Keith Olbermann Names Katie Couric "Worst Person In The World"

On Wednesday night's "Coundtown," Keith Olbermann blasted Couric for her comments on the sexist coverage of Hillary Clinton and her remark that NBC News' Lee Cowan should "find another line of work" if he couldn't remain objective about Barack Obama.

Olbermann called Couric's allegations of sexism "a bit Kool Aid-ish," charged Couric with misunderstanding Cowan's comment, and praised Cowan's objective reporting and his ability to separate the hype from the news.

"It is sad that Ms. Couric could not have emulated [Cowan] and separated the hype from the news in her own promulgation of the nonsense that Senator Clinton was a victim of pronounced sexism."

Related: Rachel Sklar reacts: "To sit there on MSNBC and say that it's nonsense is a bit rich, considering that some of the higher-profile episodes of embarrassing sexist-or-perceived-as-sexist commentary has come from that network." [ETP]

Comments

[nibblybits]

Katie is a bad anchor because she lacks gravitas, not because she's a woman. She's a giggler and a charmer, not a cutthroat journo. She personalized the coverage on Hillary, though it had nothing to do with her own troubles. She's the one who lost her objectivity, not Lee Cowan.

[CrabbyGolightly]

This Is Your News, Cracked: The Bloviator Keith Olbermann and the Blowhard from 'Nicetown'
IUSED TO BE AMUSED BY KEITH OLBERMANN, MSNBC's bully pulpit. I was dazzled by his eloquence and taken in by the righteousness he wore on his sleeve. I was an early fan in the late 90s during his first go-round at MSNBC, captivated by his wit and his daily lacerations on the Monica Lewinsky scandal. And though I did not always agree with him, he was nevertheless the only must-see TV for me. Yet there were moments when the righteous mask slipped from his face and I saw glimpses of the carnival barker, and I suspected his real intentions: to sell more tickets.

Now Olbermann's shrillness has gotten so ear-piercing that journalists with bona fides are speaking up. News patrician Tom Brokaw had to correct Olbermann's claim that Clinton had "shoehorned" news coverage for herself. "Well, I think that's unfair," the elder-statesman said. As far as I know Olbermann did not make Brokaw one of his "Worst" persons in the world! Yet dare I say Olbermann proves her point when he annoints Katie Couric with that title after she criticized pundits who have "crossed the line" with their sexist slants against Hillary. AndTime claims the bloviator has blown his "last remaining gasket.
Surprise, guess who just beat Bill O'Reilly in the ratings? And now we know why Olbermann's become the anti-corrective: the screaming sells. The carnival barker steps forth.

CrabbyGolightly.com

[AMJordan]

The problem was Lee Cowan DIDN'T cross the line. What she said was stupid and he rightfully pointed it out. All this backlash is from people who take "Worst Person in the World" way too seriously. Billo was "Best Person" a couple of days ago, mostly because everytime he mentions MSNBC or Countdown, their ratings go up.

[mcfried]

That is the problem - another problem is Olbermans clear anti-Clinton bias- which was not out of sexism but her trying to strong arm the network which he resented- he has lost objectivity. He, the b@stard and Shuster will now be viewed skeptically, as the should be, on all reports Clinton.

[savageink]

The video seems pretty objective and well articulated to me.

[realwoman]

Olbermann is a fifty something year old man who lives with a 24 year old "news reporter" His last crush (stalking) was of 22 year old Rebecca Lobo a volleyball player. He has the same 4 or 5 people on his show every night (Fineman, Wolfe, Milbank, Alter) who agree with every word he says. He's afraid to have anyone on who will challenge him and he's also a sexist looney.

[olivia]

You ought to provide some links to support all those allegations. Otherwise, you know, people might not totally believe you.

I can guess the source of your information. Here's a hint: all sources on the internet are not equally reliable.

[AutumnRecluse]

You are completely correct and accurate in your statements. Olbermann fears dissent almost as much as he fears powerful women.

[rudeboycyle]

Keith Olbermann, born January 27, 1959 is 49 years old. Rebecca Lobo, born October 6, 1973 is a 34 year old former profesional basketball player in the WNBA. She is married to former Sports Illustrated writer Steve Rushin. One of Keith's frequent guests is Rachel Maddow, whom I doubt would agree with every word a "sexist looney" had to say, but that's just my own opinion. Oh by the way, a looney, also spelled "loonie", is the name Canadians call the one-dollar coin. It has the image of a loon on one side and an image of Queen Elizabeth II on the other side. Unless you can prove that it's a male loon, I suppose that it is okay to consider it sexist.

[RobtBrock]

Olbermann is today's version of Andrew Dice Clay.

