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Wikipedia

Keith Olbermann

January 17, 2024

"Olbermann" redirects here. For his 2013 sports talk show, see Olbermann (TV series).

Keith Theodore Olbermann (/ˈoʊlbərmən/; born January 27, 1959) is an American sports and political commentator and writer. Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism. He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and radio stations in the 1980s, winning the Best Sportscaster award from the California Associated Press three times. He co-hosted ESPN's SportsCenter from 1992 to 1997. From 1998 to 2001, he was a producer and anchor for Fox Sports Net and a host for Fox Sports' coverage of Major League Baseball.

Keith Olbermann
Olbermann in 2008
Born
Keith Theodore Olbermann[1]

(1959-01-27) January 27, 1959 (age 64)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materCornell University (B.S.)
Occupations
  • Sports announcer
  • broadcast journalist
  • political commentator
Years active1980s–present
TelevisionCountdown with Keith Olbermann (2003–2011, 2011–2012)
SportsCenter (1992–1997, 2017–2020)
Football Night in America (2007–2010)
Olbermann (2013–2015)
The Resistance with Keith Olbermann (2016–2017)
Political partyDemocratic
AwardsThree Edward R. Murrow Awards[2]
Websitetwitter.com/keitholbermann

From March 2003 to January 2011, Olbermann hosted the weeknight political commentary program Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. He received attention for his pointed criticism of American conservative and right-wing politicians and public figures.[3][4][5][6][7] Although he has frequently been described as a "liberal",[8] he has often rejected being labelled politically, stating, "I'm not a liberal. I'm an American."[9]

From 2011 to March 30, 2012, Olbermann was the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of a Current TV program also called Countdown with Keith Olbermann.[10][11] From July 2013 until July 2015 he hosted a late-afternoon show on ESPN2 and TSN2 called Olbermann,[12] as well as TBS's Major League Baseball postseason coverage. From September 2016 until November 2017, he hosted a web series for GQ, titled The Closer with Keith Olbermann, covering the 2016 U.S. presidential election, later renamed The Resistance with Keith Olbermann after the victory of Donald Trump.[13]

In January 2018, Olbermann returned to ESPN's SportsCenter program, expanding in May to some baseball play-by-play work. On October 6, 2020, he again resigned from ESPN to start a political commentary program on his YouTube channel.[14][15] On August 1, 2022, Olbermann relaunched Countdown with Keith Olbermann as a daily podcast with iHeartRadio.[16] It is described as a news-driven show featuring his trademark "Special Comment" political analysis, "The Worst Persons in the World" segment, and readings from the works of the humorist James Thurber.

Early life

Olbermann was born January 27, 1959, in New York City,[1][17] the son of Marie Katherine (née Charbonier),[18] a preschool teacher, and Theodore Olbermann, a commercial architect.[6] He is of German ancestry.[19] Olbermann and his younger sister Jenna (b. 1968),[20] were raised in a Unitarian household[21] in the town of Hastings-on-Hudson[22] in Westchester, New York. He attended the Hackley School, a private Ivy League Preparatory school[6][7] in nearby Tarrytown.

Olbermann became a devoted fan of baseball at a young age, a love he inherited from his mother, who was a lifelong New York Yankees fan.[18] As a teenager he often wrote about baseball card-collecting and appeared in many sports card-collecting periodicals of the mid-1970s. He is also referenced in Sports Collectors Bible, a 1979 book by Bert Sugar, which is considered one of the important early books for trading card collectors.[23]

While at Hackley, Olbermann began his broadcasting career as a play-by-play announcer for WHTR. After graduating from Hackley in 1975, he enrolled at Cornell University at the age of 16.[24] At college Olbermann served as sports director for WVBR, a student-run commercial radio station in Ithaca.[24] Olbermann graduated from Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1979 with a BS in communication.[25][26][27]

Sports broadcasting

Olbermann began his professional career at UPI and the RKO Radio Network before joining then-nascent CNN in 1981.[28] Among the early stories he covered was the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, including the "Miracle on Ice."[24] In the early-to-mid 1980s he was a sportscaster on the old WNEW 1130-AM radio station in New York City. In 1984, he briefly worked as a sports anchor at WCVB-TV in Boston before heading to Los Angeles to work at KTLA and KCBS. His work there earned him 11 Golden Mike Awards,[29] and he was named best sportscaster by the California Associated Press three times.[30][better source needed]

ESPN

In 1992 Olbermann joined ESPN's SportsCenter, a position he held until 1997 with the exception of a period from 1993 to 1994 when he was at ESPN2. He joined ESPN2 as its "marquee" personality to help launch the network.[31][32] He often co-hosted SportsCenter's 11:00 p.m. show with Dan Patrick, the two becoming a popular anchor team. In 1995 Olbermann won a Cable ACE award for Best Sportscaster.[25] he later co-authored a book with Patrick called The Big Show about their experiences working at SportsCenter; he also said that the short-lived ABC dramedy Sports Night was based on his time on SportsCenter with Patrick, ABC having been co-owned with ESPN since 1985 (ESPN now produces all sports coverage on ABC, which is branded ESPN on ABC).[33] In his last year with KCBS before moving east to work for ESPN, Olbermann's salary was $475,000 but started at "just over $150,000" with ESPN.[34] He made $350,000 at the end of his tenure at ESPN.[35]

Early in 1997 Olbermann was suspended for two weeks after he made an unauthorized appearance on The Daily Show on Comedy Central with then-host and former ESPN colleague Craig Kilborn. At one point in the show he referred to Bristol, Connecticut (ESPN's headquarters), as a "Godforsaken place".[35] Later that year he abruptly left ESPN under a cloud of controversy, apparently burning his bridges with the network's management;[36] this began a long and drawn-out feud between Olbermann and ESPN. Between 1997 and 2007 incidents between the two sides included Olbermann's publishing an essay on Salon in November 2002 titled "Mea Culpa", in which he stated, "I couldn't handle the pressure of working in daily long-form television, and what was worse, I didn't know I couldn't handle it."[37] The essay told of an instance when his former bosses remarked he had "too much backbone", a claim that is literally true, as Olbermann has six lumbar vertebrae instead of the normal five.[37]

In 2004, Olbermann was not included in ESPN's guest lineup for its 25th anniversary SportsCenter "Reunion Week", which saw Craig Kilborn and Charley Steiner return to the SportsCenter set. In 2007, ten years after Olbermann's departure, in an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, he said, "If you burn a bridge, you can possibly build a new bridge, but if there's no river any more, that's a lot of trouble." During the same interview Olbermann stated that he had recently learned that as a result of ESPN's agreeing to let him return to the airwaves on ESPN Radio, he was banned from ESPN's main (Bristol, Connecticut) campus.[38]

Post-SportsCenter

In 1999, Olbermann joined Fox Sports Net to be the star anchor for their sports news show Fox Sports News Primetime, which was an ill-fated competitor to SportsCenter.[39] Olbermann later left that show to be an anchor and executive producer for The Keith Olbermann Evening News, a sportscast similar to SportsCenter that aired weekly on Sunday evenings. While at Fox he hosted the 2000 World Series as well as Fox Broadcasting's baseball Game of the Week. In May and July 1999, Olbermann also guest-starred ten times on Hollywood Squares.[40]

According to Olbermann, he was demoted by Fox when he asked for a slight reduction in duties for health reasons, and then was fired from Fox in 2001 after reporting on rumors that Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation owns Fox, was planning on selling the Los Angeles Dodgers.[41] Olbermann characterized the demotion as "blackmail."[42] When asked about Olbermann, Murdoch said, "I fired him ... He's crazy."[43][44] In 2004 Olbermann remarked, "Fox Sports was an infant trying to stand [in comparison to ESPN], but on the broadcast side there was no comparison—ESPN was the bush leagues."[24]

After Olbermann left Fox Sports in 2001, he provided twice-daily sports commentary on the ABC Radio Network, reviving the "Speaking of Sports" and "Speaking of Everything" segments begun by Howard Cosell.[45] In 2005, Olbermann made a return to ESPN Radio when he began co-hosting an hour of the syndicated Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, a tenure that lasted until Patrick left ESPN on August 17, 2007.[46] Olbermann and Patrick referred to this segment as "The Big Show", just as their book was known. Patrick often introduced Olbermann with the tagline "saving the democracy", a nod to his work on Countdown. On April 16, 2007, Olbermann was named co-host of Football Night in America, NBC's NFL pre-game show that precedes their Sunday Night NFL game, a position which reunited him in 2008 with his former SportsCenter co-anchor Dan Patrick. Olbermann left the show prior to the start of the 2010 season.[47]

Shortly before rejoining ESPN, Olbermann signed a contract with TBS to host the studio show portions of its coverage of the Division Series and National League Championship Series. He replaced Matt Winer, who had been in this role since his departure from ESPN to join the Turner Sports family, and was originally supposed to host the show with TBS' Dennis Eckersley. Instead, Eckersley was sent to join Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez to call the Detroit-Oakland series. TBS later hired Dirk Hayhurst, Pedro Martínez, and Mark DeRosa to provide analysis. Tom Verducci also joined the studio crew, as he was replaced by Rachel Nichols as a field reporter.[48]

Return to and departure from ESPN

Main article: Olbermann (TV series)

It was announced on July 17, 2013, that Olbermann would host his own one-hour nightly show on ESPN2. The two-year contract would allow him to deviate from the topic of sports into realms such as "pop culture and current events",[49] as well as politics, which was a right Olbermann claimed he did not intend to exercise.[50]

