What is Keith Olbermann thinking? As the ratings of his show as well as those of his network are on the climb, and the middle of contract negotiations, he goes on the record with Radar dissing his boss, MSNBC General Manager Dan Abrams. See how Olbermann seems to bristle (and go pointedly off-topic) in response to questioning by Tyler Gray:
RADAR: Dan Abrams said recently that your program "could become a model for the newscast of the future." Are you a role model?OLBERMANN: I don't know what Dan has to do with it frankly. We've never had a conversation about the direction of the show.
RADAR: He's actually the--
OLBERMANN: The general manager [of MSNBC], right, but we rarely interact. As far as I know he works on dayside programming. Phil Griffin runs the network. He is the vice president of NBC [News] and my original producer in television.
RADAR: What the hell is Abrams doing giving quotes about you to everyone from the Washington Post to the LA Times, then?
OLBERMANN: You got me.
Wow. "As far as I know he works on dayside programming?" Olbermann must not read the papers, since they all detailed Abrams' sweeping prime-time shakeup back in July, which included shelving Rita Cosby: Live & Direct, moving Tucker Carlson to the 4 and 6 pm slot, and rocking the doc-bloc in the 10 - midnight slot. This left Olbermann, Chris Matthews and Joe Scarborough in place in the prime time, building on the ratings success of Matthews and Olbermann (which Abrams made a point of noting with praise at the time)(and which Scarborough's ratings are reflecting). Meanwhile, it's working: Under Abrams, MSNBC's ratings are climbing steadily, not only for Olbermann but across the board. This is not to say that Phil Griffin doesn't share in responsibility for MSNBC's progress; as the NBC Senior VP overseeing the network, his role is to collaborate with Abrams on the network's progress. But Griffin is big-picture, and Abrams is the day-to-day manager of almost 600 employees — including Olbermann, whether he likes it or not. He's the guy sending memos and getting quoted, particularly saying nice things in articles about Keith Olbermann. It is churlish — not to mention highly unprofessional — that Olbermann isn't doing the same.
Related:
Hot Heir: Anderson who? How an also-ran anchor became the caustic king of cable news [Radar]
Keith Olbermann, Talkin' Tough During Contract Negotiations With MSNBC [ETP]
