Keith Olbermann’s sudden departure from MSNBC last week at the top of his game and ratings for the formerly rating starved cable outlet reminds me of a quite similar set of facts that happened to Jerry Williams in the fall of 1976. Jerry Williams was at the top of his game and ratings for the then Westinghouse owned and operated WBZ Radio. Jerry had been the night-in and night- out voice of protest to the Vietnam War and the Nixon administration on the clear channel powerhouse broadcasting across 38 states. Williams had even made the de facto if not the actual Nixon’s Enemy List in the early ’70’s. Now, in the more passive Gerry Ford era Westinghouse, a major defense contractor as well as broadcasting giant, pulled the microphone plug on Jerry Williams their ratings superstar as now did MSNBC in the post George W.Bush/Dick Cheney era. As the then WBZ sales manager and later WBZ Radio general manager told me a few years later Westinghouse dumped “The Dean” because they could not control him and they could still make a bundle of money without him. The same flawed philosophy appears to hold true at MSNBC. That now late WBZ General Manager predicted that Williams new homeowners at WRKO would soon do the same.They did not, until many years later when Howie Carr undercut his mentor if not creator and became his successor, but that’s another story.
All in all, the departure of Olbermann confirms the maxim oft preached by Jerry Williams to broadcasting students that they were not entering the broadcasting industry but the commercial advertising industry where careers can pass and be forgotten as quickly as a thirty second commercial. Commercial television and cable – The word “commercial” says all you need to know about the departure of Keith Olbermann. As to the voice of dissent – see the ad reps on the way out; they can give you some attractive rates right next to the Bud Lite and Toyota ads.
First of all, its “Olbermann,” not “Olbernann.”
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p>Second, while I didn’t live here during the Vietnam war, I was here during the tail end of Williams’ radio career in Boston. I heard his endless diatribes against the Boston harbor clean up, against clean water regulation generally, against regulation of septic tanks, against the seat belt law. Not impressive.
… on pizza. He did a whole day on pizza (I think annually). It was actually informative.
First, sorry for the spellllling errror… ;-). I know it is Olbermann; apparently my fingers do not…
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p>May I suggest that you go to Amazon or your local library and pick up a copy of the book about Jerry Williams that I put in the Subject line: “Burning Up The Air…”. It is the definitive biography of Jerry written by two of his producers, Steve Elman who produced The Jerry Williams show on WBZ Radio and was there when Jerry broadcast his last WBZ radio program and Alan Tolz who produced the Williams show on WRKO in the final days.
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p>To be sure Jerry Williams last few years weren’t given the direction his earlier RKO and ‘BZ programs were but by that time he was fighting off personal attacks on-air and in print by Howie Carr who Jerry Williams created…read that Dr. Frankenstein…’ he’s alive…he’s alive…’and who was gunning for Jerry’s coverted spot on WRKO. I am sure you know the rest of the story and where HL Carr ended up.
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p>But to the point and comparison between Olbermann and Williams. Don’t know and have never met Olbermann but he seems to display many of the character pluses and negatives of Williams – self directed, stubborn, great talent, great theatrics, manic, insecure,can see through frauds of all political stripes, unforgettable, uncontrollable.
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p>MSNBC parent NBC was just being bought out by Comcast (God, save us!) and they anticipated the Charles Ponzi of cable would not know how to deal with Olbermann and the Olbermann’s bosses at MSNBC’s own jobs might be at risk as long as Olbermann continued. So, they whacked him as Michael Corlioni whacked his own brother,Feddo. We just didn’t see the corporate kiss on the lips.
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p>Westinghouse did the same thing to Jerry Williams. They wanted to get back in the good graces of the Defense Department and the FCC and they sacrificed Jerry Williams and the highest ratings it had for greater corporate money.
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p>Jerry was right … as he usually was in the long run that broadcasting is not the journalism business but the advertising business.
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p>Olbermann, et al would not have been there without a Jerry Williams. There was no serious talk radio or talk television before him. He created the medium. Sadly, and apparently there are some in talk radio now producing local talk radio who have never heard of Jerry Williams. The local FM talker on Morrissey Blvd in particular. Spoke to a producer at that station who would not allow this poster to air the comparison between Jerry Williams and Keith Olbermann as the morning male/female talk duo were discussing Olbermann’s departure. She said she had NEVER heard of Jerry Williams. So, she would not air my comparison. What a freakin idiot and she is getting paid to be that ill informed… No wonder local talk radio sucks.
We need more Keith Olbermanns and Jerry Williams and fewer graham crackers and one cylinder carrs.
If it is in fact a commercial advertising business wouldn’t advertisers WANT to keep around hosts that boost ratings and thus the numbers that hear/see their 30-second spots within the commercial. Not so much cable, but radio (at least the non-satellite variety) has a public obligation to the marketplace of ideas, does it not? There was once a time that news divisions were acknowledged money-losers, but their purpose was not to make money – that was the entertainment division’s job. How and why did that change and is there any way to go back to that?
but it’s all infotainment and control.
You see, most radio and television executives came out of the sales department and not production or creative department.
They made their marks selling “air” and as long as they make the sale they don’t care how they made it. Sorta like street walkers… They don’t care who their johns are as long as they pay.
The advertising revenue gained or lost by Keith Olbermann’s show is not nearly as important to the corporate interests that own Comcast as the feared impact of Mr. Olbermann’s material on the companies and interests that control those advertising decisions.
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p>The economic battleground of the media is rapidly shifting from broadcast and cable to the web. This echoes the earlier shift from hardcopy to the web. Comcast is a key player in the web, and does not want its business practices and its many connections to government spotlighted by muck-rakers like Mr. Olbermann.
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p>Media spending, whether on broadcast, cable, radio, the web, or print, is the means to an end. Corporate interests target their media spending to accomplish their strategic purposes, and public figures like Keith Olbermann threaten those strategic purposes.
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p>Keith Olbermann is a loose cannon — in stark contrast to laser-focused and controlled assets like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Bill O’Reilly, and their ilk.
They have ways of shutting down free communication.
Yesterday,it was Westinghouse and its protection of its Defense Contracts. Today, it is Comcast who want to control dissent.
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p>And with stupid producers at stations like WTKK producing the J&M Show Comcast will have no resistance.
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p>With idiots at the control panel there is no hope.
…be the definition of loose cannon? Ever heard one of his incoherent rants?
The point is that, no matter how incoherent, the targets of Glenn Beck’s rants never stray from the agenda of his corporate owners.
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p>The “loose” part of “loose cannon”, regarding Keith Olbermann, is his willingness to go where the facts lead him.
He was a loose cannon and his departure has been great.
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p>I was hoping MSNBC would see the light and try to change the monolithic program lineup over there to get some more “balance” but nothing yet.
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p>Larry O’Donnell (can’t believe he grew up in Dorchester), seems to be doing the same schtick… loading up supporters of his argument and picking “weak” opposing view guests. No balance on any show on MSNBC except Morning Joe which I think is the most balanced show on TV!
Has the personality of a wet rag.
Met him many times and to paraphrase Dick Cavett’s remark to Norman Mailer… ‘ Larry O’Donnell would you like another chair for your ego…’.