Olbermann was suspended by ESPN in 2015 for the week following Penn State University's annual philanthropy THON due to a Twitter exchange he had with Penn State supporters.[51] THON is the world's largest student-run philanthropy, raising over $160 million for pediatric cancer research since 1977. In the Twitter exchange, Olbermann stated, "PSU students are pitiful." Later, prior to apologizing, Olbermann stated, "I'd like to thank the students and alums of Penn State for proving my point about the mediocrity of their education and ethics."[52][53][54][55] Olbermann apologized on his program upon his return March 2, but noted, "I'm much more sorry about batting practice [i.e. trolling or cyber bullying]. So for me, batting practice ends."[56]

In July 2015 ESPN announced that it would be Olbermann's last month with the network. ESPN said that it was a "business decision to move in another direction".[57]

The Ringer

In 2016, Olbermann wrote an article for Bill Simmons' company "The Ringer" after Muhammad Ali's death.[58]

Third tenure with ESPN

In January 2018, Olbermann returned to ESPN once again, presenting occasional commentaries on SportsCenter throughout the first half of 2018.[59] In May 2018, Olbermann's role at ESPN expanded to include a return to the role of SportsCenter host and the addition of occasional ESPN Major League Baseball play-by-play.[60]

News journalism

In 1997, Olbermann left ESPN to host a prime-time show on MSNBC, The Big Show with Keith Olbermann (ESPN objected to the use of the title).[35] The news-driven program, with substantial discussion, relied on Olbermann to carry the 8:00–9:00 PM hour.[35] The show typically covered three or four topics in a one-hour broadcast. Olbermann also hosted two Sunday editions of NBC Nightly News and once co-anchored a Saturday edition of the Today show.[61] During that period Olbermann, along with Hannah Storm, also co-hosted NBC Sports' pre-game coverage of the MLB 1997 World Series. Olbermann became frustrated as his show was consumed by the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In 1998, he stated that his work at MSNBC would "make me ashamed, make me depressed, make me cry."[36]

Olbermann left MSNBC for Fox Sports Net shortly thereafter. After leaving Fox Sports in 2001, Olbermann returned once more to news journalism. In 2003, his network won an Edward R. Murrow Award for writing on the "Keith Olbermann Speaking of Everything" show. In addition, Olbermann wrote a weekly column for Salon.com from July 2002 until early 2003,[62] worked for CNN as a freelance reporter,[24] and was a fill-in for newscaster Paul Harvey.[63][64] Olbermann revived his association with MSNBC in 2003 briefly as a substitute host on Nachman and as an anchor for the network's coverage of the war in Iraq.

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Main article: Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Olbermann's own show, Countdown, debuted on MSNBC on March 31, 2003, in the 8 p.m. ET time slot previously held by programs hosted by Phil Donahue and, briefly, Lester Holt. Countdown's format, per its name, involved Olbermann ranking the five biggest news stories of the day or sometimes "stories my producers force me to cover", as Olbermann put it. This was done in numerically reverse order, counting down with the first story shown being ranked fifth but apparently the most important.

The first few stories shown were typically oriented toward government, politics, and world events; the segments ranked numbers two and one were typically of a lighter fare than the preceding segments. These lighter stories sometimes involved celebrities, sports, and, regularly and somewhere in the middle, the bizarre, in a segment he called "Oddball." Opinions on each were offered by Olbermann and guests interviewed during the segment. Olbermann had been criticized for only having guests that agree with his perspective. Former Los Angeles Times television critic Howard Rosenberg stated that "Countdown is more or less an echo chamber in which Olbermann and like-minded bobbleheads nod at each other."[65]

On October 13, 2004, Olbermann launched Bloggermann, his Countdown blog, hosted on MSNBC's website.[66] Olbermann used the open format of the blog to expand on facts or ideas alluded to in the broadcast, to offer personal musings and reactions. However, in February 2007, Olbermann launched a new blog, .

In a technique similar to that of former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite in connection to the Iran Hostage Crisis,[67] for the last six years of the program, Olbermann closed every show by announcing the number of days passed since President George W. Bush had declared the end of "major combat operations" in Iraq under a banner that read "Mission Accomplished" (May 1, 2003). Olbermann would then crumple up his notes, throwing them at the camera and saying "Good night and good luck", echoing another former CBS newsman, Edward R. Murrow. (Yet Olbermann himself discounted this gesture to his hero as "presumptuous" and a "feeble tribute.")[68]

On February 16, 2007, MSNBC reported that Olbermann had signed a four-year extension on his contract with MSNBC for Countdown which also provided for his hosting of two Countdown specials a year to be aired on NBC as well as for his occasional contribution of essays on NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams.[69]

Olbermann co-anchored, with Chris Matthews, MSNBC's coverage of the death of fellow NBC News employee Tim Russert on June 13, 2008.[70] He presented a tribute, along with several fellow journalists, in honor of Russert.[71]

During the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Olbermann co-anchored MSNBC's coverage with Chris Matthews until September 7, 2008, when they were replaced by David Gregory after complaints from both outside and inside of NBC that they were making partisan statements.[72] This apparent conflict of interest had been an issue as early as May 2007, when Giuliani campaign officials complained about his serving in dual roles, as both a host and a commentator.[73] Despite this, Countdown was broadcast both before and after each of the presidential and vice-presidential debates, and Olbermann and Matthews joined Gregory on MSNBC's Election Day coverage.[74] Olbermann and Matthews also led MSNBC's coverage of the inauguration of President Barack Obama.[75][76]

In November 2008, it was announced that Olbermann had signed a four-year contract extension worth an estimated $30 million.[77]

Feud with Bill O'Reilly

After beginning Countdown's "Worst Person in the World" segment in July 2005, Olbermann repeatedly awarded Bill O'Reilly, host of The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel, the dubious honor.[3] The feud between the anchors originated with Olbermann's extensive coverage of a 2004 sexual harassment suit brought against O'Reilly by former Fox News Channel producer Andrea Mackris during which Olbermann asked Countdown viewers to fund the purchase of lurid audio tapes allegedly held by Mackris.[78][79] In 2008 O'Reilly decided to avoid mentioning Olbermann's name on the air, and once cut off a caller who mentioned Olbermann.[80] O'Reilly has also criticized MSNBC's news commentary and political coverage without ever specifically mentioning Olbermann.[3][81][82] The rivalry continued when in 2006 at Television Critics' Association in California, Olbermann donned a mask of O'Reilly and made a Nazi salute, leading to a letter of protest from the Anti-Defamation League.[83][84][85]

In an article on "perhaps the fiercest media feud of the decade", The New York Times' Brian Stelter noted that in early June 2009 the "combat" between the two hosts seemed to have abruptly ended as a result of instructions filtered down to Olbermann and O'Reilly from the chief executives of their respective networks.[86] On the August 3, 2009, edition of Countdown, Olbermann asserted that he had made statements to Stelter before the article was published denying that he was a party to such a deal, or that there was such a deal between NBC and Fox News, or that any NBC executive had asked him to change Countdown's content. Olbermann maintained that he had stopped joking about O'Reilly because of O'Reilly's attacks of George Tiller, and soon resumed his criticism of O'Reilly.[87][dead link]

Suspension

On October 28, 2010, days before the 2010 U.S. elections, Olbermann donated $2,400 each to three Democratic candidates for Congress: Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway, and Arizona Democratic Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabby Giffords.[88] Grijalva had appeared on Olbermann's show immediately before Olbermann mailed the donations. In response, on November 5, MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended him indefinitely without pay for violating a network policy which required employees to obtain approval from management before making political contributions.[89][90] An online petition calling for his reinstatement received over 250,000 signatures;[91] two days after the suspension began, Griffin announced that Olbermann would return to the air on November 9.[91]

Departure

On January 21, 2011, Olbermann announced his departure from MSNBC and that the episode would be the final episode of Countdown.[92][93] MSNBC issued a statement that it had ended its contract with Olbermann, with no further explanation. Additional reporting in the days immediately following suggested that the negotiations for the end of Olbermann's tenure at MSNBC had begun soon after the end of his suspension.[94]

Current TV and FOKNewsChannel.com

On February 8, 2011, it was announced that Olbermann had become the chief news officer for the public affairs channel Current TV and would begin hosting a one-hour prime time program on the network at 8 PM Eastern – the same time slot that Countdown had been on MSNBC.[95][96] On April 26, 2011, it was announced that Olbermann's new show would debut on June 20 and would be named Countdown with Keith Olbermann.[97] Olbermann was also heavily involved in the development of the rest of the network's news programming.[98] The deal also included an equity stake in Current TV.[99]

During the interim between shows, Olbermann launched an "official not-for-profit" blog called FOKNewsChannel.com, "FOK" being an abbreviation for "Friends of Keith". The blog featured political commentaries by Olbermann—including viral video versions of Countdown's "Special Comment" and "Worst Person" segments, as well as photographs of his outings at professional baseball games.[100] On May 29, 2011, the FOKNewsChannel.com domain redirected to the Current website promoting the June 20 launch.[101]

Olbermann was fired from Current TV on March 30, 2012. In a statement from Current TV, they stated that "Current was [...] 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." Olbermann released his own statement, apologizing for "the failure of Current TV" and "that the claims against me implied in Current's statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently."[102] The two parties sued each other over Olbermann's firing. On March 12, 2013, it was announced that Olbermann settled his $50 million legal claim. In a joint statement, Olbermann and Current TV said: "The parties are pleased to announce that a settlement has occurred, and that the terms are confidential. Nothing more will be disclosed regarding the settlement."[103] According to Politico, Olbermann's professional reputation suffered greatly as a result of his dispute with Current, which accused Olbermann of making "material breaches of his contract, including the failure to show up at work, sabotaging the network and attacking Current and its executives." Purportedly, despite actively shopping other networks for offers, Olbermann was unable to find a outlet interested in hiring him. According to Politico, the fact Olbermann had been rendered unemployable as a result of the dispute, factored heavily during settlement negotiations between his attorneys and representatives from CurrentTV.[104]

