O'Reilly prefers cheese with his whine

If you ever desired more proof that right-wingers are perhaps the most thin-skinned people on the planet, then read further...

Anyone who even casually follows the ongoing soap opera that is cable news knows that MSNBC's Keith Olbermann and FOX News Channel's Bill O'Reilly can't stand each other. Olbermann constantly blasts O'Reilly on his weeknight show, Countdown, which airs opposite The O'Reilly Factor.

The mere mention of Olbermann's name gets O'Reilly hot. Absolutely livid. Who could forget the time on his radio show when he went on a rather nasty and ridiculous on-air outburst and threatened to sic 'FOX Security' on a prank caller at the very moment he said, "I think Keith Olbermann's show..."?

O'Reilly hates Olbermann so much that he makes it a point to never mention his adversary specifically by name (though he has had surrogates do it). Rather, he attacks Olbermann's boss and NBC's owner, General Electric. Olbermann, on the other hand, often refers to O'Reilly by such nicknames as the Sisyphus of morons, the Big Giant Head, and Ted Baxter.

Now, the war of words has escalated. Olbermann had fun last week ripping on the old Inside Edition outtake that featured O'Reilly erupting into a profanity-laced tantrum. He even jokingly brought in a phony body language expert to dissect the now-infamous clip. In retaliation, O'Reilly, who rarely misses a chance to attack those he sees as his enemies, is calling GE's chief executive a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq.

Howard Kurtz, media columnist for The Washington Post, claims that the war is moving higher up the food chain. Allegedly, there have been back-channel discussions involving the likes of News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker and General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt.

One day last summer, Ailes called Zucker on his cellphone, furious after Olbermann trashed him on his show. Ailes allegedly warned Zucker that if Olbermann didn't lay off the attacks on him or his network, he would sic his attack dog, O'Reilly, on NBC. He threatened to use the company's New York Post as well. Zucker evidently told Ailes to go pound sand. Perhaps Ailes should have used this guy.

Since then, Olbermann hasn't let up, leading O'Reilly to toss out ludicrous accusations toward GE, claiming that, because they do some limited business in Iran, that they are causing the deaths of American soldiers (though FOX News' constant cheerleading for the Iraq War hasn't). The kicker was when he claimed that "If my child were killed in Iraq, I would blame the likes of Jeffrey Immelt."

In addition, several years ago, O'Reilly's agent also allegedly contacted Zucker on a few occasions, demanding that Olbermann and other MSNBC personalities, such as Joe Scarborough lay off his client. So, in other words, O'Reilly, who has never been afraid to attack those he despises from the safe confines of his television studio bunker, has others fight his battles in the real world. Witness last year, when FOX News' Geraldo Rivera threatened to kick Olbermann's ass.

Of course, FOX News denies that Ailes has ever made such demands to NBC, claiming that he has no editorial control over the content of host-driven shows such as O'Reilly's or even the New York Post. GE and NBC executives have maintained otherwise. Ironically, the New York Post published a hit piece on Olbermann just this morning. Interesting.

Coincidentally, Ailes' friends in the White House today sent a nastygram to NBC regarding what they view as unfair coverage of the President. They obviously hate them for their freedom.

It is true that the "O'Reilly Factor" gets better overall ratings than "Countdown." One would think an established twelve year-old show up against a much younger counterpart would. But while O'Reilly does better overall when total viewers are taken into account, the playing field between the two shows is much more even in the much-desired 25-54 demographic. On occasion, Countdown even bests O'Reilly in this group. MSNBC’s research claims that the median age for O’Reilly’s audience is 71, while Olbermann’s is 59. Guess what age group advertisers would rather have?

Now, Olbermann must be doing something right. Right-wingers absolutely detest the man. And the hostility on their side gets even more heated whenever Olbermann gives one of his "Special Comments." The most recent one, about Bush claiming he gave up golf as a sacrifice in these hard times, must have ruffled a few feathers. Syndicated radio conservotalker Mark Levin demanded that NBC suspend Olbermann, and called him "Tokyo Rose in a suit," which smacks of irony because, like Olbermann, Levin is himself an opinionated media commentator.

Now, what does one make of all this bickering and whining? Ailes is an interesting person to talk about any of this, since he earned his bones in the cutthroat world of Republican politics, where he even co-wrote that infamous "Willie Horton" ad for George H.W. Bush's 1988 presidential bid. At the helm of FOX News since its inception, he has encouraged right wing pit bulls such as O'Reilly and Sean Hannity to be as nasty as they wanna be. To be on the opposite end and pretend to be the victim (typical of many right wing attack dogs) is the epitome of hypocrisy.

Many people are just plain fed up with all this dick swinging among the talking heads. I for one feel reminiscent for the time when cable news was about news, something that has been sorely missing since Ted Turner sold CNN to Time Warner and bolted to his Montana ranch. But since cable news these days is more about sizzle than steak, and opinionated, egocentric personalities have turned the genre into AM talk radio with pictures, we are constantly bombarded with self-righteous, mostly right-wing blowhards who's shit don't stink.

However, in this landscape of obnoxious helmet-haired empty suits who wrap themselves in the flag and tell us what to think, screaming head pundits who shout talking points at each other, ultra-moral finger-waggers who get outraged at everyone else's behavior and celebrity-obsessed dim bulbs, we have Keith Olbermann, who has carved out a niche as an iconoclast courting the equally-pissed off left. In addition to his occasional 'Special Comments,' which often rip into the Bush Administration in ways most media personalities are afraid to do, he also digs deeper into stories that other media outlets are either too scared or too lazy to. While he obviously despises celebrity gossip tales, he does the bare minimum glossing-over of them, though with a somewhat humorous snide undertone that screams "they're making me talk about this." And he speaks for many of us who often find ourselves giving the middle finger to pompous bastards like Bill O'Reilly. And he effectively uses humor, perhaps the sharpest of all verbal weapons, to accomplish this. He's also not above making fun of himself, something that can't be said about his more arrogant counterparts.

For that, and in this lousy cable news environment that we are limited to, that's good enough for me. I, for one, am glad Keith Olbermann is around to kick some O'Reilly ass, and expose him and his ilk for the frauds they are.

