Are Olberman's Special Commentary's too long???

[kid a]

I'm on my toes steaming, "Yes, Yes....Yes!!! Savoring every word of this special comment. I love it and will most likely replay it tonight on Crooks and Liars.

My wife, on the other hand, had a hard time following through...Her opinion: Shorten it up a bit Keith - Be more concise - you're loosing viewers - just on attention span alone
.
Sure the choir will stay, but the back rows are drifting out the door early..

Just a thought, not mine... (throw your shoe over my shoulder, she's there on the couch a few feet back...)

[Red Right and BLUE]

1. Nothing that true could be too long. nt

[EFerrari]

2. He's developing a form. It won't always be perfect.

Nice to have some fresh air. I can take it. :)

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. Considering we have so few like Keith,

Hell no his rants aren't too long.

[Beelzebud]

4. Isn't there enough 30 second sound-bites already?

I think that there ARE topics that take paragraphs to discuss rather than cute sound-bits and slogans...

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. No. Absolutely not.

[SeattleGirl]

6. Nope

Perhap your wife could re-watch it on youtube. I do that, partly just because I want to hear it again, and partly so that I can make sure that I catch everything he said.

[EFerrari]

10. I do that, too. My life is pretty stressful and sometimes I get more

from the second viewing.

[MadMaddie]

7. No....because we have to retrain the American people to

focus for more than 30 seconds and to comprehend what they are hearing....

[EFerrari]

11. Well, there's that.

:rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. the length shows the gravity of the subject

too important to be covered in a soundbite.

[merh]

9. Hell no.

It has been far too long since the truth has been spoken aloud.

Thank you Keith Olberman :loveya:

[oasis]

12. Six years of the Chimp is too long. Olbermann's commentary is a symphony

of truth. I'm lovin' every last word of it.:loveya:

[kid a]

13. or not (she says) ... :)

[Joyce78]

Are you a GOP pollster or an MSNBC pollster?

Your message seems a little shoddy to me.

[kid a]

17. thats ok - joyce, i live very shoddily :)

[DURHAM D]

14. Frankly, it is a level of commentary and style of writing/speaking

that this country has not experienced since Murrow. We have probably become lazy listeners. With KO you must really pay attention. Also, many people will need a dictionary. I love it - its like taking a college class and I haven't done that for too many years to count. I feel like I am really being challenged and I never expected that to happen while watching the news.

[kid a]

18. thats exactly what I told her - It's reminicent of a classic news OP

[Joyce78]

20. Mr. Olbermann

Yes, I have found his commentaries to be the only voice rising to the level of Murrow. I'm profoundly impressed by his intelligence, his eloquence; but, most especially, his courage. Mr. Olbermann's recent remarks have been music to this music lover's ears! Continue to sing, Mr. Olbermann ... many of us are listening.

[Karenca]

15. NO!

And even if it were longer, that would be fine too.

Keith is a treasure.

[flyarm]

16. NO , NO , AND NO!!..N/T

[Rowdyboy]

19. Yes. He is SOOOO good but he carries it on too long....Make the point

then SHUT UP.

Its so much harsher to be concise. If he's cut the piece by 1/3, it would be 3 times more effective.

[howmad1]

22. Yea, make it 15 seconds long....

....so the asshole sheeple might have a crack at understanding the point. On the other hand, he uses very difficult words, so that takes care of the sheeple understanding Keith. Please, let him be himself. The intelligent will fully comprehend his words.

[Rowdyboy]

24. Sorry you disagree. I adore Keith but think he's a bit wordy....You don't

but for some reason feel impelled to attack me because I'm a tiny bit critical.

Personally, I doubt he gives a shit what either of us think and will continue to do exactly what he wants to. Fine by me. I just think he could be much better with a bit of editing. Its an opinion.

[patrioticliberal]

36. Agreed.

[longship]

21. Keith is not *ever* about sound bytes.

People are so used to junk news reporting where things are so condensed and homogenized that little of the milk remains. Now, when there's a guy who reports real news with real depth, people complain that they're not getting the condensed, homogenized kind. Tell your wife that she needs to take a deep swill of it, wash it around a bit and savor the flavors.

Keith's commentaries are beautiful and powerful. Murrow's were like that, too. Keith *is* channelling Murrow, you know. ;-)

[Bucky]

23. I agree it could use some tapering, but he thinks his aud is smart enough

He isn't insulting his audience with quips and half innuendo like most TV opinionists. I'd compare his style to Bill Clinton's frequent observation that Democrats have a style that asks voters to think for themselves and consider things thoroughly. He's developing a more complicated thesis that what you'll see on any other opinion show. He's anti-knee-jerk, so I'll accept a bit of flab in his prose style.

[lonestarnot]

25. HELL NO they're not too long!

[jayctravis]

26. They are longer than the typical American attention-span

but exceedingly well-written. Even though Keith doesn't rant and rave you can taste the anger and conviction in his words. It's exactly the length of a "sit down and shut up while I talk to you" message you'd give to somebody you'd had it with.

[amitten]

27. Your wife is right, because your wife is an unbiased viewer.

I like Keith but the rants are too long for the average viewer. Furthermore, they are diatribes that are easy to read on paper, but hard to follow when spoken aloud.

One of the hard things, you'll notice, about good screenwriting is making conversations sound "natural". Good on paper doesn't always mean good when spoken. Keith needs to hone that particular talent: writing for the ear and not the eye.

[TreasonousBastard]

28. I think so. Even though I'm in the choir...

my eyes started to glaze over during this last one.

It's not so much the length, though, it's the structure and delivery-- written more as an essay than a spoken commentary with a bit too much gravitas an not enough oral hooks in there.

That kind of gravitas works for a minute or two, more than that and you need to take some lessons in sermonizing from a good preacher. M.L. King could talk on for a good hour and keep you excited, not falling asleep or losing place.

KO is a great old-fashioned reporter and he's spot on, but he could use a little speechwriting and speechifying help with the serious commentary..

[walldude]

29. Yeah... 8 minutes is going on a bit long for the casual viewer

however I could personally listen to him rant for an hour...

[VOX]

30. Absolutely NOT. If more talking heads spoke w/KO's conviction...

Perhaps lengthier commentaries could give way to myriad voices that *all* dare to speak truth to insane power. But that's only a dream right now.

Keith's commentaries are beautifully crafted and delivered -- it would be a travesty to shorten them. In an age where crap prevails -- expecially on the tube -- KO's voice lights the room like a welder's arc, throwing the intense light of hard truth into the darkness.

[mwb970]

31. It's hard to make out what he is saying.

His commentaries are written as if meant to be read in print, but he reads them out loud instead, which makes the long, convoluted sentences difficult to follow and assimilate quickly before the next one comes along. Frankly, I don't listen to them any more, but just wait till the next day to read the transcript.

It makes me feel dumb to listen to him and realize I keep losing the thread of what he is saying. I'm kind of glad to hear the same thing is happening to others. We're not dumb; it's just that he needs to write his commentaries differently.

[annabanana]

33. The brain is just another muscle...

Olbermann's commentaries are the first aerobics in what should be a long regimen.

[bklyncowgirl]

32. My husband thinks he uses too many big words and historical references

"Who is Keith's audience?" he asked me.

For what it's worth, he feels that the average American is not going to be able to understand what Keith's saying.

He said the same thing about Kerry in the debates. While I thought Kerry won he said that Bush, as stupid and repetitive as he sounded, got his point across in a way that someone with no background knowledge could understand.

I understand his point but I do believe that there's a place for high flown passionate rhetoric and Keith has been delivering it in spades.

There's a difference between political campeigning and political commentary. Keith seems to be reviving an art form and it's fun to watch him do it.

[Berry Cool]

34. Count another vote for "Let Keith be Keith."

No, his kind of commentary isn't the kind of thing that you normally see on TV nowadays...but I assure you, he does know how to write that way when he needs to. After all, he still writes part of the rest of the show. He wrote his parts of SportsCenter for years. He knows how to be brief. Hell, he's always joking about going on the assumption that he and all his viewers have short attention spans.

But in these commentaries, he's not going for brief. I think that's for a reason. Because what he has is so important to say, in his eyes, that he won't shortchange it.

They're not packaged into neat, easily digested sound bites. They don't all use pop culture references everyone knows off the top of their heads. They really DO require that his audience listen and think. They're not the kind of thing you can listen to while doing something else. They command your full attention in a way that most modern TV doesn't.

But that's OK. Because if people sit even just a while and listen, they may get so riveted they pay attention despite not initially planning to. They might get moved to think and stretch their minds a bit.

I like the fact that Olbermann doesn't seem to be afraid to overshoot the intelligence or attention span of his audience with these commentaries. He just sends them out there, and trusts that enough people will appreciate them to make them worth doing.

[patrioticliberal]

35. I would agree with your husband

I know for a fact that those with political apathy listening will be turned off. Should be the other way around.