The Closer with Keith Olbermann/The Resistance

On September 12, 2016, GQ magazine announced that Olbermann would, as a special correspondent, host a web series covering the 2016 US Presidential Election. The series, titled The Closer with Keith Olbermann, aired twice weekly on GQ.com.[13] It was retitled The Resistance after Donald Trump's victory.[105] As of March 2017, it had nearly 170 million views on GQ's YouTube and Facebook.[106] In mid-October 2017, Penguin Random House issued a hardcover book by Olbermann, Trump is F*cking Crazy (This is Not a Joke), consisting of 50 essays based on The Resistance commentaries.[107] On November 27, 2017, in episode 147 of The Resistance, Olbermann announced his retirement from political commentary, citing his belief that "this ... presidency of Donald John Trump will end prematurely and end soon, and I am thus also confident that this is the correct moment to end this series of commentaries".[108]

Countdown with Keith Olbermann Podcast

On August 1, 2022, Olbermann began producing and hosting a weekday podcast titled "Countdown with Keith Olbermann", for iHeart Media.[109] It usually consists of a similar five block show from the TV days with three blocks changed out. The main, a dog in need, a headlines section, worst person, a sports rundown and the number one story either being a story of Olbermann's (usually his experience in the news media) or a short story from James Thurber on Fridays.

Acting

Olbermann has made several acting appearances either as himself or simply as a sports/newscaster, most notably as Tom Jumbo-Grumbo (a blue whale newscaster on the MSNBSea network) in several episodes of BoJack Horseman.[110][111][112]

Political positions

Viewpoints

Although it began as a traditional newscast, Countdown with Keith Olbermann eventually adopted an opinion-oriented format. In a Countdown interview with Al Franken on October 25, 2005, Olbermann noted that in 2003, after having Janeane Garofalo and Franken on his show, a vice president of MSNBC had questioned him on inviting "liberals" on consecutive nights, contrasting that occurrence to the apparent ideological latitude he enjoyed at the time of the second Franken interview.[113]

In January 2007, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz wrote that Olbermann was "position[ing] his program as an increasingly liberal alternative to The O'Reilly Factor."[114] Much of the program featured harsh criticism of prominent Republicans and right-leaning figures, including those who worked for or supported the George W. Bush Administration, 2008 Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain and running mate Governor Sarah Palin,[72][115] and rival news commentator Bill O'Reilly, whom Olbermann has routinely dubbed the "Worst Person in the World".[4]

The October 2007 edition of Playboy carried an Olbermann interview in which he stated, "Al Qaeda really hurt us, but not as much as Rupert Murdoch has hurt us, particularly in the case of Fox News. Fox News is worse than Al Qaeda — worse for our society. It's as dangerous as the Ku Klux Klan ever was."[116]

In November 2007, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph placed Olbermann at No. 67 on their Top 100 list of most influential US liberals. It said that he used his MSNBC show to promote "an increasingly strident liberal agenda." It added that he would be "a force on the Left for some time to come."[117] Avoiding ideological self-labeling, Olbermann described his reporting in 2006 to Salon.com, "I don't think in these issues that I'm a liberal; I think that I'm an American. I think I'm acting almost as a historian on these particular things".[4] During the 2008 Democratic Party primaries, Olbermann frequently chastised presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton for her campaign tactics against her principal opponent, Senator Barack Obama, and made her the subject of two of his "special comments".[118][119] Olbermann has also posted on the liberal blog Daily Kos.[120]

Before the 2010 Massachusetts special election, Olbermann called Republican candidate Scott Brown "an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, Tea Bagging supporter of violence against women, and against politicians with whom he disagrees".[121] This was criticized by his colleague Joe Scarborough, who called the comments "reckless" and "sad".[122] Yael T. Abouhalkah of the Kansas City Star said that Olbermann "crossed the line in a major way with his comments".[123] The next night, Olbermann chose to "double down", as The Huffington Post's Danny Shea described it,[124] on his criticism of Brown by adding the word "sexist" to his original description of the Republican candidate. Jon Stewart criticized Olbermann about this attack on his show, The Daily Show, by noting that it was "the harshest description of anyone I've ever heard uttered on MSNBC". Following Stewart's critique, Olbermann apologized by noting, "I have been a little over the top lately. Point taken. Sorry."[124]

Olbermann accused the Tea Party movement of being racist due to what he views as a lack of racial diversity at the events, using photos that show overwhelmingly white crowds attending the rallies. In response, the Dallas Tea Party invited him to attend one of their events and also criticized his network for a lack of racial diversity, pointing out that an online banner of MSNBC personalities that appears on the website shows only white personalities. Olbermann declined the invitation, citing his father's prolonged ill health and hospitalization and stated that the network has minority anchors, contributors and guests.[125]

In October 2020, Olbermann called for supporters and what he described as "enablers" of Donald Trump, including United States Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and conservative political commentator Sean Hannity, to be "prosecuted" and "removed from our society".[126][127] Additionally. Olbermann labeled Trump "a terrorist" and called his supporters "a blight that will be with us for generations", further stating that Trump's "only barely-human delight comes from the morons in the crowd."[128]

Criticism of the Bush administration

In Olbermann's "Special Comment" segment on July 3, 2007, he called George W. Bush's commutation of Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence the "last straw" and called for the resignation of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.[129] On his February 14, 2008, "Special Comments" segment, Olbermann castigated Bush for threatening to veto an extension of the Protect America Act unless it provided full immunity from lawsuits to telecom companies.[130] During the same commentary, Olbermann called Bush a fascist.[130] In a special comment on May 14, 2008, Olbermann criticized Bush for announcing that he had stopped playing golf in honor of American soldiers who died in the Iraq War. He stated that Bush never should have started the war in the first place, and he accused Bush of dishonesty and war crimes.[6]

Personal life

Olbermann suffers from a mild case of celiac disease,[131] as well as restless legs syndrome.[6] In August 1980, he also suffered a head injury while leaping onto a New York City Subway train.[132] This head injury permanently upset his equilibrium, resulting in his avoidance of driving.[6] Along with Bob Costas, he supports the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation as an honorary board member.[133]

Olbermann's father, Theodore, died on March 13, 2010, of complications from colon surgery the previous September. His mother had died several months before.[134] Olbermann had cited the need to spend time with his father for taking a leave of absence shortly before his father's death, occasionally recording segments to air at the beginning of the shows which Lawrence O'Donnell guest hosted in his absence, giving his views on the state of the American health care system and updating viewers on his father's condition.[135]

Olbermann is a dedicated baseball fan and historian of the sport, with membership in the Society for American Baseball Research.[136] In 1973, when he was 14 years old, The Card Memorabilia Associates (TCMA) published his book The Major League Coaches: 1921–1973. The September issue of Beckett Sports Collectibles Vintage included a T206 card that depicted Olbermann in a 1905-era New York Giants uniform.[137] He argues that New York Giants baseball player Fred Merkle has been unduly criticized for his infamous baserunning mistake.[138][a][dead link] He contributed the foreword to More Than Merkle, a book requesting amnesty for "Merkle's Boner". Olbermann was also one of the founders of the first experts' fantasy baseball league, the USA Today Baseball Weekly League of Alternative Baseball Reality, and he gave the league its nickname "LABR".[139] Olbermann wrote the foreword to the 2009 Baseball Prospectus Annual.[140] In March 2009, Olbermann began a baseball-related blog entitled Baseball Nerd. He has also written a series of articles on baseball cards for the Sports Collectors Digest.[141]

Career timeline

Publications

  • The Major League Coaches: 1921–1973 (Card Memorabilia Associates, 1973).
  • The Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter (Atria, 1997) (coauthor: Dan Patrick). ISBN 0-671-00918-4.
  • The Worst Person in the World and 202 Strong Contenders (Wiley, September 2006). ISBN 0-470-04495-0.
  • Truth and Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration's War on American Values (Random House, December 2007). ISBN 978-1-4000-6676-6.
  • Pitchforks and Torches: The Worst of the Worst, from Beck, Bill, and Bush to Palin and Other Posturing Republicans (Wiley, October 25, 2010). ISBN 0-470-61447-1.
  • Trump Is F*cking Crazy: (This Is Not a Joke) (Blue Rider Press, October 17, 2017) ISBN 978-0-525-53386-3.

