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Olbermann Moving To Current TV

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 11:44:18 AM EST
Tags: Keith Olbermann (all tags)
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Keith Olbermann is going to Current TV where he'll host a one hour nightly news show and serve as Chief News Officer.

Why? Will he offer anything different enough from what you can get elsewhere to make you learn a new channel number and tune in and watch? I think he'll disappear. Seems more than a bit like Dan Rather going to HDNet after leaving CBS. In case you missed John Stewart's take on MSNBC and Olbermann's leaving, it's below: [More...]

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    Olbermann Moving To Current TV | 22 comments (22 topical)

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    Rather's (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by Makarov on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:07:05 PM EST
    "Dan Rather Reports". Tuesday evenings on HDNet, is a very informative show. Sadly, the only ways to see it are when it airs and by purchasing it on iTunes.

    I've only been getting HDNet for about a year, but Rather's the best in depth news show I can find right now. The only things in recent memory on the same level are Democracy Now! and PBS' Frontline. Dan Rather is doing better work now than he ever did at 60 Minutes.

    Well there you are -- (none / 0) (#7)
    by brodie on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:45:10 PM EST
    if it's not on your cable/satellite system, or easily accessible online, it's off the radar.  Maybe he does good work on his Reports show, but judging from when he had his Reports or magazine type shows on CBS -- the worthy well-reported important story being the exception rather than rule -- I'm skeptical.  

    I also note he's a semi-regular on Chris Matthews' awful weekend gabfest.  Seen him a few times a long while back, and, sadly, he is just another Villager spouting mostly Beltway CW, which I think is the unstated rule on that GE-sponsored show.

    Parent

    Rather did this report (none / 0) (#8)
    by Harry Saxon on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:01:28 PM EST
    on meditation along with an interview with the Dalai Lama.

    Scientists, with the help of Buddhist monks are unlocking mysteries of the brain. An interesting reports about brain plasticity and the effect of meditation on brain and emotions.

    Apr 8, 2008.

    Click or Youtube Me

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    Looks interesting (none / 0) (#10)
    by brodie on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:19:02 PM EST
    though I'm somewhat already up to speed re the positives of meditation, years ago from an unusual source.  Might sample more later out of curiosity, thx.

    Parent
    Don't write Olbermann off just yet (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Harry Saxon on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:09:30 PM EST
    he has a pattern of coming out on top after suffering what for other people would be career-ending reversals.

    I had never heard of him except for his sportscasting work(I don't like sports, being an evillllllllll Far Leftist and all that) until he started Countdown, and I always looked forward to his show except for the tabloid junk he later ditched, so I wouldn't say stick a fork in him just yet.

    IMHO, of course.

    Fox News started out with no (5.00 / 3) (#9)
    by inclusiveheart on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:03:55 PM EST
    viewers.  No one thought CNN was going to survive.  HuffPo wasn't supposed to go anywhere.  I still can't believe that anyone would watch a channel dedicated entirely to Golf.  MSNBC's eulogy has been written countless times - and they're not dead yet.

    We'll see what happens with Current next.  They lacked any star power and Olbermann has viewers who are also big fans in many cases.  They've bought an audience  and for Olbermann he gets editorial control that he seems to want.  I do not think that there is a definitive prediction for success or failure that could be rationally made at this point.  The one thing that I will say is that Olbermann found and established a loyal audience over at MSNBC - which when he first started was more well known for running recycled programming like To Catch a Predator than for popular news or opinion programs.

    Actually, many people enjoy watching golf. (none / 0) (#15)
    by cymro on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:55:18 PM EST
    I do, and when I want to watch golf, I flip to the golf channel. For tennis, I like the tennis channel. For home repair, renovation and design, I like HGTV. For a left-wing perspective on current events, I go to MSNBC. And I'm sure there must be people who watch food/cooking channels, hockey channels, and even a channel devoted entirely to Big-10 college sports. So who's to say that a channel for people who want to watch KO can't succeed?


    Parent
    I used the example of golf (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by inclusiveheart on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 02:07:44 PM EST
    mostly to illustrate how subjective a prediction of success or failure might be.

    Parent
    Why? Will he offer anything different (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by hilts on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 02:08:58 PM EST
    Jeralyn,

    What did you expect Olbermann to do?  This is how he wishes to make his living.  Did you want Olbermann to join a monastery? Why do you hate Olbermann so much?

    I don't hate him at all (none / 0) (#18)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 03:49:59 PM EST
    I don't even dislike him personally. (I know him personally, having appeared on many of his "Internight" shows when I was an MSNBC legal analyst many years ago.) I just don't think it's a good career move. I don't think Current TV is going to become a household channel people watch anytime soon. I also think there would be other options available to him when his non-compete contract ended, as well as sports opportunities.

    Parent
    Stewart (5.00 / 2) (#21)
    by cal1942 on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 01:01:47 AM EST
    Olbertunity!

    I suppose Stewart does his gig on Comedy Central without compensation.

    Stewart's sometimes a bit too self righteous.

    I know it wasn't intentional (none / 0) (#1)
    by me only on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:00:34 PM EST
    but Olbmermann was good for a chuckle.

    This just seems to show (none / 0) (#2)
    by jbindc on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:05:33 PM EST
    (IMO) that this deal has been in the works for a while and his dramatic exit was staged and made to look like the bad guys from Comcast fired him for his content.

    More theater.

    Olbermann did (none / 0) (#5)
    by Harry Saxon on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:18:59 PM EST
    something peculiar before he left MSNBC.

    On a show he showcased his birthday a few days ahead of the actual date.

    I think he knew that he was on the way out before the ax was swung, he just didn't know exactly when it would take place.

    As for the rest, if he didn't make plans for his future after MSNBC aside from strictly adhering to his buy-out terms, he would be extremely foolish, IMHO.

    Parent

    I also first thought (none / 0) (#6)
    by brodie on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 12:37:22 PM EST
    of the Dan Rather comparison, as in What Ever Happened to Dan?

    But I see these crucial differences:  our cable system already carries Current TV, but not HDNet, which I rarely hear about from any liberal online.  

    Also, Keith brings with him a strong devoted group of viewers or those, like myself, who find him a compelling tv presence still in his prime.  The post-prime Dan Rather got canned towards the end of a good long run of decades with the same corporate network, and while he got some sympathy from the left from the nature of the story he was trying to report which caused his politically-motivated ouster, that momentary positive feeling wasn't enough to make many viewers want to pay extra or organize petition efforts to their cable outlet to be able to see him on their teevee.

    I will now look for the Olbermann online version and check out Current TV for the first time, hoping they will surround Keith in primetime with a crew who will complement him well.  And perhaps, given a second chance at network success, Al Gore & Co can get it right this time after their disappointing and disastrous first effort.

    It will be months (none / 0) (#11)
    by jbindc on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:21:13 PM EST
    I believe he had a non-compete with MSNBC, and to put together a show (or shows) will take time.  

    I don't see him on the air before fall.

    Parent

    In the announcement they said (none / 0) (#12)
    by inclusiveheart on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:24:33 PM EST
    that the show would start to air sometime in the spring.

    Parent
    That's why I said (none / 0) (#13)
    by brodie on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:26:17 PM EST
    I'll look for Keith's online show in a few months, which I understand isn't prohibited under the Msnbc agreement.  No tv for him for a few months, but online or radio, afaik, are okay.

    Parent
    Noncompete agreement (none / 0) (#20)
    by akaEloise on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 05:46:55 PM EST
    Apparently it wasn't a blanket "no TV" agreement, it was "shall not appear on the following broadcast and cable networks" agreement. Current TV wasn't among the ones listed, so Keith could start the show on there tomorrow if it was ready.

    Parent
    I have to learn... (none / 0) (#14)
    by Key on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 01:36:52 PM EST
    I have to learn a new channel number?

    Are you kidding me?  Oh hell no.  That's asking too much.

    And it will probably be a triple digit number too.  Just too damn much....

     But seriously, he's going to that channel because of the opportunity to build on something that already has access to some 60,000,000 potential viewers.  The channel is still small enough that he can cement his position there, and if it takes off, have a real role and position in shaping the future.

    i dont know (none / 0) (#19)
    by pitachips on Tue Feb 08, 2011 at 04:26:35 PM EST
    is he sometimes over the top? sure. but KO said things on national tv that tens of millions of people thought and wished someone else would repeat. i think he has a pretty strong following and hope he succeeds.

    I already learned (none / 0) (#22)
    by Jen M on Wed Feb 09, 2011 at 05:54:22 AM EST
    The new channel number

    Olbermann Moving To Current TV | 22 comments (22 topical)

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