I love it. Liberal Pinhead Olbermann demoted! Finally NBC is waking up to the fact that nobody likes or listens to Olbermann. MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, September 8, 2008; C01 MSNBC is removing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as the anchors of live political events, bowing to growing criticism that they are too opinionated to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign. David Gregory, the NBC newsman and White House correspondent who also hosts a program on MSNBC, will take over during such events as this fall's presidential and vice presidential debates and election night. The move, confirmed by spokesmen for both networks, follows increasingly loud complaints about Olbermann's anchor role at the Democratic and Republican conventions. Olbermann, who regularly assails President Bush and GOP nominee John McCain on his "Countdown" program, was effusive in praising the acceptance speech of Democratic nominee Barack Obama. He drew flak Thursday when the Republicans played a video that included a tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that if the networks had done that, "we would be rightly eviscerated at all quarters, perhaps by the Republican Party itself, for exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again. If you reacted to that videotape the way I did, I apologize." Matthews, who has criticized politicians in both parties, drew less criticism for his convention role but became a divisive figure during the primaries when he described how he was inspired by Obama's speeches and made disparaging remarks about Hillary Clinton, for which he later apologized. In May, MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in an interview that during live events Olbermann and Matthews "put on different hats. I think the audience gets it. . . . I see zero problem." But NBC News journalists, who often appear on the cable channel, did see a problem, arguing behind the scenes that MSNBC's move to the left -- which includes a new show, debuting tonight, for Air America radio host Rachel Maddow -- was tarnishing their reputation for fairness. Tom Brokaw, the interim host of "Meet the Press," said that at times Olbermann and Matthews went too far. Olbermann and Matthews will remain as analysts during major political events, and officials at both networks, who declined to be identified discussing personnel moves, said Olbermann had initiated the discussions to clarify his role. They said Olbermann's influence at MSNBC would in no way be diminished and that the shift would enable him and Matthews to offer more candid analysis during live coverage. Olbermann confirmed yesterday he had initiated the discussions. "Phil and I have debated this set-up since late winter/early spring (with me saying, 'Are you sure this flies?' and him saying, 'Yes, but let's judge it event by event') and I think we both reached the same point during the RNC," Olbermann said by e-mail. Olbermann was involved in several on-air incidents during the conventions that drew unwanted attention. He told morning host Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, to "get a shovel" as Scarborough was defending the McCain campaign. And when GOP strategist Mike Murphy was debating Matthews, Olbermann could be heard saying, "Let's wrap him up." These and other clashes fueled a sense that conservative voices are less than welcome at MSNBC as it has tried to position itself as a left-wing alternative to Fox News Channel. Olbermann disputes this view, calling the incidents "overblown." Still, the network canceled Tucker Carlson's show in March and has diminished his role. And Dan Abrams, the veteran NBC legal analyst and former MSNBC general manager, had his program dropped last month to make room for Maddow, an Olbermann protege. MSNBC's more liberal outlook has boosted its ratings, though it remains the third-place cable news channel. But both parties began castigating its coverage last spring. Steve Schmidt, McCain's top strategist, called the network "an organ of the Democratic National Committee," and Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said Matthews was "in the tank" for Obama.
Cool. Every anchor at Fox will be dropped now because they're so obviously in the tank for McCain. Riiight...
I rarely watch MSNBC. Honestly I'd pay someone to beat the crap out of Olbermann. I did however watch them several times during primary season to gauge left wing sentimet. I was astounded by their anti-Clinton, pro-Obama bias.
boy, I have to disagree. Juan Williams, Colmes, Mara Liason...... truthfully they drive me nuts. They have Wolfson, Estrich...... I don't watch the others, but I think Fox is fair. The left just beats them up. I can't take the O'reilly, hannity stuff, but I watch Hume's show like a zealot.
I was surprised that they were anchoring the DNC in the first place. I'm not sure I would support a news organization kowtowing just because of complaints. Olbermann probably needed to be put in his place though as he was getting a little too egomaniacal lately. If reports were true that he was trying to get Brokaw kicked off of MSNBC then he probably had this coming. I think their ratings will suffer though because the drama between Olbermann, Matthews and Scarborough was far more interesting than boring David Gregory. Oh well...
IMAO: Who Are the Trolls? "Anyone know a way of hunting down the trolls we've been getting lately? I'm just really curious to find out who these people are. I assume they're either kids in high school or college to have the time to constantly scan blogs for key words and frantically write desperate posts based on crap they just read from some other idiot's diary on the Daily Kos. Still, I want to ask them what exactly is it they hope to accomplish? Or have they even thought things out that far? And why those talking points? Do they really have sub-70 point IQs and believe all that, or are they so scared of Palin that they just want to throw out anything they can think of. Eh, they're probably just crazy angry little monkeys and not worth too much thought. Anyway, here's what Keith Olbermann says on what motivates him to go blog to blog and write idiotic comments: http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=lb-KiN-Woao&eurl=http://www.imao.us/ Poor guy. I hear MSNBC is dropping him from the anchor chair."
Obermans childish "analysis" during the conventions was just too much for even the MSM to swallow. Putting him any where near what passes for serious journalists is demeaning the entire profession. He will now be elevated to King Keith status among the radical left.
Now it would be nice to get Olbermann off the NBC football show. I will not watch it, and I think a lot of other people feel the same way.
Same here. Good thing there's something like 17 other options... Also I'd like your "legal" opinion. I want petition my Fantasy League commish on the use of Reggie Bush as a WR. If this guy is going to play out of the slot 75% of the time is he not indeed a reciever?
No no no P before you edited this post. You said that you'd "pay someone to KILL Olbermann." Did you not? Of course you did. So the only question now is exactly HOW much you would be willing to pay to make the Olbermann thing go away? Talk to us.