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ See video: The Fred Merkle Story on YouTube

References

  1. ^ a b Olbermann, Keith; Patrick, Dan (1997). The Big Show. Pocket Books. p. 33. ISBN 0-671-00918-4. JANUARY 27, 1959: Keith Theodore Olbermann born in New York City, to startled and consistently head-shaking parents.
  2. ^ Joe Garofoli (February 9, 2011). "Olbermann gets prime-time show on Gore's network". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Carter, Bill (July 11, 2006). "MSNBC's Star Carves Anti-Fox Niche". The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c Koppelman, Alex (September 11, 2006). "The Olbermann Factor". Salon.com.
  5. ^ Binelli, Mark (March 8, 2007). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 25, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
    Lisheron, Mark (February–March 2007). . American Journalism Review. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Boyer, Peter J. (June 23, 2008). "The Political Scene: One Angry Man". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  7. ^ a b Rodrick, Stephen (April 16, 2007). "Limbaugh for Lefties". New York. Retrieved October 30, 2008.
  8. ^ Frager, Ray (April 20, 2007). "For NBC, Olbermann Will Use His Political, ESPN Play Books". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved February 1, 2017. See also Gold, Matea (February 19, 2009). "MSNBC Viewers Lobby For a Liberal Host". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2017. and Kurtz, Howard (April 1, 2009). "MSNBC Signs Liberal Radio Host Ed Schultz to Be Its 6 O'Clock Anchor". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2017. and Kurtz, Howard (September 1, 2008). "At MSNBC, A Liberal Supply Of Sharp Elbows". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 1, 2017..
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External links

  • Olbermann YouTube channel
  • Keith Olbermann on Twitter
  • Keith Olbermann's blog on The Daily Kos
  • Texting Keith Olbermann – Olbermann and texting relationship with BBC journalist Ross Atkins over several years
  • Baseball Nerd, Olbermann's Major League Baseball blog
  • Biography at TV Guide
  • Appearances on C-SPAN
    • C-SPAN Q&A interview with Olbermann, March 12, 2006
  • Keith Olbermann on Charlie Rose
  • Keith Olbermann at IMDb
  • Texting Keith Olbermann—A BBC radio series on BBC News anchor Ros Atkins' friendship with Olbermann
Media offices
New creation Chief News Officer, Current TV
2011–2012 		Succeeded by

