Keith Olbermann

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Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann (born January 27, 1959 in New York City) is an American news anchor, Commentator and radio sportscaster. He currently hosts Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, an hour-long nightly newscast that counts down the top news stories of the day. He is also on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN radio.

Early career

Keith earned his Bachelor of Science degree in communications arts from Cornell University in 1979, while serving as sports director for WVBR, a student-run commercial radio station in Ithaca, New York.

Olbermann began his professional career at UPI and RKO Radio before joining the nascent CNN in 1981. 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 eleven Golden Mike Awards, and he was named Best Sportscaster by the California Associated Press three times.

Olbermann at ESPN

In 1992, he joined ESPN’s SportsCenter, a position he would hold until 1997. He often co-hosted SportsCenter with Dan Patrick, the two becoming a popular anchor team. Olbermann quickly became known for his wit, reporting style, and his tight chemistry with co-anchor Patrick. In 1995, Olbermann won a Cable ACE award for Best Sportscaster while co-anchoring the “big show” as he called it (often referencing the Sunday night SportsCenter). Olbermann would later co-author a book with Patrick called The Big Show about their experiences working at SportsCenter.

New Ventures

While at ESPN, Olbermann was instrumental in helping to launch ESPN Radio and ESPN2, most notably opening the first program on the latter network—designed at its outset to be the younger, hipper ESPN—by stating, “Welcome to the end of our careers.”

Leaving ESPN

In 1997 Keith Olbermann abruptly left ESPN, under a cloud of controversy regarding the reasons behind his departure that to this day remain unanswered. The sudden nature of his departure led towards a floodgate of rumors circulating regarding the reason he left, especially after it was revealed that Olbermann's departed from ESPN on bad terms and that Olbermann purposely "burned his bridges" with the network's top brass as a result of his personal discontent with the network.

Olbermann and ESPN have yet to reconcile, which led to Olbermann being publicly snubbed by the channel when he was not asked to participate in ESPN's 20th Anniversary "Reunion Week" Celebration of Sportcenter, which featured past Sportscenter hosts returning to host episodes of the show.

Opinions

Olbermann is a dedicated baseball fan and historian of the sport, with membership in the Society for American Baseball Research.[1] In the past, he argued that New York Giants baseball player Fred Merkle should not be denied inclusion into the Baseball Hall of Fame because of a baserunning mistake. He contributed the foreword to More Than Merkle, a book requesting amnesty for Merkle's error. [2]

Olbermann also criticized documentarian Ken Burns, pointing out dozens of claimed inaccuracies and anachronisms in Burns’ television series Baseball. In high school, Olbermann compiled an extensive list of first and third base coaches in baseball history. This documentation now sits in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Olbermann at one time opposed Pete Rose being admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame but recently changed his stance, due to the steroid scandal in Major League Baseball.

After SportsCenter

In 1997, Olbermann left ESPN to host his own primetime show on MSNBC, named The Big Show. The news variety program covered three or four different topics in a one-hour broadcast. Olbermann also occasionally hosted the weekend edition of NBC Nightly News, and he was the co-pre-game host (along with Hannah Storm) of NBC Sports’ coverage of the 1997 World Series.

When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998, he began hosting another news program, White House in Crisis. Olbermann says he became frustrated when the Lewinsky story constantly consumed his regular show. He left MSNBC after 17 months to return to sportscasting, although he has said that even if Lewinsky never happened, he still would have left to return to sports.

In 1998, Olbermann became an anchor and executive producer for The Keith Olbermann Evening News, a nightly sportscast similar to SportsCenter, which aired nightly on cable’s Fox Sports Net. While at Fox, Olbermann was again a host of the World Series and also Fox Broadcasting’s baseball Game of the Week.

Return to reporting

Olbermann left Fox Sports in 2001 for “other opportunities” and kept a relatively low profile. He worked for a time as a regular contributor on CNN and provided twice-daily sports commentary on the ABC Radio Network. The attacks of September 11, 2001 provided the impetus for Olbermann to return to full-fledged news reporting. He won an Edward R. Murrow Award for reporting from the site of the attacks for 40 days on ABC Radio.

Olbermann was rehired by MSNBC in early 2003 as a substitute host on Nachman and as an anchor for MSNBC’s coverage of the war in Iraq. His own show, Countdown, debuted shortly thereafter on March 31, 2003 in the 8:00 p.m. ET time slot previously held by programs hosted by Phil Donahue and, briefly, Lester Holt. On October 13, 2004, Olbermann launched Bloggermann, his Countdown weblog, hosted on MSNBC.com. Olbermann leverages the open format of the blog to expound on facts or ideas alluded to in the broadcast, to offer personal musings and reactions, and to break news at odd hours.

Olbermann and Chris Matthews’ Hardball, also on MSNBC, tied for 1st place on MSNBC (and 21st place in all of cable news) in February 2006 with 400,000 viewers each for the month, according to Nielsen Media Research. CNN and FOX News Channel’s top programs for the month were Larry King Live with 901,000 viewers and The O’Reilly Factor with over 2.2 million viewers.

In June of 2005, Olbermann returned to ESPN Radio every Friday, co-hosting with his friend and former colleague Dan Patrick’s three-hour weekday program.

On November 28, 2005, Olbermann’s co-hosting duties expanded to Weekdays, 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET.

Accusations of Bias

In an interview with Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post, Olbermann noted that his ongoing criticism of the Bush Administration places him "in the same part of the ballpark as a lot of liberals". [3] However, Olbermann has addressed accusations of liberal bias by claiming 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 Clinton-Lewinsky story. 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."

Olbermann has stated he departed MSNBC the first time as a result of the relentless Clinton-Lewinsky coverage which personally "sickened" him but now says he enjoys his new role in taking on President Bush [4] [5]. Olbermann says the main difference between the coverage of the Lewinsky scandal and his criticism of the Bush Administration is because of the different formats of programming (Big Show versus Countdown). As such, he doesn't have to cover a singular story for an entire hour.

There is a website, Olbermann Watch, [6] that attempts to document examples of Olbermann's bias. The website's owner, Robert Cox (a conservative activist), has claimed that "there is one remaining show on cable news that has an overt liberal bias - Countdown with Keith Olbermann..." [7] Cox claims among other things that Olbermann insists on criticizing conservative politicians and commentators - naming many in his daily "Worst Person in the World" segment - while at the same time lauding Democrats. He also claims that most guests Olbermann has on Countdown seem to be satirical social commentators, not experts, who he alleges are clearly of the "liberal persuasion" who make attempts to entertain instead of inform. [8] One exception is conservative commentator, and former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan who is a semi-regular guest on the show.

The Cornell Review, associated with Olbermann's alma mater, has claimed that Olbermann is a "partisan hack" because of his frequent reporting on what he believed to be voting irregularities during the 2004 presidential election. [9].

Feud with Bill O’Reilly

Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly, his direct competitor on the Fox News Channel, feud openly. Olbermann has repeatedly named O’Reilly his “Worst Person in the World”, while O’Reilly has petitioned for the ouster of Olbermann from MSNBC and the return of Phil Donahue to Olbermann’s time slot on the basis that Donahue's ratings far exceeded Olbermann's.

The feud stems from Olbermann's public enjoyment of Bill O'Reilly's harrassment suit by Andrea Mackris, a former Fox employee; he jokingly kept track of money his viewers pledged to buy the tapes from Mackris, and ran a "Save the Tapes" campaign. Olbermann has continued to feature the suit and its details in his comments on O'Reilly.

In March 2006, Bill O’Reilly dropped a caller 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 which 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--." when O'Reilly cut in, responding to "Mike" as follows:

We have your own 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 will contact your local authorities and you will be held accountable. Fair?

In fact, it is Westwood One who broadcasts O'Reilly's radio show and not FOX.

On a subsequent Countdown, Keith had "Mike" on as a guest to discuss the incident. Mike denied that he had said anything obscene before O'Reilly cut him off. He did state that he was one of a group of individuals from the web site Calling All Wingnuts who had decided to call into the O'Reilly show to voice their disagreement. He mentioned that a woman from that group was upset by a call from the same "Fox News Security" man.

Smoking

On Monday, August 8, 2005, the day following Peter Jennings’s death from lung cancer, Olbermann revealed on-air that he had a benign fibrous tumor removed from his palate just ten days earlier. In an explicit and controversial monologue, he attributed his tumor (and the resulting fear and pain) directly to his 27-year habit of smoking pipes and cigars. He vigorously urged his viewers not to wait until they see symptoms to quit. “Do whatever you have to do to stop smoking—now. While it’s easier.”

This marked the beginning of “I Quit,” a recurring segment on Countdown which offers anti-smoking tips and encouragement. On August 16, 2005, Olbermann’s colleague at NBC Mike Taibbi joined him for “I Quit” to discuss kicking the habit.

See: “Flush the Butts” Bloggerman Entry from August 8, 2005.

Trivia

• Has named American comedy team Bob and Ray as his greatest professional influences, and had the opportunity, at age 15, to see them working in the studio.
• Possesses six lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual five.
• Damaged depth perception in 1980 by rushing to catch a subway car at New York City’s Shea Stadium and slamming his head into the top of the door frame.
• Has Coeliac disease (gluten intolerance).
• Was raised Unitarian.
• Is related to boxer Mike Tyson by marriage. (Olbermann’s father’s brother married the niece of Tyson’s adoptive father Cus D’Amato, making Olbermann and Tyson first step-cousins in-law once removed.)
• Considers media personality Bill O’Reilly to be his nemesis, taking joy in poking fun at him and referring to him with nicknames such as “The Big Giant Head” (apparently a reference to the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun) and “Ted Baxter” (after Ted Knight’s pompous character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show). O’Reilly usually responds by stating, “No one watches MSNBC.”
• New York Yankees second baseman Chuck Knoblauch accidentally hit Olbermann’s mother in the head during a botched play at Yankee Stadium in 1998. Bill Scheft of ESPN the Magazine commented, “I think I speak for the whole ESPN family and sports fans everywhere when I say, ‘Wrong Olbermann.’” Olbermann, an employee of competing cable network Fox Sports Net at the time, blasted Scheft on his radio show the next day, calling him “swine.”
• Is a well known vintage baseball card collector of T-206 tobacco cards.
• Appeared in a cameo as himself in an episode of NBC’s Surface.
• Appeared in a series of television commercials for the Boston Market restaurant chain in 1997, in which he tells a bunch of Calvin Klein-type models - contemplating empty, burning sensations inside - to "Eat something." [10]
• Sexiest male newscaster in an online poll by Playgirl magazine, beating out Sean Hannity and Anderson Cooper. Some contest the results since a link was set up on Olbermann's site encouraging people to vote for him. [11]

Bibliography

• The Big Show : Inside ESPN's Sportscenter (Atria, 1997) ISBN 0671009184
• The Worst Person In the World (Wiley, 2006) ISBN 0470044950

External links

• MSNBC—Countdown with Keith Olbermann Front Page
• KeithOlbermann.org Keitholbermann.org Olbermann Discussion Forum
• Bloggermann, the Countdown blog
• Olbermann Watch, criticism of Keith Olbermann
• Olbermann.org, an Olbermann fan site

Articles and interviews

• "Many ready to spar with Bill O'Reilly," USA Today, January 8, 2006
• "Keith Olbermann: Truth Teller," Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, December 15, 2005
• "Despite scorched bridges, Olbermann rejoins ESPN," Michael Hiestand, USA Today, June 13, 2005
• "Keith Olbermann, Tale of a Partisan Hack," Andrew Bernie, The Cornell Review, December 17, 2004
• "On Air and Online, Olbermann Draws Attention to Voting Problems," Mark Glaser, Online Journalism Review, November 30, 2004
• "'Playgirl' picks Olbermann as its newscaster pinup boy," USA Today, September 13, 2004
• "Olbermann's Re-Countdown," Joe Hagan, New York Observer, November 29, 2004
• "Three, Two, One, Olbermann," Washington Post Media Notes, July 28, 2003
• "Keith Olbermann: The PBJ Interview," Bob Sassone, Professor Barnhardt's Journal, April 22, 2003
• "So what do you do, Keith Olbermann?" Jesse Oxfeld, mediabistro.com, April 15, 2003
• Olbermann's Convocation Speech at Cornell University. May 23, 1998