Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann
Born	January 27, 1959 New York City, NY, USA
Occupation(s)	News Anchor, Commentator, and Radio Sportscaster
Website	Countdown with Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann (born January 27, 1959) is an American news anchor, commentator and radio sportscaster. He currently hosts Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, an hour-long nightly newscast that reviews the top news stories of the day along with political commentary by Olbermann. He also appears on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN radio during the 2-3 PM EST hour. Starting with the 2007 NFL season, Olbermann will also serve as co-host of NBC's Football Night in America with Bob Costas.

Early life and career

Olbermann's family moved to Westchester County from New York City, and he attended school at Hastings-on-Hudson before attending and graduating from the prominent Hackley School in Tarrytown alongside future ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman. Olbermann then 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. As a teenager, Keith was a prolific writer of articles about baseball card collecting, appearing in many of the sports card collecting periodicals of the mid-1970s. He is credited in Sports Collectors Bible, a 1975 book by Bert Randolph Sugar, which is considered one of the important early books for card collectors.

Olbermann began his professional career at UPI and RKO Radio before joining then 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.

Career at ESPN

In 1992, he joined ESPN’s SportsCenter, a position he held 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 and Patrick 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. On the May 10, 2004, episode for Countdown, Olbermann said that the short-lived ABC dramedy Sports Night was based on his time on SportsCenter with Patrick.

New ventures

Olbermann was instrumental in the launches of ESPN Radio and ESPN2. He christened the programming on ESPN2, promoted as the younger, hipper ESPN, with the remark "Welcome to the end of our careers."

Leaving ESPN

In 1997, Olbermann abruptly left ESPN under a cloud of controversy, apparently burning his bridges with the network's management. Olbermann and ESPN were long to reconcile. The network famously snubbed him when they did not invite him to participate in its 25th Anniversary "Reunion Week".
In November 2002, Olbermann published an essay on Salon.com entitled "Mea Culpa" in which he conceded that his own insecurities and neurotic behavior had led to many of his problems at work. In the essay, it imparted an instance of where his former bosses remarked he had "too much backbone," which actually hit on a literal truth. He has six lumbar vertebrae instead of the normal five.

After SportsCenter

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

See also: Major League Baseball on NBC

When the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998, The Big Show morphed into White House in Crisis. Olbermann became frustrated as his show was consumed by the Lewinsky story. In 1998, he stated that his work at MSNBC would "make me ashamed, make me depressed, make me cry." He left MSNBC after 17 months to return to sportscasting.

In 1998, Olbermann joined Fox Sports Net as anchor and executive producer for The Keith Olbermann Evening News, a sportscast similar to SportsCenter, airing weekly on Sunday evenings. While at Fox, he again hosted the 2000 World Series as well as Fox Broadcasting’s baseball Game of the Week.

See also: Major League Baseball on FOX

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, reviving the "Speaking of Sports" and "Speaking of Everything" segments begun by Howard Cosell. He was also a somewhat ironic fill-in for conservative newscaster Paul Harvey. The September 11, 2001 attacks 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 and Los Angeles radio station KFWB.

Olbermann wrote a weekly column for Salon.com from July 2002 until being rehired by MSNBC in early 2003. On his return to MSNBC, he served as a substitute host on Nachman and as an anchor for the network's coverage of the war in Iraq. His own show, Countdown, debuted shortly thereafter on March 31, 2003, in the 8 p.m. ET time slot previously held by programs hosted by Phil Donahue and, briefly, Lester Holt. Olbermann uses Edward R. Murrow's signature sign-off "Good night and good luck" to end his show. On October 13, 2004, Olbermann launched Bloggermann, his Countdown weblog, hosted on MSNBC.com. Olbermann used the open format of the blog to expand on facts or ideas alluded to in the broadcast, to offer personal musings and reactions, and to break news at odd hours. However, in February 2007, Olbermann launched a new blog, The News Hole.

Countdown's format, per its name, involves Keith Olbermann ranking the five biggest news stories of the day or sometimes "stories my producers force me to cover" as Olbermann puts it. This is done in numerical reversal or counting down with the first story shown being ranked fifth but apparently the most important. The segments ranked numbers two and one typically are of a lighter fare than segments ranked five through three. The first few stories shown are typically government/politics/world events. The last two typically involve celebrities, sports, or the bizarre. On February 15, 2007, Olbermann and NBC agreed to a contract that would keep Olbermann at his current position as host of Countdown through 2011.