January 17, 2024
keith, olbermann, olbermann, redirects, here, 2013, sports, talk, show, olbermann, series, keith, theodore, olbermann, born, january, 1959, american, sports, political, commentator, writer, olbermann, spent, first, years, career, sports, journalism, sports, co. Olbermann redirects here For his 2013 sports talk show see Olbermann TV series Keith Theodore Olbermann ˈ oʊ l b er m e n born January 27 1959 is an American sports and political commentator and writer Olbermann spent the first 20 years of his career in sports journalism He was a sports correspondent for CNN and for local TV and radio stations in the 1980s winning the Best Sportscaster award from the California Associated Press three times He co hosted ESPN s SportsCenter from 1992 to 1997 From 1998 to 2001 he was a producer and anchor for Fox Sports Net and a host for Fox Sports coverage of Major League Baseball Keith OlbermannOlbermann in 2008BornKeith Theodore Olbermann 1 1959 01 27 January 27 1959 age 64 New York City U S Alma materCornell University B S OccupationsSports announcerbroadcast journalistpolitical commentatorYears active1980s presentTelevisionCountdown with Keith Olbermann 2003 2011 2011 2012 SportsCenter 1992 1997 2017 2020 Football Night in America 2007 2010 Olbermann 2013 2015 The Resistance with Keith Olbermann 2016 2017 Political partyDemocraticAwardsThree Edward R Murrow Awards 2 Websitetwitter wbr com wbr keitholbermannFrom March 2003 to January 2011 Olbermann hosted the weeknight political commentary program Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC He received attention for his pointed criticism of American conservative and right wing politicians and public figures 3 4 5 6 7 Although he has frequently been described as a liberal 8 he has often rejected being labelled politically stating I m not a liberal I m an American 9 From 2011 to March 30 2012 Olbermann was the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of a Current TV program also called Countdown with Keith Olbermann 10 11 From July 2013 until July 2015 he hosted a late afternoon show on ESPN2 and TSN2 called Olbermann 12 as well as TBS s Major League Baseball postseason coverage From September 2016 until November 2017 he hosted a web series for GQ titled The Closer with Keith Olbermann covering the 2016 U S presidential election later renamed The Resistance with Keith Olbermann after the victory of Donald Trump 13 In January 2018 Olbermann returned to ESPN s SportsCenter program expanding in May to some baseball play by play work On October 6 2020 he again resigned from ESPN to start a political commentary program on his YouTube channel 14 15 On August 1 2022 Olbermann relaunched Countdown with Keith Olbermann as a daily podcast with iHeartRadio 16 It is described as a news driven show featuring his trademark Special Comment political analysis The Worst Persons in the World segment and readings from the works of the humorist James Thurber Contents 1 Early life 2 Sports broadcasting 2 1 ESPN 2 2 Post SportsCenter 2 3 Return to and departure from ESPN 2 4 The Ringer 2 5 Third tenure with ESPN 3 News journalism 3 1 Countdown with Keith Olbermann 3 1 1 Feud with Bill O Reilly 3 1 2 Suspension 3 1 3 Departure 3 2 Current TV and FOKNewsChannel com 3 3 The Closer with Keith Olbermann The Resistance 3 4 Countdown with Keith Olbermann Podcast 4 Acting 5 Political positions 5 1 Viewpoints 5 2 Criticism of the Bush administration 6 Personal life 7 Career timeline 8 Publications 9 See also 10 Explanatory notes 11 References 12 External linksEarly lifeOlbermann was born January 27 1959 in New York City 1 17 the son of Marie Katherine nee Charbonier 18 a preschool teacher and Theodore Olbermann a commercial architect 6 He is of German ancestry 19 Olbermann and his younger sister Jenna b 1968 20 were raised in a Unitarian household 21 in the town of Hastings on Hudson 22 in Westchester New York He attended the Hackley School a private Ivy League Preparatory school 6 7 in nearby Tarrytown Olbermann became a devoted fan of baseball at a young age a love he inherited from his mother who was a lifelong New York Yankees fan 18 As a teenager he often wrote about baseball card collecting and appeared in many sports card collecting periodicals of the mid 1970s He is also referenced in Sports Collectors Bible a 1979 book by Bert Sugar which is considered one of the important early books for trading card collectors 23 While at Hackley Olbermann began his broadcasting career as a play by play announcer for WHTR After graduating from Hackley in 1975 he enrolled at Cornell University at the age of 16 24 At college Olbermann served as sports director for WVBR a student run commercial radio station in Ithaca 24 Olbermann graduated from Cornell University s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in 1979 with a BS in communication 25 26 27 Sports broadcastingOlbermann began his professional career at UPI and the RKO Radio Network before joining then nascent CNN in 1981 28 Among the early stories he covered was the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid including the Miracle on Ice 24 In the early to mid 1980s he was a sportscaster on the old WNEW 1130 AM radio station in New York City In 1984 he briefly worked as a sports anchor at WCVB TV in Boston before heading to Los Angeles to work at KTLA and KCBS His work there earned him 11 Golden Mike Awards 29 and he was named best sportscaster by the California Associated Press three times 30 better source needed ESPN In 1992 Olbermann joined ESPN s SportsCenter a position he held until 1997 with the exception of a period from 1993 to 1994 when he was at ESPN2 He joined ESPN2 as its marquee personality to help launch the network 31 32 He often co hosted SportsCenter s 11 00 p m show with Dan Patrick the two becoming a popular anchor team In 1995 Olbermann won a Cable ACE award for Best Sportscaster 25 he later co authored a book with Patrick called The Big Show about their experiences working at SportsCenter he also said that the short lived ABC dramedy Sports Night was based on his time on SportsCenter with Patrick ABC having been co owned with ESPN since 1985 ESPN now produces all sports coverage on ABC which is branded ESPN on ABC 33 In his last year with KCBS before moving east to work for ESPN Olbermann s salary was 475 000 but started at just over 150 000 with ESPN 34 He made 350 000 at the end of his tenure at ESPN 35 Early in 1997 Olbermann was suspended for two weeks after he made an unauthorized appearance on The Daily Show on Comedy Central with then host and former ESPN colleague Craig Kilborn At one point in the show he referred to Bristol Connecticut ESPN s headquarters as a Godforsaken place 35 Later that year he abruptly left ESPN under a cloud of controversy apparently burning his bridges with the network s management 36 this began a long and drawn out feud between Olbermann and ESPN Between 1997 and 2007 incidents between the two sides included Olbermann s publishing an essay on Salon in November 2002 titled Mea Culpa in which he stated I couldn t handle the pressure of working in daily long form television and what was worse I didn t know I couldn t handle it 37 The essay told of an instance when his former bosses remarked he had too much backbone a claim that is literally true as Olbermann has six lumbar vertebrae instead of the normal five 37 In 2004 Olbermann was not included in ESPN s guest lineup for its 25th anniversary SportsCenter Reunion Week which saw Craig Kilborn and Charley Steiner return to the SportsCenter set In 2007 ten years after Olbermann s departure in an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman he said If you burn a bridge you can possibly build a new bridge but if there s no river any more that s a lot of trouble During the same interview Olbermann stated that he had recently learned that as a result of ESPN s agreeing to let him return to the airwaves on ESPN Radio he was banned from ESPN s main Bristol Connecticut campus 38 Post SportsCenter In 1999 Olbermann joined Fox Sports Net to be the star anchor for their sports news show Fox Sports News Primetime which was an ill fated competitor to SportsCenter 39 Olbermann later left that show to be an anchor and executive producer for The Keith Olbermann Evening News a sportscast similar to SportsCenter that aired weekly on Sunday evenings While at Fox he hosted the 2000 World Series as well as Fox Broadcasting s baseball Game of the Week In May and July 1999 Olbermann also guest starred ten times on Hollywood Squares 40 According to Olbermann he was demoted by Fox when he asked for a slight reduction in duties for health reasons and then was fired from Fox in 2001 after reporting on rumors that Rupert Murdoch whose News Corporation owns Fox was planning on selling the Los Angeles Dodgers 41 Olbermann characterized the demotion as blackmail 42 When asked about Olbermann Murdoch said I fired him He s crazy 43 44 In 2004 Olbermann remarked Fox Sports was an infant trying to stand in comparison to ESPN but on the broadcast side there was no comparison ESPN was the bush leagues 24 After Olbermann left Fox Sports in 2001 he provided twice daily sports commentary on the ABC Radio Network reviving the Speaking of Sports and Speaking of Everything segments begun by Howard Cosell 45 In 2005 Olbermann made a return to ESPN Radio when he began co hosting an hour of the syndicated Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio a tenure that lasted until Patrick left ESPN on August 17 2007 46 Olbermann and Patrick referred to this segment as The Big Show just as their book was known Patrick often introduced Olbermann with the tagline saving the democracy a nod to his work on Countdown On April 16 2007 Olbermann was named co host of Football Night in America NBC s NFL pre game show that precedes their Sunday Night NFL game a position which reunited him in 2008 with his former SportsCenter co anchor Dan Patrick Olbermann left the show prior to the start of the 2010 season 47 Shortly before rejoining ESPN Olbermann signed a contract with TBS to host the studio show portions of its coverage of the Division Series and National League Championship Series He replaced Matt Winer who had been in this role since his departure from ESPN to join the Turner Sports family and was originally supposed to host the show with TBS Dennis Eckersley Instead Eckersley was sent to join Don Orsillo and Buck Martinez to call the Detroit Oakland series TBS later hired Dirk Hayhurst Pedro Martinez and Mark DeRosa to provide analysis Tom Verducci also joined the studio crew as he was replaced by Rachel Nichols as a field reporter 48 Return to and departure from ESPN Main article Olbermann TV series It was announced on July 17 2013 that Olbermann would host his own one hour nightly show on ESPN2 The two year contract would allow him to deviate from the topic of sports into realms such as pop culture and current events 49 as well as politics which was a right Olbermann claimed he did not intend to exercise 50 Olbermann was suspended by ESPN in 2015 for the week following Penn State University s annual philanthropy THON due to a Twitter exchange he had with Penn State supporters 51 THON is the world s largest student run philanthropy raising over 160 million for pediatric cancer research since 1977 In the Twitter exchange Olbermann stated PSU students are pitiful Later prior to apologizing Olbermann stated I d like to thank the students and alums of Penn State for proving my point about the mediocrity of their education and ethics 52 53 54 55 Olbermann apologized on his program upon his return March 2 but noted I m much more sorry about batting practice i e trolling or cyber bullying So for me batting practice ends 56 In July 2015 ESPN announced that it would be Olbermann s last month with the network ESPN said that it was a business decision to move in another direction 57 The Ringer In 2016 Olbermann wrote an article for Bill Simmons company The Ringer after Muhammad Ali s death 58 Third tenure with ESPN In January 2018 Olbermann returned to ESPN once again presenting occasional commentaries on SportsCenter throughout the first half of 2018 59 In May 2018 Olbermann s role at ESPN expanded to include a return to the role of SportsCenter host and the addition of occasional ESPN Major League Baseball play by play 60 News journalismIn 1997 Olbermann left ESPN to host a prime time show on MSNBC The Big Show with Keith Olbermann ESPN objected to the use of the title 35 The news driven program with substantial discussion relied on Olbermann to carry the 8 00 9 00 PM hour 35 The show typically covered three or four topics in a one hour broadcast Olbermann also hosted two Sunday editions of NBC Nightly News and once co anchored a Saturday edition of the Today show 61 During that period Olbermann along with Hannah Storm also co hosted NBC Sports pre game coverage of the MLB 1997 World Series Olbermann became frustrated as his show was consumed by the Monica Lewinsky scandal In 1998 he stated that his work at MSNBC would make