If there’s one thing Keith Olbermann will definitely not receive is an award for Employee of the Month.
The Daily Beast uncovered the story behind Olbermann’s nasty divorce with Current TV. The union officially ended on Friday as Olbermann was fired for breach of contract.
According to The Daily Beast, Olbermann and Current TV executives got off on the wrong foot. Olbermann allegedly complained that the network didn’t live up to the promises it made to support Olbermann’s show ‘Countdown.’
In The Daily Beast report, Current TV management is said to have viewed Olbermann as a “chronic complainer who had clashed with the bosses before leaving his previous jobs at MSNBC and ESPN.”
While Olbermann made a number of complaints, so did the management.
One of management’s complaints was that Olbermann would not participate in some press and marketing events, even though he was contractually obligated to promote the network. Executives grew upset when Olbermann balked at touting the programming that followed his 8 p.m. show, Countdown. In the email, Price explained that reluctance by saying the host was being given wrong information about what was to air. It was “inexcusable,” he wrote, to repeatedly have Olbermann “identify incorrect programming following Countdown. If people cannot trust him to correctly identify the programming, his credibility on larger matters comes into question.”
Listen, we get what it’s like to not always see eye-to-eye with your managers. It’s only natural that some arguments will arise and people will get aggravated. This, though? This sounds more like a catty he-said-she-said fight between two moody teenagers.
The Daily Beast’s story highlights wrongdoings from both sides. Lights and power would go off while Olbermann hosted his show, but on the other hand, Olbermann often didn’t show up for work. He allegedly missed 19 of 41 days in January and February, including nights of the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
Both sides acted in a very unprofessional manner. If Olbermann wants to be taken as a serious reporter, he needs to get his act together. The same goes for Current TV. If your own employees don’t respect you, then who will?
It’s no secret that Olbermann has left companies on bitter terms. It was only 14 months ago the MSNBC drama went down. So the question is, who in their right minds would hire Olbermann as a trustworthy employee?
Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant
