MSNBC Prez to Olberman "I don't care if you don't come to work tomorrow,"

[Pirate Smile]

"There's bad blood at MSNBC

It might be a good idea for Keith Olbermann and Rick Kaplan to give each other a wide berth until things cool down.

I hear that MSNBC staffers in the Secaucus newsroom-studio watched in horror Monday night as the volatile Kaplan, the president of the cable outlet, publicly laced into the eccentric Olbermann, anchor of the 8 p.m. show "Countdown," after the latter eulogized lung-cancer victim Peter Jennings with a graphic rant about his own cancer scare.

Olbermann - a former pipe and cigar smoker - is said to have looked stunned as Kaplan raced onto the set and shouted at him after he signed off.

Olbermann had urged viewers to quit smoking and repeatedly mentioned "spitting blood" and "spitting globs of myself into a garbage can" while discussing his bout with a benign tumor in in his mouth.

I'm told that Kaplan erupted angrily and at length, calling Olbermann "out of control" and "not to be trusted," and accusing him of driving away viewers from the 9 p.m. debut of Kaplan hire Rita Cosby's show, "Live and Direct."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/335981p-286995c.html

Poor Keith. Now I understand why MSNBC can't figure out how to increase its market share by going after an untapped market.

[okieinpain]

1. so it's Keith's fault if rita does pull a crowd. interesting. looks like

we are fixing to get another Donahue.

[Pirate Smile]

3. That is what I'm afraid will happen.

:(

[Sperk]

2. wtf? So what exactly are they pissed at Olbermann for?

n/t

[Mel]

6. you got me

maybe Rick Kaplan/ MSNBC has $$$$ invested in tobacco?
I put nothing past the corporatista media.

[gman16]

4. Sent an Email to

Kaplan, explaining how his dead "friend" Peter Jennings would not be very happy with his actions (since he is now dead and able to be a free American journalist).

Feel free to let him know how you feel to:
rick.kaplan@ msnbc.com

[MidnightWind]

7. You can also send one to the show and to the network in general:

[e-mail] and [e-mail] and/or [e-mail].

[renate]

22. thanks for the address!

BTW, those cutting and pasting that address should take out the space before "msnbc" before trying to send their e-mail. Otherwise it seems to work just fine!

[xxqqqzme]

5. I saw that show. I wondered why he was out

for those 2 weeks - now I know. There is NO ONE capable of covering 4 him. I don't watch countdown if he isn't on. The blip of cosby last night was all I needed 2 see to pass on that as well.

[ovidsen]

21. The surgery was last year

I saw the show too, and unless my memory's failing me, he said the operation to remove the benign growth from the roof of his mouth was a year ago, and he was spitting out the blood in his office trashcan after the surgery, but before the biopsy results, which, thankfully, were negative for cancer.

BTW, I thought Keith was great and Kaplan is an ass.

[NYCGirl]

24. The surgery was a week ago last Friday...

It's not like this thing that they cut out of me a week ago last Friday just appeared overnight, either. It was there no later than 1991, and a dentist told me then: either quit smoking or keep an eye on this — or both — because that could be pre-cancerous.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8514671/#050808b

And here's a pic of Keith — up close and personal!

[ovidsen]

28. I stand corrected. Thanks.

I guess my memory aint what it used to be. :)

[montanacowboy]

8. HA! RITA CROSBY ....RIGHT

FAUX REDUX - STUPID TOILET TRASH TABLOID SHIT... THAT IS ALL SHE IS GOOD FOR -

OLBERMAN HAS SO MUCH CLASS - HE IS THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT MSNBC, THE REST IS GARBAGE FOR THE DISPOSAL

[libnnc]

9. Here's what I sent to Kaplan

and CC'd Keith--that should really piss Ricky off :evilgrin:

Dear Mr. Kaplan:

As Keith Olbermann is the only real news person employed by MSNBC, I find it strange that you unloaded your frustrations on him for telling the truth. He has every right to be moved by the death of Peter Jennings and his segue into his own personal encounter with what could have been cancer, seemed natural and was in my opinion, very compelling.

I quit smoking ten years ago. Keith's honest and very eloquent expression at the end of his newscast confirmed and cemented my decision to live a tobacco-free life and to encourage those close to me to do the same.

I'd encourage you, Mr. Kaplan, to unload your vitriol on someone else. Mr. Olbermann is too good a journalist to lose. Temper tantrums are for children. I should hope that the management at MSNBC are above those sorts of outbursts. Certainly, the late Mr. Peter Jennings would agree.

Sincerely,

me

[Lex]

11. Great letter.

I'm glad you sent it.

I'm off to pen one myself.

[libnnc]

17. thanks...what Keith had to say

really hit home for me because I actually used to be a pipe smoker in my early 20s (it's a lesbian mountain-girl thing :shrug:). I loved it and at times I really miss it. But no amount of sweet smelling, whiskey soaked devil-leaf will ever make me lapse, not after listening to Keith.

