Olbermann coming back to MSNBC? Now, that's one rumor I hope is true.

[catbyte]

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/msnbc-rumor-alert-olbermann-coming-back-several-shows-getting-slashed/


MSNBC Rumor Alert: Olbermann Coming Back? Several Shows Getting Slashed?
by Andrew Kirell | 12:51 pm, July 20th, 2015

Late last year, as MSNBC bled primetime viewers, network chief Phil Griffin openly sought to “broaden” the channel’s coverage, away from progressive commentary-heavy talk shows and back to human interest stories and hard news. Since then, multiple shows have been cancelled and jobs have been called into question.

snip...

According to multiple sources within the network, the biggest rumor to emerge is that MSNBC has engaged in talks with soon-to-be-departed ESPN2 host Keith Olbermann about returning to the cable network’s primetime lineup. Olbermann previously hosted Countdown from 2003 until 2011, and was an immensely controversial figure for the network, both internally and externally (2003 was a return to the network for Olbermann after a previously contentious run in the ’90s as well). For a myriad of reasons, it would be a stunning turn of events if Olbermann came back, but one could certainly argue that right now they need each other more than ever.

snip...

I for one would LOVE to see Olbermann back on the air.

[OakCliffDem]

1. Yeah

Go Keith.

[roguevalley]

12. he's been in broadcasting 36 years. He can pick and choose. I would reup cable if he did.

[samsingh]

2. that would be good.

[whathehell]

3. Me too!

Love Keith.

[Vinca]

4. I would love, love, love that to be true.

[RavensChick]

5. I can only hope this is not a joke.

I was talking about this two weeks ago, so I'm with you by saying I want to see Keith back too!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026954211

[PoliticAverse]

6. This is beginning to remind me of the Liz Taylor/Richard Burton marriages. n/t

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

7. That's always an obvious rumor

Of course, as soon as he's hired, the death watch begins.

[Exilednight]

8. Rachel has slipped since Keith departed.

It would only help the network.

[Fearless]

63. Nonsense.

[Gothmog]

9. I would love to see Keith back at MSNBC

[fredamae]

10. Olbermann And Bashir also n/t

[AngryAmish]

11. So he could become one of Comcast's paid liars?

No thanks .

[Logical]

15. Ahhh, nap time? nt

[mwooldri]

61. All C0mc@$+ is interested in is $$$$.

Olbermann has been proven to bring eyeballs to a channel. Advertisers want to advertise where people are watching. Keith can make c0mc@$+ money... so it's either him at m$nbc or nowhere... I'll take m$nbc thank you very much.

[tularetom]

13. Wonder how long it'll be this time before somebody pisses him off and he takes another hike

I love the guy but he's just way too temperamental to deal with the everyday bullshit of working at a cable news outfit in the post CNN era.

[roguevalley]

29. he just celebrated 36 yrs in broadcasting.

It liberates you to know you can leave. I know personally.

[tularetom]

33. I get that

The happiest moment of my life was when I did the math and figured out that I could tell my employer to go fuck himself and still be able to live relatively comfortably the rest of my life and leave a few bucks to my kids.

But I still say that many people, knowing Olbermann's mercurial personality and his refusal to take a ration of shit from management, are going to be hesitant to become emotionally invested in any new venture he may get involved in.

[Logical]

39. Oh FFS, he was at MSNBC 8 years. nt

[tularetom]

40. He quit there in 1998 and again in 2011

I don't give a fuck how talented Olberman is, or as much as I despise the network suits at NBC, the guy is basically a big whiny ass baby.

If you were a boss and you had a chance to rehire some guy who told you twice to go fuck yourself, would you do it?

(And don't tell me he would make you a ton of money, because that didn't happen the last two times he worked there).

[Logical]

42. LOL, sounds like you have bigger issues then Keith does. nt

[tularetom]

43. I have no issues at all, I don't even have cable or satellite anymore

The people who have issues are those who are having orgasms because some fucking diva might lower himself to appear on their TV screens for a few million bucks while they pay $100 a month to watch him.

I like Olbermann, I used to watch him every night, but when he left, I discovered his departure really didn't have a very big impact on my life. So if I read that he went in and took a big dump on Phil Griffin's desk, I might be impressed, otherwise who gives a rats ass.

And BTW, there is no way in hell that they are ever going to hire him back. As much of a POS as MSNBC has become, they don't need that kind of irritation.

[zappaman]

50. You are correct.

His primadonna attitude is exasperating.

[Kingofalldems]

14. Kicked, recc'ed and tweeted.

[monmouth4]

16. I know he would hate the hours but wouldn't it be great if he took over Joe's show?...n/t

[abakan]

19. no it wouldn't for me..

