Attention texting pedestrians and iPod-obsessed runners on the street: You may soon get unplugged.
Lawmakers in Arkansas and New York are now looking to crack down on pedestrians distracted by their own electronic gadgets.
Lawmakers in both states have proposed restrictions on using cell phones and music players such as iPods by people running and walking on the street or sidewalk. The apparent message: Distracted pedestrians are dangerous.
"It's not just distracted drivers. We focus a lot on distracted drivers, but we also need to focus on distracted walkers and joggers," said Jonathan Adkins, a spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, a nonprofit organization representing state highway safety offices.
The proposal in Arkansas would ban pedestrians from wearing headphones in both ears while on, parallel or adjacent to a street, road, intersection or highway. The measure also applies to runners and cyclists and would allow pedestrians to wear headphones in one ear.
"You might not get the full effect of the Boston Symphony Orchestra with one ear, but you at least will be aware of your surroundings," said Sen. Jimmy Jeffress, a Democrat from Crossett who proposed the legislation.
Democratic State Sen. Carl Kruger in New York has been trying since 2007 to ban the use of cell phones, iPods and other gadgets by pedestrians in major cities while crossing the street. The proposal would ban the use of an electronic device while crossing the crosswalk in a city with a population of one million or more. Violators would face a $100 civil fine.
Kruger said a series of accidents in his Brooklyn district made him concerned about the number of pedestrians he saw paying closer attention to their devices than what was in front of them.
"They were basically oblivious to the circumstances around them," Kruger said. "They got wired up, and ... their head was just in a different place . I don't think it's that much different than a ban on cell phones while driving or any other distraction."
Most states have been tackling distracted driving in some fashion, with 30 states and the District of Columbia banning texting while driving. Many states also have put other restrictions on the use of cell phones, particularly by teen drivers.
The proposed restrictions come as safety advocates say they're worried about a slight increase in the number of pedestrian fatalities. The Governors Highway Safety Association earlier this month reported that pedestrian fatalities rose slightly in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. If the second half of the year shows no change, the group said, it would mark an end to four years of decreases.
Nationally, pedestrians make up about 12 percent of traffic fatalities, the group said.
Adkins said the group is not backing any proposals to criminalize headphones, calling or texting by pedestrians. He said the group would rather see increased public education on the dangers of walking or running while distracted.
"The pedestrian does have to share some responsibility," Adkins said.
Jean Knaack, executive director of the Road Runners Club of America, said her group doesn't ban headphones but recommends against their use while running or advises runners to at least use only one earphone. Knaack said she's discouraged when she sees runners at group runs or races plugging into their iPhones or other music players, saying it takes away from the social aspect of the sport.
"I certainly would rather see it be more of an education campaign than an outright limitation," Knaack said. "There are some people who have just convinced themselves they can't run without it. They need that crutch to be able to get out and do it."
Jeffress said his legislation, which does not spell out any penalty for a violation, is aimed more at increasing awareness than punishing pedestrians.
"I don't envision the earphone police going out and arresting people," Jeffress said. "I don't see anybody being stopped to check what's in their ears."
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
OOOPS! Woman Falls 23 Stories, Lands on Taxi, Survives
Witnesses say they saw a woman throw herself from the 23rd story of a Buenos Aires hotel Monday and survive.
The woman landed in a sitting position on the roof of a taxi whose driver got out just before the impact deeply dented his roof and shattered the windshield.
The woman, a 30-year-old Argentine, has injuries throughout her body and is being treated in the emergency room of the Hotel Argerich, said Alberto Crescenti, director of Argentina's Emergency Medical System.
The taxi driver, who gave his name as Miguel, reportedly said he saw a policeman looking up and that prompted him to get out just before the driver's side of the car was smashed by the woman's body.
Another taxi driver, Juan Carlos Candame, told Associated Press Television News that he saw the woman climb over a barrier and jump into the void.
The woman fell from the top of the Hotel Crown Plaza Panamericano, where a restaurant overlooks the landmark Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires.
The woman landed in a sitting position on the roof of a taxi whose driver got out just before the impact deeply dented his roof and shattered the windshield.
The woman, a 30-year-old Argentine, has injuries throughout her body and is being treated in the emergency room of the Hotel Argerich, said Alberto Crescenti, director of Argentina's Emergency Medical System.
The taxi driver, who gave his name as Miguel, reportedly said he saw a policeman looking up and that prompted him to get out just before the driver's side of the car was smashed by the woman's body.
Another taxi driver, Juan Carlos Candame, told Associated Press Television News that he saw the woman climb over a barrier and jump into the void.
The woman fell from the top of the Hotel Crown Plaza Panamericano, where a restaurant overlooks the landmark Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires.
11 Officers Killed in 24 Hours in 5 States (OH we love guns & stupid people)
Two St. Petersburg, Fla., Cops Latest Victims in Deadly Month for Police Officers on Duty
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - When two wounded law officers were rushed from the scene of a deadly shooting Monday morning on Florida's Gulf Coast, someone handed St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon a ring, two bracelets and a badge.
