Olbermann vs O'Leilly

[Killarney]

Anyone else following this bitter rivalry?

I just love all the shots Olbermann gets in on his show against O'Leilly. I just WISH Olbermann's ratings were better. He deserves better!

From www.cablenewser.com
The O'Reilly/Olbermann Spat Continues!
Keith Olbermann took another shot at Bill O'Reilly on the Countdown last night. Quote:
"The Fox News host—the news—that guy who decided last week that his show was more important than Ronald Reagan lying in the state Capitol Rotunda, so he had the president preempted, that guy, he is being threatened with a lawsuit by liberal author Eric Alterman.
Last month, on air, O‘Reilly called Alterman—quote—“another Fidel Castro confidante.” Careful, Billy. You may want to pull back a little bit. This is how Joe McCarthy‘s trolley started to come off the tracks."

THEN,
A FOX insider rebutted on cablenewser.com with: "Are you one of four people who watched Olbermann's show last night?"

Then another FOX insider slammed his ratings again and mentioned the whole Olympics thing. Then Keith wrote back, ""Whoever wrote you about the Fox 8 PM ratings has the perfect right to quote them; shallow, phony patriotism will always draw a crowd -- like dogs humping in the street. But the reference to the Olympics is a lie; I asked NBC management here to permit me to stay with Countdown rather than leave the show for a month, and after considerable discussion, they reluctantly agreed. Anyone who says differently not only doesn't know what's going on IN television -- they probably also don't know how to turn ON a television."

OH SNAP!

[vi5]

1. Much as I like Olberman and despise O'Reilly....

This whole thing is pathetic. Is this really what "news" has come to in this day and age? Pro wrestling style grudge matches and counter-suits?

[BootinUp]

5. Well... anyone that takes O'Reilly on

is doing a service to society as far as I am concerned. I wish TV news could go back to like it was in the good old days, but I'm not holding my breath.

[vi5]

6. I agree, someone like Olberman is excellent...

just very sarcastic and deadpan, contrasted with the other side's screaming banshees.

I just wish it didn't have to come to this.

[Killarney]

7. I understand what you're saying but

I understand what you're saying... it sucks that the news has come to this... personal grudges and insults.

BUT, I'm glad someone is taking O'Reilly to task for his bullshit, pandering, lying, false patriotism, etc.

If no one speaks out, many people won't realize what a joke FAUX is and what a liar O'Reilly is. So, I'm thankful for people like Olbermann who take a risk with their career to do and say what's right.

[Shopaholic]

2. I love Keith!

And I love it that he's calling Faux on their bullshit. It's about time someone noticed that Emperor O'Lielly isn't wearing any clothes! I just don't understand how Faux's ratings are so high. And why in the heck you'd prefer to watch that no-talent bastard when Keith's show is so great.

[sendero]

4. Trust me...

... in America, if nobody says it on TV, it will never occur to the rank and file.

Olbermann is smart to take this tack.

[BootinUp]

3. Thanks for the website link

Looks interesting. And no I didn't know about this little spat. Kinda made my morning. :thumbsup:

[Catch22Dem]

8. Someone clue me in...

What's the olympics thing?

[Shopaholic]

9. Keith was originally signed by NBC in 2003 to cover the Olympic

games in 2004. Shortly thereafter, (in early 2003) he began to fill in for the then ailing Jerry Nachman (who later died). Within a month or so, they negotiated a new contract with Keith to do a prime-time news show which became Countdown, which premiered right around the time that the war in Iraq began. The plan was to still have Keith be the primary anchor for the NBC Cable networks for the Olympic Games (which includes MSNBC, CNBC, USA, and Bravo) up until earlier this month when Keith asked to be replaced because going to Athens would mean being away from Countdown for up to a month, at a time when the show has begun to inch ever-so-slowly up in the ratings (the ratings are still very bad, but at least they are trending upwards).

Apparently, given the time differences between Athens & the U.S. and the logistics of it all would have made it impossible for Olbermann to both host Countdown & the Olympic coverage. So the NBC execs agreed to let him stay in the US with Countdown and replace him with Jim Lampley. I guess the reasoning was that the Olympics were a one-time deal whereas Countdown is a prime-time series for them.

I read a couple of interviews with him right after this was announced, and he admitted he was torn about the decision because he really wanted to do the Olympics but at the end of the day, Countdown was more important. But the plan from the beginning was to have Keith host the Olympic coverage for the NBC cable networks, not to host a primetime news show on MSNBC--that came second.

But some moron from Fox e-mailed Cablenewser.com about the O'Lielly-Keith spat with the following: A cable news insider notes that Keith Olbermann's Countdown averaged only a 0.1 last night, and scratched in the 25-54 demo. He averaged 129,000 viewers -- only 37,000 in the demo. "Jeff Zucker must be proud that his anchor is paving the way for MSNBC to plunge even deeper into obscurity," the insider writes. "At least Dick Ebersol had the common sense to pull this ratings killer from NBC's Olympic coverage."

And that's when Keith contacted the Cablenewser.com website himself and disputed this unnamed Fox insider's claims about him being pulled from the Olympics (see 1st post in thread).

[Catch22Dem]

12. Thank you much

I appreciate it. I figured it would be something like that.

[Eric J in MN]

10. the implication of the top post

I don't have inside information, but based on the top post post:

Fox implied Olbermann wanted to cover the Olympics and NBC wouldn't let him.

And Olbermann is implyng that he didn't want to cover the Olympics, and NBC asked hima and he said no.

[ithacan]

11. I love this line:

shallow, phony patriotism will always draw a crowd -- like dogs humping in the street.

[rumguy]

13. "like dogs humping in a street"

the best description of Faux News I've ever heard...