Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Countdown with Keith Olbermann
File:Countdown with Keith Olbermann logo.jpg The current "Countdown" title shot as of October 2007.
Starring	Keith Olbermann
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	1,200+ as of April 2008
Production
Production locations	Secaucus, New Jersey (April 3, 2003—October 19, 2007) New York City (October 22, 2007—present)
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	MSNBC
Release	March 31, 2003 – present

Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news commentary program on MSNBC which airs live at 8 p.m. Eastern Time and reruns at 10 p.m., 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on weekdays. The show, hosted by Keith Olbermann, debuted on March 31, 2003 and counts down five selected news stories of the day with news reports and interviews with guests, along with commentary by Olbermann.

The show is the highest-rated program on MSNBC. In the first quarter of 2008, the show averaged 907,000 viewers a day, compared with about 550,000 viewers for Hardball with Chris Matthews which airs before it. This is an increase of about 230,000 daily viewers from the third quarter of 2007. Countdown has been referred to as the "flagship" MSNBC franchise, so much so that on February 15, 2007 Olbermann received a four-year contract extension, which includes two Countdown primetime specials on NBC.

The show is known for Olbermann's fast-paced rhetorical style, historical and pop culture references, ready interjections, and strong and often scathingly stated opinions. Olbermann melds news stories, both serious and light, with commentary, much of it critical of the Bush administration. The show has been the source of some controversy due to these criticisms, as well as its host's ongoing criticism of Fox News Channel – which he refers to as "Fixed News", "Fox Noise", "Faux News", and "Fixed Noise" – and his feud with rival commentator Bill O'Reilly of Fox's The O'Reilly Factor, whose show runs directly opposite Countdown.

Since October 22, 2007, the show airs live from NBC Studios 1A's Second Floor at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City, and is currently published shortly thereafter each weeknight in its commercial-free entirety on the iTunes Store podcast directory, and in segment form, with shorter interstitial ads, on the show's web site.

History

Countdown originally was titled Countdown: Iraq. It premiered on October 7, 2002 and was hosted by Lester Holt. It focused completely on the military and diplomatic actions which would become the Iraq War. Countdown: Iraq aired at 7pm and replaced a show hosted by Jerry Nachman, which was moved up to 5pm before its eventual termination. In addition, a daytime version of Countdown entitled Countdown: 2002 Election aired from October 25, 2002 to November 2002.

The show's logo, used from 2003 to October 19, 2007.

After the new incarnation of Donahue was terminated on February 28, 2003, and because of the build-up to the start of the war, Countdown: Iraq expanded to a two hour program, from 7-9pm Eastern Standard Time. Ironically, President Bush's deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq was set for 7pm EST on March 19, 2003 the exact time the final Countdown: Iraq program started to air, the war began that evening Washington time. After the Iraq War began there was no need for the show in its current form since it was focused on covering the run up to the war. Also MSNBC went wall-to-wall with coverage of the war during the first few weeks of the invasion, removing the need for differentiated programing.

On March 28, 2003, MSNBC announced it was hiring Keith Olbermann to host the 8pm hour of Countdown. The show dropped the Iraq subtitle and was retitled Countdown with Keith Olbermann. The 7pm hour of Countdown was turned over to Hardball with Chris Matthews. Holt was moved to anchor rolling news coverage during the day.

At the start of Countdown, Olbermann told television columnist Lisa de Moraes that "our charge for the immediate future is to stay out of the way of the news.... News is the news. We will not be screwing around with it.... As times improve and the war ends we will begin to introduce more and more elements familiar to my style." On Bill O'Reilly, with whom Olbermann would later cultivate a feud, he stated, "I'm not looking to take down Bill. It will be a totally different program. It will not be a show in which opinion and facts are juxtaposed so as to appear to be the same thing."

About the show

Countdown is a nightly news and commentary program, covering a selection of national and international stories which provide fodder for the host's analysis and opinions. Clips from NBC network news broadcasts are featured on a regular basis.

According to The Cornell Daily Sun, Olbermann has a staff of roughly ten to twelve people who work on the show's editorial content. They spend the morning looking for noteworthy or interesting stories. The group meets via conference call at 11am for a half-hour discussion to toss around possible subjects for the evening's show (many times pulling information from online sites like Fark.com and MediaMatters.org). By 12:15, Olbermann receives a final list of story prospects, picks what he likes, and puts them in order. He emails the list back to the staff, and the writing process begins. He arrives at MSNBC's studios, originally in Secaucus, but now at the GE Building in Manhattan by 2:00 p.m. and works on writing the show's material in his office until 7:30, when he goes to makeup, before going on air at 8pm.