They belonged to Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, who died from the wounds they sustained helping to serve a warrant on a man with a long criminal history.
"I'm having a hard time letting go of them," said Harmon, whose hands shook as he held the dead officers' mementos.
These were the latest police killings in a month that already proved fatal for 14 law officers across the nation. In just a 24-hour period between Sunday and Monday, 11 officers were shot in five states, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
In the small city of St. Petersburg, officers, officials and residents were stunned by the morning's events.
Shortly before 7 a.m., a U.S. marshal, a Pinellas County deputy and an undercover St. Petersburg detective went to a home to arrest Hydra Lacy Jr., 39, on an aggravated battery charge. Officials confirmed late Monday that's who killed the two officers, wounded a third and then died - either by his own hand or by an officer's bullet.
Officials said Lacy had a long record, with convictions for armed robbery and sexual battery. He was listed with the state as a sex offender and had failed to register with authorities in December as required.
Police confirmed that Hydra Lacy Jr. was the brother of Jeff Lacy, former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.
Deputies had been seeking him since December.
"He was somebody we wanted to get off the streets, " the police chief said. "Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?"
The trio of officers knocked on the home's door and were told by a woman that Lacy was in the attic. Chief Harmon said the woman also told the officers that Lacy had a weapon.
The three called for backup and Yaslowitz and Baitinger responded. Yaslowitz was just getting off his night shift but showed up to help.
Twenty-two minutes later, gunfire broke out.
Authorities said Yaslowitz and a U.S. Marshals Service deputy - who is not being named under agency policy - were near the entrance to the attic when they called for the suspect to surrender.
The gunman in the attic fired on the officers, striking Yaslowitz. He fell wounded into the attic. The U.S. marshal was struck and fell to the first floor.
Other officers, including Sgt. Baitinger, were in the house and rescued the marshal. Baitinger was wearing a bulletproof vest, but was mortally wounded by gunfire through the ceiling. As gunfire erupted around them, other officers dragged Baitinger and the marshal out - but Yaslowitz was still in the attic.
A tactical team arrived and set up a perimeter. Hostage negotiators also showed up and talked intermittently with Lacy.
Sometime after 9 a.m., tactical teams entered the home, hoping to rescue Yaslowitz.
Again, there was gunfire between Lacy and officers. A police spokesman said Lacy may have used the fallen officers' weapons to shoot at the tactical team.
Yaslowitz and Baitinger were pronounced dead at a local hospital. The marshal was shot twice but was doing fine, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Tom Figmik said..
It took several more hours for authorities to knock down about a third of the house with battering ram mounted on a tank. They discovered Lacy inside, dead.
"In my mind as a police officer, this crook, this criminal, this murderer, cop-killer, whatever you would like to call him, did a terrible injustice to two of my people today and two of the people that served this community," Harmon said during an afternoon press conference.
The home in a middle-class neighborhood on the south side of St. Petersburg was listed in Lacy's name, according to property records.
Court records show Lacy failed to show for his scheduled trial Nov. 1 on the aggravated battery charge, and an arrest warrant was issued the next day.
State records show Lacy was convicted in 1989 of armed burglary, resisting arrest with violence and other charges. He was released from prison 1991. In 1992, he was convicted of sexual battery with a weapon or force and false imprisonment of a child. He was released in 2001. Details on those convictions were not immediately available.
The officers' deaths came just four days after two Miami-Dade County detectives were killed by a murder suspect they were trying to arrest. That suspect was killed by another detective.
Those officers were being remembered Monday at a funeral, where news of Monday's shooting added to the grief already palpable among the thousands gathered at American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund said in a statement that 14 law officers have been slain in the opening weeks of 2011, and 11 officers - including Yaslowitz and Baitinger - shot in a 24-hour period.
"That's not normal," said Steven Groeninger, a spokesman for the group. "It kind of seems like law enforcement, because of their uniform, have a target on their back."
On Sunday, a man opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct, wounding four officers including a commander before he was shot and killed by police. The officers' injuries were not considered life-threatening, said Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
And on Monday, a Lincoln City, Ore., police officer was critically wounded when he was shot during a traffic stop.
Last July, two officers were shot and killed in Tampa during a traffic stop.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - When two wounded law officers were rushed from the scene of a deadly shooting Monday morning on Florida's Gulf Coast, someone handed St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon a ring, two bracelets and a badge.
They belonged to Sgt. Thomas Baitinger and Officer Jeffrey Yaslowitz, who died from the wounds they sustained helping to serve a warrant on a man with a long criminal history.
"I'm having a hard time letting go of them," said Harmon, whose hands shook as he held the dead officers' mementos.
