Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current - Page 5

Sean O'Hara · 01-24-11, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creekdipper

By the way, what's the slang for million? I know Benjamins, sawbuck, C-notes, K, etc. but seemed to have missed the bigger amounts.

Might come in handy when placing a bet or arranging a deal.

Megabuck.Billions are gigabucks.

orangecrush · 01-24-11, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by creekdipper

I don't think we need less prescription drugs, just less people SHARING prescription drugs.

According to this
http://articles.cnn.com/2007-07-09/h...s?_s=PM:HEALTH
there were about 118 million prescriptions for antidepressants in '05. I doubt the number has gone down from there. Perhaps that number is good, but I don't think so.

CRM114 · 01-24-11, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orangecrush

According to this
http://articles.cnn.com/2007-07-09/h...s?_s=PM:HEALTH
there were about 118 million prescriptions for antidepressants in '05. I doubt the number has gone down from there. Perhaps that number is good, but I don't think so.

There is a pill for every ailment. I'm a strong believe in medical science but some problems are probably best solving without drugs. I believe Vicodin is the #1 prescribed medicine in the US.

DGibFen · 01-24-11, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvrdave

If they pay Juan Williams $2 million, that sounds about right.

And that's a 3-year contract worth $2 million, which is the biggest contract he's signed to date (according to Williams and FOX).

The long-term issue for Olbermann isn't money (certainly, NBC has no qualms paying out large settlements for certain on-air talents - Conan, of course), it's going to be if he signed a deal with a no-compete clause like Conan's that keeps him off the air (at the least, in spouting political opinions) for a period of time. If he can go back to covering sports, the only national options he has are CBS Sports or a smaller cable sports channel - unless Disney (ESPN, ABC) or FOX Sports seriously reconsiders him.

kvrdave · 01-24-11, 03:33 PM

My guess is that everyone is hoping there is a no-compete clause simply so they don't have to make the decision to try to get a guy who gets a decent following but would be hell to deal with.

jfoobar · 01-24-11, 06:10 PM

And so the crazy ideas begin:

Liberals trying to draft Keith Olbermann for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat

The problem with ideas like this is that they sometimes have some inexplicable traction.

Count Dooku · 01-24-11, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfoobar

Liberals trying to draft Keith Olbermann for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat

The "liberals" of that headline consist of some unidentified and uncounted persons at a political conference in PA and some anonymous bloggers on the internet. I don't doubt they are liberals, but the headline is disingenuous.

movielib · 01-24-11, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfoobar

And so the crazy ideas begin:

Liberals trying to draft Keith Olbermann for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat

The problem with ideas like this is that they sometimes have some inexplicable traction.

Well, they need someone to play Alan Grayson's wacko role.

kvrdave · 01-24-11, 10:50 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/bu...pagewanted=all

A little more. Here are the highlights

Quote:

Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.

Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.

The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.

He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”

Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”

He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.

In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”

Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.

One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.

One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”

Love that last line.

Artman · 01-25-11, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvrdave

Look at the history of Olbermann. He was HUGE at ESPN and they got rid of him because he was a cancer. He was THE guy at Fox Sports and they got rid of him for being a cancer. It doesn't seem to matter where he goes, he becomes a cancer. And none of it has ever had to do with his on-air stuff.

Yeah that's the thing, he just doesn't appear to be a nice guy, or happy with life at all. That's the main reason I wouldn't watch his show (except the youtube highlights)... I'm all for other points of view, but I have to actually find the commentator's personality somewhat enjoyable. That's the problem with all of MSNBC's hosts... I wouldn't want to spend a minute with any of them... in person or on tv.

JasonF · 01-25-11, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artman

Yeah that's the thing, he just doesn't appear to be a nice guy, or happy with life at all. That's the main reason I wouldn't watch his show (except the youtube highlights)... I'm all for other points of view, but I have to actually find the commentator's personality somewhat enjoyable. That's the problem with all of MSNBC's hosts... I wouldn't want to spend a minute with any of them... in person or on tv.

I can't think of a single cable news pundit who doesn't come across like an absolutely miserable person.

wishbone · 01-25-11, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal.

"The Big Show" was floundering until that point.

Quote:

excerpt

That’s where Olbermann came in. He had actually been part of MSNBC’s revolving door cast before, in 1997 and 1998. Back then, though, his prime-time broadcast, “The Big Show” (a nod to "SportsCenter," which he’d spent the previous five years co-anchoring with Dan Patrick), was as directionless as the network itself. Politics wasn’t always the focus and news was covered more from a general interest perspective. When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in early ’98, executives demanded that Olbermann build his show around it; they hoped it might legitimize MSNBC the way the Iran hostage crisis legitimized “Nightline” in 1979 and 1980. But Olbermann resisted and walked away, making his disgust well known. (This kind of exit is his trademark. After he left ESPN, an executive commented that, “He didn't burn bridges here. He napalmed them.")

http://www.salon.com/news/politics/w.../countdown_rip

CRM114 · 01-25-11, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jfoobar

And so the crazy ideas begin:

Liberals trying to draft Keith Olbermann for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat

The problem with ideas like this is that they sometimes have some inexplicable traction.