The punctuating theme music to the show's countdown is the opening eight beats of the second movement, a scherzo, of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125, the "Choral". The theme is a historical reference to NBC's pioneering newscast Huntley-Brinkley Report with Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, which featured the scherzo of Beethoven's 9th over the credits.

Format

• Open/Headlines — A preview of some of the stories to be featured beginning with the question, "Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow?"
• Number 5 Story — Generally the day's most important or "top" story. Elements usually include one or more interviews as well as a series of soundbites or a report from an NBC reporter. This is usually the show's longest segment.
• Commercial break
• Number 4 Story — Similar in format to number five, sometimes even a continuation of the same. This segment is somewhat shorter than five.
• Commercial break
• Oddball — A fast-paced look at "quirky" stories and odd or humorous videos. The segment usually begins with a historical reference, followed by Olbermann saying "Let's Play Oddball!" A short "stinger" plays, which ends with a prerecorded clip of Chris Matthews' distinctive, shouting laugh. Between two and three stories are usually shown, with the soundtrack usually being Eduard Strauss' "Bahn Frei Polka" by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra in honor of his idol, humorist Jean Shepherd. Prior to the switch in May 2007, the music was Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance", and at some points a cover version of Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax has been used.
• Countdown's Best Persons in the World — A collection of the day's top three "goofballs and good guys". This upbeat, humorous segment features dumb criminals, strange characters, and people winding up in unusual or noteworthy situations. The title of Best Person is usually sarcastic, but sometimes it is legitimate and describes a person who has exhibited extraordinary humanity or kindness. Originally named "Top 3 Newsmakers", this segment rarely features well-known individuals. The end of Best Person in the World typically has Olbermann throwing his script into the air in mock ridicule or disbelief while a song that ties in with the story plays (a woman's unsightly mugshot, for instance, featured Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful").
• Commercial break
• Number 3 Story — Another top story of the day, similar to four and five.
• Still Bushed! — A segment that debuted in February 2008 details three updates and developments on "the headlines lingering from the previous administration's 50 running scandals". Before the inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 22, 2009, the name of this segment was "Bushed!".
• Commercial break
• Number 2 Story: Worst Person in the World — A list of three individuals or organizations deemed by Olbermann to be the Worse, Worser, and Worst Person in the World. This segment is skipped when there is a guest host, except for one occasion when Olbermann once called in his Worst Person list from a " secure, undisclosed location" (actually his vacation spot of Tampa, Florida). "Keeping Tabs" was the number two story until 2008 when it was replaced by "Worst Person". The "Worst Person in the World" was originally a character on the Bob & Ray Radio Show—of which Olbermann was a fan[1] —in their "Mary Backstage" series, someone who did something very annoying. When someone other than Olbermann hosts, "Worst Person" is replaced with a more general story or with "Keeping Tabs".
• Commercial break
• Number 1 Story — The final segment falls into one of two categories.
  • Either a lighter piece focused on pop culture or strange happenings, often with the assistance of a guest, who is usually a comic. Occasionally a highlight reel of the previous month or year's "Oddball" segments, styled "Oddball Plays of the Month/Year" is shown.
  • One of Olbermann's "Special Comments".
• Sign off — The show ends with Olbernann noting the number of days to or since one of a small number of events. This could be the number of days that have passed since President Bush gave his "Mission Accomplished" speech. or the number of days till (or, now since) the inauguration of Barack Obama. Then, Olbermann generally signs off with the words "Good night, and good luck", quoting Edward R. Murrow, before crumpling a page of his script into a ball and tossing it at the camera which triggers a glass shattering sound and visual effect on the screen. The paper toss and shatter are omitted when the show ends on a somber note, such as a poignant Special Comment, the observance of a death, or an otherwise tragic event.

Substitute hosts

Former The Most host Alison Stewart was the primary guest host for Countdown until the end of 2007. Other occasional substitute guest hosts have included Alex Witt, David Shuster (a regular contributor to the show), Amy Robach, and Brian Unger. From April 2008 until September 2008 Rachel Maddow hosted Countdown in Olbermann's absence. This ended when she was given her own show The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. On December 23 2008, MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall substituted for Olbermann, marking her first appearance on the show.