MSNBC riding populist wave?

The New York Times has an interesting article today about MSNBC, and their attempts to build around their most successful show, "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," a program often critical of the Bush administration, much in the same way rival FOX 'News' is with Democrats and liberals.

MSNBC is increasingly seeking to beef up its nighttime viewing audience, and build around its golden calf. Chris Matthews’s "Hardball" and "Live With Dan Abrams," the two shows that surround "Countdown," regularly take shots at the White House.

And now, two NBC executives acknowledged yesterday that they were talking to Rosie O’Donnell about a prime-time show on MSNBC. Her previous show, ABC's "The View," experienced strong viewership gains during the time she was on. The Times speculates that she could get the 9PM slot, immediately following "Countdown," and go head-to-head with Larry King Live on CNN and "Asshat and Doormat", er, "Hannity and Colmes" on FAUX. "We are talking to her, but we are far from a done deal," says one executive.

Here's more from the article:

Having a prime-time lineup that tilts ever more demonstrably to the left could be risky for General Electric, MSNBC’s parent company, which is subject to legislation and regulation far afield of the cable landscape. Officials at MSNBC emphasize that they never set out to create a liberal version of Fox News.

“It happened naturally,” Phil Griffin, a senior vice president of NBC News who is the executive in charge of MSNBC, said Friday, referring specifically to the channel’s passion and point of view from 7 to 10 p.m. “There isn’t a dogma we’re putting through. There is a ‘Go for it.’”

Fox News consistently denies any political bias in its programming. But whether by design or not, MSNBC is managing to add viewers at a moment when its hosts echo the country’s disaffection with President Bush.

The channel has done so much as Fox News did beginning in 1996, when the president was Bill Clinton, a Democrat. On some nights recently, Mr. Olbermann has even come tantalizingly close to surpassing the ratings of the host he describes as his nemesis, Bill O’Reilly on Fox News, at least among viewers ages 25 to 54, which is the demographic cable news advertisers prefer. Most of the time, though, Mr. O’Reilly outdraws Mr. Olbermann by about 1.5 million viewers over all at the same hour, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Still, as its most recognizable face, MSNBC has marshaled behind Mr. Olbermann, who on July 3, in an eight-minute “special comment” at the close of his show, addressed President Bush directly and called on him to resign. Two months later, the channel chose Mr. Olbermann to serve as the principal host of its coverage of a major prime-time address by Mr. Bush.

Mr. Olbermann’s “special comments” — more than 20 in the last 12 months, and nearly all of them first-person editorials that find some fault with the administration — have helped increase the ratings of his program by 33 percent in just the last year, to about 773,000 viewers a night, according to Nielsen. With those ratings, Mr. Olbermann’s program surpassed “Paula Zahn Now” on CNN, which was canceled last summer.

Read more in the New York Times.

Quick hits

All too often, there are some smaller stories worth mentioning, but not enough to really fill a whole article. So here's a few "Quick Hits":

First up, fans of Ed Schultz will want to tune in to C-Span today (August 28) at noon ET, as Fargo represents with a three hour television simulcast, as C-Span often does with AM radio talk show hosts. You can find C-Span on your cable or satellite system (naturally) or access it at c-span.org.

Air America Radio's Thom Hartmann gets the C-Span treatment this Friday (August 31) from noon to 3PM ET.

Meanwhile, in Young Turks land, only one turk remains, as Ben Mankiewicz departs for a new gig. He will be working for gossip site TMZ.com's new television show, to debut in syndication this fall. Mankiewicz is also a weekend host on the Turner Classic Movies cable network. No word on any replacement, as Cenk Uygur carries on solo.

So, how did Keith Olbermann's recent NBC Sunday night gig turn out? In the initial Neilsen numbers (not finalized), the special network edition of "Countdown" beat FOX's game show hit "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" but fell behind "60 Minutes" and "America's Funniest Videos" on CBS and ABC. Olbermann's show lead in to "Football Night In America" throughout most of the country, though West Coast viewers saw it after the game, as is customary in those markets to fill in the prime time lineup there.

Should I spoil it for those who haven't checked their TiVos yet? Well, you can still catch bits and pieces at YouTube, including the 'Worst Person In The World' and another segment.

Elsewhere, Gonzo is Gone-zo, and family values Republican Senator Larry Craig of Utah once got busy in an airport bathroom. Let's hear it for the Grand Ol' Perverts!

Speaking of not-so-great Gonzos, Ted Nugent got a slide by most of the media for his onstage fatwa issued this past weekend toward members of the Democratic Party (video). Taunting the likes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer and others to taste the business end of his submachine gun, he also flung around some rather violent rhetoric. And they say we're filled with hate! Geez! Meanwhile, all the Dixie Chicks said was that they were ashamed that the President hailed from the same state as them, and look what they had to put up with. Meanwhile, Sean Insannity on FOX Noise was bending over backwards to kiss his buddy Ted's ass, which in itself is tough to do when one has no neck. As for The Nuge, well, what else do you expect from a gung-ho right-wing war nut who avoided the draft in the late 60s in perhaps the most disgusting way possible?

For those that are curious, yes, the newly minted (pun intended) "Green 960" in San Francisco (formerly "The Quake") does indeed have a new logo, as you can see at right.

And finally, remember this guy? That's "Radical Russ" Belville, and he won that "Next Progressive Talk Star" contest thingy last year. And yes, he does have a radio show, airing Saturday mornings on KPOJ in Portland, OR. Tomorrow morning, he goes nationwide, as he fills in for the day for morning talker Bill Press on his syndicated show. Catch "The Bill Press Show" weekday mornings 6-9AM ET.

Olbermann primed for NBC exposure

Fresh off signing a new four year deal in April, with the promise of increased exposure, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC's hot Countdown is getting even more exposure from parent company NBC Universal, as first reported in the New York Times and later confirmed by NBC itself.

Olbermann, coming off a July that has seen his ratings jump 88% over the previous year to become the #2 show in its time slot among cable news shows, will host a special edition of Countdown on NBC itself, leading into the Sunday Night Football NFL pre-season matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. In addition, as previously announced, Olbermann, who is also well-know as a sports journalist and commentator, will be a permanent fixture on the Football Night In America pregame show this season.