These were the latest police killings in a month that already proved fatal for 14 law officers across the nation. In just a 24-hour period between Sunday and Monday, 11 officers were shot in five states, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
In the small city of St. Petersburg, officers, officials and residents were stunned by the morning's events.
Shortly before 7 a.m., a U.S. marshal, a Pinellas County deputy and an undercover St. Petersburg detective went to a home to arrest Hydra Lacy Jr., 39, on an aggravated battery charge. Officials confirmed late Monday that's who killed the two officers, wounded a third and then died - either by his own hand or by an officer's bullet.
Officials said Lacy had a long record, with convictions for armed robbery and sexual battery. He was listed with the state as a sex offender and had failed to register with authorities in December as required.
Police confirmed that Hydra Lacy Jr. was the brother of Jeff Lacy, former International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion.
Deputies had been seeking him since December.
"He was somebody we wanted to get off the streets, " the police chief said. "Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?"
The trio of officers knocked on the home's door and were told by a woman that Lacy was in the attic. Chief Harmon said the woman also told the officers that Lacy had a weapon.
The three called for backup and Yaslowitz and Baitinger responded. Yaslowitz was just getting off his night shift but showed up to help.
Twenty-two minutes later, gunfire broke out.
Authorities said Yaslowitz and a U.S. Marshals Service deputy - who is not being named under agency policy - were near the entrance to the attic when they called for the suspect to surrender.
The gunman in the attic fired on the officers, striking Yaslowitz. He fell wounded into the attic. The U.S. marshal was struck and fell to the first floor.
Other officers, including Sgt. Baitinger, were in the house and rescued the marshal. Baitinger was wearing a bulletproof vest, but was mortally wounded by gunfire through the ceiling. As gunfire erupted around them, other officers dragged Baitinger and the marshal out - but Yaslowitz was still in the attic.
A tactical team arrived and set up a perimeter. Hostage negotiators also showed up and talked intermittently with Lacy.
Sometime after 9 a.m., tactical teams entered the home, hoping to rescue Yaslowitz.
Again, there was gunfire between Lacy and officers. A police spokesman said Lacy may have used the fallen officers' weapons to shoot at the tactical team.
Yaslowitz and Baitinger were pronounced dead at a local hospital. The marshal was shot twice but was doing fine, Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Tom Figmik said..
It took several more hours for authorities to knock down about a third of the house with battering ram mounted on a tank. They discovered Lacy inside, dead.
"In my mind as a police officer, this crook, this criminal, this murderer, cop-killer, whatever you would like to call him, did a terrible injustice to two of my people today and two of the people that served this community," Harmon said during an afternoon press conference.
The home in a middle-class neighborhood on the south side of St. Petersburg was listed in Lacy's name, according to property records.
Court records show Lacy failed to show for his scheduled trial Nov. 1 on the aggravated battery charge, and an arrest warrant was issued the next day.
State records show Lacy was convicted in 1989 of armed burglary, resisting arrest with violence and other charges. He was released from prison 1991. In 1992, he was convicted of sexual battery with a weapon or force and false imprisonment of a child. He was released in 2001. Details on those convictions were not immediately available.
The officers' deaths came just four days after two Miami-Dade County detectives were killed by a murder suspect they were trying to arrest. That suspect was killed by another detective.
Those officers were being remembered Monday at a funeral, where news of Monday's shooting added to the grief already palpable among the thousands gathered at American Airlines Arena in downtown Miami.
The National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund said in a statement that 14 law officers have been slain in the opening weeks of 2011, and 11 officers - including Yaslowitz and Baitinger - shot in a 24-hour period.
"That's not normal," said Steven Groeninger, a spokesman for the group. "It kind of seems like law enforcement, because of their uniform, have a target on their back."
On Sunday, a man opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct, wounding four officers including a commander before he was shot and killed by police. The officers' injuries were not considered life-threatening, said Police Chief Ralph Godbee.
And on Monday, a Lincoln City, Ore., police officer was critically wounded when he was shot during a traffic stop.
Last July, two officers were shot and killed in Tampa during a traffic stop.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Gun Fun in the Good Ole USA!
FL Man Kills Two Police Officers
A routine arrest turned tragic Monday:
A Florida man shot two police officers during a shootout after he barricaded himself in the attic of a house Monday morning.
Officers arrived to arrest the man, "someone we wanted to get off the streets," they said, for aggravated battery.
But he had locked himself in the attic. When the officers entered, he started shooting, and 100 rounds were fired before he was in custody.
"Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?" the St. Petersburg police chief said.
Later Monday, police found the shooter's slain body in the home. The two fallen officers were the latest lives lost in a string of police shootings the past few days, including the fatal shooting of four officers in a Detroit police precinct office on Sunday.
A routine arrest turned tragic Monday:
A Florida man shot two police officers during a shootout after he barricaded himself in the attic of a house Monday morning.
Officers arrived to arrest the man, "someone we wanted to get off the streets," they said, for aggravated battery.