Locations

Olbermann has anchored away from MSNBC headquarters for such events as debates and more recently, the inauguration of Barack Obama. During the week of 26 January 2009, he took his show on the road to Tampa, in preparation for that week's Super Bowl, which he was covering for NBC.

Special comments

Main article: List of Keith Olbermann's special comments

In late August 2006, Olbermann started delivering occasional "Special Comments" in which he has expressed sharp criticisms of members of the Bush administration, including then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush. As of November 10, 2008, Olbermann has delivered forty of these commentaries, as well as a series of about ten "Campaign Comments" during the final weeks of the 2008 presidential election. While the majority of these comments have been directed at members of the Republican Party, Olbermann also directed two Special Comments in the first half of 2008 at Senator Hillary Clinton, criticizing aspects of her campaign for the Democratic nomination. One of Olbermann's Special Comments also spoke out against the passage of Proposition 8 in California on November 4, 2008.

Olbermann's "Special Comments" have been both compared to and contrasted with Edward R. Murrow's signature essays. At the end of the years 2006 and 2007, four of Olbermann's comments from the year were gathered as a special program during the Christmas and New Years holidays. It was paired with the "Oddball Plays of the Year" (see below)

Puppet Theater

Beginning with the Michael Jackson trial, Countdown presented comedic puppet "reenactments" of news which, due to court protocol or for other reasons, could not be captured on film titled Michael Jackson Puppet Theatre. Simplistic puppets created from printed photographs glued to popsicle sticks were manipulated in front of a bluescreen while Olbermann performed voice overs.

Other puppet theatre skits followed, including those involving Karl Rove and ethics within the White House; Anna Nicole Smith and the U.S. Supreme Court; Burt Reynolds; the election of Pope Benedict XVI by the College of Cardinals; the nomination of the Chief Justice of SCOTUS; Mel Gibson; Paris Hilton; Bill O'Reilly on the 2008 New Hampshire Primary trail trying to get an interview with Barack Obama, only to be held back by a member of Obama's staff, dubbed as "Bill O'Reilly Attacks Someone Taller Than Him"; the alleged ménage à trois of former New Jersey Govenror James McGreevey, his ex-wife Dina and a limo driver; and Bill and Chelsea Clinton campaigning on behalf of Hillary Clinton merged with the post-Easter holiday called Dyngus Day in South Bend, Indiana.

'Oddball' segment

Done in the middle of the show, Oddball (a play on Hardball, the show that airs before Countdown) is a segment devoted to offbeat news items and "goofball video." The 'laugh' that comes between the intro graphics and the first item is Hardball's host Chris Matthews' laugh. Olbermann traditionally begins the segment with some interesting historical fact about that date. At the end of the month, Olbermann features "Oddball Plays of the Month", a compilation of some of the Oddball segments from that month. At the end of the year, a special show (sometimes two shows) covering the "Oddball Plays of the Year" is shown during Christmas week. It is generally a compilation of all the Plays of the Month.

'Worst Person in the World' segment

The "Worst Person" segment is a nightly feature in which Olbermann recounts a recent news story involving people saying or doing something that Olbermann finds objectionable. In response to some critics, Olbermann has stated that the title of "Worst Person" is satirical and not meant to be a literal description. "Nominees" for Worst Person in the World are ranked at the bronze medal level ("Worse"), silver ("Worser") and gold ("Worst"). While many of his targets are not political, the overwhelming majority are conservatives or members of the Bush administration themselves. The segment is usually done with an organ playing Johann Sebastian Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" in the background.

Olbermann usually ends the segment by saying "[Name of Worst], today's worst person in the world", in which the words "worst person in the world" are, for the most part, stretched and intoned in a humorously frightening and devilish manner. However, on occasions he has strayed from this approach and uttered the line in a much more somber or angry tone to signify that the Worst recipient had done something that deeply offended him.

Based on this segment of the show, a book titled The Worst Person in the World was published in September 2006. It included transcripts of segments that aired from this feature's inception on July 1, 2005 through May 31, 2006, as well as some original material. On March 13th, 2009, Olbermann launched a new Friday-show segment entitled "Worst Person in the World of the Week," awarding Bill O'Reilly the inaugural title.

During 2007, Football Night in America, Olbermann also spun off this segment into an NFL-themed "Worst Person in the NFL" segment during halftime of the weekly NBC Sunday Night Football telecast.

