Is Keith Olbermann Actually 'The Worst Person In the World?'

Did MSNBC’s prime time clean-up hitter go crazy in the locker room last week? That’s the story bouncing around the web and even the New York Times. Olbermann has denied derailing the Donny Deutsch train, but he admits doing nothing to stop Deutsch’s early dismissal from the 3 p.m. time slot. As the Left likes to say, silence is consent, Mr. Olbermann.

What could be so offensive that would have Keith Olbermann (allegedly) going “full diva,” demanding Deutsch get put on double-secret probation? Simply this: the most famous graduate of Cornell Cow College‘s name was mentioned in a segment about some of the loudest media voices on the first episode of “America The Angry.” Remember, Keith Olbermann is the guy who spends an hour a night, calling other people names, on a show featuring a segment where he nominates and crowns someone the “Worst Person In The World.”

Perhaps Olbermann’s rage is fueled by fears of his own demise? According to the ratings, Mr. Olbermann’s spot atop the MSNBC Star Chart is in danger:

“During the month of April* MSNBC’s Countdown With Keith Olbermann trailed the Rachel Maddow Show in primetime adults 25-54 ratings, the demo group that news advertisers target.”

Star performers acting like divas and throwing temper tantrums is nothing new in the world of entertainment and sports, worlds where Olbermann has spent considerable time. Many pro sports teams put up with this kind of behavior. However, tantrums are only accepted by ownership/management when the team is winning. And MSNBC is not winning, unless you consider “winning” to mean regularly earning half the ratings of the leading cable news channel. (That would be FOX NEWS, for the record. But they’ve only been #1 for the past 100 months in a row.)

History also teaches us that Olbermann may have started to see his own end coming a year ago when Maddow apparently aced him out of a much-coveted Ben Affleck interview. He stomped his feet, demanded the interview be moved into his show, Maddow and company reportedly said “no” and Keith took some much needed time off, without warning. Gawker.com reported the story, Olbermann denied it, Gawker stands by their story.

In June of 2008, the New York Post printed a story about Mr. Olbermann’s alleged berating of MSNBC staffers when he did not get a first-class seat on a train to DC and ketchup could not be found at the Kennedy Center. Again, Olbermann denies the allegations, the Post stands by their reporting.

Anyone seeing a pattern here?

Angry anchors and testy TV hosts are not breaking new ground. We’ve all seen the YouTube clips of Bill O’Reilly ranting at his staff – Bill even addressed this on his show. However when a network devotes so much time to pointing out the anger of those opposing the current administration’s plans, and how that anger could possibly, maybe, just might have a ghost of a chance of fomenting some sort of domestic terrorism ala Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing… you have to wonder about MSNBC and their apparent, unquestioning support for Keith Olbermann.