Mediaite’s Colby Hall Talks Olbermann’s Departure On Anderson Cooper 360º

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by Frances Martel | 11:38 pm, January 24th, 2011

» 13 comments

The speculation over Keith Olbermann‘s future after MSNBC continued tonight on Anderson Cooper 360º, where our own Managing Editor Colby Hall joined host Anderson Cooper and the New York Times’ Bill Carter to discuss Olbermann’s latest tweets, what went on behind the scenes at MSNBC, and what the former Countdown host has in store for the upcoming months.

The three seemed to agree, based on the reports of the past few months, on the background for Olbermann’s departure. “The relationship with his managers… had become untenable,” Hall explained, arguing that he “fell on the wrong side” of network politics when it came time to do some corporate rearranging. But whatever the past may be, “he’s got a very loyal following,” Hall continued, one that, as David Shuster noted on his last appearance on CNN, had touched Olbermann.

But while the past gets figured out, Olbermann is back on Twitter and being more cryptic than ever. “He’s sending a signal here,” Carter noted of his latest tweet, “that he has a plan in sight.” Carter predicted that, while his contract prevented him from going on television, it was highly likely that Olbermann would invest in an internet entity, as “NBC won’t be able to prevent that,” but ultimately predicted that “he’s going to be on TV again– why wouldn’t he? He was very successful.”

As for the potential responsibility on new corporate owners Comcast, neither Hall nor Carter seemed to see too many fingers pointed in that direction. On the contrary, it would be preferable for Comcast to not be involved, and also convenient for the NBC powers that be to clean house before the new owners moved in. As Hall put it, “they didn’t want to have one more headache while they figure out what makes their new bosses tick.”

The discussion via CNN below:

anderson cooper, Bill Carter, CNN, Colby Hall, David Shuster, keith olbermann, Mediaite, msnbc, New York Times, twitter

Dem4Ever

This segment of AC360 was a complete waiste of air time.
PoliticalPAW

A few “teabaggers” too many for Comcast

Question 4 @billmaher: how’s the “teabagger” slurs workin out? @keitholbermann http://tinyurl.com/4qhvctp @davidshuster http://tinyurl.com/4r5fzrg

Note to degenerates: do not share these vids at next ?? job interview
http://www.squidoo.com/lauriebethsgrotto Laurie Beth

Well done, Mr. Hall.
Color Me Badd

Wow Colby Hall is kind of a big dude.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jim-Treacher/542957672 Jim Treacher

“He was very successful.”

Too successful to keep around, apparently.
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

Several people in the media keep suggesting the Huffington Post could be Keith’s model, but from my earliest comments since his plan has become obvious, Talking Points Memo looks to be a more accurate comparison.

Of course the Huffington Post is better known and it still can serve as shorthand, but Arianna’s site serves a wide variety of subjects, plus they have localized and demographically-based editions, they serve content from the newswires and it’s primarily comprised of the written word.

While a lot of TPM is built around “what Josh Marshall and a select group of bloggers think”, it has a video channel, an investigatory wing and it’s pretty much entirely focused on politics. Which if you buy into the possible inclusion of David Shuster that I fleshed-out over the course of three comments on the previously linked page, Shuster hinted that his (Shuster’s) new position would “have a huge impact on political journalism”, so there’s not only that statement, but politics seems to be entirely within Keith’s wheelhouse.

BTW: As I’ve said previously, there’s room for both TPM and Keith’s new venture. The web isn’t like television in that there are many who read this site along with several others, all of which report on the same industry and similar subjects. Scheduling conflicts are basically non-existent and a lot of the information complements each other.

Not to mention that Keith has a relationship with Josh Marshall, the DailyKos, other political bloggers and Arianna to some extent, so crosslinking could be part of the site’s promotion.
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

PS) I’ll second Laurie Beth’s, “well done”.
Puter Boi

Were Craig Ferguson and Colby wearing identical ties last night?
Inquiring minds….and all that stuff…..
http://www.facebook.com/people/Thorkil-Kowalski-Vrge/566276352 Thorkil Kowalski Værge

Cable news news on cable news, watched on a cable news news news site! Yay!
The Real Royal King

I’m glad to see you doing so well, Colby. You work hard for your success, and you deserve it.
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Jim Treacher said:
Too successful to keep around, apparently.

It is hard to figure out why the left keeps trying to sell Olbermann as being successful? The guy was INSANE. That is like trying to tell us that the AZ shooter was successful because he killed six people. INSANE is INSANE and NO success comes with it.
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

The Real Royal King said:
I’m glad to see you doing so well, Colby. You work hard for your success, and you deserve it.

And RRK you work hard at being an ignorant ASS, and you deserve it. We all affectionatly call you the THUMBS DOWN KING.
Paladin

Beck is insane. Olbermann is edgy. Big difference.