Keith Olbermann Fired From Current TV, Replaced By Eliot Spitzer
- Posted on March 30, 2012 at 4:56pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Keith Olbermann has been fired from Current TV and will be replaced by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the network announced Friday.
Keith Olbermann has been fired from Current TV, the network announced Friday.
“We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet. We are more committed to those goals today than ever before,” network co-founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt wrote in a letter to viewers. “Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.”
Olberman’s dismissal comes less than a year after he was hired by the network, following his exit from MSNBC 14 months ago.
“Countdown with Keith Olbermann” will be replaced starting Friday night by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose CNN show was canceled last summer. Spitzer resigned from office in 2008 after he was implicated in a prostitution scandal. His show will be titled “Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer.”
“We are confident that our viewers will be able to count on Gov. Spitzer to deliver critical information on a daily basis,” the letter from Gore and Hyatt said.
The news comes after months of reported infighting between the famously difficult Olbermann and network bosses, which came to a public head in January after he apparently refused to host Current’s special election coverage amid ongoing production problems. At the time, Gore dismissed the dust-up, saying Olbermann was “fine” and that there were no plans for him to leave the network.
According to the New York Times, which first reported Olbermann’s firing, the decision to terminate his five-year, $50 million contract was unanimous among the network’s senior executives:
In January and February, Mr. Olbermann continued to miss many days of work, as he himself acknowledged on his popular Twitter feed. He attributed some of his absences to throat problems.
But Current considered some of those absences to be breaches of his contract, labeling them “unauthorized absences,” according to a person familiar with the matter, who insisted on anonymity because the executives involved had agreed not to comment on the record.
For instance, he took a vacation day on March 5, on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries, despite a warning from Current that it would constitute a breach of contract, according to the person.
On that same day, Mr. Hyatt stood by Mr. Olbermann in an interview with The New York Times, calling him unquestionably “the big gun in our line-up.” Referring to Current, Mr. Hyatt said, “it’s all on top of his shoulders.”
But behind the scenes, tensions were mounting and Current was adding new programs, in part as a hedge against the possibility of Mr. Olbermann’s departure. The interview with Mr. Hyatt came on the day that Current announced two simulcasts of morning radio shows, effectively tripling its hours of live political talk each weekday.
Following Current’s announcement, Olbermann released a blistering statement on Twitter, calling the claims against him “untrue” and vowing to take legal action against the network.
“In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out,” Olbermann said. “For now, it is important only to again acknowledge that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one. That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.”



















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Comments (345)
SHOESHINEBOY
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:20pmnow he can go over to Pravda, or move to Cuba, to help Fidddliee Dee..or..better yet..give a comrade hug to his pal Hugo..he is sick and needs a comrade hug…Comrade Obiee and Tingles and Shultz should create their own network..oh wait..it already exists..Pravda..the Communist Arm of the Soviet Union..(uhh..”“former””) sure.
Report Post »db321
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:32pmI hope MSNBC doesn’t stop with Mr. Poopie Pants – There are quite a few Marxist haters on MSNBC that need to go.
Report Post »Patriot Z
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:34pmif he did it would be the first time id feel sorry for the communists…actually with his track record he should…communism would be over inside a yr, by my figurin
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:49pm.
Report Post »Coming soon:
Keith and Rosie Show
Where will they land?
We know they never go away.
Secret Squirrel
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:50pm.
Report Post »It’s pretty bad when you are replaced by “client #9″
who was a disaster at CNN.
tradexpertbuysell
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:57pmHey maybe since they can’t silence Glenn Beck they have decided to fire Keith so Glenn might run out of good lampoon dialogues about the looney left.
In which case I say double down Al Gore, double down! One bozo clown down many more to go.