Kaplan oughta know better.

[Lex]

20. Wow.

"lesbian mountain-girl thing"

I like that.

[Pirate Smile]

13. I wonder how many people are trying to quit after hearing Keith's

soliloquy at the end of that show?

I know I've seen people calling it a slap in the face, wake up call to stop smoking.

He is to be commended, not bitched at. Kaplan is a complete a$$hole!

[natrat]

10. bitch slap that little kaplan boy upside the head

[DURHAM D]

12. Looks like Keith is in a poor employement situation. Maybe we

should write letters to ABC suggesting they hire Keith to take Jennings place. Gibson can't cut it. Keith would really bring a breath of fresh air to the networks.

[Todd B]

14. No wonder why they're number one in the ratings...

I'm so glad they cleared up why Rita's show tanked in the ratings.. I mean, here I am thinking that it was because she had an exclusive interview with the Jackson jurors (which, probably, about only eight people in the world care about) rather then focusing on actual hard-hitting news like Keith does.

It's a good thing they cleared that up for us! I mean, god forbid he's actually passionate about something that has affected him personally - I mean, we want everyone to tune in to Rita's hard-hitting interview with Juror #5, dammit!

I guess lashing out at the host of the top rated show on the network is good for business, huh? :eyes:

[NYCGirl]

16. Rita's show didn't tank in the ratings. She had about three times more

viewers than Olbermann. So I guess his speech had no effect on her ratings.

http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=8338

[Todd B]

25. Ah, I guess I just naturally assumed since.. you know.. it's Rita Cosby.

Ah, I guess naturally I assumed.

I guess the US is worse off then I thought! :)

(With this revelation, I concur with the rest of the thread - what the hell is Rick complaining about then)

[slor]

15. Well I do not care if r.kaplan comes to work tomorrow...

I believe that I tune into msnbc at 8:00, to see Keith Olbermann. I guess we need to make sure he understands that!

[garybeck]

18. it's a setup to get rid of Olbermann

all they need is an excuse. they created one. I give him 30 days.

[Deere_John]

19. Why not honor Jennings by saving someone from cancer?

My grandfather died from lung cancer when I was twelve and that probably stopped me from starting smoking when all my peers did. I'd probably never have been able to quit.

My grandfather had a miserable and untimely death, but I don't doubt that he would have liked knowing that something constructive came out of it. I imagine Jennings would have felt the same way.

Olbermann knows the score. Kaplan is a jerk.

[mod mom]

23. KO has too much integrity for MSNBC. nt

[Logansquare]

26. Kaplan is known for his tantrums. It will prob. come to nothing.

Some cable insiders comment on the incident:
http://insidecable.blogsome.com/2005/08/10/kaplan-vs-olbermann/#comments

[LSparkle]

27. Thanks for the addresses -- will use them

First they move Tweety out of the 8P slot on the West Coast and now KO's in jeopardy. MSNBC is headed down the crapper -- they don't seem to understand that if viewers want F***S NEWS, they're going to f***ing watch F***S NEWS!

[RamboLiberal]

29. More on this feud from TVNewser

Very good site on TV News Media.

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc/rick_kaplan_attacks_his_talent_24500.asp

Rick Kaplan Attacks His Talent
After Keith Olbermann's cancer scare sign-off Monday night, Rick Kaplan stormed onto the set and shouted at him, Lloyd Grove scoops. As Secaucus staffers watched, Kaplan called Olbermann "out of control" and "not to be trusted."

Kaplan apparently told Olbermann that "I don't care if you don't come to work tomorrow." Is he forgetting that Countdown is one of MSNBC's highest-rated shows?

According to an anonymous tipster, the situation is even worse than the one described in the Daily News. There have been "four or five separate explosions," the tipster said, calling them "childish, embarrassing, and insane." Here's the interesting part: "Witnesses against him being interviewed by management." Update: 1:30pm: To be precise, the witnesses are against Kaplan...

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc/

Two anonymous tipsters inside MSNBC have two very different perspectives on the Rick Kaplan/Keith Olbermann conflict:

> "Kaplan has always been a loose cannon, willing to lose it for minor reasons and for no good reason. I've seen him humiliate entry-level employees to tears over really inconsequential things. Memo to Rick: blowing your stack doesn't make you look like a can-do, take-charge kind of executive. It makes you look like a prick."

> "Olbermann's intentions MAY have been good..but here's what he did: He compares a benign tumor in his mouth to Rick's good friend's death by lung cancer, making the story about Keith -- then graphically and disgustingly discusses spewing blood for two minutes prior to the debut of a show thats exremely important to this network. It was extraordinarily inappropriate. More people are pissed here at Olbermann, not Kaplan."

Kaplan must be the Bolton of cable news!