I want him back in his old time slot.

[monmouth4]

24. Moving Hayes might be a good idea....n/t

[jen63]

51. I thought Hayes was much

better doing UP on the weekends. Don't like prime time Chris Hayes and Kornaki has ruined UP.

[Volaris]

58. Agree. Hays' overall style required deep exposition and much detail work.

What he wants to do can't be done in an hour. He needs 90-120 minutes on the weekends.
Put Keith on at 8pm, and give Meet the Press to Rachel.
Fire Joe's worthless crew (yes ALL of them) and that would be a good start

[True Blue American]

64. Keith

I was just thinking the same thing. They are running ads for Scarborough. His ratings have dropped so bad.

But I would like for Keith go to to CNN.or,how about Fox? That would be funny.

[abakan]

17. Be still my beating heart!

I would love to see Keith every night again. Not too much to hope for, I hope.

[DrewFlorida]

18. I hope so! He was a force to be reckoned with.

[KamaAina]

20. Worst Person in the World wouldn't be much fun anymore.

It would be Donald Trump. Every. Single. Day.

[blue neen]

45. Oh, I think we can count on Bill O'Reilly to earn the distinction on a regular basis, also.

It's inevitable.

[Cleita]

21. That's not M$NBComcast's main problem.

It's their practice of doing one or two flame bait stories all day everyday ad nauseum. Right now it's the Donald Trump/Bill Cosby channel.

[Leith]

66. Very True

I got so sick of the gulf oil spill. Then it was the GWB lane closures all day every day. There had to be something else happening in the world. You can watch only so much of the exact same thing over and over.

I couldn't take it any more and quit watching.

[George II]

22. Bill O'Really must be shaking in his boots!

[Paladin]

23. The sooner the better.

[dawnie51]

25. PLEASE be true!

I have missed Olbermann every minute he's been gone. His special comments were gems of beauty

[randys1]

26. He is a bridge burning, arrogant, demanding asshole, but he is also terribly effective

when it comes to saying what needs to be said.

Hope he comes back

[Ishoutandscream2]

62. You absolutely nailed it!

He can be a petulant child who has trouble playing with others. But I gotta say, his show was very, very good. Would love to see him back!

[Stuart G]

27. Time will tell, I hope it is true...nt. k and r..

[deathrind]

28. I would start watching

MSNBC again if Olbermann came back.

[ybbor]

30. I would start watching MSNBC again

Rarely if ever watch since he left.

[90-percent]

31. This is wonderful beautiful news!

Be still my heart. Oh how I hope this is true.

I know little about Keith's work life other than I think he demands a lot of himself and expects his staff to be commensurate. I do not think he suffers co-worker or management fools gladly.

I don't think a person with his deep appreciation of humor could be a total dickhead. And he was EXTREMELY GENEROUS with his many "outside the mainstream" guests, that were fantastic and very unlikely to appear on any other "serious" news broadcasts.

His SPECIAL COMMENTS were as great as anything Ed Murrow or Walt Cronkite ever did. His passion for what he was discussing was completely from his heart and not from a scripted teleprompter.

And he's so smart and so quick. I hope he chooses his future battles wisely enough not to loose his show!

-90% Jimmy

[stuffmatters]

69. Yes, I miss his wonderful humor as much as I miss his biting, accurate editorials.

I'm not sure where the cutoff hour is for being called eve tv. Nobody would miss Mrs Greenspan going or even that second hour of repeat Tweety in the eve, which magically appeared a while ago.

Though Hayes is often frustratingly soft & sideways in his confrontations and Rachel has become painfully teachy ("get to the point, Rachel &quot and the show too much about herself, both are really smart & worthwhile shows. They also represent a younger generation at night; it can't just be AARP LEFTish TV. (Personally I wish it were a little more Grey PantherishTV)

Even if they schedule Keith in the afternoon, it'd still be great. Just bring Him back! His vast & faithful audience will find him.
We need him more than ever now.

[Agnosticsherbet]

32. Then I would becme a regualr watcher of MSNBC again.

[Hulk]

34. They desperately need a shot in the arm.

I cut my cable tv service months ago, and I haven't missed it A BIT! I love the extra $50 I'm saving every month, as a Social Security check and a meager pension are tough to live on.

As far as I'm concerned, they have some real weak hosts on that network...starting with Bumbling Joe in the morning. I'm not sure if Sharpton is still there, but I couldn't take his approach at all, and NEVER watched his program. The little whimpy guy is lukewarm, and Rachel Maddow might be the only host of any substance left. I'm not an Ed Shultz fan at all, and the blond dude makes made me want to scream at my tv screen....whatever his name is...tweety?

