1. The Suspension Stunt
Following the November Election, NBC News announced it was suspending Olbermann “indefinitely” for a few campaign donations he made to hard Left Democrats who had appeared on his show.
Among many of my colleagues, there was a “ding dong the witch is dead chorus.” I wasn’t buying it, and kept my powder dry, but even I was a little surprised when Keith’s “indefinite” suspension lasted… 2 days.
Upon his return, Olbermann apologized for the controversy… sort of. Actually not even that.
Calling it a “four-day weekend,”and a “universal hug,” Keith Olbermann made himself the apex of the “Countdown,” saving his apology for the spot reserved for the “Number 1 Story.”
If that wasn’t a clue…
Keith’s “apologies” went like this:
- Brag about how important the “unfortunate drama” made him feel, and how for the first time in forever, he was actually an important news story.
- Apologize for not knowing something he had no reasonable expectation to know
- Apologize for slamming some guy who deserved it, just the timing was coincidentally unfortunate because it was done after Keith contributed to his opponent, but never mention that this is the problem with such contributions in the first place.
Then wrap up by saying how un-Constitutional the rule against his contributing without permission probably is; and saying what a great illustration this is for how the system works and he is now the poster boy for transparency.
Contrition, thy name ain’t Olbermann.
OLBERMANN: I‘d like to close tonight by discussing something that I‘m sure has happened to you dozens of times in your own life. You know, when there is a petition supporting you and it winds up being signed by 300,000 people and you get 21,000 Tweets in 72 hour period, and then you are invited to be on television because you aren‘t on television, because they want you to be the lead story on “Good Morning, America” and “Larry King” and “Letterman,” and you break the traffic records on the “Huffington Post,” and you‘re on the front page of the “New York Times” without being dead or in jail or Charlie Sheen or something.
Yep, Keith, you made headlines. Not for anything you said, not for doing something really smart, but for getting fired for violating any reasonable standard of journalistic ethics—yeah, I know what I just said, but that’s what you pretend to be.
But while Keith Olbermann did not go out with a bang, he is gradually going out with a whimper. And it’s telling that of our Top 3 in the Countdown, two had to do with Keith being gone, and the other was the reaction of another media figure to him.
And as far as his future is concerned, THAT is the Number One Story.
