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Keith Olbermann

nobody wins

Scarborough Attacks Unnamed, Arm-Waving Host

Hah. Here is friendly Joe Scarborough taking the most thinly-veiled shot EVER at his MSNBC colleague Keith Olbermann. "I know a couple of hosts ran this last night, made a huge deal because a liberal blogger picked it up. I guarantee the hosts that ran this, waving their arms, had no idea whether the Sunni Awakening or the Surge began at the same time." Hah. Way to not name names, Joe! See, it's funny because Keith Olbermann is running for president as an experienced foreign policy pro. Do Joe and Keith not get along? Clip after the jump. More »

feuds

New MSNBC Chief Insults Fox News

Phil Griffin was only promoted to president of MSNBC last week, but he's already escalated the cable news network's feud with competitor Fox News Channel. That probably shouldn't be surprising given that Griffin is the chief patron of Keith Olbermann, the antagonist most detested by Fox. But Griffin's swipes at his competitor in the Kansas City Star are still startlingly raw: "You can't trust a word they say," Griffin said of Fox News. "THEY made the business decision to create an ideological network. We didn't. They were the ones that got in bed with the Bush Administration, so that most of the time, where did the Bush Administration officials come out and make their points? Fox News." Well, OK then! But isn't MSNBC adding a lot of left-wing opinion to its own newscasts, via Olbermann and others? Totally different, said Griffin: More »

feuds

Keith Olbermann Savors His Fleeting Moment Of Revenge Against Page Six

Keith Olbermann and Rupert Murdoch's media empire keep adding to their illustrious history of mutual hatred. Last month, the Murdoch-owned Post's Page Six accused the broadcaster of valuing ketchup more than the memory of the newly dead Tim Russert. Earlier this week, Page Six ran a particularly provocative item accusing Olbermann of being, uh, too nice to the departed Tony Snow. And last night, Olbermann had his revenge for that; he was forced to call Page Six "sick, sick people" and big liars for all their lying lies. Click to watch his righteous thunder. We report and you decide, ha ha!

feuds

Olbermann Smeared By Post, Future "Worst Person In The World"

As you are likely painfully aware, MSNBC Countdown host Keith Olbermann is in a big feud with the entire News Corporation, since he picked a fight with thin-skinned Bill O'Reilly on Fox News. This feud recently grew to include News Corp.'s Post. When Post reporter Paula Froelich researched an item for Page Six on Olbermann supposedly demanding Tim Russert's old job, Olbermann preemptively called the reporter "the worst person in the world" on his show. When the Post did a story on Olbermann supposedly demanding to fly first class, he called Page Six-er Corynne Steindler "the worst person in the world." And now someone else at the Post is about to be called the "worst person in the world," because Page Six just ran some more bullshit gossip, this time about how Olbermann was way too nice in eulogizing former Bush press secretary Tony Snow. Wait, what? More »

Olbermann Update! Turns out Keith Olbermann was on top of today's Page Six item about him. A clip from yesterday's show of him insulting Six-er Corynne Steindler has been appended to our original post.

feuds

'Page Six' Accuses Olbermann Of Putting Condiments Before Mourning

So Page Six—the oft-vicious Murdoch-owned gossip sheet—occasionally goes after MSNBC pundit Keith Olbermann, partly because Olbermann's kind of an easy target but mostly because Olbermann wages nightly war on all of Murdoch's News Corp. But you knew that. Recently, when NBC's Tim Russert died, Olbermann tried to preempt a Page Six report unfavorable to him and his MSNBC coworker Chris Matthews by denying it before it even ran. Oddly, he declared Page Six second-in-command Paula Froelich his Worst Person In the World instead of the more evil Richard Johnson. So Paula responded in email to us. But we all knew what was coming! Today, Page Six itself strikes back against Olbermann. What terribly embarrassing story do they have for us? More »

tabloid wars

Olbermann and O'Reilly Drag General Electric and Rupert Murdoch Into Their Dick-Measuring Contest

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp owns Fox News and the New York Post's Page Six, so there's often a bit of corporate synergy in the targets those two outlets decide to attack. Like NBC, for example. MSNBC competes directly with Fox News and NBC with the Fox network, so it's only good business to undermine them at every turn. But it's become an all-out a war, lately, waged both in print and on television. Let's go back to the beginning! More »

No You're The Worst Person In the World MSNBC's Keith Olbermann is "as infantile as he is narcissistic" and suffers from "a severe case of malignant self-obsession." So says Paula Froelich of Page Six, named last night by the ranty MSNBC host as "worst person in the world" for a naughty gossip item she was running.

feuds

"Partisan" MSNBC-ers Shut Out Of Meet The Press?

