Posted on 08/10/2005 3:24:43 AM PDT by jimbo123
It might be a good idea for Keith Olbermann and Rick Kaplan to give each other a wide berth until things cool down.
I hear that MSNBC staffers in the Secaucus newsroom-studio watched in horror Monday night as the volatile Kaplan, the president of the cable outlet, publicly laced into the eccentric Olbermann, anchor of the 8 p.m. show "Countdown," after the latter eulogized lung-cancer victim Peter Jennings with a graphic rant about his own cancer scare.
Olbermann - a former pipe and cigar smoker - is said to have looked stunned as Kaplan raced onto the set and shouted at him after he signed off.
Olbermann had urged viewers to quit smoking and repeatedly mentioned "spitting blood" and "spitting globs of myself into a garbage can" while discussing his bout with a benign tumor in in his mouth.
I'm told that Kaplan erupted angrily and at length, calling Olbermann "out of control" and "not to be trusted," and accusing him of driving away viewers from the 9 p.m. debut of Kaplan hire Rita Cosby's show, "Live and Direct."
Kaplan - a friend and former ABC News colleague of Jennings, and a frequent cigar smoker - apparently got even angrier when Olbermann suggested that the reason he was upset was that "this is about you."
I'm told that the anchor quietly asked the news exec to move the discussion to a private location, but the enraged Kaplan wouldn't hear of it.
"I don't care if you don't come to work tomorrow," Kaplan told Olbermann, according to my spies.
Olbermann - who yesterday defended his much-criticized remarks on Jim Romenesko's media gossip Web site at www.poynter.org - did come to work, but he didn't return my phone call.
Kaplan told me: "I'm not going to discuss it. It's between me and Keith."
Bunch of hopeless fools.
+ FReeper Cigar Aficionado |
|
Based on an amused spectator's list Send FReepmail if you want on/off MSP list |
|
The List of Ping Lists |
When you're playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of 24 cable news there's probably not a lot of options out there.
But Kaplan was fine with the Diebold conspiracy line.
Kaplan is hinging his rating hopes on ... Rita Cosby.
I mean, c'mon.
Keitih's offers a typical 'almost right' Lib response and misses the real mark. . .
. . .more to the point. . .Keith's 'eulogy'; was all about KEITH and in the grossest of terms; it seems.
Watching NOT. . .of course; but had I been; I would have definitely 'moved on' (which is what I usually do, should I happen to catch Olberman waxing on ANYthing, for that matter).
MSNBC does have a few good guys over there. . .somewhere. . .
No viewers, no one cares, no one would notice if the disappeared.
And they know it too!
Yeah, right.
I had actually just tuned to MSNBC to check out Rita and saw him going on all angrily about a bump on the roof of his mouth. I thought it was too much info and really bizarre so I changed the channel.
Was he intentionally trying to sabotage Rita's ratings? He didn't dare do it at the beginning of his own show, so maybe he was. I'm guessing she took a big hit either way.
Just sounds to me like business as usual @ PMSNBC .
I caught the tale end of that rant.. He was screaming at people for smoking and calling them idiots essentially.
I was literally screaming at the TV at this douchebag.
Kaplan is on the money.. This definently turned people off.
Wonder the same (this is their 'business' after all) . . .or perhaps; like so many things 'medical'. . .some just get carried away; and no doubt, Rita was not thrilled to see that performance coming at her. . .
. . .I did not see Keith. . .but 'bumped' into the opening of Rita's show. . .but still moved on . . .
That said; I do hope Rita fares well; but cannot say I miss her at Fox.
. ..and having said that. . .will add that I admired her tenacity and her boldness for going where others feared to go.
Had not realized she had 'departed' from Fox; until I happened to see her over at PMS one evening. . .do not know yet; as I have not watched her; if same talents are being used over at PMS. . .
Kaplan trashed CNN with his uberliberal fun and games act. Now he is sinking the ratings at MSNBC below sea level. No doubt he can hired as the NY Times media expert soon with these credentials. Hope Rita has a blast cavorting with these losers.
I felt a tremendous disturbance in DUmmieland....as though 65,000 voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced....
Sounds like Lou Grant and Ted Baxter. What a couple of idiots. Eulogizing Jennings is dangerous business these days. ;)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.