612 replies to this topic

[Aurora Borealis]

Hi everyone!!

Didn't know when/whether to stop using the Countdown forum, so I thought I'd go ahead and start this forum for news and speculation on what Keith's new show will be like.

Can Keith use 'Countdown With Keith Olbermann' or is that copyrighted by MSNBC?

What do you think Keith's new show: a) should be called; and b) will be called?

[luna azul]

Special Comment?

[ThatPoshGirl]

Dang, I don't get Current TV. And, I worked for the cable company and get free cable, so I can't exactly switch... I wonder if it will be available on Hulu or a Roku channel.

[InnerCanuck]

Current TV has a You Tube channel, so Keith's new venture - I'll go with Special Comment luna :) - will be available to those without the channel on their cable packages.

[Renard]

I wouldn't be surprised if they make a podcast available on iTunes; I used to subscribe to the podcast for both Keith and Rachel which are/were available in both video and audio only format.

[Lisette]

The day before he signed, someone bought the domain, "The Keith Olbermann Show". So that's my guess.

[ThatPoshGirl]

Probably Tucker Carlson.

[FuschiaGoddess]

thekeitholbermannshow.com isn't owned by Tucker Carlson, but keitholbermannshow.com (no "the") is - actually by his website, Daily Caller.

[InnerCanuck]

Didn't Tucker learn his lesson back in November about using Keith's name in a website? Yeah, thought not...

[Lexx]

I really wish Keith was still on the air. I find myself constantly wondering how he would've covered Egypt and, now, Wisconsin.

[Aurora Borealis]

Renard:

I wouldn't be surprised if they make a podcast available on iTunes; I used to subscribe to the podcast for both Keith and Rachel which are/were available in both video and audio only format.

I wouldn't either, given that Keith's title will be "Chief Media Officer" - lots of media to use &/or experiment with - podcast, Twitter, etc.

Lexx:

I really wish Keith was still on the air. I find myself constantly wondering how he would've covered Egypt and, now, Wisconsin.

Ditto. Not sure about Egypt, but I definitely think Keith would've ripped Scott Walker & the Republican-controlled State Senate & State Assembly new ones several times over by now. (Telling Dems to show up at 5:00 pm to vote, but when the Dems arrive at 4:57 pm, voting is already underway...)

edited to get my politicians straight...Scott *Brown* is a US Senator...

Edited by Aurora Borealis, Feb 22, 2011 @ 12:23 PM.

[HyeChaps]

From Cindy Adams' column in The New York Post:

KEITH Olbermann on MSNBC shedding him: "I don't really know why." Such reluctance disappeared when discussing his new job. "I start beginning June. Al Gore's Current TV, station 103 in Manhattan. My producers and staff suggest I even veer a little to the middle politically. No cut in salary. In fact, I'm in charge. I'm the news director. So I'll stay on one hour longer, but I'm in charge of that, too. If we're long, then I'm on a little more and the next show's a little short."

A ridiculous question. So, Keith, hon, what if you run dry?

"Oh, please. How could I? Bob and Ray from the old days are to blame. In 1974, they suggested I try political humor."

[BobH]

Olbermann blog open for business.

http://foknewschannel.com/

Already a "Worst Person" list and a long essay on the importance of unions and more.

[Baba Yaga]

I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much I relied on KO to interpret what was going on. Boy, I miss him. Thanks, BobH.

[Lexx]

It's not quite the new show on Current, but it is something:

http://foknewschannel.com/video/

So far Keith's posted a Worst Persons of the Day vid, and a Special Comment about Libya.

I have to say, I was happy enough just reading Keith's posts, hearing the words in his voice in my head. But seeing the videos really reminded me how much I miss seeing him every night. That new show can't come soon enough.

[kingofpoppa]

Thanks for the KO update.
I so miss KO saying..you've been in power for ---days, where are the job's Mr Boehner?

[Lisette]

Love that he's back, even if it's online. But someone told me he mentioned it on his website or in a tweetthat he was coming to speak at the Reagan Library in May. I can't find anything about it on his website. I hope it's true.

ETA: My boss. She read it. Olbermann at the Reagan Library in May.

seems like that would be a pretty unlikely place for KO.

It does! But looking for confirmation of this announcement (still unfound), I saw he spoke there in 2007. In the belly of the beast! (Rumsfeld was there two weeks ago.)

Edited by Lisette, Mar 27, 2011 @ 11:32 AM.

[kingofpoppa]

Hmm, Lisette
seems like that would be a pretty unlikely place for KO. Only Ron Reagan a friend of KO's and lord knows they're not going to let him make library speaking decisions!

[ouronlylight]

Does anyone know if the location for Countdown 2.0 been announced yet? I'm curious because I was on Wikipedia and apparently Current TV is headquartered in San Francisco. Since Keith has a fancy new title with Current as well as a news program, will he/the show be moving to San Francisco, or will they be staying put in New York?