me ashamed make me depressed make me cry 36 Olbermann left MSNBC for Fox Sports Net shortly thereafter After leaving Fox Sports in 2001 Olbermann returned once more to news journalism In 2003 his network won an Edward R Murrow Award for writing on the Keith Olbermann Speaking of Everything show In addition Olbermann wrote a weekly column for Salon com from July 2002 until early 2003 62 worked for CNN as a freelance reporter 24 and was a fill in for newscaster Paul Harvey 63 64 Olbermann revived his association with MSNBC in 2003 briefly as a substitute host on Nachman and as an anchor for the network s coverage of the war in Iraq Countdown with Keith Olbermann Main article Countdown with Keith Olbermann Olbermann s own show Countdown debuted on MSNBC on March 31 2003 in the 8 p m ET time slot previously held by programs hosted by Phil Donahue and briefly Lester Holt Countdown s format per its name involved Olbermann ranking the five biggest news stories of the day or sometimes stories my producers force me to cover as Olbermann put it This was done in numerically reverse order counting down with the first story shown being ranked fifth but apparently the most important The first few stories shown were typically oriented toward government politics and world events the segments ranked numbers two and one were typically of a lighter fare than the preceding segments These lighter stories sometimes involved celebrities sports and regularly and somewhere in the middle the bizarre in a segment he called Oddball Opinions on each were offered by Olbermann and guests interviewed during the segment Olbermann had been criticized for only having guests that agree with his perspective Former Los Angeles Times television critic Howard Rosenberg stated that Countdown is more or less an echo chamber in which Olbermann and like minded bobbleheads nod at each other 65 On October 13 2004 Olbermann launched Bloggermann his Countdown blog hosted on MSNBC s website 66 Olbermann used the open format of the blog to expand on facts or ideas alluded to in the broadcast to offer personal musings and reactions However in February 2007 Olbermann launched a new blog The News Hole In a technique similar to that of former CBS News anchor Walter Cronkite in connection to the Iran Hostage Crisis 67 for the last six years of the program Olbermann closed every show by announcing the number of days passed since President George W Bush had declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq under a banner that read Mission Accomplished May 1 2003 Olbermann would then crumple up his notes throwing them at the camera and saying Good night and good luck echoing another former CBS newsman Edward R Murrow Yet Olbermann himself discounted this gesture to his hero as presumptuous and a feeble tribute 68 On February 16 2007 MSNBC reported that Olbermann had signed a four year extension on his contract with MSNBC for Countdown which also provided for his hosting of two Countdown specials a year to be aired on NBC as well as for his occasional contribution of essays on NBC s Nightly News with Brian Williams 69 Olbermann co anchored with Chris Matthews MSNBC s coverage of the death of fellow NBC News employee Tim Russert on June 13 2008 70 He presented a tribute along with several fellow journalists in honor of Russert 71 During the 2008 U S presidential election Olbermann co anchored MSNBC s coverage with Chris Matthews until September 7 2008 when they were replaced by David Gregory after complaints from both outside and inside of NBC that they were making partisan statements 72 This apparent conflict of interest had been an issue as early as May 2007 when Giuliani campaign officials complained about his serving in dual roles as both a host and a commentator 73 Despite this Countdown was broadcast both before and after each of the presidential and vice presidential debates and Olbermann and Matthews joined Gregory on MSNBC s Election Day coverage 74 Olbermann and Matthews also led MSNBC s coverage of the inauguration of President Barack Obama 75 76 In November 2008 it was announced that Olbermann had signed a four year contract extension worth an estimated 30 million 77 Feud with Bill O Reilly After beginning Countdown s Worst Person in the World segment in July 2005 Olbermann repeatedly awarded Bill O Reilly host of The O Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel the dubious honor 3 The feud between the anchors originated with Olbermann s extensive coverage of a 2004 sexual harassment suit brought against O Reilly by former Fox News Channel producer Andrea Mackris during which Olbermann asked Countdown viewers to fund the purchase of lurid audio tapes allegedly held by Mackris 78 79 In 2008 O Reilly decided to avoid mentioning Olbermann s name on the air and once cut off a caller who mentioned Olbermann 80 O Reilly has also criticized MSNBC s news commentary and political coverage without ever specifically mentioning Olbermann 3 81 82 The rivalry continued when in 2006 at Television Critics Association in California Olbermann donned a mask of O Reilly and made a Nazi salute leading to a letter of protest from the Anti Defamation League 83 84 85 In an article on perhaps the fiercest media feud of the decade The New York Times Brian Stelter noted that in early June 2009 the combat between the two hosts seemed to have abruptly ended as a result of instructions filtered down to Olbermann and O Reilly from the chief executives of their respective networks 86 On the August 3 2009 edition of Countdown Olbermann asserted that he had made statements to Stelter before the article was published denying that he was a party to such a deal or that there was such a deal between NBC and Fox News or that any NBC executive had asked him to change Countdown s content Olbermann maintained that he had stopped joking about O Reilly because of O Reilly s attacks of George Tiller and soon resumed his criticism of O Reilly 87 dead link Suspension On October 28 2010 days before the 2010 U S elections Olbermann donated 2 400 each to three Democratic candidates for Congress Kentucky Senate candidate Jack Conway and Arizona Democratic Representatives Raul Grijalva and Gabby Giffords 88 Grijalva had appeared on Olbermann s show immediately before Olbermann mailed the donations In response on November 5 MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended him indefinitely without pay for violating a network policy which required employees to obtain approval from management before making political contributions 89 90 An online petition calling for his reinstatement received over 250 000 signatures 91 two days after the suspension began Griffin announced that Olbermann would return to the air on November 9 91 Departure On January 21 2011 Olbermann announced his departure from MSNBC and that the episode would be the final episode of Countdown 92 93 MSNBC issued a statement that it had ended its contract with Olbermann with no further explanation Additional reporting in the days immediately following suggested that the negotiations for the end of Olbermann s tenure at MSNBC had begun soon after the end of his suspension 94 Current TV and FOKNewsChannel com On February 8 2011 it was announced that Olbermann had become the chief news officer for the public affairs channel Current TV and would begin hosting a one hour prime time program on the network at 8 PM Eastern the same time slot that Countdown had been on MSNBC 95 96 On April 26 2011 it was announced that Olbermann s new show would debut on June 20 and would be named Countdown with Keith Olbermann 97 Olbermann was also heavily involved in the development of the rest of the network s news programming 98 The deal also included an equity stake in Current TV 99 During the interim between shows Olbermann launched an official not for profit blog called FOKNewsChannel com FOK being an abbreviation for Friends of Keith The blog featured political commentaries by Olbermann including viral video versions of Countdown s Special Comment and Worst Person segments as well as photographs of his outings at professional baseball games 100 On May 29 2011 the FOKNewsChannel com domain redirected to the Current website promoting the June 20 launch 101 Olbermann was fired from Current TV on March 30 2012 In a statement from Current TV they stated that Current was 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 Olbermann released his own statement apologizing for the failure of Current TV and that the claims against me implied in Current s statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently 102 The two parties sued each other over Olbermann s firing On March 12 2013 it was announced that Olbermann settled his 50 million legal claim In a joint statement Olbermann and Current TV said The parties are pleased to announce that a settlement has occurred and that the terms are confidential Nothing more will be disclosed regarding the settlement 103 According to Politico Olbermann s professional reputation suffered greatly as a result of his dispute with Current which accused Olbermann of making material breaches of his contract including the failure to show up at work sabotaging the network and attacking Current and its executives Purportedly despite actively shopping other networks for offers Olbermann was unable to find a outlet interested in hiring him According to Politico the fact Olbermann had been rendered unemployable as a result of the dispute factored heavily during settlement negotiations between his attorneys and representatives from CurrentTV 104 The Closer with Keith Olbermann The Resistance On September 12 2016 GQ magazine announced that Olbermann would as a special correspondent host a web series covering the 2016 US Presidential Election The series titled The Closer with Keith Olbermann aired twice weekly on GQ com 13 It was retitled The Resistance after Donald Trump s victory 105 As of March 2017 update it had nearly 170 million views on GQ s YouTube and Facebook 106 In mid October 2017 Penguin Random House issued a hardcover book by Olbermann Trump is F cking Crazy This is Not a Joke consisting of 50 essays based on The Resistance commentaries 107 On November 27 2017 in episode 147 of The Resistance Olbermann announced his retirement from political commentary citing his belief that this presidency of Donald John Trump will end prematurely and end soon and I am thus also confident that this is the correct moment to end this series of commentaries 108 Countdown with Keith Olbermann Podcast On August 1 2022 Olbermann began producing and hosting a weekday podcast titled Countdown with Keith Olbermann for iHeart Media 109 It usually consists of a similar five block show from the TV days with three blocks changed out The main a dog in need a headlines section worst person a sports rundown and the number one story either being a story of Olbermann s usually his experience in the news media or a short story from James Thurber on Fridays ActingOlbermann has made several acting appearances either as himself or simply as a sports newscaster most notably as Tom Jumbo Grumbo a blue whale newscaster on the MSNBSea network in several episodes of BoJack Horseman 110 111 112 Political positionsViewpoints Although it began as a traditional newscast Countdown with Keith Olbermann eventually adopted an opinion oriented format In a Countdown interview with Al Franken on October 25 2005 Olbermann noted that in 2003 after having Janeane Garofalo and Franken on his show a vice president of MSNBC had questioned him on inviting liberals on consecutive nights contrasting that occurrence to the apparent ideological latitude he enjoyed at the time of the second Franken interview 113 In January 2007 The Washington Post s Howard Kurtz wrote that Olbermann was position ing his program as an increasingly liberal alternative to The O Reilly Factor 114 Much of the program featured harsh criticism of prominent Republicans and right leaning figures including those who worked for or supported the George W Bush Administration 2008 Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain and running mate Governor Sarah Palin 72 115 and rival news commentator Bill O Reilly whom Olbermann has routinely dubbed the Worst Person in the World 4 The October 2007 edition of Playboy carried an Olbermann interview in which he stated Al Qaeda really hurt us but not as much as Rupert Murdoch has hurt us particularly in the case of Fox News Fox News is worse than Al Qaeda worse for our society It s as dangerous as the Ku Klux Klan ever was 116 In November 2007 British newspaper The Daily Telegraph placed Olbermann at No 67 on their Top 100 list of most influential US liberals It said that he used his MSNBC show to promote an increasingly strident liberal agenda It added that he would be a force on the Left for some time to come 117 Avoiding ideological self labeling Olbermann described his reporting in 2006 to Salon com I don t think in these issues that I m a liberal I think that I m an American I think I m acting almost as a historian on these