But he had locked himself in the attic. When the officers entered, he started shooting, and 100 rounds were fired before he was in custody.
"Who expects to walk into a house and get gunfire from the attic?" the St. Petersburg police chief said.
Later Monday, police found the shooter's slain body in the home. The two fallen officers were the latest lives lost in a string of police shootings the past few days, including the fatal shooting of four officers in a Detroit police precinct office on Sunday.
Oprah's Big Secret: She Has a Half-Sister!
Forty-seven years ago, when Oprah Winfrey was 9 years old and living with her father in Tennessee, her mother became pregnant with a daughter who was given up for adoption. Winfrey had known nothing about it.
On The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, the talk show host revealed the family secret she had been hyping since last week, introducing her half-sister, Patricia, from Milwaukee.
"It was one of the greatest surprises of my life," said Winfrey, who found out the news last October. "It left me speechless."
Patricia was born in 1963 in Milwaukee and lived in a series of foster homes until the age of 7. She was then adopted, but said her childhood was "difficult" and she longed to be reunited with her birth mother, Winfrey says.
When Patricia was 17, she had a daughter, Aquarius, and then six years later son, Andre. She was unwed and as a single mom worked two jobs to care for her kids.
When Patricia, whose last name was not revealed, turned 20, she first tried to find out who her birth mother was but quickly gave up the search. Then a few years ago, she resumed the search and got her adoption records.
Through the adoption agency, Patricia reached out to her birth mother, whose name she still didn't know, but her mother did not want to meet her.
The very day, she happened to catch a TV news story about a woman named Vernita Lee, who was talking about a son, Jeffrey, who died in 1989, and a daughter, Pat, who had died in 2003. The information matched details in her adoption records.
"The hair on the back of my neck stood up," Patricia said. "I said, 'No, that can't be.'"
Her son Andre researched Winfrey's background and quickly realized that dates and locations lined up. Patricia tried to reach Lee numerous times, once even having her church pastor contact Lee's pastor, but Lee was not ready for a meeting, Winfrey said.
So Patricia went to a Wisconsin restaurant owned by Winfrey's niece, showed her the adoption documents and revealed her suspicion that they were related. Patricia and the niece underwent DNA testing, which proved a positive match.
After that, there were a flurry of emails back and forth between various Winfrey relatives and Winfrey, but none would reveal the secret, saying it was Lee's place. Winfrey asked her mother about giving a child up for adoption, but Lee said it wasn't true.
Then one day in October, 10 minutes before she was walking out to do a show, Winfrey asked her assistant what the truth was and she replied, "You have a sister."
Winfrey confronted her mother with the information and Lee finally admitted the truth. Lee and Patricia met on Oct. 25 for the first time since her birth.
On Thanksgiving Day, Winfrey drove to her mother's home in Milwaukee, where her half-sister sister Patricia was waiting.
"It was a Beloved moment," Winfrey says, referring to the movie in which a daughter comes back from the dead. Home video shows the two embracing for a long moment.
During an interview taped last week with Patricia and their mother, Lee said she had denied the truth for so long because she was ashamed that she had given up a child for adoption.
"I thought it was a terrible thing that I had done," Lee said, adding that she felt she wouldn't be able to take care of another child and get off welfare if she had kept her. Still, she said, "I did think about the baby. I went back looking for her and they told me she had left."
On The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, the talk show host revealed the family secret she had been hyping since last week, introducing her half-sister, Patricia, from Milwaukee.
"It was one of the greatest surprises of my life," said Winfrey, who found out the news last October. "It left me speechless."
Patricia was born in 1963 in Milwaukee and lived in a series of foster homes until the age of 7. She was then adopted, but said her childhood was "difficult" and she longed to be reunited with her birth mother, Winfrey says.
When Patricia was 17, she had a daughter, Aquarius, and then six years later son, Andre. She was unwed and as a single mom worked two jobs to care for her kids.
When Patricia, whose last name was not revealed, turned 20, she first tried to find out who her birth mother was but quickly gave up the search. Then a few years ago, she resumed the search and got her adoption records.
Through the adoption agency, Patricia reached out to her birth mother, whose name she still didn't know, but her mother did not want to meet her.
The very day, she happened to catch a TV news story about a woman named Vernita Lee, who was talking about a son, Jeffrey, who died in 1989, and a daughter, Pat, who had died in 2003. The information matched details in her adoption records.
"The hair on the back of my neck stood up," Patricia said. "I said, 'No, that can't be.'"
Her son Andre researched Winfrey's background and quickly realized that dates and locations lined up. Patricia tried to reach Lee numerous times, once even having her church pastor contact Lee's pastor, but Lee was not ready for a meeting, Winfrey said.
So Patricia went to a Wisconsin restaurant owned by Winfrey's niece, showed her the adoption documents and revealed her suspicion that they were related. Patricia and the niece underwent DNA testing, which proved a positive match.
