A public feud between Keith Olbermann
and his relatively new bosses at Al Gore’s Current TV boiled over on Tuesday
night as Olbermann took to Twitter
to tell his followers that he would not be on air to anchor the network’s
coverage of the Iowa caucuses.
“So as not to mislead: I am informed Countdown will not be on
tonight. I must defer on all questions to @JoelHyatt @AlGore and @Current,”
read the passive aggressive Tweet.
Current did go live on caucus night,
without Olbermann. He appears to have patched up his frayed relations with the
network’s heads and was on the air live on Wednesday night, but the public
nature of their feud foreshadows more problems with the famously ornery news
program anchor.
Former MSNBC Host of “Countdown with
Keith Olbermann” is notorious for “estranging himself from his bosses, be it on
ESPN, Fox or MSNBC,” writes the New
York Times.
Olbermann may have further incensed
his former employers by taking the name “Countdown” with him to Current – the program
title formerly anchored by MSNBC host Lester Holt, for those of us old enough
to remember 2003.
Current declined to comment publically
on the feud but an anonymous source at Current told The
Wrap that while they hope that Olbermann remains with the network, that
is his decision to make. “Keith set us in the right direction and
we're on that path now . . . and as I've learned over the years, everybody is
replaceable," said the source.
Olbermann reportedly draws approximately
50,000 viewers per program and, while this is by far Current’s highest rated
show, it is a far cry from what he used to draw as MSNBC’s primetime anchor.
---
Want to connect with other PoliticOlogists? Continue the
conversation on My Ology
Follow Noah Rothman @Noah_C_Rothman
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment!