You mean Keith Olbermann is still alive?
In the spirit of a blast from the past, we have Keith Olbermann. He is the has-been Lawrence O’Donnell with the same strident brand of left-wing radicalism but an even more abrasive personality.
In my usual perusal of the daily media content, I ran across an article about Olbermann written by Carl Gibson for AlterNet – and equally obscure left-wing online news feed. The article was based on a commentary Olbermann penned for Variety in which he gives his unsolicited advice for saving MSNBC from its ratings crash specifically –and the entire Democratic Party from its failure to stop President Trump and the MAGA movement.
Olbermann demonstrates his political tone deafness by suggesting that he and his pals on the left have to double down on the failed left-wing woke policies. He writes that MSNBC – his one-time home — is having an identity crisis by becoming too wishy-washy after the Trump election.
Olbermann takes special aim at the husband and wife team of Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski – who he refers to as “Mr. and Mrs. ScaredBro” – an allusion to the morning duo’s pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago.
Olbermann says that the first step to reform the ultra-liberal propaganda platform would be to cancel the “Morning Joe” show. He described their show as a “banal but largely benign political coffee klatch show.”
When gone, “nobody will remember they were ever there,” Olbermann added.
If I ran MSNBC, I too would dump Joe and Mika—but for other reasons. And the pink slips would not stop there. But unlike Olbermann, I believe the only way for MSNBC to resurface as a credible news platform is to run – not walk – away from their distillate hard left-wing propaganda. They need balance and journalistic integrity.
I would fire Joe and Mika because their show is boring, Scarborough is a blowhard who dominates conversations with his frequently repeated pre-programmed talking points. His wife and co-host Mika is more or less part of the set—a prop. Joe not only surrenders very little airtime to Mika, but he also cuts her off and slaps her down (figurative, of course).I have always wondered why and how she can accept that boorish alpha male treatment. It undermines her creds as a strong-willed feminist.
Despite her treatment by Joe, Mika is no great shakes as a public commentator in her own right. I have often thought that when James Carville said that the Democratic Party has too many “preachy women,” he had Mika in mind.
It could be that Scarborough and Brzezinski are, indeed, the weak spot in the MSNBC lineup. Based on my opinion – and Olbermann’s opinion – they seem to lack fans on the right and the left.
One gets the sense that Olbermann’s message to MSNBC – and attack on “Morning Joe” — is influenced by jealousy. After all, he once had a high perch at the network. In his editorial offering, Olbermann bragged that he earned MSNBC more than $100 million with his acrid radical left messaging – and that he persuaded Rachel Maddow not to jump to CNN. But that did not prevent Olbermann from being shown the door by MSNBC management. And that is not the only place in which Olbermann’s acerbic personality led to a number of forced departures in his long reportorial history.
From 1992 to 1997, Olbermann co-hosted ESPN’s “SportsCenter. For the next three years, he anchored “Fox Sports Net.” He moved into politics in 2003 with “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC. He took “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” to the Current TV Network for one year in 2011. From 2013 to 2015, Olbermann was back on ESPN with a show called “Olbermann.” In 2016, he hosted a web show for Gentleman’s Quarterly (he does dress well) called “The Closer with Keith Olbermann,” focusing on the 2016 presidential election. After Trump won the election, Olbermann changed the name of his podcast to “The Resistance with Keith Olbermann.” In 2018, Olbermann returned to ESPN but was out in 2020. In 2022, Olbermann launched his own podcast on HeartRadio. He named that show … “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.” (How original.) This man has blown more jobs than Stormy Daniels. And HE is now giving advice on how to build a media audience? Go figure.
Olbermann believes that better ratings and more money are in the wings (the left wings, I assume) yearning to finance full-scale anti-Trump, anti-conservative, anti-Maga programming.
He writes:
“They’re all still there waiting to spend their time and money at the only liberal candy store still open: yours. These other supposed bastions of journalism have left you a near monopoly. And MSNBC only exists today because the last time NBC was handed a near monopoly, your management ancestors said, ‘A hundred million in profits from Olbermann’s liberal show? I guess we’ll take it. If we have to’.”
Well, they took it until they didn’t. And all the recent years of left-wing reporting on MSNBC attracted neither the audience nor the money Olbermann promises.
I am glad to see that Olbermann and I agree on one thing. MSNBC has been a hardcore left-wing propaganda network. (Okay, he did not use the word “Propaganda” but … ???)