"I'm delighted we're getting a chance to show off in a bigger storefront window," said Olbermann in the press release. "It's much better than trying to take it door-to-door. I do advise new viewers to sit well back from their screens."

The NBC edition of Countdown will air this Sunday, August 26, at 7P ET (6P CT). Right-wingers will go into convulsions soon afterward and complain about that "durned librul media," despite the fact that the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have had generous amounts of network television exposure prior to this.

The summer, so far

As the summer season reaches its peak, it seems that news in the media biz has slumped somewhat. Like last summer, there just isn't a whole heck of a lot going on. At least not a whole lot to write about. Meaning that I've been taking a bit of a break (as it often seems like I'm handcuffed to this crazy thing). Now, I'm not saying that I'm about to ditch LTR and venture off into the sunset, but a little break now and then is never a bad thing, right?

I've been keeping busy, doing stuff such as learning how to outdo Maaco on the car with house paint and a roller and how to build a sideways bicycle. Oh, the fun of summer!

In today's fun-filled episode of LTR, I felt it would be a good idea to bring you all up to date on various goings-on across the land.

First off, a breaking news story in the Mike Webb case. KIRO-TV reports that police have arrested a suspect in the murder of the Seattle talk radio host. Scott White, 28, was previously described as a "person of interest" in the case. Police said he was arrested without incident last night. White was allegedly one of the last people to see Webb alive.

Speaking of Seattle, the city's Town Hall was the location last Saturday night for a big standing room only shindig featuring some of the biggest names in liberal talk. Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, Mike Malloy, and the Young Turks (Ben Mankiewicz, and Cenk Uygur) were all there at the event, and there weren't even any fights. Just kidding. The event was sponsored by local libtalker KPTK (1090). If you missed it (and I'm sure many of you did), you can catch podcasts of the event at KPTK's website.

Elsewhere, Bob and the gang at Air America Place have been quite busy. As of earlier this week, they are now hosting free archives of just about every single show ever broadcast on Air America Radio. That means you can hear what Randi Rhodes was talking about three years ago. Or listen to long-forgotten shows like "Unfiltered" or "So What Else Is News" with Marty Kaplan, or even old favorites like "Morning Sedition" and Jerry Springer. In short, Air America Premium carries newer shows done in the past month. After that, they go to Air America Place. The shows in the deep archives are free, but if you plan on going on a wild downloading spree, consider flipping them a few bucks, since bandwidth can get a bit expensive. This is all donation-driven, so keep that in mind or it will be gone. You can start exploring the vast Air America archives here.

As stated before, the bandwidth for podcasting costs money. Some sites, such as White Rose Society, rely on donations. Some have sponsor-supported underwriting to cover expenses. Others do it for free (such as Clear Channel and CBS-owned radio stations, which offer a generous amount of podcasts). And others, such as Air America, Nova M and Stephanie Miller, have to charge money in some cases to offset bandwidth costs. Add to the latter Ed Schultz. Podcasts and audio highlights from Schultz' show are from here on out available only to subscribers. The price tag? A mere $5.95 per month. Now, I've never been a fan of charging for podcasts and audio archives, but I do realize that this stuff costs money. One idea would be to offer lower quality files, which take up less space and use less bandwidth. Sure, Mike Malloy's show sounds great at near soundboard quality 128k. But 64k would do the job nearly as well, and use up less space. Nova M does offer a 24k version of the show, which gets the job done and can fit easier on an iPod Nano. Another solution would be the underwriting method, where a sponsor helps to pay for it, in exchange for a commercial at the beginning and/or end. Emmis does this with Jonathan Brandmeier's morning show clips from WLUP in Chicago, and I think it works well. And this way, the audio clips can reach many more ears.

Sadly, ESPN Radio's best on-air host, Dan Patrick, is leaving both the radio and TV sides of the network after a total of 18 years. He currently holds down a three hour afternoon show on the radio end, and still hosts the afternoon version of TV's SportsCenter. Patrick felt that his efforts as of late have not been up to his personal standards, and he's been feeling a bit burned out. He also wants to spend more time with his children. He won't be replacing Bob Barker on The Price Is Right, as had been rumored. In fact, he's signed a new deal with a company called The Content Factory, which will produce various multimedia projects featuring Patrick, including a radio show. The first person to be offered Patrick's ESPN Radio gig was old friend and frequent co-host Keith Olbermann. Olbermann, citing his busy schedule with his main gig, MSNBC's Countdown, declined. He may however resurface on the radio, in the same role as before on Patrick's new show. Patrick's final ESPN Radio show and SportsCenter appearance will be August 17. No word on when his new one will begin. In the meantime, Patrick will still be hawking sub sandwiches.

Speaking of Olbermann, he'll be moderating the AFL-CIO's Democratic Presidential Forum on August 7. Congrats!

Back in May, former Air America Radio VP John Manzo was hired by upstart rival Nova M Radio to be their Chief Operating Officer (COO). And now, he has moved up the corporate food chain to the CEO position. "What took you so long?" quipped Manzo. "Seriously though, what I viewed as a plucky company with exciting potential just a month ago has quickly been shaped into a well-focused organization with a fresh, incredibly sound business strategy going forward." Manzo will continue to oversee all aspects of programming, sales, operations, affiliate relations and web strategy for the Nova M Radio Network and its flagship Phoenix affiliate, KPHX. In addition to Nova M and Air America, Manzo is a 20-year veteran of Saga, Jacor and Clear Channel.

And finally, speaking of Nova M Radio, since news has been traveling slow as of late, LTR failed to notice that nighttime host Mike Malloy celebrated his 65th birthday on July 1. One gift he received was what he referred to as "geezer slippers." Happy belated birthday, Mike.

Olbermann joins "Football Night In America"

Fans of Countdown with Keith Olbermann will be delighted to know that the program's host has been named by NBC to co-host their Sunday night NFL pregame show Football Night In America starting this fall.

Following that big contract extension he received to continue to continue to host Countdown, the network is working to get its money's worth. NBC Universal Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol announced yesterday that Olbermann will be joining host Bob Costas, co-host Cris Collinsworth, analysts Jerome Bettis and Tiki Barber and reporter Peter King. This assignment marks Olbermann's first network sports assignment in six years.

"Keith helped to elevate the medium of sports television earlier in his career, and now he will add his original style and flair to Football Night in America," said Ebersol. "I'm delighted to welcome him back into the NBC Sports family."

"This will, obviously, be great fun and a great privilege for me," said Olbermann. "To be reunited with NBC Sports, and Dick, and the entire production team, produces all the warm-and-fuzzies you'd be expecting. And even if they weren't old friends and colleagues, to get to work with the nonpareil of sportscasters in Bob, and the most insightful and honest of sports analysts in Cris, will be rewarding and challenging. I hope I can hold up my end of the equation."

As die-hard fans know, Olbermann has a vast amount of experience in sports broadcasting, having been co-host of ESPN's SportsCenter from 1992-1997 with Dan Patrick (Olbermann appears daily on Patrick's ESPN Radio show). In 1997, Olbermann moved over to NBC in 1997 and did double duty in news (for both MSNBC and NBC) and sports (the World Series). Tired of the whole Monica Lewinsky thing, he worked at FOX Sports from 1997 to 2001 and worked with CNN and ABC Radio (doing sports) before returning to NBC in 2002. Over the years, he has written several books about both sports and news, with his first, "The Major League Coaches", penned at the age of 14. Olbermann's main sports passion is baseball, but is extremely knowledgeable in all competitive sports. He has also written about sports for The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated and Playboy.

And a double congratulations are in order as well, since TV Week, in its annual ranking, yesterday named Olbermann one of the Top Ten Most Powerful People in TV News for 2007, besting the likes of Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Matt Lauer, not to mention everyone at FOX 'News' besides Roger Ailes (ranked #1). Jon Stewart of The Daily Show also made the list, appearing at #10.

Also, fans of his most recent book, "The Worst Person in the World" will be happy to know that a new book, based on his Countdown "Special Comments," will be published next winter.

No doubt some are not happy about Olbermann's presence on NBC's football coverage. I guess these guys aren't ready for some football. Wingnuts everywhere are likely wondering how fair it is that Olbermann gets to go where Rush Limbaugh once tread and fizzled. Well, Keith is an actual sports guy. Limbaugh doesn't even look like he has ever exercised. And I highly doubt Olbermann will shove his foot in his mouth like Limbaugh infamously did.

Olbermann scores big four year deal with MSNBC

Fans of MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will be elated to know that one of the channel's biggest names has signed a new four year contract, with the promise of more money and wider exposure.

According to terms of the deal, Olbermann will also contribute occasional essays to "NBC Nightly News" and there will be two prime-time "Countdown" specials a year on NBC, a division of NBC Universal. And no, the "Nightly News" contributions will not be as spicy as his MSNBC commentaries. Rather, they will be non-political.

Olbermann has also been named managing editor of Countdown, which has been the fastest-growing show at MSNBC. The show, which runs in the highly competitive 8PM time slot, averaged 655,000 total viewers in the fourth quarter of 2006, an increase of 58 percent year-over-year. Olbermann also upped his share of the core 25-54 demo, averaging 250,000, an increase of 64 percent.

Countdown’s more recent numbers were even stronger. The show closed out January 2007 with an average 706,000 total viewers, a jump of 82 percent versus a year ago, according to Nielsen Media Research data. In the news demo, Countdown grew 83 percent, averaging 272,000 adults 25-54.

Sure, ratings still pale in comparison to Olbermann's main adversary, Bill O'Reilly (who, to this day, forbids the mention of Olbermann's name on his TV or radio show). But "Countdown" often beats Paula Zahn on CNN in the timeslot, outdrawing the show by approximately 100,000 viewers. And while O'Reilly has been losing viewers over the past year, Olbermann has been gaining strongly.

The AP referred to Olbermann as 'a liberal hero', since his ratings have soared since his widely popular series of 'Special Commentaries," which often blast President Bush, debuted late last summer.

Dollar amounts were not disclosed. Olbermann was said to have been agitating for "Anderson Cooper money", demanding an estimated $4 million per year, up from an estimated $1 million salary under his previous contract.

Beyond the Valley of the Stupid Media Whores

As the new Democratic-majority Congress has opened up shop, it appears that the so-called 'liberal media' is quickly going batshit crazy.

First off, Disney/ABC, fresh off a potential P.R. fiasco in regard to the Spocko/KSFO incident and the whole "Path to 9/11" controversy (though we forgot all about that one, huh?) comes news that the company has hired a new commentator for the network's "Good Morning America" show - Glen Beck. Yes, that Glen Beck.

The same Glen Beck who pleaded with incoming congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, a Muslim to "prove to me that you are not working with our enemies." The same Glen Beck who claimed, "I believe there is a cancer that is radicalized Islam, and it must be cut out or it's going to kill all of us." Oh, and the same one who, in his most culturally-sensitive way, mocked Islam by "mark[ing] the death" of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi with a "Zarqawi bacon cake." And declared that "Muslims who have sat on your frickin' hands the whole time" rather than "lining up to shoot the bad Muslims in the head" will face dire consequences.

But it's not all a Islam bash-fest. Beck referred to "those who were left in New Orleans [during Hurricane Katrina], or who decided to stay" as "scumbags." He claimed that there are three reasons that an illegal immigrant "comes across the border in the middle of the night: One, they're terrorists; two, they're escaping the law; or three, they're hungry. They can't make a living in their own dirtbag country." Glen Beck obviously doesn't like dark-skinned people. Or anyone, for that matter. Somebody must have really pissed him off in rehab, huh?

So, what will be Glen Beck's new job at GMA? Well, 'cultural commentator', of course. And no, I'm not making this up.

Nonetheless, ABC, which has arrogantly pissed off so many people with the "Path to 9/11" thing (which got crappy ratings and poor reviews anyway) and using radio stations like KSFO, WABC and WLS basically as GOP propaganda outlets has found a way to chase away even more viewers by hiring a wacky, crude, unfunny morning zoo racist to comment on 'cultural issues'? The mouse has indeed roared, but in this case, it sounds more like a bowel movement.