[InnerCanuck]

I can't imagine him throwing over his beloved NY baseball teams for the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants (God, I love typing that!) so on that basis alone, I'd say he's staying put. But happy to throw a Welcome mat out for him here at the Golden Gate, should he choose to/need to relocate...

[Raider Duck]

My producers and staff suggest I even veer a little to the middle politically.

I absolutely hope he does. For all of Bill O'Reilly's bluster and ham-handedness, he will occasionally have people on his show that he completely disagrees with. I can't ever remember Keith having a Republican on Countdown. While I enjoyed Keith's wit and smarm, almost every single guest basically said, "Me, too" to everything Keith was saying.

Keith is obviously a liberal, and need make no apology for that. A little Point-Counterpoint would be nice, however.

[chalkdust]

My producers and staff suggest I even veer a little to the middle politically.

You know, in the original context of this comment as I remember reading it online, I got the distinct impression that he meant something different, that his producers and staff were accusing him (to use an exaggerated verb) of being too centrist.

Although I understand the criticism in the abstract, I'm relieved that he avoided the left-vs.-right shouting, in part because that seems to dominate every other show. If no one else did it, then that's another matter, but there are so many places to go for that sort of thing (O'Reilly, Hannity, Matthews, Schultz, O'Donn...zzzzzzz) - and on the weekend shows, it's often a "round-table" of two republican politicians, a conservative journalist, and maybe a blue dog. Note how many times Rachel has done Meet the Press (I think it's three times), when Michelle Malkin has been on at least once. Didn't even Meghan McCain do one?!

KO would also have people on who disagreed with him, but it was within the leftward spectrum (his debates with Rachel and with Howard Dean come to mind, and one evening when he moderated a mini-debate between Cenk Ugyur and Karen Finney). You got a good exploration of nuance and policy in those, and I'd like more of it. I actually learned more from those discussions than the usual right/left talking points shouting matches, or even some of Rachel's showdowns with the likes of Art Robinson and Rand Paul, although watching them spin around and around was kind of fun.

I can't ever remember Keith having a Republican on Countdown.

There have been a few - I remember Charlie Crist, Lawrence Wilkerson, David Frum, John Dean of course (though I doubt he votes R any more), and some state-level reps re: the Arizona transplant case.

will he/the show be moving to San Francisco, or will they be staying put in New York?

I think they're building a studio in NYC, which is part of the "late spring" hedge - if you've ever had a house built or remodeled, you know how reliable those finishing dates can be!

ETA: Boy, you can always tell when I'm procrastinating at the computer...

Edited by chalkdust, Apr 3, 2011 @ 4:12 PM.

[Al Funcoot]

KO also doesn't usually make it clear when he disagrees with a guest, either. I recall that being the case a few times with Dana Millbank, the most obvious case being the time Millbank insisted Colbert's WHCD performance wasn't the slightest bit funny. I also remember a few times where Millbank was followed by a guest who was a better expert on the subject saying the opposite of Millbank.

[KADC]

You know, in the original context of this comment as I remember reading it online, I got the distinct impression that he meant something different, that his producers and staff were accusing him (to use an exaggerated verb) of being too centrist.

And, IMO, they would be right. My problem with KO (and Maddow) is that they are just Democratic Party shills. There isn't any truly leftist commentators on any television network. What passes for "left" in this country is tepid, at best. I'm forced to watch Free Speech Satellite and Democracy Now! to see real leftist commentary. You can get fairly radical right-wing commentary on network TV, but nothing approaching radical left.

Although I understand the criticism in the abstract, I'm relieved that he avoided the left-vs.-right shouting, in part because that seems to dominate every other show.

The Democrat-vs-Republican talking points have been done to death, so I completely agree. It's boring, as far as I'm concerned.

[Fathomite]

So Keith doesn't really know why MSNBC fired him?

Oh please.

The exact same reason CNN, ESPN, and Fox Sports all fired him, because he not only burned all the bridges, he nuked them and the surrounding countryside.

The only job he's ever really left on even reasonably decent terms was the first go round at MSNBC because he got sick and burned out over being froced to do nothing but MonicaGate every night.

[braggtastic]

According to Keith's twitter account, this show will begin on Current 8pm in late spring - I'm guessing that means mid-May or so?

[BobH]

Show announcement tomorrow, including video on the "FOK News" website.

[KimB77]

According to Deadline, the new show will premiere on June 20th and will be called...

wait for it...

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

I was hoping it would begin earlier, like next month. But I guess late spring to them means the day before summer begins. :/

[Doom]

So I guess he somehow got them to agree to let him take the name with him? Or perhaps that was in his original contract?

[M. Darcy]

Here's the video of Keith's announcement. Its going to be on at its orginal time 8 p.m Eastern with repeats at 11 and 2 am.