particular things 4 During the 2008 Democratic Party primaries Olbermann frequently chastised presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton for her campaign tactics against her principal opponent Senator Barack Obama and made her the subject of two of his special comments 118 119 Olbermann has also posted on the liberal blog Daily Kos 120 Before the 2010 Massachusetts special election Olbermann called Republican candidate Scott Brown an irresponsible homophobic racist reactionary ex nude model Tea Bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees 121 This was criticized by his colleague Joe Scarborough who called the comments reckless and sad 122 Yael T Abouhalkah of the Kansas City Star said that Olbermann crossed the line in a major way with his comments 123 The next night Olbermann chose to double down as The Huffington Post s Danny Shea described it 124 on his criticism of Brown by adding the word sexist to his original description of the Republican candidate Jon Stewart criticized Olbermann about this attack on his show The Daily Show by noting that it was the harshest description of anyone I ve ever heard uttered on MSNBC Following Stewart s critique Olbermann apologized by noting I have been a little over the top lately Point taken Sorry 124 Olbermann accused the Tea Party movement of being racist due to what he views as a lack of racial diversity at the events using photos that show overwhelmingly white crowds attending the rallies In response the Dallas Tea Party invited him to attend one of their events and also criticized his network for a lack of racial diversity pointing out that an online banner of MSNBC personalities that appears on the website shows only white personalities Olbermann declined the invitation citing his father s prolonged ill health and hospitalization and stated that the network has minority anchors contributors and guests 125 In October 2020 Olbermann called for supporters and what he described as enablers of Donald Trump including United States Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett and conservative political commentator Sean Hannity to be prosecuted and removed from our society 126 127 Additionally Olbermann labeled Trump a terrorist and called his supporters a blight that will be with us for generations further stating that Trump s only barely human delight comes from the morons in the crowd 128 Criticism of the Bush administration In Olbermann s Special Comment segment on July 3 2007 he called George W Bush s commutation of Lewis Scooter Libby s prison sentence the last straw and called for the resignation of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney 129 On his February 14 2008 Special Comments segment Olbermann castigated Bush for threatening to veto an extension of the Protect America Act unless it provided full immunity from lawsuits to telecom companies 130 During the same commentary Olbermann called Bush a fascist 130 In a special comment on May 14 2008 Olbermann criticized Bush for announcing that he had stopped playing golf in honor of American soldiers who died in the Iraq War He stated that Bush never should have started the war in the first place and he accused Bush of dishonesty and war crimes 6 Personal lifeOlbermann suffers from a mild case of celiac disease 131 as well as restless legs syndrome 6 In August 1980 he also suffered a head injury while leaping onto a New York City Subway train 132 This head injury permanently upset his equilibrium resulting in his avoidance of driving 6 Along with Bob Costas he supports the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation as an honorary board member 133 Olbermann s father Theodore died on March 13 2010 of complications from colon surgery the previous September His mother had died several months before 134 Olbermann had cited the need to spend time with his father for taking a leave of absence shortly before his father s death occasionally recording segments to air at the beginning of the shows which Lawrence O Donnell guest hosted in his absence giving his views on the state of the American health care system and updating viewers on his father s condition 135 Olbermann is a dedicated baseball fan and historian of the sport with membership in the Society for American Baseball Research 136 In 1973 when he was 14 years old The Card Memorabilia Associates TCMA published his book The Major League Coaches 1921 1973 The September issue of Beckett Sports Collectibles Vintage included a T206 card that depicted Olbermann in a 1905 era New York Giants uniform 137 He argues that New York Giants baseball player Fred Merkle has been unduly criticized for his infamous baserunning mistake 138 a dead link He contributed the foreword to More Than Merkle a book requesting amnesty for Merkle s Boner Olbermann was also one of the founders of the first experts fantasy baseball league the USA Today Baseball Weekly League of Alternative Baseball Reality and he gave the league its nickname LABR 139 Olbermann wrote the foreword to the 2009 Baseball Prospectus Annual 140 In March 2009 Olbermann began a baseball related blog entitled Baseball Nerd He has also written a series of articles on baseball cards for the Sports Collectors Digest 141 Career timelineUnited Press International Radio Network sports reporter 1979 142 RKO Radio Network sports reporter 1980 CNN sports reporter 1981 1984 WCVB TV Boston sports reporter 1984 KTLA TV Los Angeles sports director 1985 1988 KCBS TV Los Angeles sports director 1988 1992 SportsCenter co anchor ESPN 1992 1997 143 The Big Show anchor MSNBC 1997 1998 143 White House in Crisis anchor MSNBC 1997 1998 143 Major League Baseball on Fox studio host 1999 2000 143 National Sports Report co anchor Fox Sports Net 1999 2000 The Keith Olbermann Evening News anchor Fox Sports Net 2000 2001 143 Speaking of Sports and Speaking of Everything commentator ABC Radio 2001 Countdown with Keith Olbermann anchor MSNBC 2003 2011 143 The Dan Patrick Show co host ESPN Radio 2005 2007 Football Night in America co host NBC 2007 2010 Countdown with Keith Olbermann anchor Current TV 2011 2012 143 MLB on TBS studio host 2013 Olbermann host ESPN2 2013 2015 The Resistance with Keith Olbermann host GQ 2016 2017 144 SportsCenter anchor and ESPN Major League Baseball play by play 2018 2020 Countdown with Keith Olbermann host iHeart Radio 2022 present 109 PublicationsThe Major League Coaches 1921 1973 Card Memorabilia Associates 1973 The Big Show Inside ESPN s Sportscenter Atria 1997 coauthor Dan Patrick ISBN 0 671 00918 4 The Worst Person in the World and 202 Strong Contenders Wiley September 2006 ISBN 0 470 04495 0 Truth and Consequences Special Comments on the Bush Administration s War on American Values Random House December 2007 ISBN 978 1 4000 6676 6 Pitchforks and Torches The Worst of the Worst from Beck Bill and Bush to Palin and Other Posturing Republicans Wiley October 25 2010 ISBN 0 470 61447 1 Trump Is F cking Crazy This Is Not a Joke Blue Rider Press October 17 2017 ISBN 978 0 525 53386 3 See alsoNew Yorkers in journalismExplanatory notes See video The Fred Merkle Story on YouTubeReferences a b Olbermann Keith Patrick Dan 1997 The Big Show Pocket Books p 33 ISBN 0 671 00918 4 JANUARY 27 1959 Keith Theodore Olbermann born in New York City to startled and consistently head shaking parents Joe Garofoli February 9 2011 Olbermann gets prime time show on Gore s network San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved November 7 2011 a b c Carter Bill July 11 2006 MSNBC s Star Carves Anti Fox Niche The New York Times Retrieved November 24 2008 a b c Koppelman Alex September 11 2006 The Olbermann Factor Salon com Binelli Mark March 8 2007 The Most Honest Man in News Rolling Stone Archived from the original on February 25 2007 Retrieved February 3 2009 Lisheron Mark February March 2007 Is Keith Olbermann the Future of Journalism American Journalism Review Archived from the original on June 11 2010 Retrieved February 3 2009 a b c d e f Boyer Peter J June 23 2008 The Political Scene One Angry Man The New Yorker Retrieved November 16 2008 a b Rodrick Stephen April 16 2007 Limbaugh for Lefties New York Retrieved October 30 2008 Frager Ray April 20 2007 For NBC Olbermann Will Use His Political ESPN Play Books The Baltimore Sun Retrieved February 1 2017 See also Gold Matea February 19 2009 MSNBC Viewers Lobby For a Liberal Host The Los Angeles Times Retrieved February 1 2017 and Kurtz Howard April 1 2009 MSNBC Signs Liberal Radio Host Ed Schultz to Be Its 6 O Clock Anchor The Washington Post Retrieved February 1 2017 and Kurtz Howard September 1 2008 At MSNBC A Liberal Supply Of Sharp Elbows The Washington Post Retrieved February 1 2017 Carpenter Mackenzie December 11 2006 Anchor Olbermann counts on commentary to boost MSNBC s ratings Pittsburgh Post Gazette Retrieved November 16 2021 Marisa Guthrie June 7 2011 The Confessions of Keith Olbermann The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved November 8 2011 Keith Olbermann The Countdown To His New Show NPR June 7 2011 Olbermann Returning to ESPN2 with Daily Late Night Show Aug 26 ESPN Media Zone July 13 2013 Retrieved July 20 2013 a b Keith Olbermann bringing political commentary to GQ Business Insider Associated Press September 12 2016 Retrieved October 20 2016 Flood Brian October 7 2020 Keith Olbermann walks away from ESPN gig to bash Trump on daily YouTube show Fox News Retrieved October 31 2020 Strauss Ben Keith Olbermann leaves ESPN again to bring flamethrower to Trump on YouTube show The Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved October 31 2020 Spangler Todd July 25 2022 Keith Olbermann Is Bringing Countdown Back as Daily Podcast With iHeartMedia Variety Retrieved August 12 2022 H W Wilson Company 2009 Current Biography Yearbook Current Biography Yearbook Annual Cumulation H W Wilson Company ISSN 0084 9499 Retrieved July 11 2022 Keith Olbermann was born in New York City on January 27 1959 to Theodore Olbermann an architect and Marie Olbermann a preschool teacher a b Countdown with Keith Olbermann for April 6 2009 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News April 6 2009 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for August 2 2007 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News August 3 2007 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for June 5 2008 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News June 5 2008 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for June 24 2008 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News June 25 2008 Q amp A for March 12 2006 Q amp A C SPAN March 12 2006 Steinberg Shirley Kincheloe Joe 1997 Kinderculture The Corporate Construction of Childhood Westview Press p 205 ISBN 0 8133 2310 X a b c d e Finkelstein Eric November 29 2004 Counting Down With Keith Olbermann 79 Cornell Daily Sun Archived from the original on February 13 2012 a b Keith Olbermann Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News February 22 2007 Retrieved October 30 2008 Simpson Elizabeth Olbermann 79 entertains with Cornell anecdotes and political commentary Cornell Chronicle Retrieved September 12 2013 CALS Departments amp Majors Cornell University Retrieved September 12 2013 Cathy Ferkleheimer Redskins 1983 Super Bowl parade Keith Olbermann on CNN Archived from the original on December 12 2021 via YouTube Radio and Television News Association of Southern California Golden Mike Awards Winners www rtna org Archived from the original on October 5 2017 Retrieved November 7 2017 Keith Olbermann Biography IMDb com Retrieved October 30 2008 ESPN s Hip Kid Brother The New York Times October 1 1993 Keith Olbermann Bio NBC Sports archived from the original on January 25 2010 retrieved April 24 2010 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for May 7 2004 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News May 10 2004 James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales June 2011 Game On The Untold Stories and Furios Egos Behind the Rise of SportsCenter GQ Archived from the original on January 9 2012 Retrieved April 27 2012 a b c d Can Keith Fly Solo David A Kaplan Newsweek October 6 1997 dead link a b Hiestand Michael June 13 2005 Despite scorched bridges Olbermann rejoins ESPN USA Today Retrieved October 30 2008 a b Keith Olbermann November 17 2006 ESPN Mea culpa Salon com Retrieved February 23 2017 Keith and Dan with Dave YouTube June 27 2007 Fang Ken July 9 2015 The Keith Olbermann Timeline Keith Olbermann Filmography by TV series IMDb com Retrieved July 13 2010 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for July 9 2004 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News July 12 2004 Rupert Murdoch Blackmailed Keith Olbermann The Wire Business Insider July 13 2011 Archived from the original on May 15 2012 Peers Martin May 29 2008 Murdoch Obama s a Rock Star The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on December 7 2008 Retrieved October 30 2008 Olbermann Keith August 1 2011 How I was hired and fired by Rupert Murdoch Guardian Retrieved August 1 2011 Sandomir