Good Bye And Good Luck

On 1/21/11's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" the host announced the show would be his last.

The company's initial terse press statement followed industry boilerplate; wishing Keith well in his future endeavors. But it didn't acknowledge his reign as MSNBC's ratings leader or as the visionary who introduced the network to both Lawrence O'Donnell (who moves into the 8p slot) and Rachel Maddow (who remains at 9p) via stints as guest hosts on Countdown.

"Real Time with Bill Maher" lived up to its name... Rachel Maddow was a guest as the HBO show hit the air within minutes of Keith Olbermann's sign-off.

Eventually Olbermann will appear on Maher's show with an interesting story to tell, but early word leaking from 30 Rock indicates longstanding tension escalating into hostility surrounding Keith's brief fall suspension over previously undisclosed 2010 campaign donations. So the parties headed for a breakup long before Comcast’s impending takeover was approved by the Feds and it's noteworthy that neither NBC News or MSNBC's presidents received on-air thanks from KO.

And now, exactly one year after the demise of progressive talk radio network Air America, MSNBC's night time lineup gains another of their alumni: "Young Turk" webcast host & recent guest host Cenk Uygur (say Jenk YOU-ger) at 6p as Ed Schultz moves to 10p.