Keith Olbermann has been removed from the MSNBC anchor’s chair on all election coverage for the rest of the campaign due to on-air bias. He will still keep his popular Countdown program and continue to provide color commentary to the news desk. Chris Matthews was demoted as well.

Keith Olbermann





MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann Out!


Olbermann has been pulled from the upcoming debates and election night coverage after a controversial convention which oozed of liberal bias and reportedly embarrassed the network. He was part of an experiment with Matthews which put analysts in the role of anchors for election news coverage.

David Gregory will take over as anchor for MSNBC’s election coverage.

According to sources, the brass up at NBC News were displeased with the openly liberal direction that Olbermann and Matthews were taking the cable channel’s election coverage. The experiment had succeeded in generated ratings for MSNBC, but the parent company apparently believed they were damaging the franchise with overt bias.

Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams have reportedly grown tired of defending the antics of Olbermann and Matthews.

One of the final nails in Olbermann’s coffin occurred at the RNC convention. When Sarah Palin uttered her now-famous line about the liberal media, the crowd began to audibly chant “NBC! NBC! NBC!” You could almost hear the NBC staff and reputable news people groaning about their child network at MSNBC.

But the last straw was apparently Olbermann editorializing on air about a 911 tribute shown at the RNC. He took the mic back from Tom Brokaw and began to eviscerate the Republican Party for showing the video, going so far as to apologize to the viewers for the network covering this part of the convention. You can see the video below, an event which reportedly was subsequently much discussed internally at the network.

Ever before that moment there were signs that Keith Olbermann had fallen in disfavor. He was mysteriously missing from the opening night of the GOP convention. It was explained that Olbermann was in New York covering a hurricane, something that raised some eyebrows among the media.

He returned to air the next two nights but never returned physically to the convention. Meanwhile the format was changing. Dan Abrams who Olbermann has reportedly targeted at MSNBC was back, and David Gregory was already assuming a larger role along with the incomparable Brokaw.

While conservatives might take glee in Olbermann’s downfall, he still has his acidic show. And David Gregory has never been known as a middle-of-road guy either. He brings his own liberal bias, but at least he has the gravitas that Olbermann always craved but never achieved in the public arena.

Update: MSNBC president Phil Griffin has stated that the characterization of this move as a “demotion” for Olbermann and Matthews is incorrect. He also says the change has nothing to do with Republican pressure, but that the change is designed to free the MSNBC stars to state their opinions on air more freely. They will still be associated with political coverage, but in the traditional role of opinionated analysts rather than anchors.


Keith Olbermann MSNBC Video
(911 Tribute at the RNC Convention)




Photo: WENN