Keith Olberman fired from Current TV (the Al Gore network!)

[dm1333]

Fired from ESPN.  Fired from MSNBC.  Now fired from Current TV.

http://current.com/blog/93722062_open-letter-to-the-viewers-of-current.htm

Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.

 

And from his appearance on Letterman we have this little gem:

"I screwed up really big on this," Olbermann said. "It's my fault that it didn't succeed, in the sense that I didn't think the whole thing through."

Olbermann, who had a reported $50 million contract with Current, compared himself to a $10 million chandelier. "I didn't say, 'You know, if you buy a $10 million chandelier, you should have a house to put it in.' Just walking around with a $10 million chandelier isn't going to do anybody a lot of good."

"You're the chandelier?" Letterman said.

In effect, Olbermann was implying that a guy of his stature and fame shouldn't be joining a sub-par, under-the-radar network anyway.

What exactly is his stature and fame?  That he has a history of screwing up and being fired?  I'm not sure what tickles me more, that this guy got the boot again or that Oprah fired Rosie O'Donnell. 

[Hawkmoon]

What exactly is his stature and fame?  That he has a history of screwing up and being fired?  I'm not sure what tickles me more, that this guy got the boot again or that Oprah fired Rosie O'Donnell. 

Definitely Rosie -- but not by a huge margin.

[Jamie B]

Keith is a complete jerk. Politics aside, he is still a complete jerk.

He reminds me of the guy whose 3rd wife has just filed for divorce, and complains about bad women.
Gee, maybe is is YOU! Same for Olbermann.

[Perd Hapley]

And his replacement is Elliot Spitzer? 

[HankB]

Olberman's comparing himself to a $10,000,000 chandelier begs a comment referencing a dim bulb . . .

In effect, Olbermann was implying that a guy of his stature and fame shouldn't be joining a sub-par, under-the-radar network anyway.

Yeah, the grapes were sour anyway.

A guy of his stature and talent deserves to be the host of some college radio station in the coveted 1AM - 3AM slot; he should check, maybe UC Berkely is hiring.

[makattak]

Olberman's comparing himself to a $10,000,000 chandelier begs a comment referencing a dim bulb . . .
Yeah, the grapes were sour anyway.

A guy of his stature and talent deserves to be the host of some college radio station in the coveted 1AM - 3AM slot; he should check, maybe UC Berkely is hiring.

Haven't the people of California suffered enough?...









...wait, you're right. They haven't, apparently.

[Jamie B]

Olberman's comparing himself to a $10,000,000 chandelier begs a comment referencing a dim bulb . . .
Yeah, the grapes were sour anyway.

A guy of his stature and talent deserves to be the host of some college radio station in the coveted 1AM - 3AM slot; he should check, maybe UC Berkely is hiring.

My thoughts also.
He has a horrible employment record, cannot guarantee an audience, and is an unjustified prima donna.
OTOH, there is probably some idiot news corp. somewhere who is stupid enough to hire him.

[Perd Hapley]

OTOH, there is probably some idiot news corp. somewhere who is stupid enough to hire him.

If you run an obscure, left-wing media outlet/web site, he might be worth hiring just to get your name in the press and get people to tune in.

[Jamie B]

If you run an obscure, left-wing media outlet/web site, he might be worth hiring just to get your name in the press and get people to tune in.

That logic did not work long for Current.

I believe that his initial audience was about 1,000,000, but dropped to 30,000 as of late.

No matter how you dice that, it does not equate to $50M over 5 years.

The question is how the responsibility splits between Current and Olbermann.

Given his employment, probably most is on him.

[Perd Hapley]

I wasn't talking about a high-profile outfit like Al Gore's Current. Like I said, an obscure media outlet. For a company like that, a temporary audience of the million people who want to see the train wreck could put their name on the map, and spotlight their other content.

Could they afford him? I guess that depends on how much he can ask for, with his increasingly bad reputation, how desperate he is for the spotlight, and how long he lasts.

[brimic]

What really makes me sick is that Olbermann's failures, for which there are many, have made him a lot more money than my successes, for which there are many, but then I remember that its a bunch of liberal whackjob networks that are taking the losses in paying him and I feel much better about it.