Like you, I don't know what prompted the sudden, unexpected end today to Countdown with Keith Olbermann, effective immediately. It looks like if Olbermann expected it, he didn't expect it tonight. Around 90 minutes before the start of this evening's broadcast, he sent out this Tweet to announce which James Thurber story he'd be reading to close the program…
Around 30 minutes before the broadcast commenced, he sent out this one to announce there'd be a different story…
The switch, of course, was to allow him some time to deliver his farewell address. So did he really find out a half-hour before airtime that it was the last Countdown? In the business of live radio, it's not unprecedented to fire someone by telling them, "You just did your last broadcast" or to give them but a few minutes to say bye-bye. I don't recall it happening often in television. If that's how it came down, he must have really had to hustle to craft that classy goodbye speech.
Then again, maybe he had it drafted already and just didn't expect to use it tonight.
So wha' happened? Why is he going off? The obvious guess is that it has something to do with the Comcast takeover of NBC. Someone there doesn't like what Olbermann says and wants his politics off the air, perhaps as the start of a general rebranding of MSNBC. Maybe. Another possibility is that Olbermann is sitting on another, better offer from another network…but I have no guesses as to which one and I suspect that if he knew for sure, his statement would have contained a little wink and a promise to "see you soon." Then again, if he doesn't have something else lined up, I'd have expected a little reference to "I'm not sure where I'm heading…" as a bit of personal advertising, a way of telling the industry, "Get your offers in now!" He didn't do that, either.
I'm perplexed…and also wondering if Rachel Maddow's absence from her show tonight was connected in any way.
Guess we'll find out soon enough.
[UPDATE: Just noticed Rachel Maddow is in Los Angeles tonight appearing on Real Time with Bill Maher, which I'm watching at the moment. That explains why she wasn't on. Let's see if she mentions Olbermann there.]
[SECOND UPDATE: She mentioned it but just said it was a mutual decision. Hmm…]