Honorees

The most frequent recipient of the honor is Bill O'Reilly. Olbermann has repeatedly named O'Reilly his “Worst Person in the World", naming him the winner (gold medalist) at least, in Olbermann's words, "about once a week" including a clean sweep of all three positions ("worse", "worser" and "worst") twice: the first on November 30, 2005 and the second coming November 10, 2008. Only one other person, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, has received all three spots in the World's Worst countdown at the same time; this occurred on November 2, 2007.

Other frequent honorees include various right wing media personalities, members of the Bush administration, and members of Congress. Barack Obama was listed as "worse" for forgetting the date of his anniversary with his wife Michelle. Olbermann occasionally awards the bronze spot to himself, as a way of apologizing for a bad joke or of correcting a factual error in a previous show. Moreover, he also occassionally awards some of these spots to colleagues working for any of the NBC Universal networks such as when he pronounced Rick Santelli of CNBC on 20 February 2009 as "Worse" for an incident at the Chicago Board of Trade a day earlier.

The "Keith number"

During the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary season, Olbermann began using the term "Keith number" in reference to the sum of a pre-election opinion poll's margin of error and the percentage of respondents who are undecided. Olbermann believes this value tends to be predictive of the extent to which a poll may vary from actual election results, and also of the volatility of the electorate's leanings.

To summarize:

• The greater the poll's margin of error, the farther the results may be from the current views of the voters.
• The more undecided voters, the more likely voters are to change their views in the future.

On the January 11, 2008 episode of Countdown, Olbermann described the number as follows:

"What, you ask, is the ‘Keith number‘? This is the margin of error plus the percentage of undecided—in this case, four-and-a-half margin of error plus five percent undecided. I thought of it, so I named it after myself. You think of a better caveat for polls from now on and we‘ll name it after you."

Olbermann's "Keith number" is unrelated (mathematically or otherwise) to the more traditional use of the term.

Guests

Guests regularly featured on the show as of March 2009 include:

• Jonathan Alter, senior editor for Newsweek magazine—political
• Margaret Carlson, TIME Magazine columnist and author of Anyone Can Grow Up: How George Bush and I Made it to the White House
• Chris Cillizza, blogger for The Washington Post
• Craig Crawford, columnist for the Congressional Quarterly—political (on location in Washington, D.C.)
• Howard Fineman, Newsweek contributor—political
• Christian Finnegan, comedian—tabloid/entertainment
• Christopher Hayes, Washington, D.C. editor for The Nation
• Chris Kofinis, Democratic political strategist
• Eugene Robinson, newspaper columnist for The Washington Post
• Paul F. Tompkins, comedian—tabloid/entertainment
• Richard Wolffe, Newsweek—politicalHouse—journalistic, political

Regular contributors in the show's broadcast history have included:

• Jason Bateman, actor—pop culture
• Pat Buchanan, Conservative commentator, former U.S. Presidential Candidate and author—political
• Wesley Clark, retired four-star general—military analyst for MSNBC
• Howard Dean, former Democratic National Committee chairman
• John Dean, former White House Counsel to Richard Nixon—political
• E. J. Dionne, columnist for The Washington Post
• Savannah Guthrie, NBC News Chicago Bureau. former Court TV (now TruTV) correspondent—Michael Jackson trial
• John Harwood, New York Times writer and CNBC contributing reporter—political
• Richard Justice, Sports Writer for the Houston Chronicle
• Rachel Maddow, who also served as a substitute anchor from April through August in 2008 before getting her own MSNBC show.
• General Barry McCaffrey, Ret. — military
• Joel McHale, host of the E! show The Soup - pop culture
• Dana Milbank, a political reporter for The Washington Post, left the show (and MSNBC) in 2008 and joined CNN.
• Maria Milito, New York disc jockey — American Idol
• Michael Musto, editor of The Village Voice— tabloid/entertainment
• Lawrence O'Donnell, MSNBC political analyst
• Tom O'Neil, editor of Entertainment Weekly—entertainment
• Clarence Page, columnist and member of the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune
• Derek Pitts, The Franklin Institute—Space and astronomy-related news
• Sam Seder, who like Rachel Maddow, hosts a show on Air America Radio — political
• David Shuster — MSNBC Live anchor and correspondent; has also served as a fill-in host
• Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight.com - for 2008 presidential election prediction
• Jon Soltz, Iraq War Veteran, Co-Founder and Chairman of VoteVets.org
• Chuck Todd, political director for NBC News
• Jonathan Turley, professor of law and Constitutional scholar—political
• Clint Van Zandt, former FBI profiler—abductions/murders
• Robin Wright, diplomatic correspondent for The Washington Post —terrorism and international events

Interviews with comedians are featured regularly during the final segment of the show; notable appearances have included George Carlin, Lewis Black, Richard Lewis, Mo Rocca, and John Cleese.