Dan Patrick Show

Olbermann has co-hosted an hour-long segment of the syndicated Dan Patrick Show on ESPN radio since 2004, first on Fridays only but since late 2005 on an everyday basis. Olbermann and Patrick refer to this segment as The Big Show, harkening back to Olbermann's SportsCenter days, and Patrick often introduces Olbermann with the tagline "saving the democracy", a nod to his work on Countdown.

Allegations of bias

Although it began as a traditional, apolitical newscast, Countdown With Keith Olbermann has gradually adopted an opinion-oriented format. Overt and occasionally scathing criticism of prominent Republicans and conservatives (especially the Bush Administration and conservative commentators like Bill O'Reilly, who Olbermann routinely dubs "Worst Person In The World") has become more and more common on the show. The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has written that Olbermann is "position[ing] his program as an increasingly liberal alternative to The O'Reilly Factor." This has led the conservative media group Media Research Center (MRC) to accuse Olbermann of liberal bias. The MRC compiled the recipients on his World's Worst List and found that of the approximately 600 recipients, 174(29%) conservative figures/ideas were criticized compared to only 23(4%) liberals..

In an interview with Al Franken, Olbermann noted that in 2003 after having Janeane Garofalo and Franken on his show, his network NBC Vice President had questioned him on inviting liberals on consecutive nights.

Keith Olbermann has responded to accusations of liberal bias by saying, "I'm not a liberal, I'm an American."

Feud with Bill 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. Olbermann has repeatedly named O'Reilly his “Worst Person in the World," naming him 42 times from June 2005 - June 2006. O'Reilly has petitioned for the ousting of Olbermann from MSNBC and the return of Phil Donahue to Olbermann's time slot, stating that Donahue's ratings far exceeded Olbermann's.

The feud blossomed with Olbermann's public celebration of O'Reilly's sexual harassment suit by former Fox News Channel producer Andrea Mackris; he jokingly kept track of money his viewers pledged to buy the tapes from Mackris and ran a “Save the Tapes” campaign.

In March 2006, 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 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.

On a subsequent Countdown, Olbermann had "Mike" on as a guest to discuss the incident, and he 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” official.

In the latter half of 2006, Olbermann has gone on (on August 30, September 5, September 11, and November 1 commentaries) from criticizing O'Reilly to confronting the Bush administration directly. In a recent “Worst Person in the World” segment, Olbermann said, “I'm sorry, Bill. I can't play with you right now. I have bigger fish to fry.”

According to The New York Times, O'Reilly eventually stopped attacking back on his own show, but Fox News spokesmen Irina Briganti has released the following public statement in response:

Because of his personal demons, Keith has imploded everywhere he’s worked, from lashing out at co-workers to personally attacking Bill O’Reilly and all things Fox, it’s obvious Keith is a train wreck waiting to happen. And like all train wrecks, people might tune in out of morbid curiosity, but they eventually tune out, as evidenced by Keith’s recent ratings decline. In the meantime, we hope he enjoys his paranoid view from the bottom of the ratings ladder and wish him well on his inevitable trip to oblivion.

Back To The Sports Biz

Olbermann was named on April 16, 2007 as co-host of Football Night in America, NBC's NFL pre-game show that preceeds their Sunday Night NFL game.

Controversies

Rita Cosby comments

Olbermann wrote an e-mail to a viewer concerning fellow MSNBC reporter Rita Cosby, saying, “Rita's nice, but dumber than a suitcase of rocks.” Olbermann has since apologized for the email saying he had been stupid and should have known better, but Cosby did reply saying: “Keith got it wrong. I'm not that nice.”

Nazi salute

While on vacation in July 2006, Olbermann was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On the show, he was asked to comment on a photo taken at the recent Television Critics Association press tour that had appeared on the Drudge Report which showed him holding a Bill O'Reilly mask and giving an apparent Nazi salute to the audience. Olbermann said he had been waving to a friend, though he added that "Bill O‘Reilly has defended the Nazis from World War II on three separate occasions." (see Criticism of Bill O'Reilly#Malmedy massacre).