Why is that any crazier than any other controversial candidate?

wendersfan · 01-25-11, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRM114

Why is that any crazier than any other controversial candidate?

It doesn't seem any crazier than Alan Keyes running for Senate.

CRM114 · 01-25-11, 09:59 AM

I'd think he'd be more qualified than, say, Sonny Bono or Gopher.

slop101 · 01-25-11, 10:04 AM

I heard he might be helping Aaron Sorkin in developing his new TV show about blow-hard pundits. Sorta like Sports Night, but about the behind the doors shenanigans of news punditry rather than sports reporting. I guess Sorkin was hanging out at Keith's show for a while, getting ideas for his show, and they became buddies or something.

wendersfan · 01-25-11, 10:09 AM

Oh good, another opportunity for Sorkin to rant once a week about how ignorant and bigoted middle Americans are.

slop101 · 01-25-11, 10:43 AM

Yeah, Sorkin can write that shit in his sleep.

kvrdave · 01-25-11, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonF

I can't think of a single cable news pundit who doesn't come across like an absolutely miserable person.

I'm not a big Chris Matthews fan, but he doesn't seem like that.

wendersfan · 01-25-11, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kvrdave

I'm not a big Chris Matthews fan, but he doesn't seem like that.

Maybe he would if he was ever sober.

Lemdog · 01-25-11, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendersfan

Maybe he would if he was ever sober.

That explains why Chris Matthews is like that.

orangecrush · 01-25-11, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonF

I can't think of a single cable news pundit who doesn't come across like an absolutely miserable person.

Tucker Carlson seemed like a happy guy whenever I saw him on T.V.

JasonF · 01-25-11, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orangecrush

Tucker Carlson seemed like a happy guy whenever I saw him on T.V.

Tucker Carlson always comes across to me like he's happy, but only because he just beat up a 12-year-old kid and stole his lunch money.

wendersfan · 01-25-11, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonF

Tucker Carlson always comes across to me like he's happy, but only because he just beat up a 12-year-old kid and stole his lunch money.

I always thought it was the bow tie.

arminius · 01-25-11, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonF

Tucker Carlson always comes across to me like he's happy, but only because he just beat up a 12-year-old kid and stole his lunch money.

Hey, it's just payback for his school years.

01-24-11, 03:33 PM	#105
kvrdave DVD Talk God Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 79,313	re: Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current My guess is that everyone is hoping there is a no-compete clause simply so they don't have to make the decision to try to get a guy who gets a decent following but would be hell to deal with. __________________ Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. - C.S. Lewis

01-24-11, 06:10 PM	#106
jfoobar DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 31,724	re: Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current And so the crazy ideas begin: Liberals trying to draft Keith Olbermann for Joe Lieberman's Senate seat The problem with ideas like this is that they sometimes have some inexplicable traction. __________________ If you can’t say something nice, don’t say something nice.

01-25-11, 09:59 AM	#115
CRM114 DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 34,933	re: Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current I'd think he'd be more qualified than, say, Sonny Bono or Gopher.

01-25-11, 10:04 AM	#116
slop101 DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Cali Posts: 17,255	re: Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current I heard he might be helping Aaron Sorkin in developing his new TV show about blow-hard pundits. Sorta like Sports Night, but about the behind the doors shenanigans of news punditry rather than sports reporting. I guess Sorkin was hanging out at Keith's show for a while, getting ideas for his show, and they became buddies or something.

01-25-11, 10:09 AM	#117
wendersfan Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Where homophobes don't get slut sauce Posts: 28,281	re: Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current Oh good, another opportunity for Sorkin to rant once a week about how ignorant and bigoted middle Americans are. __________________ "Fifth Element may be as dumb and artless as Johnny Mnemonic, but since a frenchman made it it must be ART!" -Pants "...I think it's a low blow to draw attention to wendersfan's drunken state. " - dork "Just because their victims are still alive doesn't mean they didn't commit murder." - grundle "You concentrate on the sad wanna be hooliganism and let us worry about the actual soccer." - rocketsauce (final score: Columbus 2-Chicago 1)

01-25-11, 10:43 AM	#118
slop101 DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Cali Posts: 17,255	re: Keith Olbermann OUT at MSNBC AND Current Yeah, Sorkin can write that shit in his sleep.