SALON

Saturday, Jan 22, 2011 3:22 AM UTC

Countdown to Keith Olbermann’s abrupt departure

Friday night marked the final version of MSNBC's hit news show. Here are some memorable moments from the past

By

Topics: Keith Olbermann, War Room, MSNBC,

Countdown to Keith Olbermann's abrupt departureFILE - In this May 3, 2007 file photo, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC poses at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Keith Olbermann is leaving MSNBC and has announced that Friday's "Countdown" show will be his last. MSNBC issued a statement Friday, Jan. 21, 2011, that it had ended its contract with the controversial host, with no further explanation. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)(Credit: AP)

It turns out that Friday night’s edition of “Countdown With Keith Olbermann” was the last one ever. But the unexpected announcement that the MSNBC host and his employer are parting ways is, in a roundabout way, not all that surprising — if you consider Olbermann’s career.

Initially a sports reporter, he started his career covering the Lake Placid Olympics, had a brief stint on USA’s “Cartoon Express,” and ended up at ESPN. His first jump to MSNBC, which was then still in its infancy, didn’t last long and was followed by a stint with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Sports Net, and then, in 2003, a return to MSNBC, where he launched “Countdown” — a sometimes brilliant, sometimes infuriating show that has polarized viewers and network executives alike.

In the spirit of SportsCenter, here’s our version of an Olbermann highlight reel:

1. Special Comment No. 1 (2006): Olbermann lambasts Donald Rumsfeld for criticizing those who criticize America and in the process creates a feature and a tone that would define his show:

2. Insulting American Sacrifice, the Abu Ghraib Edition (2006): Olbermann slams Bill O’Reilly, “for the 100th time out of 100, slandered at least 84 dead American servicemen.” His rant places the Abu Ghraib scandal into historical context.

3. Chris Matthews does not like Keith Olbermann (2008): During coverage of the presidential election, tensions mount between the two MSNBC superstars and begin to surface on the air as they are forced to share hosting duties:

 4. Keith goes a little crazy when criticizing Scott Brown (2010): In response to Scott Brown’s election to the Senate, Olbermann goes a bridge too far, describing the Massachusetts Republican as “an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, ex-nude model, tea-bagging supporter of violence against women and against politicians with whom he disagrees”:

5. “Oops, I broke some journalistic ethics rules” (2010): When Olbermann makes donations to three Democratic candidates leading up to the midterm elections — a violation of NBC News policy — he apologizes to viewers, but not to MSNBC (as Salon’s Alex Pareene points out).

“A Statement to the Viewers of Countdown”

Adam Clark Estes blogs the news for Salon. Email him at ace@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @adamclarkestes More Adam Clark Estes.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 24 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations