Keith Olbermann/O'Reilly feud

WashingtonPost ^ | 05/12/04 | Richard Leiby

[Pikamax]

Yeah? Well, My Agent Can Beat Up Your Agent

• Keith Olbermann, the offbeat sportscaster-turned-offbeat news anchor, goes gonzo in his criticism of a competitor in the June issue of FHM magazine, which hit the stands yesterday.

Keith Olbermann: A "tortured soul." (Courtesy MSNBC)

"The key thing that's left out of Bill O'Reilly's career is that he got to where he is by being an abject failure at every step. He was kind of the buffoon of local news in New York and in Boston," the host of MSNBC's "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" tells the mag. "Bill O'Reilly is not of this Earth. He has an exceptionally well-designed television show, but it is neither news nor truth. The number of factual errors on that show on a given night exceeds our audience."

Well, for those counting, Olbermann's show drew 309,000 nightly viewers in April, according to Nielson figures, and O'Reilly's "Factor" on the Fox News Channel drew more than 2.2 million.

O'Reilly is on vacation, but a Fox News spokesman was happy to respond in kind yesterday: "Since he stopped reading sports scores, Keith has attracted fewer viewers than a test pattern and his career has been nothing short of a train wreck. We pity his tortured soul and wish him all the best."

[The Scourge of Yazid]

By the way, the correct answer to the second choice is always Freddy.

[FrankR]

"Keith Olbermann, the offbeat sportscaster-turned-offbeat news anchor..."

and what better way to leave "offbeat" behind and get noticed than to take on a popular, established, person in the industry.

Al Franken is doing the same thing...started with Rush and has now moved to O'Reilly. Rush didn't pay Franken a whole lot of attention...so FreakyFranken refocused his attention on O'Reilly.

That's what it's mostly about with those media types...ATTENTION.

[LS]

O'Reilly is an a-hole and I don't watch him. But Olberman is pond slime, and in this fight, I'd be on O'Reilly's side. It's a case of a human against a reptile.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

It's very easy to take potshots at those who have more success than oneself.

[Core_Conservative]

I cringe when he is called a Conservative.

At least O'Reilly doesn't claim to be one - in fact - he doesn't really let on as to where he stands in the political cauldron.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

I agree. O'Reilly's a blowhard, but Olbermann is a certified lefty loon.

[Hodar]

I guess I dismiss the 'abject failure' theory. If a person fails miserably at a point in their career, they either fundamentally change themselves; or they continue to fail and plummet down the career ladder.

Rush, O'Rielley and others may have failed at some point in their careers; but at some point they changed the way they approached things. You do not get promoted to bigger and better positions by continuously failing to do your job. These come from doing your job better than the job has ever been done before.

[Steve_Seattle]

O'Reilly's saving grace - like Rush's - is his capacity for self-mockery. O'Reilly reads letters every night telling him he's a pompous ass, an idiot, etc.; it's hard to imagine Olberman (or Brokaw/Jennings/Rather) doing that.

[MEGoody]

I don't like O'Reilly, but the reality is, he obviously is NOT a failure. This guy is just envious.

[Badeye]

"Olbermann had the world by the curlies when he was teamed with Dan Patrick on ESPN Sportscenter. Ever since he thought he was too good for sportscasting (which is all he's good at), his career's been in free-fall. "

300K viewers compared to O'Reilly's 2.2 million plus can't be "spun". Olberman is only marginally better than the infamous failure of Donahue.

If Olberman was doing well, he wouldn't feel the need to speak ill of a competitor.

[Steve_Seattle]

My daughter said about O'Reilly: "He's a pompous ass, but I like him anyway."

[golforacle]

Olbermann can't beat O'Reilly at the ratings game, so he is trying to get publicity. 0.3 vs. 2.2. If you get those kind of numbers in most businesses/sports, you would get fired. Not so at a loser place like MSNBC.

[Dr Snide]

"The number of factual errors on that show on a given night exceeds our audience"

Which is what, three? four? I guess it depends on if your mom is up that late.

Can we say attention seeking? Pushing hard to extend that 15 minutes of fame are we Keith? I guess if you are a failure the only way to get people to pay attention it piggy back on somebody who is not a failure (a la Franken). Hey Keith, go away

[Ol' Sparky]

Sour grapes from another liberal loser. Olbermann committed career suicide when he left the "Big Show."

[1Old Pro]

the MSNBC ship is going down faster than water being flushed down the toliet

When their anchors blame Bush for Burg's death the toilet can't be flushed enough. The anti-American media is driving me nuts.

[Pagey]

Keith Olberman was the first "TV reader of news" (back in the late 80's if I remember correctly) that I noticed intentionally shaved the space in between his eyebrows. He just looked wacky. And I stopped watching O'Reilly about 2 years ago.

[Dante3]

Oberman must have had a few too many. You talk about ENVY and a lack of touch with reality. O'Reily may be a lot of things but a failure he is not.

OReilly is one of the few people who has dared to speak out regarding a number of issues and he is not worried about being PC.

[Final Authority]

I heard on Imus, I think, that Olbermann is a "momma's boy" and never got a drivers license. I think if true that says volumes.

[blackie]

O'Reilly isn't right-wing ~ he hates guns, SUV's and says there should be more government regulations.

[TC Rider]

"The number of factual errors on that show on a given night exceeds our audience."

Duh, how hard is that.

That's OK Keith, we know we can count on you, unless you get tired of the story, like you did with Clinton.

Maybe you can read election returns like sports scores in November.