[neetsie37]

My feelings toward Keith Olbermann have totally reversed. He once was my hero. I can't stand him anymore. He is relentless in his attacks on Hillary and gushing praise ad nauseum when it comes to Obama. Katie Couric was 100% correct. Anyway what the Hell would Keith know about sexism?????

[la2008]

Keith Olbermann, Minister of Truth for Obama, I name you the worst person of the world for your Oreilly's version of FAIR and BALANCED commentary.

[Heru1]

Keith is excellent. He is smart enough to realize that Obama is the future, the clinton are the past.

[CommittedDem]

Why are you insult Andrew Dice Clay?

[AMJordan]

Why did you insult the English language?

[Grizzlies]

MR. OLBERMANN CONTINUES HIS DIATRIBE AGAINST ANOTHER WOMAN, KATIE COURIC. THIS, IN PART, EXPLAINS WHY I HAVE CEASED WATCHING MSNBC. OF COURSE, A YEAR OF BASHING SEN. CLINTON WAS NOT "SEXIST" NOR WAS IT NEWS TO RATIONAL MINDED CITIZENS. IN SHORT, OLBERMANN DOES NOT PRESENT IMPARTIAL NEWS, BUT HE DOES SPEW VENOM AS A PROUD FAR-LEFT MEMBER OF THE DEMOCRATIC MSNBC.

[conniedogs]

You don't want to get on Keith's list! Oh I forgot he's on Hill's list!!!

[neetsie37]

No, Hill's on HIS list.
As she has been for the last 6 months.

[lalawguy]

I actually agree with Keith on this one.

Couric's problem is not that she tried to point out the sexism on MSNBC's coverage of HRC; it's that she used a very poor example.

Cowan's statements were not in any way sexist (even when taken out of context). If Katie had real guts, she would have directed her comments towards the multitude of sexist remarks that came from Chris Matthews on a regular basis.

[DaveTX]

I think we may be missing another entirely legitimate possibility here. Maybe the real reason that Hillary stayed in the race so long IS because of sexist women, i.e. the women who voted for Hillary only because she is a woman (the very definition of sexism)

[JohninPA]

Good point.....

Clinton was a flawed candidate to begin with. She was hindered by a spouse whose
"connections" would have ruled out any other candidate - imagine Obama having to
explain Michelle's business connections to foreign governments. Plus she ran a
disaster of a campaign - one very good indicator of her executive potential.

Hillary didn't lose because of her gender. She lost because she was a weak
candidate with "baggage".­...and by the way, the GOP knew it.

[auramac]

Well, if Katie's been hurt by sexism, then it's understandable she'd complain about it happening to Hillary. However, why didn't she complain sooner? We see the world as refelections of ourselves.

[Beachrunner]

I have to agree with Keith on this one.

[onelife1]

Is anyone still watching Katie;
her ratings are lower than Bush's ratings.

[busdrivermike]

Another example of people believing what they want to believe. I would like those who believe Hillary was treated unfairly to go to the NYT website, and look up Gloria Steinems OP/ED piece on the day of the NH primary. Then tell me who really used sexism as a weapon in this campaign.

A funny thing happened on the way to Hillary's coronation. The better person won.

[Suthngal]

ROFLMAO

[Heidfeld]

If Hillary 'used' sexism than Obama 'used' racism. See how that works?

And if by "better person" you mean the better talker... sure, he won. But the more intelligent, more capable person, sadly, did not win. Not for now anyway.

[ErnestineBass]

Slightly off topic...bu­t did anybody catch Scott McClellan on David Letterman last night?

Dave really roasted Bush and Cheney's nuts. It was great.

[Suthngal]

The point that he was making is that she was commenting on someone's journalistic abilities w/o checking the source. It's like she's looking to draw in some ratings for her pathetic show.

As someone else pointed out...IF she believed that HRC was being treated unfairly then as a RESPONSIBLE female journalist­...it was HER SOLE responsibility to report it.

Love Countdown!

[DavidAug]

Katie Couric only claimed that sexism contributed "in part" to Clinton's defeat. How can you argue with that? I am no fan of HRC, but I must admit that sexism played a part.

That said, the Lee Cowan comment is indeed indefensible, especially since the remark clearly reveals Couric's own bias in favor of Clinton.

[luckyoldson]

I didn't see anything in Couric's comment that implied she herself wasn't also a part of the problem.

Couric: "One of the great lessons of [Hillary Clinton's] campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life, particularly in the media....I­t isn't just Hillary Clinton who needs to learn a lesson from this primary season — it's all the people who crossed the line, and all the women and men who let them get away with it."

Personal attacks on the messenger lends nothing to the discussion and makes one look rather petty.