Back in the days of dinosaurs (the 1950's), kindergarten was a place where you learned to build with blocks, paint, and get along with your fellow classmates. Your teacher read stories, you had snacks, and generally speaking, life was good. Somewhere between then and now kindergarten changed--not necessarily for the better. Now kindergarteners write, begin to read, learn their numbers, etc. It's much more complicated. I don't know if they still learn how to get along with their fellow classmates, which brings me to the point of this article.
Yesterday Hot Air reported that Keith Olbermann abruptly left MSNBC. In 2008 Mr. Olbermann had signed a four-year contract extension, so his departure was rather sudden. The article reports that an agreement to end the contract between MSNBC and Mr. Olbermann was reached at the end of last week, but kept secret until last night.
Yahoo News posted an Associated Press story that reports:
"Olbermann returned from one last commercial break on "Countdown" to tell viewers it was his last broadcast, and read a James Thurber short story in a three-minute exit statement. Simultaneously, MSNBC e-mailed a statement that "MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract." The network thanked him and said, "we wish him well in his future endeavors.""
The story at Hot Air has many updates that were added as the situation developed, but the overall conclusion is not reached until the end of the article:
"In recent weeks, sources tell Mediaite there have been meetings on the topic of Keith Olbermann and his future at the network. Did Comcast-as many Countdown viewers seem to suspect-order Olbermann out? It appears that the end of the Olbermann era at MSNBC was not "ordered" by Comcast, nor was it a move to tone down the network's politics. Instead, sources inside the network say it came down to the more mundane world of office politics-Olbermann was a difficult employee, who clashed with bosses, colleagues and underlings alike, and with the Comcast-related departure of Jeff Zucker, and the rise of Maddow and O'Donnell, the landscape shifted, making an Olbermann exit suddenly seem well-timed."
The bottom line here seems to be that Keith Olbermann never learned the lessons of kindergarten. He was a difficult employee, and despite the fact that he brought viewers to the network, the network decided that it was not worth it.
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