Report Post »ACLUHater
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:02pmHa ha ha ha…
Report Post »johnnylingo
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:21pmDo we get Spitzers Hookers as a bon us. Or Al Gorys massuse? Sounds like a quick reshuffling of the deck chairs on the Titanic. UGH
Report Post »spotcoon
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:28pmIt’s like scrapping sh_t off the sidewalk and find another huge pile of obama under it.
Report Post »teamarcheson
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:45pmYou Mean Client Number 9?
Spitzer, the one an only Spitzer of NY who has experience in the traffic of White Slavery. That Spitzer?
Report Post »Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:49pmI couldn’t have been more surprised if I had woke up with my head sewn to the carpet. And may I add…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA…………………HHHHHAAAAAA!
Report Post »Dstarr55
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:57pmSecret Squirrel, That was my thought as well – you must be pretty bad to be replaced by Eliot Spitzer. I guess the values of Current that Olbermann failed to uphold is upheld by an ex-governor who left office in disgrace after being part of a prostitution scandal and who couldn’t hold his own on CNN. Talk about replacing one loser for another. I guess that is why Current has the viewership it does (or better phrased, lack of viewership).
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:01pmOh no, say it ain’t so, no more Keeeef?
Maybe Glenn can find a spot for him on the BS of A.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:23pmeliot is going to be paired up with elena swallow
They will be called Spitzer Swallow
Report Post »toto
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:02pmReplacing him with Spitzer?? It’s laughable really, one total loser replacing another. Understand there is a lawsuit possible. What could be better than Olberman suing Gore! The only time I can remember when I will root for the lawyers to bleed them both dry.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:06pmI thought MSNBC was about the lowest news show one could go to. Then I heard about Al Gore’s Current TV when Olbermann got fired from MSNBC and joined Current TV.
Report Post »What is lower than these two shows? I don‘t know but I’m thinking it might be Satan TV or a position in the current White House staff.
Oh yea, Keith, you’re a nincompoop.
The-Monk
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:17pmSince Keith O was fired I guess he won’t be able to file for unemployment. He should be able to get food stamps though.
Report Post »HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa….
Sorry for the outburst…. I’m just so happy that 2 the most ultra-liberal, progressive, socialist, Marxist, communist news broadcasting stations in the US cannot stand working with Keith Olbermann.
I guess RTV is the next stop for KO after being KO’d from his last 2 jobs.
Miami
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:22pmI see him as Obama’s next spokesman/press secretary
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:23pmheheheheheheh!
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:37pmThis is proof positive that liberals are on the ropes! Conservatism is winning! I am living proof that truth will win you over!
Report Post »HuckleberryFriend
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:45pmMan, don’t you love it when your enemies fight amongst themselves? I wonder what kind of dirt he has on Gore’s ethics? Maybe some juicy climate stuff?
Report Post »PASSIONFORCHRIST
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:00pmTheir a PROGRESSIVE STATION, it’s in their letter. Letting this guy go isn’t going to fix that station, canceling it will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report Post »Stalinist from Balkan
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:21pmNazis agreeing with you on moving Keith to Cuba.
Report Post »83plus
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:25pmGood bye, see ya.
Report Post »jzs
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:47pmAhem… As one of the few liberals who post here I’d like to offer my opinion. First, I simply cannot stand to listen to Lawrence O’Donnell. Nor do I like Ed Schultz in general. Olberman is smarter than your average bear, humorous at times, and did a lot of great shows (I don’t have cable BTW, just watch youtube clips), but he’s a prima donna and often grated my nerves with his over-the-top outrage over minor things. Keep in mind I‘m a liberal here and I’m sorry if I’m offending the other liberals that visit here.
Rather than make comparisons to right wing hosts, I’ll just leave it right there. I’m neither sad nor surprised he got the boot.
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 10:21pmSo Keith was’nt Obamman enough
Report Post »Gore just Spitsered out a little Moore,
well is’nt that Rosie
TXPilot
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 10:55pmFired by a lying hypocrite and replaced by a pervert……..I think the chickens have come home to roost Keith….