After that, there were a flurry of emails back and forth between various Winfrey relatives and Winfrey, but none would reveal the secret, saying it was Lee's place. Winfrey asked her mother about giving a child up for adoption, but Lee said it wasn't true.
Then one day in October, 10 minutes before she was walking out to do a show, Winfrey asked her assistant what the truth was and she replied, "You have a sister."
Winfrey confronted her mother with the information and Lee finally admitted the truth. Lee and Patricia met on Oct. 25 for the first time since her birth.
On Thanksgiving Day, Winfrey drove to her mother's home in Milwaukee, where her half-sister sister Patricia was waiting.
"It was a Beloved moment," Winfrey says, referring to the movie in which a daughter comes back from the dead. Home video shows the two embracing for a long moment.
During an interview taped last week with Patricia and their mother, Lee said she had denied the truth for so long because she was ashamed that she had given up a child for adoption.
"I thought it was a terrible thing that I had done," Lee said, adding that she felt she wouldn't be able to take care of another child and get off welfare if she had kept her. Still, she said, "I did think about the baby. I went back looking for her and they told me she had left."
Postal Service Eyes Closing Thousands of Post Offices
The U.S. Postal Service plays two roles in America: an agency that keeps rural areas linked to the rest of the nation, and one that loses a lot of money.
Now, with the red ink showing no sign of stopping, the postal service is hoping to ramp up a cost-cutting program that is already eliciting yelps of pain around the country. Beginning in March, the agency will start the process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would close starting at the end of last year.
In addition, it is reviewing another 16,000—half of the nation's existing post offices—that are operating at a deficit, and lobbying Congress to allow it to change the law so it can close the most unprofitable among them. The law currently allows the postal service to close post offices only for maintenance problems, lease expirations or other reasons that don't include profitability.
Now, with the red ink showing no sign of stopping, the postal service is hoping to ramp up a cost-cutting program that is already eliciting yelps of pain around the country. Beginning in March, the agency will start the process of closing as many as 2,000 post offices, on top of the 491 it said it would close starting at the end of last year.
In addition, it is reviewing another 16,000—half of the nation's existing post offices—that are operating at a deficit, and lobbying Congress to allow it to change the law so it can close the most unprofitable among them. The law currently allows the postal service to close post offices only for maintenance problems, lease expirations or other reasons that don't include profitability.
Calififornia 2nd Grader Says Kids Had Sex in Class - R U KIDDIN' department!
Calif. 2nd Grader Says Kids Had Sex in Class
Teacher on Leave While School, Police Investigate Claims of Children Stripping, Engaging in Sex Acts in Class
OAKLAND - A second-grade teacher in Northern California was placed on leave while a school and police investigate accounts by students that classmates engaged in oral sex and stripped off some of their clothes during class, officials said Friday.
The investigation was under way at Markham Elementary School in Oakland, where the principal notified parents of the situation in a letter Thursday.
"We believe if the reports are true, there was a serious lapse of judgment or lack of supervision in the classroom," said Troy Flint, a spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District. "We're investigating how could this have happened. It seems unthinkable to us, just the same way it does to the public."
The male teacher, whose name has not been released, told investigators he did not see any of the acts that authorities suspect occurred last week. The teacher is barred from campus at least until the investigation is completed.
The principal learned of the allegations Wednesday after a student gave an account to a teacher's assistant, Flint said.
"Upon hearing these reports, we immediately launched an investigation which, to date, suggests that the reports have merit," Principal Pam Booker wrote in the letter to parents. "We have interviewed all the student participants who were implicated, as well as their teacher, and we continue to investigate the matter aggressively."
One incident involved several students who partially undressed and acted disruptively during class, while the other involved students who engaged in oral sex, district officials said.
"I apologize for this and assure you that we are collaborating with counselors and parents to provide support to those involved, address any concerns and take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that a similar act does not occur again," Booker told parents in the letter.
Counselors were at the school Friday to speak with students.
District officials emphasized the students were not accused of any wrongdoing.
"It's an incident of kids expressing their natural curiosity that went too far because an adult didn't step in," Flint said.
Some parents said they were outraged when they received the letter and saw the story on the news.
"It kind of scares me to know that the teachers aren't really watching them," said Ane Musuva, who has two children at Markham. "I don't want my kids growing up in this type of environment."
Teacher on Leave While School, Police Investigate Claims of Children Stripping, Engaging in Sex Acts in Class
OAKLAND - A second-grade teacher in Northern California was placed on leave while a school and police investigate accounts by students that classmates engaged in oral sex and stripped off some of their clothes during class, officials said Friday.
The investigation was under way at Markham Elementary School in Oakland, where the principal notified parents of the situation in a letter Thursday.
"We believe if the reports are true, there was a serious lapse of judgment or lack of supervision in the classroom," said Troy Flint, a spokesman for the Oakland Unified School District. "We're investigating how could this have happened. It seems unthinkable to us, just the same way it does to the public."
