"Is Olbermann on Thin Ice?"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-cohen/is-olbermann-on-thin-ice_b_30907.html

Jeff Cohen - 10.03.2006

. . . So why do I fear for Olbermann? Because I know his bosses. In the runup to the Iraq war, I too worked for MSNBC - as an on-air pundit and a senior producer on the primetime Donahue show.

As I detail in my book Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media, the Suits at MSNBC/NBC muzzled us and ultimately terminated us. They feared independent journalism and serious dissent. They smeared Bush critics, with MSNBC's editor-in-chief actually going on air - without evidence - to accuse Iraq WMD skeptic Scott Ritter of being a paid agent of Saddam Hussein.

Olbermann has been gaining in audience ratings. That provides him some security. But perhaps not enough.

When Donahue was terminated three weeks before the Iraq invasion, it was MSNBC's most watched program. Canceling your top-rated show doesn't happen often, but it happened to Donahue. Who knows what will happen to Olbermann?

With Donahue, management cared less about building up audience than tamping down dissent. While independent outlets and blogs were soaring in audience by questioning the rush to war, our bosses imposed straightjackets on us that prevented similar growth.

In the last months of Donahue, management gave us strict orders: if we booked a guest who was antiwar, we needed two who were pro-war. If we booked two guests on the left, we needed three on the right. When a producer proposed booking Michael Moore, she was told she'd need three rightwingers for ideological balance.

. . .

Letters like this back up my suspicions that the media is completely controlled by the bu$h regime and we have already slipped past the point of no return as a fascist state.

If Keith gets terminated I will never again watch NBC or MSNBC or CNBC. I may even burn my TV set.

Won't burn my set, but "news" will never seep from it again (other than Stewart and Colbert). News will only come from my beloved Internets.

"news" shows I can watch without becoming angry. (I'm just so sick of right-wing rhetoric every time I turn on the radio or TV. It's disgusting.)

You know, the bozos in radio and cable "news" management need to remember that Democrats and Independents are out here, too.

It's all about ratings, and Olberman is doing great!

"When Donahue was terminated three weeks before the Iraq invasion, it was MSNBC's most watched program. Canceling your top-rated show doesn't happen often, but it happened to Donahue. Who knows what will happen to Olbermann?"

Donahue was their highest rated show and he was fired anyway.

It's all about the propaganda message that the owners of the media want to put accross. There may be a larger window for dissent right now when Bush and the Republics are crashing and burning, but the bottom line is the propaganda message, and anyone can be silenced any time, Olbermann included.

if you've been watching tweety even he is PISSED at the hypocrite republicans.

Keith ROCKS and MSNBC knows it. He's their meal ticket at least for now.

lol, nah he just sways with the wind. I hate that bastard.

The stock market on right wing television is in major "sell" mode these days. Faux has lost viewers almost steadily since the '04 elections and after all these years it's still not as profitable as CNN with double the ratings. MSNBC tried to be a weak Faux knock-off with Crosby & Tucker & Scarborough and hiring Buchanan, but the money and ratings were for shit. Rick Kaplan all but destroyed the place...all except for Olbermann.

He stayed out of the politics and when the smoke cleared, his good friend, Dan Abrams, came out on top as the new head of the network. Abrams first step was to reduce Crosby's airtime and bury Tucker and "tone him and Scarborough" down. He also gave KO a strong endorsement and has even encouraged Keith with his latest rants.

A network doesn't help an anchor promote a book if they don't like him or want to get rid of him. Olbermann brings viewers to both MSNBC and cable news that don't watch at other times. In the meantime, I'd be more "concerned" with a big turnover going on at Faux.

He has the ability to have a host of liberal hotwires that would draw a huge audience and he fills ninety percent of the airtime with the prison conditions at prison du jour.

He could blow a crater size hole in fox. But too dumb.

So it is permitted to speak like a Democrat without getting necklaced*

*Per the Dan Rather quote.

while KO is off, during vacations whatever just tune out. I didn't watch last nights program, as soon as i heard the blond lady speaking during the intro i turned off the Tee Wee. Just a thought!

Countdown is synonymous with Olbermann now. Any slip in the ratings, even if he's not there is an excuse to the execs.

MSNBC Management is different now than when they fired Donahue. I've seen improvement at MSNBC since Abrams took over.

The attitude of America is also different. The war was popular (:eyes:) back when Donahue got canned, but it's not popular now. Ditto for the chimp. He was still considered "popular" (:eyes:) then too, but not anymore. Matthews has been hitting the pukes hard. Heck, even beady-eyed Joe has been worth watching occasionally.