So the Post has posted the Page Six item Keith Olbermann was so worked up about yesterday, and it does indeed say Hardball host Chris Matthews "seemed" to be talking about a strategy for landing Tim Russert's job at a memorial event for the NBC personality, and that Olbermann is threatening to quit if he doesn't get Russert's Meet The Press job. (On Countdown, Olbermann denied issuing an ultimatum for Meet The Press and said Matthews shut down talk of him replacing Russert when an acquaintance brought it up.) But the gossip item also quotes a source, ostensibly from the traditional broadcast side of NBC News, who claims that Russert himself wanted NBC News political director Chuck Todd as his own replacement, and that the network will never install someone from MSNBC on the show: More »

feuds

Olbermann Lashes Out Over Russert Rumor

Keith Olbermann's feud with Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp. media properties reached a bitter new milestone today when the MSNBC Countdown host smacked Murdoch's Post for a forthcoming gossip item that will, he said, allege that fellow MSNBC-er Chris Matthews was jockeying to succeed Tim Russert as host of Meet The Press at a memorial event for Russert yesterday. The item will also reportedly say that Olbermann has threatened to quit if he doesn't get Russert's job himself. Olbermann leapt to sometime-rival Matthews' defense, saying the Hardball host was asked by an acquaintance at the event about succession and immediately shut the conversation down. As for himself, Olbermann denied he had demanded to replace Russert and said he was, in any case, unqualified (though any savvy and honest successor would attach that caveat). The Page Six reporter working on the item, Paula Froelich, was awarded Countdown's "Worst Person In The World" title for the night, which will teach her a very important lesson: Do not call TV people for comment until after their shows have aired. Clip after the jump. More »

gossip roundup

Mean Huffington Won't Even Praise Russert's Ties Or Whatever

  • Observers note that Arianna Huffington waited several days to personally blog anything about the death of Tim Russert of Meet The Press, who she often criticized. Then when she did say something, she didn't really praise the man. Not even faint praise! Dammit, Arianna, the public DEMANDS DISINGENUOUS EULOGIES! [R&M]
  • Condé Nast is accused of stiffing the widow of advertising rainmaker Steve Florio by not handing over her husband's full severance, insurance and benefits. [P6]
  • "Oh, hey, you know what would be romantic, clingy Jennifer Aniston?" "What, manorexic John Mayer?" "A stay at the Mexico vacation home of Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis, who served jail time for filming naked underaged girls! He just asks that we not disturb any evidence!" "Yaaay!" (Sorry, it's a lot better with the puppets.)
  • This picture of movie Harry Potter is seriously the most frightening thing I've seen all night. Oh, also, he's buying a butt exerciser for some kind of Broadway role (picture does not involve his butt). [R&M]
  • Britney Spears took a topless swim at a tops-optional Las Vegas pool lounge. None of the paparazzi got any shots, except of Spears in a skimpy outfit, and now Spears is said to be hawking her own topless photos from the swim. Or, well, technically her father runs her business affairs now by court order so... Ew.
  • Lindsay Lohan has been "amazing" on the set of her movie, which means she's not getting drunk or high or passing out or committing felonies during working hours. Well, sure, but it's summertime. There aren't any nice coats lying around to steal. [People]
  • Denise Richards admits to having 10 dogs. Sure they're on a ranch, but... why? "I am not sure why there is so much drama about how many animals I have," she said. Also: after she split with Charlie Sheen, Richards totally stole Heather Locklear's man, while they were friends. But on her reality show, she says they totally weren't friends any more, for three months. [P6]

feuds

The Many Insults Of Keith Olbermann

The New Yorker profiled MSNBC editorializer Keith Olbermann and the Post, as the designated attack dog of Olbermann enemy News Corp. excerpted only the most damaging bits. But it still left out plenty of juicy scraps of information about the many coworkers the MSNBC Countdown host has insulted and alienated over the years, and about the arguably insulting things even supportive NBC executives said about him. A quick roundup, starting with Olbermann's insults, including the co-host he moved to tears: More »

shouting heads

Page Six Has Fun With Keith Olbermann's 'Jimmy Legs'