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 11:53pm@JZSaul,
We are all well aware of the fact that you do not have cable, and that you get all your info from youtube and wiki.
You tell us that over and over and over.
But what’s this about you being a liberal?
Get outta here. Whooda thunkit.
So what’s the point of your post?
Are we supposed to have a better opinion of you and your marxist propaganda just because you claim to be averse to the evil axis of……… “journalists”? (Larry, Keith & Ed)
Seriously, what was the point?
Report Post »bookofdaniel
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:02am@JZS
Report Post »I think before long you will finally understand where conservatives are coming from. Matter of fact I think your whole opposition to conservatism is rooted in your underlying nature to conservatism. If you disagree. You might want to stop exposing yourself to conservatism. Because it will speak to your nature. And you will have to abide.
thepatriotdave
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:06amHehehehehehe… Best news all month!
Report Post »Taquoshi
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:21amThe interesting part is that K.O. can’t even claim that it was the conservatives that did him in, or blame it on Bush. This was Al Bore‘s project and he still couldn’t get along with the other team members.
Personally, I was wondering how long he would last, but actually, he exceeded my expectations. I gave him 13 months before he walked.
Report Post »3monkeysmomma
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:51amCurrent TV should feature an episode when Al Gore, Elliot Spizer and Olberman get launched into space taped to the outside of a rocket…now that I would watch!
Report Post »Cat
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 12:51amPeople
Report Post »Garbage in 24/7/365, garbage out 24/7/365
Turn your phuqing TVs off …
B_rad
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 1:44amWhat an outrage!! Keith’s viewers will not stand for this! They are organizing protests as we speak and will be occupying Current’s offices within the week…all 8 of them.
Seriously, the feel good story of the week.
Report Post »karencole
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 8:45amHe will be part of the Obama administration come Monday…..
Report Post »poorrichard09
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 8:50amMaybe he could go to a “ real” news outlet-like Al Jazeera! I‘ll bet he doesn’t have that smug look on his mug today. I mean, when AlGore can’t stand you, and to be replaced by disgraced whore monger Spitoon! hahahaha
Report Post »starman70
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 9:18amThat is why I have CURRENT TV blocked out on my TV. The constant array of Communist sympathizers and anti American commentary is enough to turn ones stomach!!!!!
Report Post »LookTowardsTheLight
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 11:23amKO would be perfect for the RT network.
Report Post »old white guy
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 11:53amdumping olberman for spitzer. it doesn’t get much funnier than that.
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 3:35pmCould be funnier, they could have the Spitzer, Swallow, Weiner Hour and then Skype with Rob Blagojevich from prison. Rosie O’donnell can be their on-site reporter.
Report Post »Falcon05dad
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 4:22pmIf its not the RT (Russia Today) channel, you might see him sign with Al Jazeera.
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 6:38pm$10 million a year for dummy like this. This means O’Riley makes close 100 million a years. One thing I have noticed with the Libs is that will cut their own mothers throat if she diagrees with them.
Report Post »turkey13
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 6:44pmI just woke up this guy spitzer is the Governor that was going to stop corruption and then got caught spending tax payers money on Hookers. I can’t believe they are repklacing Dumbo with a Dumbo. You can’t write a script like this.
Report Post »pavepaws
Posted on April 1, 2012 at 5:52amWhat’s left for this guy. Nothing. A hole. Serves him right.
Report Post »pavepaws
Posted on April 1, 2012 at 5:53amIt has to be a blow to one’s ego when Eliot Spitzer is chosen over you.
Report Post »azblazen
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:19pmThis is bad news for the 15 people who watch this jerk on Current TV,
Report Post »Beckisdelusional
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:41pmGood news for the 27 that read The Blaze lol!
Report Post »glad2bntx
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:50pmCurrent was up to 15?