Olbermann vs. O'Reilly

Olbermann's show on MSNBC occupies the same time slot as Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. In addition to often naming O'Reilly "Worst Person in the World", Olbermann frequently lampoons him in other ways, including referring to him by several nicknames, e.g. "The Big Giant Head", "Bill-O" or "Bill-O the Clown", "Bill O'Rally", "Bill O RLY", (Which sounds like "Orally") "The Frank Burns of journalism", or–sarcastically–"America's Conscience". He also frequently refers to him as "Ted Baxter" or "Ted Baxter's Evil Twin" and, when quoting O'Reilly's words, will do so by impersonating Ted Knight's Ted Baxter voice.

For a time Countdown presented a segment titled "Factor Fiction", where O'Reilly's opinions were "fact-checked", introduced by animated character Stewie Griffin of Family Guy.

O'Reilly has petitioned for the ousting of Olbermann from MSNBC and the return of Phil Donahue to Olbermann's slot, stating that Donahue's ratings far exceeded those of Countdown. During the January 30, 2006 edition of the O'Reilly Factor's "Talking Points Memo" segment, O'Reilly criticized NBC Universal, the parent company of MSNBC for "taking cheap shots at Fox News on a regular basis...for some time." O'Reilly also claimed that FNC has "good relationships with ABC News, CBS News, and generally CNN."

Olbermann responded to those criticisms by saying that Fox News had had less than cordial relations with CNN, referring to Fox having set up a billboard across the street from CNN Center in Atlanta, taunting them about their lower TV ratings; to when Fox News, through an unsigned statement, compared CNN to the Titanic; to when Fox News, through a press release, had claimed CNN founder Ted Turner had "lost his mind" after he criticized Fox News; and finally to when Fox News executives had made disparaging references to CNN host Paula Zahn's abilities after she had left Fox News.

The O'Reilly Factor continued to beat Countdown in the ratings, with Countdown only scoring occasional victories in what O'Reilly refers to as the "key demographic" of 25-54 year olds until mid 2008. That June Countdown won the demo for the entire week for the first time, although O'Reilly only worked three days that week. In October the ratings competition began to heat up more, with both sides trading victories and O'Reilly claiming foul play and calling for a federal investigation into the matter.

Save the tapes

When O'Reilly was sued for sexual harassment in October 2004 by his former producer, Andrea Mackris, Olbermann urged Mackris to take a payout of $99,000 (US) in exchange for, allegedly, a tape of a phone call that O'Reilly made to Mackris, in which he incorrectly referred to a loofah as a falafel. The lawsuit settled out of court and no tapes were ever made public. Subsequently, Olbermann references the word "falafel" often when referring to O'Reilly, and segments where he is discussing O'Reilly's criticisms of others are often labeled "The Falafel Guy Fatwa."

"Fire Olbermann" petition

On February 22, 2006, O'Reilly initiated an online petition, that did not mention Olbermann by name, to have MSNBC remove Olbermann from the 8pm EST timeslot, purportedly to have former slot host Phil Donahue's show reinstated. The petition was in the form of a letter addressed to Wright saying: "We, the undersigned, are becoming increasingly concerned about the well-being of MSNBC and, in particular, note the continuing ratings failure of the program currently airing weeknights on that network at 8:00 p.m. EST". Olbermann responded two days later on Countdown by playing a selection of disparaging television clips featuring O'Reilly and mocked the whole affair by joining several MSNBC staffers, including Tucker Carlson and Dan Abrams, in signing the petition to have himself fired.

"Fox News Security" incident

Two weeks later, on March 3, 2006, Olbermann reported on an incident in which O'Reilly dropped a caller, identified as "Mike" from Orlando, Florida from his live radio show, seemingly for mentioning Olbermann's name. O'Reilly accused the caller of being part of a larger group of individuals that had been calling O'Reilly with the sole purpose of mentioning Olbermann. The caller said, “I like to listen to you during the day. I think Keith Olbermann's show…” when O'Reilly cut in, responding to “Mike” as follows:

Mike is — he's a gone guy. You know, we have his — we have your phone numbers, by the way. So, if you're listening, Mike, we have your phone number, and we're going to turn it over to Fox security, and you'll be getting a little visit. […] When you call us, ladies and gentlemen, just so you know, we do have your phone number, and if you say anything untoward, obscene or anything like that, Fox security then will contact your local authorities, and you will be held accountable. Fair?