The male teacher, whose name has not been released, told investigators he did not see any of the acts that authorities suspect occurred last week. The teacher is barred from campus at least until the investigation is completed.
The principal learned of the allegations Wednesday after a student gave an account to a teacher's assistant, Flint said.
"Upon hearing these reports, we immediately launched an investigation which, to date, suggests that the reports have merit," Principal Pam Booker wrote in the letter to parents. "We have interviewed all the student participants who were implicated, as well as their teacher, and we continue to investigate the matter aggressively."
One incident involved several students who partially undressed and acted disruptively during class, while the other involved students who engaged in oral sex, district officials said.
"I apologize for this and assure you that we are collaborating with counselors and parents to provide support to those involved, address any concerns and take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that a similar act does not occur again," Booker told parents in the letter.
Counselors were at the school Friday to speak with students.
District officials emphasized the students were not accused of any wrongdoing.
"It's an incident of kids expressing their natural curiosity that went too far because an adult didn't step in," Flint said.
Some parents said they were outraged when they received the letter and saw the story on the news.
"It kind of scares me to know that the teachers aren't really watching them," said Ane Musuva, who has two children at Markham. "I don't want my kids growing up in this type of environment."
Olbermann Split Came After Years of Tension (I promise last post on this topic)
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
Olbermann Split Came After Years of TensionBy BILL CARTER and BRIAN STELTER
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
Olbermann Split Came After Years of TensionBy BILL CARTER and BRIAN STELTER
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
Olbermann Split Came After Years of TensionBy BILL CARTER and BRIAN STELTER
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
Olbermann Split Came After Years of TensionBy BILL CARTER and BRIAN STELTER
MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits.
Even his own boss, Phil Griffin, offered this assessment in 2008, when Mr. Olbermann was being heavily criticized by supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton because he was urging her to drop out of the race to become the Democratic presidential candidate.
For Mrs. Clinton’s supporters, Mr. Griffin said in an interview with The New Yorker magazine, “It was, like, you meet a guy and fall in love with him.” But, he said, “then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal.”
Still, the news of his abrupt departure from “Countdown” — delivered by Mr. Olbermann on Friday night — came as a shock to his many fans, some of whom accused Comcast, the incoming owner of MSNBC’s parent, NBC Universal, of forcing out the host for political reasons.
Many people inside the television industry are astonished that a cable network’s highest-rated host, whose forceful personality and liberal advocacy had lifted MSNBC from irrelevance to competitiveness and profitability, would be ushered out the door with no fanfare, no promoted farewell show and only a perfunctory thanks for his efforts.
But underlying the decision, which one executive involved said was not a termination but a “negotiated separation,” were years of behind-the-scenes tension, conflicts and near terminations.
Mr. Griffin, along with Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, had long protected and defended Mr. Olbermann, even when insiders like the NBC anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw publicly took Mr. Olbermann to task. Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Olbermann had “gone too far” in campaign coverage that openly took Democratic positions.
Inside the offices of MSNBC, staff members grew more restive about Mr. Olbermann’s temperament. Some days Mr. Olbermann threatened not to come to work at all and a substitute anchor had to be notified to be on standby.
Mr. Olbermann was within one move of being fired in November after he was suspended for making donations to Democratic Congressional candidates. He threatened to make an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to protest the suspension; Mr. Zucker was prepared to fire him on the spot if he did, according to a senior NBC Universal executive who declined to be identified in discussing confidential deliberations.
The pattern of great promise followed by eventual disaffection was established early in Mr. Olbermann’s career. As a young sports reporter for UPI Television, he was fired for telling his boss “this is the minor leagues here.” In the early 1980s, he had a short, stormy tenure at CNN.
He achieved national prominence on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” in the early 1990s, but left after a difficult time that included a reprimand for making an appearance on “The Daily Show” without permission. He labeled his departure from ESPN in 1997 a “nuclear war.”
Mr. Olbermann popped up on MSNBC for the first time in 1998, hosting a news show that evolved, against his wishes, into a nightly examination of the Clinton sex scandal. He left and joined the Fox Sports Network. That stint ended in acrimony as well. Rupert Murdoch, head of the News Corporation, which ran the sports network, later said, “I fired him; he’s crazy.”
He joined MSNBC in 2003 as a fill-in host. Less than two months later, Mr. Olbermann won the job full time. He transformed the show into “Countdown,” and he — and MSNBC — were off and running.
He managed to expand his audience steadily. Starting from a base of a couple hundred thousand viewers, he jumped more than 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, reaching 726,000. From there he built the show until it surpassed one million viewers a night, still well behind Fox News but ahead of CNN.
In a New Yorker interview, Mr. Griffin of MSNBC recalled those early appearances: “First day he was in TV, I knew right away that Keith had something that I’d never seen. He was made for this. I mean, the guy is crazy, but he is made for this.”