One wonders what all these people see in Beck anyway. His radio show has been plodding along for a few years now, losing and gaining affiliates in erratic amounts. He just got bumped off one of his most prized affiliates in Columbus, but has since been picked up by a weak FM station there. And his nightly show on CNN Headline News gets the lowest ratings of any prime time news talk show. How bad? On Monday, a mere 278,000 tuned in. The mind-numblingly horrible Nancy Grace, who follows him, almost doubled that number, before losing well over half the audience for the Beck replay that followed. Oh, and her replay following that boosted the number once again. It says a lot when the nightly dead blonde report brings in more viewers than Beck's phony conservative schtick. Time to go back to the bottle?

As much as we like to diss the FOX network, I'll give them at least some credit in that many of their broadcast outlets outside of FOX 'News' tend to be a bit more edgy. "The Simpsons" is still one of the most subversive shows on the air, and the FX network is known for rather provocative fare such as "Nip/Tuck". But that 'News' channel? Aye yi yi! First off, I could care less that Sean Hannity's getting his own Sunday night show. That's a TV news graveyard anyway. But why they still employ Jerry Rivers Geraldo Rivera is beyond me. The self-imagined hardass, fresh off the cancellation of his syndicated TV show, has issued a fatwa against MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, threatening to kick his ass.

On a radio interview with WTKS/Orlando's "Monsters of the Morning," he was was about the 2003 incident where he made international headlines for disclosing too much information about troops in Iraq (drawing diagrams of troop movements in the sand will do that). Geraldo claimed the incident was blown out of proportion, largely by NBC -- and specifically Olbermann. Geraldo then began mumbling semi-audible names, seemingly meant to describe Olbermann: "midget ... punk ... slimeball."

He also called Olbermann a coward -- specifically a "pussy who wouldn't walk across the street against the red light." He then said he was ready to fight him, saying: "I would make a pizza out of him." Olbermann, taking all of this in a humorous manner, joked about it yesterday on the ESPN Radio show he co-hosts with Dan Patrick, saying he had no idea why Geraldo called him a "midget, which is interesting since I'm like seven inches taller than he is! (Olbermann is 6'3")." (mp3 link - 7 minutes in)

"Now you've got the trifecta - Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Geraldo Rivera," said Patrick. Keith responded, "if you get Rush on his back, it's over." And all he'd have to do to beat Geraldo is "sit on him". Bill O'Reilly is the same height as Olbermann, "so that would probably be a fair fight."

Patrick suggested Olbermann grab Geraldo's mustache, but Keith said "Yeah, but then it comes off! That's not real, are you crazy? He got it from the guy in HMS Pinafore - the 'modern major general'!" Dan asked if Geraldo's mustache was similar to Rollie Fingers', and Keith said "No, Rollie Fingers had a GOOD one!"

Later, on his MSNBC show Countdown, Olbermann lashed back at Geraldo, saying, "Geraldo, you should not give me a hard time. I can still remember when you were a big deal ... back when I was a kid."

So, why is Geraldo picking a fight with Olbermann? After all, he got his ass punked pretty bad when he tried to take on Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, saying that the pair's respective shows pander to the lowest common denominator, specifically stating that they "play clips of old ladies slipping on ice and people laughing." This coming from a guy who's nose was broken in a 1998 on-set brawl that came as a result of intentionally booking neo-Nazis, skinheads, black activists, and Jewish activists on the same show. Guess he didn't see that one coming, huh? The attack on Stewart and Colbert likely came as a result of a bit where Colbert (in character as an exaggerated Rivera-esque reporter) drew, in sand, how Geraldo's head had moved down his torso and "up his ass." Seems "war correspondent" Jerry Rivers is a bit sensitive about that whole incident, huh?

Or perhaps Geraldo, now just a lowly FOX 'News' talking head is just trying to stay in the limelight, perhaps taking a cue from that ridiculous Rosie/Donald 'feud' from a few weeks ago that nobody really gives a shit about. Just like we really don't give a shit about Geraldo, but what the hey, it's like watching a train wreck. And that's why you're reading this now, right?

And finally, remember that Ann Coulter felony charge for voting improprieties? Well, Annthrax seems to be having a little luck in the case. So far. Palm Beach elections boss Arthur Anderson is getting caught up in red tape with local police and county law enforcement authorities, and is now trying to get the Florida State Police involved. In other words, the whole thing is just plodding along.

After Anderson asked the Palm Beach PD for help, the department issued a three-page report last month hinting at troubles ahead for Coulter. According to the report, she could end up charged with: one felony count for signing a voter form claiming she lived at her Realtor's Indian Road home instead of her Seabreeze Avenue homestead; one felony count for "unauthorized possession of a driver's license," also for providing the same wrong address when obtaining her license; and a misdemeanor for knowingly voting in the wrong precinct.

Update: Freeper busted in fake anthrax threats

A California man was arrested this weekend, accused of mailing threatening letters laced with white powder to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, David Letterman, Keith Olbermann and other high-profile figures, the FBI announced Sunday.

FBI agents took Chad Conrad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, into custody Saturday on charges of conveying false information and sending threats via the U.S. mail, the bureau said in a statement.

Castagana, of Los Angeles, was being held in a federal detention center pending an initial court appearance Monday, when prosecutors were expected to file charges.

According to a federal search warrant, among those who received threatening letters were Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show;” talk show host David Letterman; Keith Olbermann of MSNBC; Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, who is set to become Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, both Democrats.

In some cases, the threatening letters included expressions such as “Death to Demagogues” and references to Alan Berg, a Jewish talk radio host murdered by white supremacists in Denver in 1984, the document said.

Tests determined that the white powder sent in the letters was nonhazardous, the statement said.

So, who is this guy, this Chad Conrad Castagana? Well, thanks to "The Google", many across the blogosphere have done a good job of profiling this whackjob domestic terrorist. It appears Castagana's a 39 year-old unemployed sci-fi geek who lives at home and has a deep affection for Katherine Harris and disease flicks.

And, in a turn of events that will likely surprise nobody, he's a freeper! No, I'm not making this up, and no, you should not be surprised. See, "Triple C" is an avid poster at many websites, message boards, and blogs. One of his favorite sites is Free Republic, where he posts under the alias "Marc Costanzo". Many of his posts there are similar to ones found elsewhere, though his ruminations in Freeperland may have done him in.

Most striking is this Costanzo comment from September, weeks before the anti-Bush MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann was sent a threatening fake anthrax letter in New York: "This partisan loudmouth Olbermann is a demagogue! Someone should find out where he lives and mail him a Ted Kazcinski letter."

After Olbermann received the fake anthrax, Costanzo posted the following:

"Not to make light of the situation, but drama queen Olbermann put on quite a production even after he'd been told the powder was harmless and checked out by doctors and told he was fine. He demanded that he be rushed to the hospital for more tests. I wouldn't be even remotely surprised if he mailed it to himself. I've never seen someone more desperate for attention and approval. I heard from a liberal blog that Olbermann was a prima donna at the hospital, giving the medical staff and the cops a hard time. Keith is a whiny little b@tch! Accepting that, I do not believe he sent it to himself. But that is just guess work.

A few weeks later, after fake anthrax was sent to the New York offices of Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, Costanzo wrote, "Hold it here now, what are the facts? The links provide few details. This info is very sketchy!"

And when the Washington Post recently received a piece of mail with suspicious white powder, Costanzo commented, "I heard recently that The Washington Post got interrupted beifly the other day becaue of a 'suspicious letter'. I read about this at Wonkette.com They said that this letter only contained harmless powder of Boric Acid."

So yes, Free Republic, that last bastion of liberty protecting us from terraists is in fact harboring them. And of course, in classic freeper form, the site went down briefly this morning as head freeper Jim Robinson, aka JimRob (or as I like to call him, RimJob) and his lackeys were likely busy scrubbing the evidence from the site (though they must have missed one). Not to worry, as "The Google" does have a nifty caching option. Hopefully, the fancy RV that RimJob bought with freeper donations won't break down as he flees the country. Karma would dictate that whatever country he winds up in forces him to speak their language.

Or, in freepspeak, "we are screwn".

UPDATE: Looks like this whole white powder scare has hit the New York studios of Air America Radio. Yesterday, they received three suspicious packages. An employee made the find at the stations' headquarters at 641 Sixth Ave.

The three packages - one of which was addressed to on-air personality Al Franken, and another allegedly to Randi Rhodes - contained a powder-like substance, which proved to be harmless.

Yes indeed, folks. They hate us for our freedom.

MSNBC rides Olbermann to double-digit viewer gains

Letting Keith Olbermann off his leash seems to have paid off for MSNBC.

Things are definitely looking up in Seacaucus, NJ, as the cable news channel registered double-digit gains in viewers and adults 25-54 for October while Fox News Channel led all news networks for the 250th straight week, albeit with falling numbers.

Leading the charge was "Countdown With Keith Olbermann," which jumped 67% in viewership and 61% in the adults 25-54 demographic compared with October 2005. "Countdown" averaged 637,000 viewers (including 233,000 in the demo) for the month, according to data released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. It's nowhere near "The O'Reilly Factor" (which led all of cable with 2.1 million viewers) but it beat CNN's "Paula Zahn Now" in the demo and narrowly missed tying it in viewership.

"Keith Olbermann is the right person at the right time, and doing it in the right way," MSNBC general manager Dan Abrams said.

MSNBC was up in viewers total day and primetime as well as in the demo in both total day and primetime. "Scarborough Country" remained behind Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" and CNN's "Larry King Live," but was up 13% in the demo. The 7 p.m. edition of "Hardball" was up 27% in adults 25-54 and up 5% in viewers. MSNBC's "Imus in the Morning" simulcast gained some ground on "American Morning," averaging 324,000 viewers last month compared with 425,000 for "American Morning."

MSNBC is in the best competitive position in total day since April 2003 in the opening weeks of the war in Iraq. Abrams said the strength was almost completely across the board -- praising Joe Scarborough, Chris Matthews and Don Imus as well as Olbermann -- but he said he was also cautious.

"This is a really good sign for MSNBC on the whole. I think that we've found a voice to some degree," Abrams said. "We still have a ways to go. One month does not make ratings success, but this is certainly the right direction."

Read more of this article at the Hollywood Reporter. You can see specific demographic breakdowns and hard numbers at Media Bistro.

Conservatives find humor in terror scare

It all started with a gossip column in the New York Post:

POWDER PUFF SPOOKS KEITH

September 27, 2006 -- MSNBC loudmouth Keith Olbermann flipped out when he opened his home mail yesterday. The acerbic host of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" was terrified when he opened a suspicious-looking letter with a California postmark and a batch of white powder poured out. A note inside warned Olbermann, who's a frequent critic of President Bush's policies, that it was payback for some of his on-air shtick. The caustic commentator panicked and frantically called 911 at about 12:30 a.m., sources told The Post's Philip Messing. An NYPD HazMat unit rushed to Olbermann's pad on Central Park South, but preliminary tests indicated the substance was harmless soap powder. However, that wasn't enough to satisfy Olbermann, who insisted on a checkup. He asked to be taken to St. Luke's Hospital, where doctors looked him over and sent him home. Whether they gave him a lollipop on the way out isn't known. Olbermann had no comment.

Of course, Olbermann did not tell anyone about the scare. The police advised him not to, and he complied. He went in, got some Cipro as a preventative measure, and went on his way (and no, he did not get a sucker for his trouble). However, the Page Six author, Paula Froelich, obviously got the information somehow, and inadvertently messed up an investigation just to get a cheap laugh. And of course, help to encourage the lunatics who do this sort of thing.

And rightly so, there was outrage. Editor and Publisher thought it was extremely tasteless to make light of a major media figure being the target of a terror scare, or at the very least, a cruel prank. Especially since the anthrax scare that rocked several media outlets, including the National Enquirer, NBC News, AND the New York Post five years ago.

Of course, the Post is owned by News Corp, which in turn owns FOX News, a constant target of Olbermann’s barbs. Nonetheless, to poke fun at someone who received a legitimate scare is very bad journalism (if gossip columns are indeed ‘journalism’). To do this after the paper got it’s own scare years earlier is unconscionable. And to interfere with a pending federal investigation is appalling.