Richard January 3 2002 PLUS RADIO TV SPORTS Olbermann to Do Radio Commentaries New York Times Retrieved October 30 2008 Cherner Reid July 10 2007 Patrick to leave ESPN next career move unknown USA Today Retrieved October 30 2008 Shain Michael August 9 2010 Keith Olbermann dropped by Sunday Night Football New York Post Olbermann to host TBS postseason baseball studio show New York Post June 5 2013 Retrieved May 19 2022 Miller James Andrew July 17 2013 Olbermann Will Return To ESPN The New York Times Retrieved July 17 2013 Pierce Scott D July 25 2013 Keith Olbermann promises no politics on his new ESPN2 show The Salt Lake Tribune retrieved April 5 2016 Keith Olbermann Benched by ESPN For Comments About Penn State StateCollege com February 24 2015 archived from the original on February 25 2015 retrieved May 19 2022 Fallout Continues to Pile Up After Olbermann Rant Against Penn State statecollege com February 25 2015 archived from the original on February 26 2015 retrieved May 19 2022 ESPN suspends Keith Olbermann after a series of nasty tweets insulting Penn State students Business Insider February 24 2015 retrieved February 24 2015 ESPN Suspends Keith Olbermann For Penn State Tweets Deadspin February 24 2015 archived from the original on February 24 2015 retrieved February 24 2015 ESPN s Keith Olbermann taken off the air after fighting with Penn State fans on Twitter USA Today February 24 2015 archived from the original on February 24 2015 retrieved February 24 2015 LA Times Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on October 6 2012 Retrieved March 3 2015 Keith Olbermann s second tenure at ESPN comes to end after two years Sports Illustrated July 8 2015 Retrieved July 8 2015 Muhammad Ali Champion of the World June 4 2016 Keith Olbermann s again working with ESPN contributing to SportsCenter Awful Announcing January 31 2018 Retrieved July 14 2018 Josh Krulewitz May 25 2018 Keith Olbermann to Expand Multi Faceted ESPN Role ESPN Press Room U S Retrieved May 19 2022 A search of the Vanderbilt University Television News Archive shows that Olbermann anchored NBC Nightly News on April 12 1998 Easter Sunday and May 9 1998 On his Nightly News debut Olbermann led with coverage of the April 1998 Birmingham tornado and introduced stories about observances of Easter at the Vatican the Northern Ireland peace process and Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement among other subjects Index of Olbermann s Salon columns Salon com Archived from the original on September 29 2007 Retrieved August 14 2007 Good Happy Birthday to Paul Harvey who turns 90 Thursday Chicago Tribune September 3 2008 Archived September 14 2008 at the Wayback Machine Hinckley David January 4 2002 He picks up Cosell torch New York Daily News Retrieved January 21 2011 dead link Rosenberg Howard June 7 2008 Is Olbermann s snide act on MSNBC the future of TV news The Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 30 2008 Olbermann Keith October 13 2004 Welcome to Bloggerman NBC News Bliss Edward 1991 Now the News The Story of Broadcast Journalism Columbia University Press p 317 ISBN 0 231 04403 8 Keith Olbermann Olbermann Bloggermann August 30 2006 Feeling morally intellectually confused Although I presumptuously use his sign off each night in feeble tribute I have utterly no claim to the words of the exemplary journalist Edward R Murrow Keith Olbermann NBC agree on second term NBC News February 15 2007 Elber Lynn August 1 2008 Tim Russert s son to join NBC convention team USA Today Retrieved April 22 2010 Remembering Tim Russert NBC News February 15 2007 a b Kurtz Howard September 8 2008 MSNBC Drops Olbermann Matthews as News Anchors The Washington Post Retrieved October 30 2008 MSNBC s Olbermann seeks delicate balance David Bauder USA Today May 6 2007 How the Networks Covered Election Night Newsweek Politics Newsweek com Newsweek com Archived from the original on November 29 2008 Retrieved November 9 2008 Gold Matea January 12 2009 Despite bias charges MSNBC s Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews will lead inauguration coverage LA Times Retrieved February 3 2009 Stelter Brian January 20 2009 TV Decoder Watching the Inauguration The Caucus New York Times Retrieved February 3 2009 Olbermann s Deal Will Pay 30M Over Four Years MediaBistro November 11 2008 Archived from the original on May 24 2009 Retrieved November 11 2008 Hagan Joe Kolhatkar Sheelah October 31 2004 On Air Women Snub Mackris Olbermann Offers Cash The New York Observer Archived from the original on October 15 2008 Retrieved October 30 2008 Mackris complaint v O Reilly official document TheSmokingGun com October 13 2004 Olbermann banned from The O Reilly Factor NBC News July 11 2006 Retrieved June 27 2009 O Reilly Olbermann Polar Opposites of Campaign ABC News July 11 2006 Retrieved June 27 2009 dead link Carpenter Mackenzie December 12 2006 Anchor Olbermann counts on commentary to boost MSNBC s ratings The Pittsburgh Post Gazette Olbermann Dons O Reilly Mask at TV Meeting dead link AP Online Article July 23 2006 Burkeman Oliver News show feud boils over into open warfare www guardian co uk July 26 2006 Kurtz Howard A Gadfly With Buzz MSNBC s Olbermann Exercising the Right The Washington Post April 3 2006 Stelter Brian July 31 2009 Voices From Above Silence a Cable TV Feud The New York Times Retrieved August 2 2009 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for August 3 2009 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News August 4 2009 Montgomery David November 6 2010 MSNBC s Keith Olbermann suspended for contributing to 3 Democratic candidates The Washington Post Retrieved November 6 2010 Danny Shea November 5 2010 Keith Olbermann SUSPENDED From MSNBC Indefinitely Without Pay Huffington Post Stelter Brian Bill Carter November 6 2010 Keith Olbermann of MSNBC Suspended Over Donations The New York Times Retrieved November 6 2010 a b NBC Olbermann suspension ending Tuesday NBC News November 7 2010 Retrieved November 7 2010 Schwartz Carly January 21 2011 Keith Olbermann And MSNBC Announce They Are Parting Ways HuffingtonPost Retrieved January 21 2011 Keith Olbermann leaving MSNBC ends Countdown CBS News January 21 2011 Keith Olbermann The Rich Get Richer TMZ January 24 2011 Retrieved January 25 2011 Carter Bill Stelter Brian February 7 2011 Olbermann Said to Be Going to Current TV The New York Times Retrieved February 8 2011 Mirkinson Jack February 9 2011 Keith Olbermann Current TV Show Time 8 PM ET HuffingtonPost Retrieved February 9 2011 Current TV Unveils Name Debut Date For New Keith Olbermann Show PDF Current TV website San Francisco California April 26 2011 Archived from the original PDF on May 10 2011 Retrieved May 10 2011 Keith Olbermann Is Coming To Current TV Current TV announcement February 8 2011 Archived from the original on February 8 2011 Retrieved February 8 2011 Countdown with Keith Olbermann Current TV Archived February 8 2011 at the Wayback Machine Mirkinson Jack February 26 2011 FOK News Channel Keith Olbermann Website Launches The Huffington Post Retrieved April 4 2011 FOKNewsChannel com Archived from the original on March 28 2011 Retrieved April 1 2011 Keach Hagey March 30 2012 Keith Olbermann to file against Current TV POLITICO Keith Olbermann Settles 50 Million Current TV Lawsuit The Hollywood Reporter March 12 2013 Retrieved May 19 2022 Sources Olbermann s inability to get a job cited in Current TV settlement By DYLAN BYERS writing for Politico 1 Published March 14 2013 Retrieved December 9 2021 Olbermann Keith November 21 2016 Watch The Resistance with Keith Olbermann GQ Retrieved December 21 2016 Black Lee Bob April 2 2017 Keith Olbermann s The Closer and The Resistance have been viewed almost 170 million times on GQ s YouTube and Facebook Idea Insider Retrieved May 2 2017 Trump is F cking Crazy by Keith Olbermann PenguinRandomhouse com Retrieved November 18 2018 GQ November 27 2017 Trump is Finished The Resistance with Keith Olbermann GQ retrieved November 18 2018 a b Keith Olbermann to Host New Podcast on iHeartMedia The Hollywood Reporter July 25 2022 Retrieved September 7 2022 Tom Jumbo Grumbo Behind The Voice Actors Retrieved October 21 2016 Interviewing the Cornellians Behind BoJack Horseman The Cornell Daily Sun October 30 2015 Retrieved October 21 2016 Craig Kilborn voiced a cartoon character in a scene with Keith Olbermann Awful Announcing July 21 2015 Retrieved October 21 2016 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for October 25 2005 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News October 26 2005 Kurtz Howard January 15 2007 Bill O Reilly And NBC Shouting to Make Themselves Seen The Washington Post November 10 2008 Issue The Nation November 10 2008 Olbermann National Review September 11 2007 Retrieved November 1 2020 The most influential US liberals London The Daily Telegraph March 11 2007 Archived from the original on October 31 2007 Retrieved December 15 2007 Keith Olbermann rips Sen Clinton over Ferraro s comments The Roland Report Essence March 18 2008 Archived from the original on March 21 2008 Retrieved November 24 2008 Keith Olbermann Blasts Hillary Clinton Assassination Comment The Daily Voice May 24 2008 Archived from the original on December 8 2008 Retrieved November 24 2008 Follmer Max January 26 2008 Olbermann Blogging Regularly at DailyKos Huffington Post Retrieved October 2 2008 Simpson Jake January 20 2010 Olbermann Roasts Ex Nude Model Brown The Atlantic Archived from the original on February 8 2010 Retrieved January 22 2010 Barr Andy January 19 2010 Joe Scarborough Keith Olbermann is reckless Politico Retrieved January 22 2010 Abouhalkah Yael T January 20 2010 Keith Olbermann s disgusting comments Kansas City Star Archived from the original on January 23 2010 Retrieved January 22 2010 a b Shea Danny January 23 2010 Keith Olbermann Apologizes For Scott Brown Comment I Have Been A Little Over The Top Lately Huffington Post Retrieved July 13 2010 McCann Ian January 25 2010 Keith Olbermann turns down invitation to Saturday s Dallas Tea Party anniversary rally The Dallas Morning News Retrieved February 25 2010 Keith Olbermann Terrorist Trump And His Enablers And Supporters Must Be Removed From Our Society RealClearPolitics Barrabi Thomas October 9 2020 Keith Olbermann Amy Coney Barrett others should be prosecuted and removed from our society Fox News Ex ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann labels President Trump a terrorist and gets called out by Mitt Romney nj com October 13 2020 Olbermann Bush Cheney should resign NBC News July 3 2007 Retrieved November 9 2008 a b Countdown with Keith Olbermann for February 14 2008 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News February 15 2008 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for August 17 2004 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News August 17 2004 Countdown with Keith Olbermann for August 24 2009 Countdown with Keith Olbermann NBC News August 24 2009 Honorary Board Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Archived from the original on April 16 2008 Retrieved October 14 2008 Olbermann Keith March 13 2010 Baseball Nerd Theodore C Olbermann 1929 2010 Retrieved March 13 2010 Vogel Kenneth March 15 2010 Olbermann s father dies Politico Retrieved February 11 2021 Keith Olbermann March 1 2006 Baseball s greatest Ambassador Buck O Neil Keith Olbermann NBC News Retrieved September 2 2006 That Guy Olbermann s A Real Card Beckett Sports Collectibles Vintage August 15 2002 dead link Isaacs Stan 2002 Justice for Merkle Keith Olbermann s crusade helps salvage Merkle s rep TheColumnists com Archived from the original on September 13 2008 Retrieved October 30 2008 Keri Jonah February 14 2007 Tis the season to project stats ESPN Retrieved October 30 2008 Announcing the 2009 Baseball Prospectus Annual Goldman January 21 2009 Keith Olbermann Archive Sports Collectors Digest Archived from the original on February 11 2010 Retrieved February 17 2010 The Keith Olbermann Timeline July 9 2015 a b c d e f g Keith Olbermann IMDb com Retrieved October 30 2008 Trump is Finished YouTube November 27 2017 Retrieved November 28 2017 External linksKeith Olbermann at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Media from Commons nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote Olbermann YouTube channel Keith Olbermann on Twitter Keith Olbermann s blog on The Daily Kos Texting Keith Olbermann Olbermann and texting relationship with BBC journalist Ross Atkins over several years Baseball Nerd Olbermann s Major League Baseball blog Biography at TV Guide Appearances on C SPAN C SPAN Q amp A interview with Olbermann March 12 2006 Keith Olbermann on Charlie Rose Keith Olbermann at IMDb Texting Keith Olbermann A BBC radio series on BBC News anchor Ros Atkins friendship with OlbermannMedia officesNew creation Chief News Officer Current TV2011 2012 Succeeded byCenk Uygur Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Keith Olbermann amp oldid 1192274465, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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