Report Post »Not-So-Anonymous Lurker
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:57pm@Beckisdelusional
Actually a lot more than that read this website. Alexa rank is 276 in the U.S. Compare that to the Daily Kos which comes in at 704 in the U.S. and Huffington Post which comes in at 24 in the U.S.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:04pmActually BID
Over a billion page views in 18 months.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:58pm@Beckisdelusional
Report Post »If you want make that only 26 viewers you can always go away…. nincompoop.
NOTAMUSHROOM
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 9:03amLet’s see….I counted 75 screen names on the first page of comments under this story alone. Huh.
Report Post »Dr. Joel Fleischman
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 2:35pmBeckisdelusional aka Encinom
I think you meant to type in Daily Kos instead, moron.
Report Post »LookTowardsTheLight
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 8:52pm@Beckisdelusional
Don’t you just hate it when facts hit you over the head.
Report Post »RobMac68
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:17pmseeeeeee yaaaaaaa
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:29pmraaaaatheeeer nooooooot
Report Post »Papadoc
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:16pmReplacing Goofy with Scooby – - yeah, that’s a plan! So were Pee Wee Herman and Anthony Weiner already booked?
Report Post »Goldwaterite
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:01pmI think the Spitzer Weiner Hour would be a blast!
Report Post »shogun459
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:40pmIt’s the
Report Post »Swallow Weiner hour
Bill Rowland
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 5:56amThrow in Rosie O’Donnell and Rose Ann Barr and make it a panel discussion similar to The Five.
Just imagine 2 men who look like wimps and two women who look like stevedores calling each other names and pushing their outrageous political believes on each other.
Sounds like a Jerry Springer show to me!
OMG 2012
Report Post »Constructionist
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:14pmDon’t worry Keith… I bet Media Matters will make you a ‘senior correspondent’ in a heartbeat.
Report Post »Pat Alexander
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 8:27pmThis is just one step above being canned from The Home Shopping Network…
Report Post »biohazard23
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:12pmKeith who? What’s Current? Why should we care? :)
Report Post »jespasinthru
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:24pmYou remember Current, don’t you? It’s way down there in the Public Access wasteland that nobody watches, halfway between the local school board meeting and the fire & brimstone preacher with the ugly toupee.
Report Post »spirited
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:11pmDon’t worry Keith Olbermann; Thomas Roberts’ time slot may be available at MSNBC.
–Then again, empty-chair interviews or you yelling at yourself is a toss-up.
Either way, the current wave of audience-accepted bias, deception and hostility expressed by ‘journalists’ or political commentators can only last so long;
;$^> as in farewell, adios…bye-bye.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:25pmSPIRITED, I think that the nasty parting of ways between Olberman and BSNBC will be enough to keep him away from adding more stink to their future rants again. I believe one of the post above had it right about a possible job with Media Matters. I honestly think that everything Olberman has done to this point has been to pad his resume` for Media Matters all along. They might put up with his stadium sized ego for maybe six months. His moving on is becoming such an annual joke.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:27pmDang, forgot to mention: To add insult insult to injury, Olberman is being replaced by Spitzer! LOL Number 9………Number 9………Number 9……..
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:38pmLOL, can think of another applicable Beatles tune, We’re Fixing A Hole….where the rain came in…..
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:46pmThe word was Olberman was being far too big for his britches at Current. He was demanding “A list” production values from a network so under-viewed that there isn’t even a letter in the alphabet to rate it. I don’t believe this was a content clash, this was an ego clash. Also we must remember….the lefties behind Current are trying to grow the network (as it slides into oblivion). They have been seeking to put presidential debates on it in attempts to legitmize it. So far they’re getting failures and second stringers. Client 9 was fired from CNN for his low ratings. What will he bring to Current other than a lower salary demand than Olberman’s?
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:25pm@RJJinGadsden
“LOL, can think of another applicable Beatles tune, We’re Fixing A Hole…where the rain came in…”
HOLE…. Have Olbermann Legally Expunged
Report Post »RAIN… Rotten Apple Infesting Network…. : )
The-Monk
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 8:33pmMaybe they plan on making a movie…“Client 9 from Outer Sapce” perhaps…..
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 31, 2012 at 10:40amTHE-MONK, LOL, those were really funny.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:10pmLooks like a separation of something less from something least to me.
Report Post »imissbreitbart
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:10pmFirst off, Al Gore isn’t a climatologist; he just plays one on TV.
Let me get this straight. Current TV fired Keith Olbermann and then, turned around and hired Eliot Spitzer. Isn’t that like saying that you would prefer to be shot in the forehead instead of the temple? Why would a business enterprise make such a decision?
Report Post »db321
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:35pmWhat kinda drug do you need to be on too Hire Sharpton!
Report Post »hillbillyinny
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:21pmWhat business enterprize?
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:10pmOhhhhh that Eliot Spitzer..immoral Mr. Spitzer.. Well they went from the crapper to crap! But what do you expect from the left!
Report Post »orkydorky
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:45pmWhat do you expect from Al Gore, insanity was always his biggest asset!
Report Post »Skee
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:09pmOlbermann is getting replaced by a failed NY gov. that purchases skanks and was fired
Report Post »by CNN after acouple months. Maybe Keith can rearrange a few things in his basement
and start his own mega multimedia company. KO’edTV.
OldGuy66
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:13pmI like the network name suggestion. :)
Report Post »TRONRADIO
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:06pmDon’t care for either of those men; they are creeps.
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:33pmTron, bite your tongue! Men?
Report Post »Flotilla Hunter
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:06pmHa ha hee hee chuckle chuckle……BWAHAHA!
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:11pmlmao… Olberdouche, fired again!
Report Post »RJJinGadsden
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:34pm@LEFTFIGHTER, LOL, for him it should be Uberduche
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:05pmEliot Spitzer?? Are you kidding me.. Oh well.. not something I would ever watch! But Eliot Spitzer????
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:22pmTalk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. Can’t they find someone totally new and classy? There are billions of people on this planet, Spitzer, yuck.
Report Post »Tri-ox
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:05pmAnd, the Current TV parade of losers marches on …
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:08pmI see a job for Fluke……
Report Post »The Eleventh Doctor
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:05pmSomewhere in the world, Media Matters bloggers weep tears of bitterness.
Report Post »NILAP
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:03pmMaybe The Five on Fox should hire him to sub occasionally for Bob Beckel. Or he might also fit in on The View.
Report Post »MadenNZ
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:03pmGood for them! It takes a whole lotta patience and tolerance to listen to the man…Politics aside, he’s a better sports commentator.
Report Post »Tank McNamara
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 9:45pmi agree with you. i really enjoyed watching and listening to him on ESPN before he went insane. he was actually pretty entertaining when he was paired up Dan Patrick.
Report Post »ICANHANDLETHETRUTH
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:03pmLMAO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! poor wittle guy
Report Post »applehill
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:03pmThis makes me chuckle
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:02pmDon’t worry Keith. There’s still a couple hundred cable channels out there. Give LOGO a try.
Report Post »AvengerK
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:10pmHow sad for Olberman.fired and replaced by “client 9” who himself was fired from CNN. I‘d like to say I feel sorry for Olberman but I’m not. The rumours were he was an egotistical jerk who demanded A list sets and production standards from a network so under-viewed that it doesn‘t even have an alphabetical letter to describe it’s status.
Report Post »randy
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 6:21pmMaybe Oprah will have him fill in for Rosie
Report Post »Dismayed Veteran
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:01pmwonder how that tingle is now?
Report Post »StCharles777
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:01pmlololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol
Report Post »wrazzlin1
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:01pmI Guess Spitzer can hook up Gore with some more massages
Report Post »jakartaman
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 5:00pmHow sweet!
Report Post »But the second string is a moral degenerate!
Losers – losers losers
Fat Pappy
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 10:29pmHow appropriate…. a whore for a whore monger……
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