Keith Olbermann's abrupt departure from MSNBC Friday night was not unexpected. Olbermann had flirted with the edge of dismissal at the news network before, retreating here and there to resurface and continue on with his nightly rants.Maybe that's unfair.
Olbermann was, indeed, the first at the network to bring forward a strong voice for liberal politics. He eliminated all pretense of objectivity, which is the norm these days in broadcast journalism, and stated a position that, quite frankly, was lacking. It must have irritated the hell out of his bosses, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But sometimes he was reduced to, well, rants.
On the other hand, he brought fresh perspective to a network that was growing stagnant and although his show frequently pegged anywhere from brilliant to an out-and-out train wreck, he was always interesting.
It was unfair for the network to jump his case when it was revealed he had given money to a couple of political campaigns. Even though he is in broadcast news, he still should have the right to support candidates of his liking without interference from his bosses; he should be able to come and go as he pleases (i.e., the bans several news agencies imposed on reporters for events such as the Restore Sanity and/or Fear in Washington, D.C.); and live a life that is true unto itself.
That said, I also have to admit that for the last couple of years, I have avoided much of what is broadcast on the so-called news channels, jumping in here and there to see what the state-of-the-art is as a curious onloooker, but not leaping into the fray with the eagerness that once had my remote control on speed dial for MSNBC, CNN and those other guys with really loud voices on that other channel.
We can thank Olbermann for bringing Rachel Maddow to MSNBC. We can thank him for taking on Bill O'Reilly. We can thank him for giving progressive politics a voice.
We can also shake our heads at his inglorious performance during the last presidential election, his shoot-from-the-hip attitude that sometimes had even liberals backing away and his massive ego, which he frequently forgot to check at the door. I guess the ego thing is typical of television personalities, so mayvbe we can forgive a part of that.
Olbermann is a very bright man. He knows sports, he knows politics, he knows his niche in broadcasting. And, it is my sincere hope that his dismissal from MSNBC is more a reflection of the bad judgment of talent that is rampant in television "news" these days rather than another misguided attempt to silence the progressive voice.
I mean, how can we take CNN seriously after it bounced the talented Campbell Brown and booked a daily slot for the incredibly lame "Parker Spitzer" show -- failing in the ratings, by the way -- that places a blonde bimbo across the desk from a guy with the countenance of a smarmy old perv who was embroiled in a prostitution scandal. What value does that bring to the network? Probably as much as hiring Piers Morgan to replace Larry King.
Television has become a rather boring, contemptuous village these days with more than its share of idiots running the ship aground. Olbermann was not one of them. As we have seen, however, the NBC brand is not known for good decisions, particularly in the way it dumped in Conan O'Brien's dinner plate while burnishing Jay Leno's backside.
Perhaps TBS will find a home for Olbermann, much like it did for Team Coco.
Might be interesting.
