November. Now that they’ve built a loyal prime-time audience of left-leaning viewers, NBC’s executives may simply feel that they can afford to be rid of Olbermann and all of the headaches he brings with him. It used to be that he was the only reason liberals turned on their channel at night. Now he’s one of many reasons -- a victim of his own success, in other words.

[CreekDog]

1. Don't assume this is right...it makes no sense

They fired the person who is worth more in revenues and ratings than anyone else they could put in that time slot.

It doesn't make sense.

[EFerrari]

2. And Comcast has been trying to absolve itself and blame him

since 1 second after it happened.

[ladjf]

4. It makes sense to me. Keith was a threat to the overall plan by the

rich to steal everything. The fact that his particular show was profitable for the network was not able to trump his threat to the "big heist". I'm surprised that he lasted as long as he did.

[Codeine]

5. But he was also making a pot of cash.

Perhaps the amount of money he wanted was no longer commensurate with the amount of money his falling ratings would justify?

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. My sentiments exactly. I doesn't make any sense. Especially when..

They could have given him another agenda.

If a corporation, that is only looking out for itself, is out to fire anyone on MSNBC, it would probably fire Dylan Ratigan.
Not Keith O.

[Kurovski]

3. If only Rushbo or O'Reilly could become a victim of their own success.

Funny how it never works out that way.

[johnnie]

7. I was wondering if he left because of something else

Remember a week or so ago when he was sick and he missed the show the next day? I wonder if he had some bad news from the doctors. Just a thought.