Olbermann takes credit for making Rachel Madow, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O’Connell what they are today. He believes that MSNBC’s future is better served by dumping most of the daytime folks (I agree) and replacing them with such left-wing bomb-throwers (figuratively speaking, of course) as Elie Mystal and Pablo Torre. (I disagree).
The latter is the radial sportscaster who talks more in praise of left-wing politics than left field ball handling. Perhaps Olbermann likes Torre because he mixes radical left-wing politics and sports like… Olbermann. Ironically, Torre is a regular on “Morning Joe.” In terms of Mystal, if he were any further to the left, he would not even be in the ballpark. He is also a regular on MSNBC and one of the more outrageous and venomous of the network’s stable of outrageous and venomous contributors.
Apparently, Olbermann thinks there is a market for folks as loony left as him. If there is, he has not found it. He should take a closer look at the election results. The precipitous drop in ratings is not just “Morning Joe.” The ratings for Olbermann’s favorites … Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O’Donnell … are also cratering. Conversely, FOX News is surging.
Not only is Olbermann wrong about the popularity of left-wing media, but he also seems to be ignorant of how well (or poorly) he has done peddling the radical left message. He should consider that the radical left-wing woke policies he endorses are what devastated MSNBC ratings … and what got Trump elected. So, there ‘tis.
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HANUKKAH … and what every the rest of you folks celebrate.
Merry Christmas, Larry! And the same even to your devoted left-wing fans with TDS!
We celebrate Trumpmas telling that old story: The Gift of the MAGA and then we tell the origin story of Jesus and the three MAGA that followed a reality star to Bethlehem PA where the new steal factories have roulette and black jack tables, praise the Lord.
Merry Trumpmas all. Or what every the rest of you folks celebrate.
ON TO THE GIFTS; adult kids get up later.
And don’t forget to read the story of the virgin birth from your Trump endorsed bible for $69.99!
Sounds like a GOP Trump Family Christmas!!!
You libtards can’t even do Christmas right. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Donald Trump is my President.
As an Independent, I must admit that I am amazed by some on the right. They claim Jesus as their savior and then follow a man that will lead them straight to hell. A man that has in his background: narcissism, chronic lying, fraud, adultery, raucous living, rape, slander, etc.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! We will be watching the new version of the movie, “A Christmas Carol” starring Trump as Scrooge and Horist as Trump’s pontificating lying evil sidekick, and Frank Stetson as little Timmy. It is an exciting movie detailing all of the Project 2025 plans that Trump will be implementing through his evil side kick, and what happens to little mixed race African American / Haitian boy Timmy in a small NJ town of Redbank when SS and Medicare are cut for his grandparents, his parents looses ObamaCare, his older sister who lives in Texas has a problem pregnancy but can’t get abortion care, Timmy’s parents can’t get a second mortgage loan due to unfair treatment and no disparate impact laws, they are threatened with deportation and have to hire expensive lawyers that they cannot afford in order to prove they are citizens, food prices were not brought down because Scrooge’s inflation promise was broken and he could not do anything about food prices, gas and home fuel prices rose because Scrooges energy policy was bought by the oil company donations, and little Timmy’s school was underfunded and no student breakfast and lunch assistance due to the Dept. of Education being dissolved. Then little Timmy is awakened by his hunger and lack of nutrition and realizes he is in 2029, he is living in NJ, Trump and his evil sidekick are gone, Dems and Independents saved the country, he has a great school system because the people there pay taxes and consider schools and child nutrition a priority, and his family is all healthy and well, its snowing, and presents are under the tree. And to all a good night!
Tom … Even on Christmas Day you are a mean spirited nasty old man. You must have obviously taken up the role of the pre-ghosts Scrooge in your new version? And I did not know that there was a “lying evil sidekick” in the original version. You must be confused with the Bob Cratchit character. In that case, I accept.
Glad you liked my story. It is a look into the possible future under a Trump regime. Everything I mentioned is in Project 2025 which Trump lied about knowing. And I seem to recall from earlier articles that you were basically in the same boat with Trump. The problem with you Larry is that you cannot bear to look at the truth of what is possible. By the way, Jesus was not born on Dec 25th.
Tom .. Thanks for the footnote — telling us what virtually every Christian already knows.
“And To All A Good Night” was issued election night to the Radical Left Wing with the results – Trump Won Overwhelmingly…..