Although Donahue was fired despite being MSNBC's highest-rated show, I don't think his numbers were anywhere near Olbermann's numbers.

The management over there is a lot different and the times (and worm) have changed. I'm not sure on the actual numbers (KO vs PD), but I'm willing to bet that in that "all important, key demographic" they keep an eye on, KO's are higher.

I too have noticed a change in Tweety and Beady. Tucker's a hopeless cause.

I wonder what contract terms of Tucker and Pat B have. I sure would like to see them disappear and be replaced by others.

And what ever happened to Ashly Bancroft (sp?) anyways? She was good.

As long as Keith has the ratings, he's in.

and advertising, it gets them the president and congress they need to toss their parent company billions.

Sorry Phil fans...I did watch him because I wanted to support the show but honestly a lot of times I zoned through it.

Olberman's show is not the Donahue show--even before he started his rants about bushit, his show was highly entertaining.

With KO's ratings being what they are -- I think he's safe!

sucked. As I remember, he talked fast and spun out 3 stories in an half hour. I wanted in depth, like he used to do. I loved the old Ron Reagen show too. There's a lot to be said about slow and thorough vs fast and sloppy.

zalinda

He came off to me as obsequious. Like he was bending over backwards to be accomodating to the views of outright fascists. KO is completely different. I guess he's a different generation of liberal comentator.

Donahue's new show was just kind of blah like he was doing what he thought the viewers would like or something.

Bwahahahahaha! That's hysterical!

his ratings were less than 1%. Olberman has raised that significantly.

we'll simply have to take up a collection to hire him as DU's official correspondent. B-)

If they aren't fired, they can still be declared "enemy combatant" and disappeared.

IMO, public figures are the least likely to be disappeared b/c of the political fallout, but with this bunch of goons, who knows?

I do know I'm grateful for KO, Randi Rhodes and everyone else willing to spread the word despite the risks.

"In the last months of Donahue, management gave us strict orders: if we booked a guest who was antiwar, we needed two who were pro-war. If we booked two guests on the left, we needed three on the right. When a producer proposed booking Michael Moore, she was told she'd need three rightwingers for ideological balance."

Maybe our side is just so damn smart that it takes 3 or more rightwingers to take on 1 or 2 of us. Yunno, to make things "balanced". :eyes:

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

And thanks for the laugh. :hi:

"Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media", can't wait to read it. Has anyone here read it?

Olbermann's ratings are climing higher and higher every day. Currently, ratings for "Countdown" are higher than any other MSNBC show, including "Hardball". And the network seems to have built their shows more around Olbermann.

Abrams seems to be very pleased with it.

Here's how the Monday ratings stacked up. Notice how well Olbermann is doing with the 25-54 'money' demographic:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/the_scoreboard_monday_october_2_44935.asp#more

He's within striking distance of O'Reilly!!!

If MSNBC got rid of Olbermann, it would be a PR disaster for a network with very little else going on for it. In short, Olbermann is MSNBC's 800 lb. gorilla. They can't afford to lose him.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be surprised if, say, CNN Headline News picked him up and got rid of the two losers they have now.

He has to "calm them down"!

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/09/11/olbermann/index1.html

Is there anyone over in corporate headquarters who's seeing what happens as you take this approach and saying, "Keep doing this, it's helping you"?

Oh, yeah. If there has been any negative reaction to it, it has been kept from me. In other words, they have the way you would want employers in this situation to approach it. They have been supportive. They have been interested in what they are supposed to be interested in on a corporate level, which is making money. More ratings, of course. More money. It's not a complicated solution. It's the reason that Fox owns Fox News Channel and, say, "Family Guy." Wherever you can make the money is what interests them and it's -- ironically, given the flaws in commercial broadcasting as opposed to some other models, such as commercial-free broadcasting -- it is one of the protections of our liberties that the people who are owning most of it are at bottom line interested only in making money, and whatever makes money is what they will go for. That's one of our great protections ... In fact, sometimes I have to turn to them and say, "No. I know you like this and I know you think this is going to do real well for you in the ratings, but just don't pull the gun out of the holster every 35 seconds." If anything, I have to calm them down, rather than the other way around.

would be to see a show where Olberman was paired with Mike Malloy....wishful thinking I guess! :shrug:

I think that MSNBC has learned (kind of) their lesson from Donahue. I believe that msnbc is trying to bring up Scarborough, by using Keith as their lead-in, and once they feel as though they have a competitive audience they will kill Countdown.

higher than O'liely??

did anyone see that besides me??

he is killing everyone else!

the tide has turned..and he is commanding the first ship!!

fly