First, another possible reason for Keith's departure:
An MSNBC source told the New York Times' Brian Stelter that Olbermann's exit was "all about what he did after the suspension."
The network suspended Olbermann last November for donating to three Democratic candidates, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in Tucson January 8. The suspension brought Olbermann's already volatile relationship with his bosses to a new low. Instead of apologizing for his actions and keeping quiet (as NBC executives would have liked), the host turned his silencing into a cause celebre, issuing a statement and apologizing to his viewers for "unnecessary drama." As a result, MSNBC President Phil Griffin threatened to fire Olbermann if he went public with his grievances on other networks.
Take that for what it's worth. We're all kind of aware that Keith isn't the easiest guy to deal with off the air. But very few successful media people are centered and easy-going. High ratings and ad revenue tend to buy quite a bit of latitude in that regard -- or, at least, that's how it used to be. It seems as though ratings are irrelevant anymore. Personal beefs and cocktail party yentering has taken precedent over numbers. I could elaborate on this but I won't. Suffice to say, MSNBC isn't the only media outfit that fucks around with ratings-getters.
Anderson Cooper says a source told him it’s no coincidence that Olbermann got canned once Jeff Zucker got forced out. Shuster also says this is almost certainly related to the Comcast deal.
Whatever the reason, liberals have lost a powerful voice -- one of very, very few voices -- on television. We can only hope at this point that he lands over at CNN and continues to wave a flag in an overwhelmingly right-leaning cable news landscape.
And, meanwhile, we'd be well-served by supporting the remaining liberals at MSNBC: O'Donnell, Maddow and Schultz, along with the addition of my friend Cenk Uyger who's taking over the 6 p.m. timeslot. We still have four hours of liberal talking on cable. For now. Who the hell knows what Comcast has in mind.