Is Keith Olbermann running MSNBC now? Can he really bring in Dan Rather, the discredited liberal septuagenerian ex-CBS anchorman turned loony left conspiracy litigant?
It seems quite possible, based on Olbermann's track record. He seems determined to demonstrate, every chance he gets, that he runs the network, and not his ostensible MSNBC honcho, Phil Griffin. And Olbermann is out to show who's boss, in the mostly publicly humiliating way possible.
TV Newser notes that Olbermann floated, publicly, on MSNBC air, the prospect of Rather taking over the 10 p.m. slot on MSNBC. Here's the TVN report:
A tipster noted the toss last night between Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, in which Olbermann asked: "Dan Rather tonight? Want to ask him if he's doing anything weeknights at 10?" Maddow replied, "I will, thank you for suggesting that, Keith."
In fact, Keith has a way of broadcasting his clout at MSNBC. As every cable gamer knows, Olbermann wrote in his Daily Kos blog last August, taking credit for picking Maddow.
And as further reported in November by Jessica Presslerin New York magazine, Olbermann took a shine to Maddow after she clobbered hapless (but still full of himself) faux conservative Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, back when MSNBC was making a pretense of airing conservative views. "We were friends from the start,” said Olbermann to Pressler. “Our worldviews overlap.”
Boy, did they ever. As Pressler details, Olbermann's goal was to get rid of Dan Abrams in the hour following him and put in Maddow as his replacement. Note, below, this summation of Griffin: "He didn’t want to hire Rachel. Keith hired Rachel.” As you read this below, you might ask, "Who wears the pants at MSNBC?
Olbermann had no such kinship with Dan Abrams, the lawyer and former MSNBC executive who hosted Verdict, the program that followed Countdown. In fact, Olbermann’s dislike of Abrams was so intense that he refused to provide Abrams with a “throw,” that brief chat as the audience is passed, it is hoped, from one block of programming to another. Sometimes there would be up to five seconds of dead air between their shows.
With Olbermann’s urging, Maddow, who had never even used a TelePrompTer before February, began guest-hosting Countdown last year, and soon Olbermann was pressuring Phil Griffin, his friend and producer, to give her Abrams’s slot. In July, Griffin told the Times he planned to give Maddow a show when the opportunity arose. “And a month later, when [Griffin] was promoted to president,” Olbermann says, “he did.”
He may not have had much of a choice. According to MSNBC insiders, as Olbermann’s ratings have risen, so has his level of power at MSNBC. “Phil Griffin didn’t hire Rachel,” says one person who works at the network. “He didn’t want to hire Rachel. Keith hired Rachel.” Olbermann plays down his involvement: “It was nothing more sophisticated than being the person who nominated her for membership in the club.” But he was the one who broke the news of Maddow’s show on August 19, on the liberal Website Daily Kos, writing coyly, “Yes, I had something to do with it.”
And so it was with that background--Olbermann dictating to Griffin--that The Cable Gamer was intrigued to read Brian Stelter's 1/22 story in the NYT, headlined, "NBC Wants to Add a 3rd Prime-Time Show," Olbermann signaled that he was once again driving programming at MSNBC, searching out an alternative to the current MSNBC practice, which is to run a re-run of Olbermann's 8 pm show in the 10 pm hour. As Stelter reported:
In an e-mail message, Mr. Olbermann said he was working with Mr. Griffin to develop options for the 10 p.m. hour. He echoed Mr. Griffin’s comments about the need for a complete prime-time schedule. “Losing the 10 p.m. replay is a very small price to pay for a last piece to the puzzle,” Mr. Olbermann said.
Well, we know from the Maddow episode how Olbermann works with Griffin: Keith on top, and Phil on the bottom, if you know what I mean.
OK, OK, the reader might be saying, "What's so bad about Olbermann calling the shots at MSNBC? After all, the Maddow show is a hit." Well, in fact, the Maddow show is mostly successful because it follows Olbermann; we'll see how long she holds even his audience. But at minimum, Maddow is young and fresh--the opposite of Dan Rather.
And yet now comes the news--straight from the horse's mouth--that Olbermann wants Rather on MSNBC, following Maddow. This is the same Rather, who, when last heard from, was in the midst of suing CBS News over his termination over the discredited "Memo-gate" story, which slimed George W. Bush and led to a slew of much-deserved firings at CBS. Rather's Oliver Stone-ish lawsuit has been dragging on for years, costing everyone a fortune, and making nobody look good.
So now Olbermann wants this man, Rather, on his network? How can that end well for MSNBC and all the suits at NBC-Universal and on up the corporate chain of command?
Amazing. Yes, it's a ridiculous idea, flying in the face of fairness, good journalism, and even MSNBC's much-touted "youth demo" strategy.
But as TCG has argued, MSNBC needs Olbermann, and all his whims, because General Electric, the troubled conglomerate desperately needs its pipeline to Uncle Sam's bailout money, funneled from the US Treasury to GE Capital and then to the the parent company. With politics calling the tune for GE, it's no surprise that Olbermann can call the tune in his own TV playpen.
So Olbermann seems to have absolute power at MSNBC. And we know what happens to those with absolute power.