On July 28 2006, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) sent an open letter to Olbermann at MSNBC stating, "We are deeply dismayed by your ongoing use of the Nazi 'Sieg Heil' salute, both on your program and in public appearances…" The letter explains that Olbermann's use of the salute prompted many complaints from its members, including Holocaust survivors, and that any use of it "serves to trivialize the Holocaust and the six million Jews and others … who died." The letter closed by asking Olbermann to reconsider his use of the Nazi salute in the future.

Baseball

Olbermann is a dedicated baseball fan and historian of the sport, with membership in the Society for American Baseball Research. He is also a well known vintage baseball card collector, particularly of T-206 tobacco cards and other rare cards, such as the very rare 2006 Alex Gordon rookie card. He argues 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 (ISBN 0-8032-1056-6), a book requesting amnesty for Merkle's error. Olbermann was also one of the founders of the first experts fantasy baseball league. He was one of the founders of the USA Today Baseball Weekly Labr league, giving the league its nickname (LABR stands for League of Alternative Baseball Reality). Because of his extensive Baseball knowledge, Olbermann is a consultant to Topps, the baseball card manufacturer. Topps allowed him to open the first pack of 2007 baseball cards on Countdown the week before they hit stores. (The first card of the pack is Johnny Damon of the Yankees.)

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 10 days earlier. In an explicit 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," once a recurring segment on Countdown which offered 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.

Ratings and contract renewal

Olbermann's show "Countdown" posted the largest gains in total viewers for the first quarter of 2007 over the first quarter of 2006 in the 8pm timeslot; at +76%, Countdown's gains dwarfed O'Reilly (+5%), Paula Zahn (-10%), and Nancy Grace (+12%). Overall, O'Reilly still commanded by far the largest number of total viewers for that time slot in the first quarter of 2007, Olbermann, the second largest. By the end of March, Olbermann's ratings had fallen 21% since November 2006 and the show had fallen to third place in the 8pm time slot behind Nancy Grace.By mid-April, Countdown had regained much of its rating loss and was jockeying for second with Nancy Grace and Paula Zahn.

On February 16, 2007, MSNBC reported that Olbermann had signed a four year extension on his contract with MSNBC for Countdown, as well as the inclusion of another show set to air on NBC in the fall. The details of the show have not been fully disclosed, but Olbermann was quoted on air as saying it will deal with commentary segments similar to his "special comments", but not so politically-centric. He has referred to them as "essays."

Other television appearances

• He appeared in a cameo as himself in an episode of NBC's Surface.
• He 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 to "eat something"
• A self-described fan of the Fox animated television sitcom Family Guy, he announced in June 2006 on the Dan Patrick Show that he recorded some voice tracks to be used in an upcoming episode. Also, Seth MacFarlane guested on Countdown on January 19, 2007 to discuss Stephen Colbert's appearance on The O'Reilly Factor and O'Reilly's subsequent appearance on The Colbert Report.
• Appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, which involved his disputes with Bill O'Reilly.
• On October 3, 2006, Keith appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.
• Olbermann appeared in the opening segment of the Hootie & the Blowfish music video Only Wanna Be With You.
• On February 23, 2007, Keith appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
• On February 25, 2007, Keith was featured in the "Cable Guy" segment on CBS Sunday Morning.

Bibliography

• The Worst Person In the World and 202 Strong Contenders (Wiley, September 2006). ISBN 0-470-04495-0.
• Deadball Stars of the National League (Potomac Books, February 2004). ISBN 1-57488-860-9. — Foreword written by Olbermann.
• More Than Merkle: A History of the Best and Most Exciting Baseball Season in Human History (University of Nebraska Press, April 2000). ISBN 0-8032-1056-6. — Foreword written by Olbermann.
• Stats 1999 Baseball Scoreboard (STATS, March 1999). ISBN 1-884064-62-0. — Foreword written by Olbermann.
• The Big Show: Inside ESPN's Sportscenter (Atria, 1997). ISBN 0-671-00918-4.
• The Major League Coaches: 1921-1973 (Card Memorabilia Associates, 1973).

External links

• Countdown with Keith Olbermann Front Page
• The News Hole, the blog of Countdown