Past Deadline

We Have a Final Score: Olbermann 1, Righties 0

This is a very good time to be Keith Olbermann, the host of "Countdown" on MSNBC who last month received a four-year contract extension that will take him through 2011 -- this, in the wake of rising ratings and a major uptick in national prominence as a passionate, eloquent and uncompromisingly blunt Bush Administration thorn. But the good times just keep on rolling for a man who until recently distinguished himself as a victim of his own self-destructive zeal. Now, instead of sabotaging himself, he's smiting his enemies.

Case in point: the right-wing attack blog OlbermannWatch at www.olbermannwatch.com. Until today, it was a clearinghouse for Olbermann bashing and propaganda, keeping up a running stream of invective designed to discredit the host. But as of 12:01 a.m. today, OlbermannWatch is no more, its founder Robert A. Cox waving a white flag in surrender upon realizing the negative stream was accomplishing little other than to help raise Olbermann's profile. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity so long as they spell your name right, and here we have definitive proof.

Yes, if you head over to OlbermanWatch now, what you'll find is no longer a blog at all but rather a short and embittered message to its fans. To wit:

"There is no disguising the fact that we have been extremely unhappy with the recent decision of NBC Universal to not only retain Keith Olbermann for four more years but to elevate him in an unprecedented fashion. We had held out hope that MSNBC would allow Olbermann's contract to expire even up until the last few weeks. But the deal is done and our Countdown Clock expired at midnight on March 1, 2007.

"Given this, we have come to the conclusion that we have done more harm than good over the past 2+ years in keeping Olbermann in the public eye at a time when few were watching his show and even less cared about his assault on the journalistic standards we hold dear. So, after careful consideration and consultation with the entire staff, we have decided the time has come to retire OlbermannWatch.com.

"It's been a great run. We certainly had a lot of fun running the site but it's just been increasingly difficult to maintain our enthusiasm as Olbermann's ratings have increased and a compliant media has done everything to boost Olbermann and his show.

"We wish all of you the best over the next four, painful years."

Sincerely,
Robert A. Cox
Managing Editor
OlbermannWatch.com

Oh mercy. It's just so very sad when bad things happen to good bloggers. Or perhaps I have that transposed. You talk about a complete victory for Olbermann. To actually have the opposition take credit/blame for his ratings bounce and rise in popularity is almost like being touched by Edward R. Murrow himself. Not that OlbermannWatch deserves credit or blame in this case, merely pity. And so we'll give it to them, along with a heartfelt Happy Trails.

And meanwhile, over here at Watching OlbermannWatch, they're popping a few champagne corks right about now. (Special thanks to my TV junkie pal Joe Bua for that tip.)

Anyway, as Murrow and Olbermann might conclude, "Good night. And good luck."

UPDATE: Check out this thoughtful profile of Olbermann that ran late last month in Rolling Stone.

Catching Up On the Good, the Bad, (the Weird) and the Ugly

These are strange times here in the Land of Dreams, and strange times call for strange roundup blog items assessing the good, the not so good, and the curious. Like this one. It's a multi-parter, but I promise not to rant too heavily in any one area. Okay, one maybe. Not two.

--Item: Anna Nicole Smith's body begins to decompose amidst legal wrangling over her remains. Reaction: Yes, the Broward County medical examiner's office is telling Howard K. Stern and Smith's mom Virgie Arthur and presumed baby daddy Larry Birkhead to hurry it up and figure out where to bury her because her deteriorating body will soon make presentability during a memorial service extremely challenging. This is so gut-churning as to be unfathomable, not to mention like the subplot of a black comedy. How would you like to have your resting fate decided by the Three Stooges and a camera-pandering judge with designs on his own TV show? I'm smelling an update of "Weekend at Bernie's."

--Item: Paul McCartney's estranged wife Heather Mills to compete in season four of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" along with Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore, Leeza Gibbons, ex-NBA star Clyde Drexler and Billy Ray Cyrus. Reaction: Welcome to Hell. I'm sorry, Heather Mills? It's been requested that I make no "leg up on the competition" jokes. But I think this may have less to do with the fact Mills has a disability than that she's going through a particularly nasty divorce with a global icon. We won't be rooting for the one-legged dancer. After being dismissed as a golddigger and a witch looking to take McCartney down, a lot of viewers will no doubt be hoping she takes a spill or two.

--Item: Rainn Wilson of "The Office" to host "Saturday Night Live" this Saturday (2/24). Reaction: We give thanks, Lorne Michaels, and will now remember you in our will. Wilson -- the mega-intense but bumbling Dwight Schrute on the NBC comedy -- is a superstar waiting to happen, a hugely underrated talent who has proven the perfect comic foil for Steve Carell. It's about time he lands in the center of the spotlight on a national stage.

--Item: "American Idol" producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe to serve as executive producers of this year's Primetime Emmy Awards telecast on Fox. Reaction: I can just see it now: Simon Cowell chiding host Conan O'Brien: "You call that a joke? You disgust me, you smarmy little freckled pustule!" Honestly, if the producers of the show that's keeping your network in business agree to lend their magic to TV's annual night of self-congratulation, you make sure each gets his own stretch limo to drive them each day to rehearsal.

--Item: Satellite radio rivals XM and Sirius agree to merger pending approval by federal regulators. Reaction: If the feds want competition for the iPods of the world, they'll allow these two to exist and have a chance at survival by merging their bottom lines and stemming the red ink flow. If they don't care, they'll block it. I think they'll let it go forward, since it wouldn't seem to be in anyone's best interests to have satellite radio die. On the other hand, it still doesn't seem like an essential thing to have. Therein lies to real issue: public apathy, not governmental roadblock.

--Item: Keith Olbermann signs new four-year contract to remain at MSNBC, also hosting two primetime specials a year on NBC and contributing occasional essays to "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Reaction: There is a God. Olbermann, while undeniably verbose at times, is nonetheless the sharpest and most nimble and eloquent voice working in network news. NBC News is smart to appreciate the jewel they've got. Olbermann was taking rhe Bush Administration to task long before it was fashionable, and no one does it with greater passion and intelligence.

--Item: Fox News Channel debuts "satirical" series pilot "The Half-Hour News Hour" from that wellspring of comedic know-how, "24" executive producer Joel Surnow. Reaction: Did you happen to catch it on Sunday? I did. I'm still waiting for the comedy part to kick in. This was evidently designed as a "Daily Show" for conservatives, except that "Daily Show" doesn't play favorites. It picks on both parties and only skewers the right with greater frequency because it happens to be the party that's in power. But forget all of that. Why is a "news channel" making an alleged news satire in the first place? Isn't that sort of like the Food Network doing a show about bulimia?

Then again, this was a spoof minus any semblance of actual humor. It was simply an excuse to bash the Dems with an especially smug smirk and a particularly cloying laughtrack. Even getting recorded people to snicker at this had to be an immense challenge. I'd tell Fox News to stick to news, except that it doesn't really do that too well, either, demonstrating roughly as much balance as a gymnast tumbling off a balance beam. It is, however, a smooth transition for Surnow. He already has a taste for torturing terrorist suspects and Jack Bauer on "24." Here, he's torturing viewers! Nice synergy, that.

It Must Be the Dogg Days Of October

This, from Keith Olbermann last week on his MSNBC "Countdown" show:

"...And Snoop Dogg is arrested for -- at this point, how does this qualify as news? It's like breaking into programming and saying, 'This just in, it's October.'"

Keith Olbermann ReceIves a Death Threat, and the New York Post Thinks It's Pretty Darn Funny

The New York Post's unctuous Page Six "reported" it, but it's also been independently confirmed that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann -- whose brave commentaries of late taking to task the Bush Administration (and President Bush himself) have invited genuine comparisons to Edward R. Murrow -- opened a suspicious letter with a California postmark that was mailed to his New York City home late Tuesday night and out poured a white powdery substance. A threatening note inside reportedly indicated that this represented revenge for his outspoken on-air views of late.

It turns out the powder was laundry detergent and (thank God) not anthrax or any other toxic substance. But Olbermann obviously didn't know it was harmless until later on and, panic-stricken, called 911 at about 12:30 a.m. ET early this morning, according to the Page Six item. While preliminary tests of the powder confirmed the detergent finding, Olbermann, as a precaution, asked to be taken to the hospital just to be certain.

Now, whom among us would have treated this as a ho-hum, given the anthrax mail attacks of five years back? No one. Yet the famously right-leaning Post (published by Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch) naturally allowed its politics to get in the way while reporting what was in fact a legitimate and frightening death threat against a journalist whom someone was looking to intimidate and paralyze with fear.

Here is the Post item, and I also copy it here in full so you need not stain your computer hard drive by actually having to link to these reprehensible oafs:

POWDER PUFF SPOOKS KEITH

MSNBC loudmouth Keith Olbermann flipped out when he opened his home mail yesterday. The acerbic host of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" was terrified when he opened a suspicious-looking letter with a California postmark and a batch of white powder poured out. A note inside warned Olbermann, who's a frequent critic of President Bush's policies, that it was payback for some of his on-air shtick. The caustic commentator panicked and frantically called 911 at about 12:30 a.m., sources told The Post's Philip Messing. An NYPD HazMat unit rushed to Olbermann's pad on Central Park South, but preliminary tests indicated the substance was harmless soap powder. However, that wasn't enough to satisfy Olbermann, who insisted on a checkup. He asked to be taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where doctors looked him over and sent him home. Whether they gave him a lollipop on the way out isn't known. Olbermann had no comment.

Note the sarcasm and cheeky snark, from the headline on down. They refer to a man who received a serious and authentic warning shot at his home address as "acerbic," "caustic" and a "loudmouth" who "flipped out" and "was terrified," as if being badly shaken after receiving what he understandably presumed was a deadly biological agent made him a wimp. Yeah I mean, gee, what moron would think it was actual anthrax, huh? And what relevence is there in noting parenthetically that Olbermann is "a frequent critic of President Bush's policies"? Because he is, the presumption is that he of course deserved it, right? And that he's a girly-man wuss to boot?

Page Six ought to be completely ashamed to publish a mocking dismissal of what is in fact a serious news story and try to pass it off as journalistic, not to mention putting its contempt for the left above its humanity. But then, it has a long and illustrious track record of being both shameless and inhuman, so this is perfectly in keeping with its style.

UPDATE! UPDATE! -- At 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on MSNBC's "Countdown" show tonight, not only will Olbermann be addressing the powder incident; he will also take time to point out how the NY Post (via Page Six) may have interfered with an FBI investigation of terroristic threats with its mocking item.

Just for fun, my friend Rich Procter crafted his prediction of how a Page Six item would have read had the same thing happened to Fox News personality and NY Post icon Bill O'Reilly rather than Olbermann. I present it here for your indignation and amusement.

TERRORISTS TARGET FOX PUNDIT -- COPS CLAIM AL QAEDA LINK

Beloved Fox news personality Bill O'Reilly was stunned by a terrorist attack in his home mail yesterday. The dynamic host of "The O'Reilly Factor" was wary when he opened a suspicious-looking letter with a California postmark and an anthrax-like powder poured out. A note inside warned O'Reilly, one of President Bush's most vigorous defenders that it was 'payback' for his implacable stance against Islamofascist terrorists. The stalwart commentator calmly dialed 911 at about 12:30 a.m., sources told The Post's Philip Messing. An NYPD HazMat united rushed to O'Reilly's home, but preliminary tests confirmed what O'Reilly himself suspected -- the substance was harmless soap powder. Although Mr. O'Reilly insisted the incident go no further, authorities persuaded him to go to St. Luke's Hospital, where doctors gave him a clean bill of health. O'Reilly, who reportedly has been a "high value target" for Al Qaeda terrorists, had no comment, but his steely glare and determined stride showed reporters he was unshaken by this attempt on his life.

Another Bravura Summation By Edward R. Olbermann

The full-on morphing of Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's nightly "Countdown," into Edward R. Murrow continues forth with his brave and blistering commentaries taking the Bush Administration to task having grown into a weekly staple. On Monday, in this remarkable 10-minute burst, he defends former President Clinton's combative tone during his interview by Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday." His basic argument is that Clinton was at least being honest in saying he tried to get Osama bin Laden but failed during his Presidency while President Bush did nothing but continues by proxy to try to lay blame for 9/11 at Clinton's feet.

An excerpt (speaking directly to President Bush surrounding the attempt, or lack of same, to capture bin Laden and prevent 9/11):

"You did not try. You ignored the evidence gathered by your predecessor. You ignored the evidence gathered by your own people. Then, you blamed your predecessor. That would be a textbook definition, Mr. Bush, of cowardice. To enforce the lies of the present, it is necessary to erase the truths of the past."

