The parties are pleased to announce that a settlement has occurred, and that the terms are confidential. Nothing more will be disclosed regarding the settlement.A joint statement from Keith Olbermann and Current TV • Discussing the settlement the two parties reached in the anchor’s lawsuit against the network. With the network changing hands in recent weeks, it’s possible Olbermann made out like a bandit here, as the lawsuit was for $50 million and the settlement came days after he filed court documents in an effort to receive a summary judgment. But we won’t know for sure unless Olbermann launches his own TV network.
I certainly understand that criticism. I disagree with it. Because I think Al Jazeera has obviously long since established itself as a really distinguished and effective news gathering organization. And by the way, its climate coverage has been far more extensive and of high quality than any…Al Gore • Defending his sale of Current TV to Al-Jazeera, which is owned by the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. He was asked by Matt Lauer about the sale on the context of his criticism of the oil industry’s control of media outlets (key phrase, from his recent book: “Virtually every news and political commentary program on television is sponsored in part by oil, coal and gas companies…”)… and his answer was kind of a non-answer.
“I’d like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV.
Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally, while I’ve been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff. Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program, finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract.
It goes almost without saying that the claims against me implied in Current’s statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently. To understand Mr. Hyatt’s “values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty,” I encourage you to read of a previous occasion Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee. That employee’s name was Clarence B. Cain.
In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out. For now, it is important only to again acknowledge that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one. That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.”
Bro’s getting replaced by Eliot Spitzer tonight, which isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement from his now-former employer. In the end, barring the lawsuit, Current seems to have come out ahead in this situation, reinventing the network around a cast of progressive figures, while Olbermann missed a lot of work over the last few months, at times claiming throat problems. So what’s next for Keith?
Al Gore: He’s not happy with Obama. President Obama has recently halted regulations that would curb “smog-creating emissions until at least 2013”. According to Gore, the “result of the White House’s action will be increased medical bills for seniors with lung disease, more children developing asthma, and the continued degradation of our air quality.” He also likened Obama to George W. Bush, a seemingly low blow. source
Well, there’s the tease. Olbermann’s coming to Current TV, meaning that now Keith has an outlet that’s going to basically let him do what he wants. He also becomes the network’s “Chief News Officer,” meaning that rather than fighting with Phil Griffin, he effectively is Phil Griffin. source
So guys, remember ten years ago, when our country was so divided that we had to debate how stupid Florida’s ballots were? You probably don’t, because ten years of drama has happened since then, but today marks the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision that gave George W. Bush the electoral college win – and led to his two twisted terms. It’s a reminder that no matter how far we’ve come since then, the partisan bickering never really went away. source
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