And yes, Olbermann did make mention of the incident later that evening on his show, “Countdown”, but only because he was backed into a corner:

The Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper, The New York Post, may have just impeded an FBI investigation into terroristic threats.

I know this because I was a recipient.

I still cannot confirm many of the specifics -- again in order to make the jobs of the FBI and the New York Police Department a little easier. But I find it necessary to respond to the genuinely shocking tone with which Murdoch's paper reported the event, and the string of factual errors they made either through negligence or a premeditated disregard for the truth.

“Powder Puff Spooks Keith," reads the headline. The article then gives the details of the event which we were asked not to divulge.

Olbermann was not going to make any mention of the scare, because the authorities asked him not to. But since the Post decided to publish it, he felt he had to set the record straight.

…a New York Post reporter attempted to gain access to me by falsely identifying herself as a friend of mine.

And, most relevantly, the New York Post never called NBC News or MSNBC seeking any comment. They would have been told that the FBI had requested we try to keep this quiet.
But of course that would have interfered with the New York Post making fun of a terror threat.
It's almost melodramatic to ask why the New York Post would choose the side of domestic terrorism, rather than choose the side of the FBI…

(snip)

…Murdoch's newspaper did not even make the single phone call that could've told it the potential damage it was doing.

One way of telling that a person has hit the big time is when that person gets his own attack blog. And Olbermann Watch, for lack of a more substantial blog, is it. But OW doesn’t think this scare is a laughing matter. Or do they?

And then there’s THIS asshole. Yep, Brian Baloney, the Radio Tranquilizer, the failed part-time talk show host who has created what loosely passes for his current blogging career by eliciting fake sympathy over the loss of his Sunday afternoon radio gig. Two years ago, he cried like a baby, claiming KIRO in Seattle canned him for badmouthing Dan Rather. In fact, he played this whole crybaby fest across the country! KIRO management, probably not used to fired weekend jocks throwing temper tantrums in the national media, replied that they were expanding Seattle Seahawks programming, and that the other Sunday shows were better than his. In other words, he was the weakest link.

Of course, instead of sucking it up and taking his dismissal like a man, Maloney became the first weekend jock drama queen, begging for sympathy from gullible freepers across America. And who better than to take out his vendetta on – Yep, you guessed it – THOSE DAMN LIBRULZ!!! So, anyone who has had more success in radio than him (well, that would be everyone, I guess) felt the Baloney Pony’s wrath. Even if he had to make shit up (the Gloria Wise thing was blown up to ridiculous proportions, and he missed many of the facts). You’d think that he was secretly in love with Al Franken considering how many times Baloney writes about him, or how many Photoshopped pics he has of him. Note to Maloney: You sucked in radio. That’s why you were on Sunday afternoons, when nobody was listening. Then you got fired because you couldn’t cut it. That’s life, get over it. I worked in radio. And I got fired once. Life sucks, get a helmet.

But I’m getting off track here. ‘YOUR Radio Has-Been’ took the NY Post route and decided to accuse Olbermann of being a drama queen. In his words, “...we'd never put it past Olbermann and his lefty friends to try and score partisan points over such a story.” Ironic, in that just the day before, he reported on another white powder scare, this time at the studio of his former employer, KSCO, a conservative talk radio station in Santa Cruz. The owners of KSCO, rabid conservatives Michael Zwerling and his mother Kay, also own KOMY, which airs a couple programs from Air America Radio. By coincidence, I had pondered writing an entry about this station the other day, but shelved it out of respect for what happened. The article is totally unrelated to the powder scare, but it’s still an interesting story, and I’ll eventually put it up, but not now. Nonetheless, ‘YOUR Radio Dramatizer’ certainly didn’t accuse the Zwerlings of playing the victim for brownie points, did he?


Technorati fun: Keith Olbermann MSNBC New York Post anthrax terrorism Brian Maloney Radio Equalizer KSCO

Keith Olbermann: A textbook definition of cowardice

You can find this great Keith Olbermann commentary at MSNBC or Crooks And Liars. Here's the transcript:

And finally tonight, a Special Comment about President Clinton’s interview. The headlines about them are, of course, entirely wrong. It is not essential that a past President, bullied and sandbagged by a monkey posing as a newscaster, finally lashed back.

It is not important that the current President’s "portable public chorus" has described his predecessor’s tone as "crazed."

Our tone should be crazed. The nation’s freedoms are under assault by an administration whose policies can do us as much damage as Al-Qaeda; the nation’s "marketplace of ideas" is being poisoned, by a propaganda company so blatant that Tokyo Rose would’ve quit. Nonetheless.

The headline is this: Bill Clinton did what almost none of us have done, in five years. He has spoken the truth about 9/11, and the current presidential administration.

"At least I tried," he said of his own efforts to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden. "That’s the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now. They had eight months to try; they did not try. I tried."

Thus in his supposed emeritus years, has Mr. Clinton taken forceful and triumphant action for honesty, and for us; action as vital and as courageous as any of his presidency; action as startling and as liberating, as any, by anyone, in these last five long years.

The Bush Administration did not try to get Osama Bin Laden before 9/11.

The Bush Administration ignored all the evidence gathered by its predecessors.

The Bush Administration did not understand the Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S."

The Bush Administration… did… not… try.—

Moreover, for the last five years one month and two weeks, the current administration, and in particular the President, has been given the greatest "pass" for incompetence and malfeasance, in American history!

President Roosevelt was rightly blamed for ignoring the warning signs — some of them, 17 years old — before Pearl Harbor.

President Hoover was correctly blamed for — if not the Great Depression itself — then the disastrous economic steps he took in the immediate aftermath of the Stock Market Crash.

Even President Lincoln assumed some measure of responsibility for the Civil War — though talk of Southern secession had begun as early as 1832.

But not this President.

To hear him bleat and whine and bully at nearly every opportunity, one would think someone else had been President on September 11th, 2001 — or the nearly eight months that preceded it.

That hardly reflects the honesty nor manliness we expect of the Executive.

But if his own fitness to serve is of no true concern to him, perhaps we should simply sigh and keep our fingers crossed, until a grown-up takes the job three Januarys from now.

