Keith Olbermann Fired? [with video]

Fiery MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann, who has been with the network for almost eight years, is apparently being let go. It is not immediately clear if Olbermann decided to quit or was fired from the network. This came as talks between NBC/Universal and Comcast for a merger deal have heated up.


Olbermann broke the news unexpectedly during his show on Friday night. It was not clear his motivations and he gave no further evidence.


Furthermore, Politico seems to have pegged an important quote that may show that Olbermann was, indeed, fired:

“I think the same fantasy popped into the head of everybody in my business who has ever been told what I have been told: this will be the last edition of your show,” he said.

On top of this-- it may be because of the upcoming merger:

His sources said “the parting came as fallout from Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal, and with it, the departure of NBC head, Jeff Zucker,” he said.

Olbermann also referenced his firing from ESPN in which he had only fifteen seconds to make his final statements. This could mesh with the theory that he was forced out, yet again.


The AP story covering his departure has a surprisingly honest look at the way MSNBC carried itself with Olbermann on their network:

MSNBC essentially molded the network in Olbermann's image. His program is MSNBC's top-rated, gaining in viewers after his evolution from a humorous look at the day's headline into a combatively political show in the latter days of the Bush administration. MSNBC decided that point-of-view programming was the way to go, and hired Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell — both occasional subs for Olbermann — to fill out its prime-time lineup.

Olbermann has been known for being bombastic on-air and off. He called a Tweeter a F*cktard when he was challenged. He told former President George W. Bush to "shut the hell up" and seemed to take delight in every setback in Bush's foreign and domestic policy.


His sendoff gave him some time to address his audience but it was apparently a last-minute affair:

"There were many occasions, particularly in the last 2 1/2 years, where all that surrounded the show — but never the show itself — was just too much for me," said Olbermann, whose father died recently. "But your support and loyalty and, if I may use the word, insistence, ultimately require that I keep going. My gratitude to you is boundless."

The AP article speculates at what might be next for Olbermann, a former ESPN commentator. He may decide to go to struggling CNN. Another rumor says he might go to the Huffington Post-- but MSNBC apparently has its network "prepared:"

MSNBC announced that O'Donnell, who had frequently filled in for Olbermann before starting his own 10 p.m. show, will take over Olbermann's time slot starting Monday. "The Ed Show," with Ed Schultz, will move to 10 p.m. Cenk Uygur of the Web show "The Young Turks" will fill Schultz's vacated 6 p.m. time slot.

The video of the segment:

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