Actually Trump only beat Harris by 1.8% of the vote which is hardly “overwhelmingly”. If you want a look at “overwhelmingly” take a look at Reagan’s first election.
Even though you were mean and nasty to a well-deserving and consistently caustic Trump on Christmas….. No, IMO, it was “overwhelmingly” in that it’s all three: Congress and the Oval. Plus the Supremes. Plus a huge portion of the Federal judiciary from the past. IMO.
Obviously, on the popular it was not overwhelming and, last time, like this time, Trump and his minions overlooked that in their zeal to feel a mandate season was upon them. You know, the Red Wave that cannot be stopped. Only have two words:
Two years.
So far, they have shown no learning from the 2019 teachable moment.
Tom …. Yes the nonpopular vote was close, but the political impact was overwhelming. That is why Democrats are in a state of panic trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. And you seem to forget that you did not beat a guy with unprecedented baggage. I have an upcoming commentary that will … should .. enlighten you to the political realities. That is assuming you can be enlightened — and so far you have proved an ability to dodge enlightenment.
This article is unrated because I do not know enough about this particular subject matter. But I did gleen a few points:
1) Olbermann and Larry seem to have a point of intersection in their employment lives in that they both seem to bounce a lot from job to job, screwing everything up along the way and a particular gift for lying and spinning.
2) As I read Larry’s version of Olbermann’s bio, I thought I was reading that 1992 article from the Chicago Tribune that seemed to describe Larry very similarly!
3) I did like and appreciate Larry’s warped sense of elder humor where he writes, ” I believe the only way for MSNBC to resurface as a credible news platform is to run – not walk – away from their distillate hard left-wing propaganda. They need balance and journalistic integrity.” WHICH IS FUNNY BECAUSE LARRY DOES NOT KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT BALANCE AND JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY – HE SHOWS HIS LACK OF THIS KIND OF KNOWLEDGE IN EVERY ARTICLE HE WRITES!!! IF BALANCE AND JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY WERE A ROOM, LARRY WOULD BE PUSHING ON DOORS MARKED “PULL”! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA MERRY CHRISTMAS LARRY!!! YOUR LOAD OF COAL IS ON THE WAY!!!
Tom .. this is the second time you have criticized my writing even as you admit you know nothing about the subject. LOL Of course that is characteristic of all your writing, It is just that you do not admit it very often.
1. As usual, you attack based on factual ignorance. Not sure what you mean I bounced around from job to job. I ran my own business for almost 40 years. You lie … lie … lie.
2. My writings are opinion … and even at that much more objective than the constant negative carping crap you write. I have criticized Trump and Republicans on many occasions. Every time i challenge you to say one thing you lie about what Trump did as President …. crickets. I am afraid you project too much.
And that old joke about pushing on doors that say “pull.” You really got a kick our that. It made me laugh, too, Just like you other nutty insults. Of course if is a mocking laugh. And you seem confused. You use he wrong metaphor. What you think is a load of coal you are delivering with your comments is nothing but a pile of shit. I look forward to your wallowing in it in 2025.
Larry, you lie and spin all of the time, and I have pointed it out with specific examples and references many times.
I was referring to your consultancy where you bounced around and got fired several times which was detailed in the article I referenced. Perhaps you should review it again for old time sake.
You have basically only criticized Trump’s personality. You have on many occasions stated that you like his policies.
My observations about your disingenuous, unbalanced and biased articles are well documented in many of my responses and in the responses of many others.
The problem Larry is that you have immense difficulty facing the truth which is why you need me. I just want to see you become an honest opine.
Tom … Once again you misinform … lie. Not sure what new article you refer to — not that the opinion of one news writer is proof of anything, as you like to assume. Also, If you knew anything about the consultancy business — clients come and go. Duh! I was never fired as you interpret it. I actually had a long list of very happy clients. And of the thousands of times I was referred to in the news media, it has been overwhelmingly positive. That is the truth you ignore. But your prefer to lie to maintain your constant fact-challenged criticism. You will never gain intellectual footing by constantly lying — and falsely claiming you are dedicated to truth. Just what a habitual and obsessed liar would say,
Tom… You say I only criticize Trump’s personality. Lie… Lie…Lie. I have written my disagreement on his Ukraine policy … tariffs … his appointment of Gaetz … his criticism of Republicans I admire … etc … etc. I know you read my commentaries faithfully, so I must assume you are simplyi lying … AGAIN.