Keith Olbermann Fired? Must be a conspiracy

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As a writer, I try very hard to “walk a mile in another man’s shoes.” It saves wear and tear on my shoes, and they last much longer.

(See, what I did there? You thought I was going to talk about integrity. My ability to see both sides of a story. Instead, I talked about how cheap I am.)

None the less, while I am wearing your shoes, (to save wearing out my shoes) I do catch a glimpse of what it must be like; TO BE YOU.

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It’s gotta be tough to be a progressive right now. After all, it was those evil conservatives and their hate speech who caused that Arizona kid to kill people. AND WHICH TV HOST GETS FIRED?

Glenn Beck….No.
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Rush Limbaugh…No.

Keith Olbermann…

Keith Olbermann gets fired..??

What the hell is going on in this crazy world? Those Neo-Cons are taking over, everywhere. This has got to have something to do with Comcast merging with NBC Universal. I bet you Comcast is in bed with those conservative Neo-con assholes. This is a conspiracy.

(OK, let me put my shoes back on, your shoes do not fit- RIGHT.)

If a progressive would have read my editorial that was published in November, 2010; when Olbermann was suspended, this new event wouldn’t be a shock to you.

In that editorial, I explain exactly why liberals should look for a new TV network to call home, and I talk about a possible network they could seek out.



Today, I wanted to talk about “WHY” Keith Olbermann was fired (or he quit, was let go, or mutual termination of a 4 year contract, etc. However they want to describe it.)

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Many liberals might be tempted to blame the recent deal for Comcast to merge with NBC Universal; which operates MSNBC and CNBC.

To my knowledge, Comcast is neither a Right- nor Left leaning company. In my humble opinion, Comcast entered into this deal to pick up Universal. Think about all the Hollywood movies that have been made, which fall under the Universal banner. If you own an “On Demand” movie service, it might be nice to have a hand in Universal. And Comcast was probably interested in NBC, which could be a diamond in the rough. CNBC and MSNBC were just part of the package, and Comcast probably has no immediate plans for each.



How can I say this, why am I so sure that Comcast isn’t a Right-wing outfit, and why would you believe me?

Simple…

Look at the MSNBC lineup, after Keith Olbermann is gone:

5pm- Chris Matthews- (Same as it ever was)
If Comcast were a conservative outfit, you would see at least one conservative face in that crowd. Hell, with the addition of the “Young Turks”, I believe MSNBC is now leaning even MORE Left.

6pm- Cenk Uygur of the Web show "The Young Turks" will now take over this timeslot. Cenk is so progressive that he makes some liberals cringe.

7pm- Repeat of Chris Matthews (I think?)

8pm- Lawrence O’Donnell will take over the Keith Olbermann spot. In my opinion, O’Donnell is much more partisan than Olbermann ever was. He even called himself a socialist.

9pm- Rachel Maddow

10pm- Ed Shultz

No, this has nothing to do with the politics of Comcast. It has everything to do with the routing out of “troublesome” people.

Jeff Zucker, the “head cheese” of programming at NBC and MSNBC was also, along with Olbermann, let go from his duties. Zucker was behind the Conan O’Brian / Jay Leno mess which took place last year. Critics in the business have been very objective towards Zucker’s leadership, and many site Zucker as the reason for low rating at NBC’s networks.

Which leads us to why Keith Olbermann was fired (or had a mutual parting of ways with MSNBC.)



It is no secret that Olbermann fights with his bosses. He fought with management at ESPN, which caused his departure at that network. Keith walked out on his first job at MSNBC, and has had problems with MSNBC President- Phil Griffin, over the past few years.

Some companies and bosses, like GE and Jeff Zucker, are willing to tolerate a demanding individual, but Comcast isn’t willing to do this. They weeded out the two people that they felt that they would have problems with. (Zucker and Olbermann.)

Some people, like the web site- The Wrap (dotcom) believes Olbermann left MSNBC on his own accord to start his own web site; similar to The Huffington Post. If this were true, surely Keith Olbermann could have run a web site while still doing his TV show. Glenn Beck runs two web sites (Glenn Beck dotcom, and The Blaze) Beck does a 3 hour radio show, and a 1 hour TV show everyday, plus personal appearances.

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Keith Olbermann isn’t a dumb guy, he should have been able to chew gum and walk at the same time? This, to me, is a cover story to explain why Olbermann left MSNBC, which helps soften his ego. But clearly, Olbermann saw the writing on the wall, and knew his time was limited.

Jeff Bercovici, a blogger at Forbes, completely disagrees with me. Jeff believes that Comcast is a conservative company, and Jeff lists a connection between Comcast and News Corp / Fox News. Jeff believes that Olbermann was fired solely because Comcast is a conservative outfit.

If this were true Jeff, why would Comcast keep Maddow? Or O’Donnell? Or add a show for The Young Turks? Wouldn’t Comcast stick at least ONE conservative host into MSNBC’s lineup?

John Gibson would LOVE to have a TV show again. Tucker Carlson is searching for a primetime show. There has to be at least two dozen conservative broadcasters who would jump at the chance to have a conservative show on MSNBC. If Comcast were a conservative company, who wanted to drastically change MSNBC, they would have waited until they had a few conservative shows developed, then they would have dropped two of the MSNBC liberal shows and added their conservative shows.



No, in my opinion; Comcast weeded out two people that they figured they would have problems with. (Keith and Zucker.) I believe that they have no immediate plans for MSNBC and will run it with the schedule listed above (for a while.) They are probably most interested in the Hollywood movies listed under Universal and the NBC network.

As far as a “link” between News Corp / Fox News and Comcast...

Sure, there is a link. Comcast is, after all; a cable TV provider, at its core. Comcast HAS to deal with News Corp because Murdoch operates, at least, 4 TV networks: Fox, Fox News, Fox business, FX. Comcast has a link between ABC Disney. Comcast has had a “link” and dealings with Ted Turner (who owns or used to own) TBS, Turner classic movies, CNN, Headline news, etc.

Being in the cable TV business; you are going to have “links” and ties with all of the networks that your cable outfit displays. To site just one “link” (Fox News) is dishonest. And to site ONE GUY who was fired from Comcast, who now claims that he was fired because Fox wanted him fired, because he spoke out about Bill O’Reilly; is just plain silly. My God, everyone at MSNBC would be fired if that were true. They all have spoken out about O’Reilly.

Keith Olbermann was fired (or given a “heads-up” that he should leave) because Comcast did not want to deal with his ugly business persona. It had nothing to do with Keith’s politics because Comcast is keeping all the other liberal hosts.

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Will Comcast keep MSNBC a liberal network, over the long haul..??

I can’t say for sure. I believe Comcast will go after CNN in ratings. In the future, Comcast may drop any show that isn’t doing well against CNN, during a particular timeslot.

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If I am right, and my first editorial on this subject is spot-on, then liberals need to find a new TV home. (And I list a few new TV homes at that editorial.)

If I am wrong, and Comcast is an evil conservative company bent on destroying the liberal paradise called: MSNBC; then progressives will need to find a new home.

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Either way, MSNBC might not be a good place for progressives to call: HOME.

Written by AR Babonie for The Angry Republic

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