Sometimes, synchronicity's a bitch. Keith Olbermann & Current TV parted ways (to be charitable about it) one day before the 9th anniversary of Countdown's debut on MSNBC, and I'm posting this diary concerning (in part) the demise of Countdown at Current TV on the 4th anniversary of my first Countdown diary here at Daily Kos.
Geez, I'm off the intertubes grid for a few hours on Friday afternoon, and a big part of my life goes to heck in a hand basket! I learned the news from a fellow F.O.O. alterting me to the diary on the Rec List early Friday evening. I wish I could say I was surprised, but I wasn't, and hopefully that opinion won't get me flamed too much around here.
I sort of began to see the writing on the wall when Keith was absent from SuperTuesday coverage. Part of the big hoopla for Keith going to Current to begin with was to bolster their 2012 election coverage & making him their chief news officer - which, I guess, meant exactly jack & $hit at Current. Him NOT being there on such an important night was, to put it charitably, odd. Then, when the technical & studio glitches were on the upswing, I began to hope for the best but to also expect the worst. That worst hit me early Friday evening.
None of us know all the details of what "went down" & why, and we may or may not ever will; however, it seems to me there's some blame to go around with all parties involved with the lion's share going to Current TV. And, make no mistake, Current TV will come out the biggest loser in this story. There is absolutely no reason for me to watch channel 189 on AT&T U - Verse, I've severed all Twitter ties with anything or anyone at Current TV, etc., and I know I'm not alone in that regard. Keith, perhaps, could've been more patient with the glitches & difficulties at a fledgling network, but it would seem that promises made by Current TV to Keith were broken, and, again, Current TV will be the biggest loser.
I hope Keith finds happiness & peace in his family, friends, and the activities (especially baseball) that he enjoys so much. He will be OK and will hopefully end up someplace that makes him happy. Unless Keith ends up at HBO, Sirius, or some other type "premium" venue for which I can't afford to pay, I eagerly look forward to the chance to diary a show for him in this forum sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, I will continue to diary The Rachel Maddow Show here but am going to stick with the original time table I established within the last week or so. My work life will be & is bat$hit crazy stressful busy until towards the end of April. So, look forward to the triumphant return of TRMS diary on Monday, April 23! I'll continue to comment around here, of course (How can we miss CityLightsLover if she won't go away?!), but no diaries until April 23.
Thank you all so much for your support, encouragement, and good wishes in my diaries here at Daily Kos!