(In the same interview, Mr. Olbermann could not help commenting: “Phil thinks he’s my boss.”)
Even some of those at MSNBC who acknowledged being spurned or insulted by Mr. Olbermann said they remained in awe of his productivity and the effect he had on the network. Several considered him in essence a five-day-a-week editorial writer, who had to perform his editorial live on television.
It was an “incredible energy expenditure,” one longtime acquaintance of his said, suggesting that there was no reason to think Mr. Olbermann would stay in his chair indefinitely.
Mr. Olbermann himself alluded to the stresses of the job when he said on Friday night, “There were many occasions, particularly in the last two and a half years, where all that surrounded the show, but never the show itself, was just too much for me.”
In an interview, Mr. Griffin acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann was a “brand definer” for MSNBC — not just because of the success of “Countdown” but because his show was used to develop other hosts for the network as well.
Rachel Maddow started as a frequent “Countdown” guest, as did Lawrence O’Donnell, who began as a fill-in host for Mr. Olbermann and will inherit his 8 p.m. time slot on Monday. Mr. Griffin called Mr. Olbermann “the tent pole at the center” of the network’s sensibility.
At the same time, stories about Mr. Olbermann’s thin skin circulated widely in the newsroom. One such story, which was recalled independently by two hosts, dates to early December, when Mr. O’Donnell, then carving out some success as the 10 p.m. host on MSNBC, collegially proposed via e-mail that Mr. Olbermann come on his show to talk about President Obama’s tax-cut compromise.
Mr. O’Donnell had written this post on Twitter: “Liberal critics of the Obama deal say exactly what Pat Buchanan said of George H. W. Bush: he’s weak.” The message speculated that Mr. Obama’s critics would do to him what Mr. Buchanan “did to H.W. Bush: destroy him and help elect a president from the other party.”
Mr. Olbermann apparently interpreted the message as a personal attack; he declined to appear on Mr. O’Donnell’s show. “I saw what you wrote on Twitter,” he snapped at Mr. O’Donnell.
In the last several months, the relationship began moving toward its denouement: Mr. Olbermann hired new agents from the big firm ICM in September, parting from Jean Sage, the agent who had steered his career through all its previous rocky shoals. Several NBC executives said the move was made to facilitate an eventual settlement of the two years left on Mr. Olbermann’s contract.
Mr. Olbermann’s future is up in the air, mainly because he agreed to a deal that would keep him off television for six to nine months, according to several executives involved in his exit. He is also apparently forbidden to discuss his departure.
One NBC executive involved in the decision to settle Mr. Olbermann’s contract said that he was allowed to work in radio or on the Internet and would presumably be free to return to television in time for the 2012 election cycle.
As for MSNBC, Mr. Griffin expressed confidence in the network’s new lineup: Mr. O’Donnell at 8, Ms. Maddow at 9 and Ed Schultz at 10. It was not clear exactly how long that plan had been in place, however. The anchors did not find out that their shows were shifting until the public announcement on Friday night.
Mr. Griffin said: “I believe the changes that have been made fit who we are. We’re going to be as creative as ever. We’ll be there.”
But they will be there without Mr. Olbermann, the tent pole that the network built itself around.
One NBC News executive said on Sunday: “Give us a bit of credit for getting eight years out of him. That’s the longest he’s been anywhere.”
Reform and the Teachers’ Unions
Education officials across the country are increasingly focused on the two critical reform tasks: developing more effective teacher evaluation systems and speeding up the glacial pace of disciplinary hearings for teachers charged with misconduct.
The American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union, has wisely chosen to work with state legislatures and local school districts to help shape these new systems rather than try to block them.
Last week the union’s president, Randi Weingarten, released a plan for speeding up disciplinary hearings that is a good starting point for more discussion. Developed by Kenneth Feinberg, the arbitration specialist, the plan calls for strictly limiting the process — from complaint to resolution — to 100 days. Right now a hearing can drag on for months or years, with the attendant stiff legal fees.
In many districts, teachers can now be investigated for vaguely worded charges like “moral turpitude” or “conduct unbecoming” that are often difficult to define and difficult to prosecute or defend against.
The plan would give teachers and school systems more protection by establishing a clear set of charges — such as improper use of force, sexual abuse or refusal to obey rules — along with a strict set of deadlines for submissions of evidence and arguments.
The unions and state legislatures also need to press forward on developing evaluation systems that take student performance into account and that allow school systems to reward excellent teaching while steering ineffective teachers out of the field.
Ms. Weingarten has shown strong leadership in this area, and is well ahead of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union. But many members of her union are resistant to the idea of accountability systems, which they say can be far too easily manipulated.
The states are already charging ahead in this area. If the unions want to have input, they need to quickly come up with a legitimate proposal of their own.
The American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union, has wisely chosen to work with state legislatures and local school districts to help shape these new systems rather than try to block them.
