Keith Olbermann

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Keith Olbermann hosts the nightly show Countdown on MSNBC.

Olbermann, "in his second tour with MSNBC," "first came to prominence as one of the anchors of ESPN's 'SportsCenter.' He's since been a host for the Fox Sports Network, a radio reporter" and "a columnist for Salon. His latest book, The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders" was released September 15, 2006. [1]

Controversy

"Olbermann closes each broadcast with a personal, often acerbic, commentary," Alex Koppelman wrote September 11, 2006, regarding his interview with Olbermann in Salon.

"In the past two weeks, as the Bush administration launched its pre-election anti-terror public relations blitz, Olbermann upped the ante and cemented his hero status in Left Blogistan with two especially acid speeches. On Aug. 30, he blistered Donald Rumsfeld with a breathtaking on-air screed that called the defense secretary a quack, explicitly compared him to Neville Chamberlain, and implicitly accused him of fascism and McCarthyism. President Bush himself for an 'awful,' 'cynical' and 'un-American' equation of dissent and disloyalty. Olbermann, who usually ends his commentaries with a quote that pays tribute to Edward R. Murrow—'Good night and good luck'—instead closed with a different, and much angrier, echo of the McCarthy era. He asked the president, 'Have you no sense of decency, sir?'"

Regarding the Bush administration's recent comments about the war on terrorism, Olbermann said:

"It, in many respects, is accomplishing—as I said on the air the other night—that which the terrorists are supposed to be looking to do, which is to divide us, make us fearful, change our way of life. I believe Mr. Bush said they hate us for our liberty, and the government seems to be intent on reducing many of those freedoms and liberties. It's been building; this is not the first time I've said anything about this, about the administration or about its conduct. Pretty much this has been constant since this newscast went on the air. As they have wandered further from reality and our history and what I think all of us—liberals and conservatives and everybody else—were taught as far as our way of life. The further they wander away, the harder you have to reach out to try and grab them and pull them back."

Published Works by Keith Olbermann

  • "The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders," Wiley (September 11, 2006), ISBN 0470044950.

Articles by Keith Olbermann

Media Segments with Keith Olbermann

Contact Information

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Resources