While Westwood One broadcasts O'Reilly's radio show, the program does originate from Fox News Channel's New York City studios. Olbermann noted that it would be unlawful for O'Reilly to send anyone to a listener's home for purposes of intimidation.

Criticism and response

The Media Research Center (MRC), a conservative media content analysis organization, has been very critical of Keith Olbermann since he became the Countdown host. The organization has asserted that he has a liberal bias in the form of criticizing President George W. Bush, attacking FOX and O'Reilly, starting off his newscast with what it claims to be unimportant stories with a left wing motive, and avoiding the Bush administration's side of the story. MRC has also accused Olbermann of allegedly supporting President Bush's impeachment, among other practices. Bloggers from Newsbusters.org, a conservative blogsite, have also asserted that Olbermann exclusively chooses guests who reinforce his point of view. MRC issued a press release describing Olbermann's November 1, 2006 Special Comment as "preaching hate speech", and describing Olbermann as "a brown-shirted left-winger spew[ing] hate from an NBC-owned podium." ("Brown-shirt" is a term that was used to describe the Sturmabteilung paramilitary organization of the German Nazi party).

In response, Olbermann has on a number of occasions named MRC founder Brent Bozell, whom he has described variously as "Redbeard the pirate", and "humorist", the "worst person in the world" for various comments he has made about Countdown and other topics, such as Bozell's criticism of the New York Times for sponsoring the 2006 Gay Games. The anchor has also said that the MRC desires "an institutionalized, pro-Republican slant" in the media.

To support its assertions of bias, the MRC researched Countdown's Worst Person in the World segment and claimed to find that of the approximately 600 nominees between June 30, 2005 and June 23, 2006, 174 had conservative political views and 23 had liberal political views, with the remaining 403 having no apparent political affiliation. Olbermann interpreted the results differently by pointing out that 71% were not conservative.

Olbermann has addressed the assertions of liberal bias by stating that he would be equally critical of a Democratic president who had invited criticism by his actions: "I mean, no one in 1998, no one accused me of being a liberal in 1998 because I was covering the Lewinsky scandal. And whatever I had to do about it, I tried to be fair and honest and as accurate and as informed as possible, and allow my viewer to be the same way. And nowadays it's the same thing. And now all of a sudden I’m a screaming liberal." However, Howard Kurtz has written that Olbermann departed MSNBC the first time as a result of the relentless Clinton-Lewinsky coverage which personally sickened him. The MRC responded by noting that they criticized him in 1998 for comparing Ken Starr to Heinrich Himmler.

On November 25, 2006, Fox News Watch's panelist Cal Thomas named Olbermann as his choice for 2006's "Media Turkey Award" for what Thomas alleged were Olbermann's "innaccuracies" and "hot air". Olbermann in turn gave the show the Bronze for "Worst Person in the World", not for naming him "Turkey of the Year", but for spelling his name "Olberman" on the onscreen graphic.

Conservative radio talk show host Michael Medved has criticized Keith Olbermann's picks for Worst Person In The World saying that it's "no terrorists, all conservatives". He went on to say, "If you have a segment called 'The Worst Person In The World', isn't it striking when you've chosen Ann Coulter twenty times, and never chosen an Islamic terrorist?" Olbermann gave Medved "Worst Persons" honors on October 1, 2007 in response to his Townhall.com column titled "Six inconvenient truths about the U.S. and slavery," and chided him to "go back to reviewing movies."

The show's absence of guests who challenge Olbermann's views was noted by Howard Rosenberg in a commentary published in the Los Angeles Times. "At least O'Reilly invites dissenters to his lair (if only to disembowel them)," wrote Rosenberg, "Whereas "Countdown" is more or less an echo chamber in which Olbermann and like-minded bobbleheads nod at each other."

International broadcasts and availability

Countdown is one of the MSNBC and NBC News programming shown on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. In addition, the show can be seen in its entirety on msnbc.com and downloaded as a podcast on iTunes.

External links

• Official website
• Countdown with Keith Olbermann at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com