Last week the union’s president, Randi Weingarten, released a plan for speeding up disciplinary hearings that is a good starting point for more discussion. Developed by Kenneth Feinberg, the arbitration specialist, the plan calls for strictly limiting the process — from complaint to resolution — to 100 days. Right now a hearing can drag on for months or years, with the attendant stiff legal fees.
In many districts, teachers can now be investigated for vaguely worded charges like “moral turpitude” or “conduct unbecoming” that are often difficult to define and difficult to prosecute or defend against.
The plan would give teachers and school systems more protection by establishing a clear set of charges — such as improper use of force, sexual abuse or refusal to obey rules — along with a strict set of deadlines for submissions of evidence and arguments.
The unions and state legislatures also need to press forward on developing evaluation systems that take student performance into account and that allow school systems to reward excellent teaching while steering ineffective teachers out of the field.
Ms. Weingarten has shown strong leadership in this area, and is well ahead of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union. But many members of her union are resistant to the idea of accountability systems, which they say can be far too easily manipulated.
The states are already charging ahead in this area. If the unions want to have input, they need to quickly come up with a legitimate proposal of their own.
OPRAH’S FAMILY SECRET
CHICAGO, IL – Oprah reveals her big family secret on Monday.
She has an identical twin!
Earlier this week, Oprah Winfrey announced that she will have an out of the ordinary show this Monday. Winfrey explained to her audience that she will be reunited with a special family member from her past. Harpo Inc. declined to give any further information regarding the reunion, shedding little light on the details beyond a few quotes from Winfrey herself.
“I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I’m the one being reunited,” she said. “I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you’re going to hear it straight from me.”
The Weekly World News will not wait for the Big O to divulge her little secret. We put our crack investigative team on the case to uncover the Oprah family dirt. After hours and hours of searching and sleuthing, up and down, in and out, tapping all of our sources, WWN finally discovered who the mystery guest will be for this Monday’s show.
Oprah has an identical twin!
The thought of the queen of media having a twin should not be that much of a surprise. Winfrey was born a bastard child to unmarried teenage parents – Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee. Being that her parents were children themselves, when Vernita Lee gave birth, alone, to twin girls she immediately knew that she could only care for one.
Vernita Lee left Oprah’s sister, Orpah, in a picnic basket at the steps of the French Camp Academy, a 900-acre Christian boarding school and community, some 30 odd miles from Kosciusko, Mississippi, where the girls were born. Oprah has always said that her name on her birth certificate was Orpah – but now we know that there were two names on two birth certificates.
The young, single mother was heartbroken to leave Orpah, but she knew that it was the right thing to do.
It is unclear what happened to the Orpah after she was abandoned. Did she flourish in the Christian community and devote a life to the ministry? Did she run away and succumb to an unsavory lifestyle on the streets of Jackson, MS? Did she garner the same level of success as her superstar sister?
To find out the answers to these questions and many more, all of us will have to watch this Monday’s episode. The Oprah Winfrey Show airs Monday through Friday at 4pm on ABC.
Don’t miss this episode; it is a show that you will never forget!
She has an identical twin!
Earlier this week, Oprah Winfrey announced that she will have an out of the ordinary show this Monday. Winfrey explained to her audience that she will be reunited with a special family member from her past. Harpo Inc. declined to give any further information regarding the reunion, shedding little light on the details beyond a few quotes from Winfrey herself.
“I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I’m the one being reunited,” she said. “I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you’re going to hear it straight from me.”
The Weekly World News will not wait for the Big O to divulge her little secret. We put our crack investigative team on the case to uncover the Oprah family dirt. After hours and hours of searching and sleuthing, up and down, in and out, tapping all of our sources, WWN finally discovered who the mystery guest will be for this Monday’s show.
Oprah has an identical twin!
The thought of the queen of media having a twin should not be that much of a surprise. Winfrey was born a bastard child to unmarried teenage parents – Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee. Being that her parents were children themselves, when Vernita Lee gave birth, alone, to twin girls she immediately knew that she could only care for one.
Vernita Lee left Oprah’s sister, Orpah, in a picnic basket at the steps of the French Camp Academy, a 900-acre Christian boarding school and community, some 30 odd miles from Kosciusko, Mississippi, where the girls were born. Oprah has always said that her name on her birth certificate was Orpah – but now we know that there were two names on two birth certificates.
The young, single mother was heartbroken to leave Orpah, but she knew that it was the right thing to do.
It is unclear what happened to the Orpah after she was abandoned. Did she flourish in the Christian community and devote a life to the ministry? Did she run away and succumb to an unsavory lifestyle on the streets of Jackson, MS? Did she garner the same level of success as her superstar sister?
To find out the answers to these questions and many more, all of us will have to watch this Monday’s episode. The Oprah Winfrey Show airs Monday through Friday at 4pm on ABC.
Don’t miss this episode; it is a show that you will never forget!
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