Last week there was a buzz on the blogosphere, mainly from the right, that Olbermann could be losing his job. We now find out that is no where near the case, and him along with Chris Matthews are the only two protected from changes right now:
If NBC’s selection of Dan Abrams, an on-air anchor, as the new day-to-day boss of MSNBC left employees of that all-news cable channel gasping in shock — and it did — the next steps in the reshaping of the long-struggling network are likely to generate at least a few low whistles of surprise.
Mr. Abrams, in an interview at the MSNBC headquarters in Secaucus, N.J., acknowledged that he was still in the learning stages of his new job. At the age of 40, he’s taking his first management post in television, where he has worked as a legal analyst and news anchor. While steering away from suggestions that a widespread overhaul of MSNBC is imminent, he did suggest that he would push right away for more breaking news coverage during the channel’s daytime hours.
But there are bigger changes coming to MSNBC, especially in prime time, where the network will apparently be dropping some of its talk-show lineup in favor of more taped reports. That change is likely to take place as soon as the next couple of months. “I think we’re going to have some program changes this summer,” Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, said in a telephone interview. “Prime time is the focus. That’s where the money is.”
[SNIP]
Two of the channel’s hosts, Chris Matthews of “Hardball” and Keith Olbermann of “Countdown,” clearly will not be affected, because MSNBC’s managers consistently cite those programs as long-sought breakthroughs.
And the reason for keeping Olbermann?
Mr. Olbermann, meanwhile, has picked up both viewers and some strong word-of-mouth for his irreverent style. His show is up 36 percent since January in that 25-54 group. MSNBC points out that during the same period, CNN and Fox have been down that those hours.
Wow that has to really get old falafel Bill’s (O’Reilly) panties in a bunch. He has been calling for MSNBC to get rid of Olbermann.
Now for a little bit of sweet justice. Looks like FOX is getting ready to make some changes:
Slackers at Fox News Channel, you’re on notice! Your boss is not pleased. Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes is on the warpath following his network’s recent ratings slump, and he won’t hesitate to clean house to turn things around.
So far during the second quarter, the No. 1 cable news channel’s primetime schedule has dropped 22% in its core 25-54 demo and 8% in total viewers. The first quarter was even worse.
Chief rival CNN has also dipped in recent weeks, but less dramatically, off 18% in the demo and 2% in total viewers.
So FOX’s ratings are going down while Olbermann’s are going up! Looks like more people are turning to Keith instead of old Bill O.
The sweetest irony here is the constant attacks O’Reilly puts on Air America. Hardly a week goes by that he doesn’t make a claim that the radio station is near a certain end. Last week, Randi Rhodes announces she had just signed a new, 4-year contract with the network. Sounds like her job is more secure than Bill’s right now.