Except… for this:

After five years of skirting even the most inarguable of facts — that he was President on 9/11 and he must bear some responsibility for his, and our, unreadiness, Mr. Bush has now moved, unmistakably and without conscience or shame, towards re-writing history, and attempting to make the responsibility, entirely Mr. Clinton’s.

Of course he is not honest enough to do that directly.

As with all the other nefariousness and slime of this, our worst presidency since James Buchanan, he is having it done for him, by proxy.

Thus, the sandbag effort by Fox News, Friday afternoon.

Consider the timing: The very same weekend the National Intelligence Estimate would be released and show the Iraq war to be the fraudulent failure it is — not a check on terror, but fertilizer for it!

The kind of proof of incompetence, for which the administration and its hyenas at Fox need to find a diversion, in a scapegoat.

It was the kind of cheap trick which would get a journalist fired — but a propagandist, promoted:

Promise to talk of charity and generosity; but instead launch into the lies and distortions with which the Authoritarians among us attack the virtuous and reward the useless.

And don’t even be professional enough to assume the responsibility for the slanders yourself; blame your audience for "e-mailing" you the question.

Mr. Clinton responded as you have seen.

He told the great truth un-told… about this administration’s negligence, perhaps criminal negligence, about Bin Laden.

He was brave.

Then again, Chris Wallace might be braver still. Had I — in one moment surrendered all my credibility as a journalist — and been irredeemably humiliated, as was he, I would have gone home and started a new career selling seeds by mail.

The smearing by proxy, of course, did not begin Friday afternoon.

Disney was first to sell-out its corporate reputation, with "The Path to 9/11."

Of that company’s crimes against truth one needs to say little. Simply put: someone there enabled an Authoritarian zealot to belch out Mr. Bush’s new and improved history.

The basic plot-line was this: because he was distracted by the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Bill Clinton failed to prevent 9/11.

The most curious and in some ways the most infuriating aspect of this slapdash theory, is that the Right Wingers who have advocated it — who try to sneak it into our collective consciousness through entertainment, or who sandbag Mr. Clinton with it at news interviews — have simply skipped past its most glaring flaw.

Had it been true that Clinton had been distracted from the hunt for Bin Laden in 1998 because of the Lewinsky nonsense — why did these same people not applaud him for having bombed Bin Laden’s camps in Afghanistan and Sudan on August 20th of that year? For mentioning Bin Laden by name as he did so?

That day, Republican Senator Grams of Minnesota invoked the movie "Wag The Dog."

Republican Senator Coats of Indiana questioned Mr. Clinton’s judgment.

Republican Senator Ashcroft of Missouri — the future Attorney General — echoed Coats.

Even Republican Senator Arlen Specter questioned the timing.

And of course, were it true Clinton had been "distracted" by the Lewinsky witch-hunt — who on earth conducted the Lewinsky witch-hunt? Who turned the political discourse of this nation on its head for two years?

Who corrupted the political media?

Who made it impossible for us to even bring back on the air, the counter-terrorism analysts like Dr. Richard Haass, and James Dunegan, who had warned, at this very hour, on this very network, in early 1998, of cells from the Middle East who sought to attack us, here?

Who preempted them… in order to strangle us with the trivia that was… "All Monica All The Time"?

Who… distracted whom?

This is, of course, where — as is inevitable — Mr. Bush and his henchmen prove not quite as smart as they think they are.

The full responsibility for 9/11 is obviously shared by three administrations, possibly four.

But, Mr. Bush, if you are now trying to convince us by proxy that it’s all about the distractions of 1998 and 1999, then you will have to face a startling fact that your minions may have hidden from you.

The distractions of 1998 and 1999, Mr. Bush, were carefully manufactured, and lovingly executed, not by Bill Clinton… but by the same people who got you… elected President.

Thus instead of some commendable acknowledgment that you were even in office on 9/11 and the lost months before it… we have your sleazy and sloppy rewriting of history, designed by somebody who evidently redd the Orwell playbook too quickly.

Thus instead of some explanation for the inertia of your first eight months in office, we are told that you have kept us "safe" ever since — a statement that might range anywhere from Zero, to One Hundred Percent, true.

We have nothing but your word, and your word has long since ceased to mean anything.

And, of course, the one time you have ever given us specifics about what you have kept us safe from, Mr. Bush — you got the name of the supposedly targeted Tower in Los Angeles… wrong.

Thus was it left for the previous President to say what so many of us have felt; what so many of us have given you a pass for in the months and even the years after the attack:

You did not try.

You ignored the evidence gathered by your predecessor.

You ignored the evidence gathered by your own people.

Then, you blamed your predecessor.

That would be the textbook definition… Sir, of cowardice.

To enforce the lies of the present, it is necessary to erase the truths of the past.

That was one of the great mechanical realities Eric Blair — writing as George Orwell — gave us in the novel "1984."

The great philosophical reality he gave us, Mr. Bush, may sound as familiar to you, as it has lately begun to sound familiar to me.

"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power…

"Power is not a means; it is an end.

"One does not establish a dictatorship to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.

"The object of persecution, is persecution. The object of torture, is torture. The object of power… is power."

Earlier last Friday afternoon, before the Fox ambush, speaking in the far different context of the closing session of his remarkable Global Initiative, Mr. Clinton quoted Abraham Lincoln’s State of the Union address from 1862.

"We must disenthrall ourselves."

Mr. Clinton did not quote the rest of Mr. Lincoln’s sentence. He might well have.

"We must disenthrall ourselves — and then… we shall save our country."

And so has Mr. Clinton helped us to disenthrall ourselves, and perhaps enabled us, even at this late and bleak date… to save… our… country.

—

The "free pass" has been withdrawn, Mr. Bush…

You did not act to prevent 9/11.

We do not know what you have done, to prevent another 9/11.

You have failed us — then leveraged that failure, to justify a purposeless war in Iraq which will have, all too soon, claimed more American lives than did 9/11.

You have failed us anew in Afghanistan.

And you have now tried to hide your failures, by blaming your predecessor.

And now you exploit your failure, to rationalize brazen torture — which doesn’t work anyway; which only condemns our soldiers to water-boarding; which only humiliates our country further in the world; and which no true American would ever condone, let alone advocate.And there it is, sir:

Are yours the actions of a true American?

I’m K.O., good night, and good luck.