I really wish the Democratic Party, or someone, would support Air America, or some form of progressive radio; and MSNBC is weak at the very best. Yup, fox-bullshit beats them every month in the ratings, but that's cause hate sells, and they are pretty good at keeping the weakest minded fools in line there. God, such a lame strategy they use with their geriatric and hater crowd.

No progressive radio in PDX, so I sometimes listen to vannity and that bimbo, Mr. 9-9-9 to get my fill of stupid clowns spouting garbage at the fan. I can't take it too long, especially when vannity starts in to his black-belt myth and how he worked so hard to get a break a life. Makes me want to puke into my OWN radio. That's sad.

Keith was awesome. He was direct, he pissed in their faces nearly every night with his worst person in the world notations, and he has a brain and isn't afraid to use his words to slap them in the face on a daily basis. It isn't a shock show, like rush limpballs, or trump, or other asshats have.

[HFRN]

35. wanna be really happy? cut the cord from cable nt

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

36. Notice the low-rated JoeDeadIntern morning show never gets considered for cancellation

While everyone else is brought up as a candidate for the ax.

Scarborough must have pics of the bosses at the network, given the special treatment he always gets.

His recent feud with O'Donnell is the latest.

[Omaha Steve]

37. I know a morning show host they could can

That would help ratings.

[itsrobert]

38. Hopefully, Chris Hayes has been a complete failure

KO/RM/LO should he the prime time lineup Chris Hayes back to weekend duty and fill in host.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

44. That's what I'd like to see.

[Gloria]

48. Maybe, but he really does do a good job and his current series on the water

crisis in CA is like nothing you will see elsewhere...
He's a smart guy, I like him and watch him....

[cally]

67. He's my favorite and the only one I watch

I don't think he's a failure. I can't watch Maddow much anymore. She repeats herself and her first segment goes on way too long and is often not informative.

[lordsummerisle]

41. K&R! n/t

[Samantha]

46. I can't believe my lying eyes

I had to read this three times. I would give anything to see this happen. And wouldn't it be great if he were there to call the plays for 2016. Nothing could be finer.

I never thought I would see the day when he would be back at MSNBC; but it this turns out to be true, I believe it would be wonderful all the way around, except for Fox, of course.

Really, no one can compete with Olbermann when it comes to political commentary. He is in a class by himself.

Sam

[davidpdx]

47. It would be interesting if he does come back

I would also wonder how long it would last before either he or NB...Comcast got sick of each other

[zappaman]

49. Yes, hopefully he'll read some more Thoreau cuz...

[SCVDem]

57. Of course you meant

Thurber. James Thurber.

He of Walter Mitty fame?

[zappaman]

60. Correct.

Thanks for the correction.
Still no less though.

[sellitman]

52. Pass

I can't stand soap opera.

[colsohlibgal]

53. Make it So

As Jean-Luc would say.

I watched his show on ESPN, even if you don't care for sports he was still entertaining.

I had the feeling something was up for some time, he had been acting a bit more cavalier on the show even before the news his show was ending. He was even here and there drifting into politics ever so slightly. Last night he teased about his new job but didn't really go beyond that.

An election year without Stewart and Keith O would just be wrong, even though Colbert's voice will be back full time in a couple of months.

It would be a smart move for MSNBC - and to make it work Phil Griffin cannot go back to meddling like he has before with Keith and Cenk. He needs to let Keith be as strident and lefty as he wants, you can't play softball versus the Faux News tools.

Cenk has recently talked about why he left, turning down the millions he was offered. he says Griffin kept telling him to be less strident/loud and less progressive. I know that happened to Keith last time around, Phil needs to let him do his thing unfiltered if he is brought back. Big corporation do like making money so grit you teeth Mr. Griffin.

[RoccoR5955]

54. I certainly would tune in to MSNBC

again, even if it's just for Keith's show.
It would be great to see him back on there.

[Bohemianwriter]

55. The icing on the cake...

If he came back to MSNBC, entertainment value just tripled.

If he came back I would say "there IS a god" and start believing in miracles.

[AzDar]

56. So much YES...

[yuiyoshida]

59. I for one would welcome our Olbermann Olberlords....

[sadoldgirl]

65. I doubt that rumor very much,

because Comcast is such a conservative outfit.

Hayes and Maddow already show that influence.

[Charles de Gaudless]

68. Ditto

DURec

[chapdrum]

70. That would be great

Wouldn't mind seeing Matthews and O'Donnell depart.

[eppur_se_muova]

71. "human interest stories and hard news" ? They really didn't ask their viewers, did they ?

Progressive commentary is MSNBC's strong suit. I hate it when the primetime shows cover breaking news for the whole hour. Better to have a few bulletins when there's actual developments to report, and do the shows' planned content as much as possible.