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann often tears right wingers a new one. And the New York Post hates that. And now it turns out that Olbermann has a ladies' disease! So the fun begins! "THE perplexing mystery of why Keith Olbermann acts like a twitchy, hopped-up geek on his MSNBC show has been solved. The New Yorker's Peter J. Boyer reports the TV loudmouth 'has been given a diagnosis of Wittmaack-Ekbom's syndrome, also known as 'restless legs syndrome' (and also 'the kicks,' 'Jimmy legs' and 'the jitters'), a neurological disorder that produces a prickling, itching or crawling feeling in the legs.' Known as a women's ailment because it strikes twice as many women as men, the syndrome has stirred controversy among doctors who don't agree whether it's even real or instead caused by various physical and/or emotional factors." After the jump, Olbermann is clumsy and big-headed. More »

feuds

Post Attacks Olbermann Via Infographic

The Post's efforts to slam Keith Olbermann are getting increasingly desperate. In its latest attempt to lash the MSNBC personality on behalf of owner Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. comrade-in-arms Bill O'Reilly, who are in a feud with the Countdown host, the tabloid somehow managed to work an Olbermann dig into a story about bad gym behavior. Well, actually, not into the copy of the story itself, but into the accompanying infographic, pictured above. It's an awkward enough dig to make one miss Olbermann's Rupert-Murdoch-as-a-pirate imitation. [Post]

feuds

Keith Olbermann's Rupert Murdoch Imitation Involves Gawker, Pirates

Looking for a decent excuse to advance his long-simmering feud with Rupert Murdoch and to do a weird Australian/pirate accent, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann seized upon the words of a former News Corp. insider, who claimed in one of our posts this morning that Murdoch fired Jane Friedman from HarperCollins because she canned powerhouse publisher Judith Regan in late 2006, and also because she squashed Regan's OJ Simpson book project. The source also claimed, tangentially and outlandishly, that Fox News chief Roger Ailes will soon be fired as well for his own role in the Simpson book fiasco. Predictably, this amused Olbermann to no end. For the crime of going to bat for the OJ book, Olbermann named Murdoch today's "worst person in the world," an honor previously bestowed to Fox News screamer Bill O'Reilly. He then did a killer Murdoch imitation that will surely put to rest those allegations that he's totally crazy. Clip after the jump. More »

election

NBC Anchors Get Choked Up About Obama Nomination

Barack Obama has been declared the Democratic nominee now by CNN, NBC News, ABC News and AP; his victory speech has already gone online. The historic occasion of a black Democratic candidate touched the hearts of even the grizzled veteran news anchors at NBC. Chris Matthews read comments from South African anti-apartheid icon Desmond Tutu, who recently said of Obama, "Where else in the world would you ever have had anything like that?" Fellow anchors Keith Olbermann and Tom Brokaw both sounded even more sentimental, getting a bit choked up talking about Obama in the clip after the jump. Aww. Sometimes your quavering voice makes a "Special Comment" all its own, Keith. More »

crime

Keith Olbermann On The Run From The Tax Man

Raging liberal tax-and-spend broadcaster Keith Olbermann is a hypocritical tax cheat who wants to deprive the government of revenues in order to further enrich himself! That's according to the well-named site Olbermann Watch, which reports that the MSNBC host has a tax warrant out against his personal corporation in New York, for failing to pay about $2,300 in state taxes. All of which would have gone to buying baby formula for children on welfare, but which Olbermann wantonly hoarded to enhance his own hair gel collection instead! He should really pay up. Disclaimer: Although this news is true, it comes from a right-leaning website, which is inherently untrustworthy. Unlike, you know, Huffington Post. [Olbermann Watch]

feuds

Keith Olbermann Attacked By Post On Behalf Of Bill O'Reilly

Rupert Murdoch's handmaidens over at the New York Post this morning jumped into a feud between their Fox News shouting head Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC ranter Keith Olbermann. The tabloid's gossip page ran an item dredging up various minor controversies involving Olbermann dating back to his ESPN days, up through an alleged spat between Olbermann and fellow MSNBC personality David Gregory last Tuesday over camera time. It then insinuated Olbermann might soon explode and leave his network. The warmed-over gossip was clearly meant as cover fire on behalf of O'Reilly, a fellow News Corp. soldier, whose feud with Olbermann is detailed in the Washington Post today. In a nutshell: More »