Olbermann also has this to say of Wallace, whom he charges with having sandbagged Clinton with his questioning:

"Had I in one moment surrendered all my credibility as a journalist, and been irredeemably humiliated, as was he, I would have gone home and started a new career selling seeds by mail."

Taking the President to Task For a Hole In the Ground

Yes, his heart bleeds like a river, but Keith Olbermann is the Edward R. Murrow of our generation. No one speaks with more passion, more eloquence, more sheer courage and fortitude than does Olbermann, the host of MSNBC's weeknight newsmagazine "Countdown" (airing at 5 p.m. PT and 8 p.m. ET). I'm often in awe of Olbermann's regular commentaries, but no more so than I was in watching Monday night's assailing of President Bush over his ongoing apathy with regard to the fact there remains a huge hole in the ground where the World Trade Center once stood a full five years after the horrific attacks of 9/11/01.

If you missed it, you'll find it right here. This isn't a partisan rant but a plaintive wail of sheer common sense that asks why so many resources have gone to fight a pointless war in Iraq rather than rebuild on the hallowed Ground Zero where the greatest act of terror ever perpetrated on U.S. soil went down. It's a phenomenal, poignant, perfectly stated opinion piece that is essentially business as usual for Olbermann. He's been crafting breathtakingly candid and powerfully articulate perspectives a couple of times each week of late, and if you aren't watching him then you're missing the most ardent and intelligent voice in all of broadcasting. Period.

Keith Goes Kamikaze Right When We Need Him Most

So it seems that my TV news idol Keith Olbermann -- the MSNBC host whom I just raved about in a previous item today -- has been having a few sanity/stability/anger management issues of late. New York Daily News columnist Lloyd Grove has been all over the story of how Olbermann has been busted for a poison-tipped e-mail assault. It came to light this week that Olbermann shared with a fan his view that fellow MSNBC host Rita Cosby is "nice" but "dumber than a suitcase of rocks," to which Cosby purportedly retorted, "Keith got it wrong. I'm not that nice."

Grove -- who had first reported this all on Wednesday -- followed up with more in his column today, writing that Olbermann had been forced to apologize in an e-mail to "anyone who might take offense" at his own e-mails, which he said were sent in response to "abusive and hateful" missives directed at him from viewers. Adding to the mess is the fact it's gotten picked up by The Drudge Report.

The examples listed by Grove today are still more damning of Olbermann and his unfortunate fire-with-both-barrels brand of hip-shooting. He's a tremendously bright and clever newsman who unfortunately allows his emotions and loose cannon penchant to get the best of him sometimes. Some of the other e-mails depict him as being far more rude, crude and hostile than necessary, which is especially disturbing since he's so much smarter and classier than this. But as we've seen repeatedly in the past (such as regarding his ongoing war with Bill O'Reilly), Keith isn't one to shrink from a fight -- often to his great detriment.

Word is that MSNBC and NBC execs are pretty upset about the offensive e-mails and what they say about one of the network's brightest stars. The timing unfortunately couldn't be worse with MSNBC President Rick Kaplan having stepped down only last week and replaced by young Dan Abrams, whom until now hosted the MSNBC legal hour "The Abrams Report." The fact Abrams is so youthful and inexperienced doesn't bode well for a guy like Olbermann's longterm prospects given his penchant for contemptuousness in the face of authority.

Olbermann failed to respond to an e-mail request for an interview. I pray that as practically a lone voice of reason and against-the-grain courage in the world of network TV news -- a journalistic universe populated primarily by spineless "yes" men/women and administration apologists -- Olbermann manages to weather the e-mail meltdown and to stop being goaded into this kind of garbage by losers who don't deserve to commandeer his civility.

A Little Something to Cheer the 9/11 Widows

No one summed up my feelings about Ann Coulter better, more effectively and with greater eloquence than one Keith Olbermann, whose commentary last week on his MSNBC "Countdown" show about "The Connecticut Screech" demonstrates why he's not only the smartest and most clever TV news personality in the business; he's also the closest thing we have going these days to Ed Murrow.

Now that Coulter has appeared with Jay Leno and pretty much everyone else in the synergistic NBC realm, can we go back to ignoring her again? I'm waiting for her new book (which I refuse to link to) to arrive at the 99-Cents Only store bargain bin, pick up a couple of cases of them and dump them all from the roof of a very high, World Trade Center-like tower. But I wouldn't burn them. For one thing, I don't like that imagery. For another, it'd seem like such a waste of perfectly good matches.