# Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann (born January 27, 1959) is an American journalist and former sportscaster, who hosted Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC from 2003 through January 2011, an hour-long nightly newscast that counts down the top news stories of the day.

## Quotes

* It's such a simple thing, really. It's an awareness that the other people in the world are other people, and that you are one of them. That every time you have a chance to help somebody out, to do what's right instead of what you think you're supposed to do, you should do it.
** "Senior Convocation Speech," Cornell University (1998-05-23)
* I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. If you're in a public media setting and you're not expressing something of yourself, turn it over to someone who will. Just get out. Just go away and put somebody on who has a point of view, because the most dangerous thing about TV is its equalizing factor, its lowest common denominator factor. And that's what I fight against all the time.
** "Inside Story: Knowing It All" by David Davis, L.A. Times (2000-11-26)
* This is the exact definition of my ego. When Fox had my head 40 feet high at Shea Stadium they said to me, "We're going to give out 100,000 temporary tattoos of your face at the Super Bowl." And I just swallowed and said, "No. God. Don't. You're not going to, you can't possibly — what do you mean, temporary?"
** "Angry Sportscaster Keith Olbermann has Piazza's Bat—and is Keeping it!" by Jason Gay, New York Observer (2001-03-19)
* If you make a decision in your life, even one as eminently logical and self-improving as "Why'd you start washing your hair every day?" and you start getting questioned hourly about it, you're going to start second-guessing yourself.
** "Mea Culpa: My Apology to ESPN," Salon.com (2002-11-17)
* I just think if you're 44 years old and you're not smarter than you were when you were 35 years old or 25 years old, just stay in your room.
** "Making up hard to do for Olbermann" by Bob Wolfley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (2003-02-16)
* Without humor, a sports fan is a religious fanatic. Without humor, a newscast is a terrible, depressing, unpalatable thing.
** "News duo thinking young" by David Bauder, Deseretnews.com (2003-12-09)
* The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say 'no' — they may not be smart enough to say "yes."
** "The Way I See It," Starbucks Coffee Cups (2005-02-01)
* The format of the nightly newscasts is still very much 1981 — "Tremble, onlookers! I am the anchorman and now here is a miracle: a report by satellite from many thousands of miles away. I will return to introduce another one in due course."
** "As Rather signs off 'Evening News,' the 'voice of God' anchor era ends" by Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic (2005-03-09)
* Without [hatred] Michelle Malkin would just be a big mashed up bag of meat with lipstick on it.
** October 2009.
* "You know the Art Rule: Do something that entertains/interests YOU, if you're lucky it'll do (the) same for others"
** [From Twitter]
* "Courage is a mutual thing."
** [From Twitter, November 13, 2010]
* "An uprising of the reasonable is our only chance."
** [From Twitter, July 22, 2010]
* "I do know without fear of contradiction what the definition of life is and it is 12 words long. 'Life is defined by how much you improve the lives of others.' "
** "Senior Convocation Speech," Cornell University (1998-05-23)
* The terrorists have won... What was their goal 15 long, sad years ago? To strip from the world's greatest power, their traditions of growing tolerance. To hamstring the international interests of a country that barely stuck to the international double-white line of the moral road, but came closer than any other. To take our energies from trying... to help the world move forward, and instead make us direct those energies inward, at one another, within our own borders.
** "The Terrorists Have Won" (November 2016), The Closer, YouTube

## Catch Phrases

Throughout Olbermann's career, most prominently at ESPN, he has used repeated "catch phrases" to describe various situations. The sporting catch phrase has been at the core of the personality of ESPN's Sportscenter since its inception, with Olbermann being a leader in their creation and usage. Many of these have moved from his original application to sports, into his current program.

## Quotes about Keith Olbermann

* I like Keith Olbermann. He has been the conscience of our nation in recent years...It's a news show, but he's relentless in his attacks on corruption.
** 2007 interview in Conversations with Bharati Mukherjee Edited by Bradley C. Edwards (2009)

## References

* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 http://www.sportscenteraltar.com/phrases/phrases.asp Sports Center Catchphrases
* 1 2 3 4 5 http://videosift.com/video/Keith-Olbermann-reduced-to-minute-Olbermann-catchphrases
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann
* ↑ http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/10/19/double-standard-olbermann-given-pass-nfl-commissioners-divisive-comments-
* ↑ http://rackjite.com/archives/3932-Olbermann-Clusterfox-,-Producers-Egg-On-Tea-Party-Rallies-for-Cameras.html
* 1 2 3 4 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Countdown-with-Keith-Olbermann/104026712968530
* ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/keith-olbermann-fox-news_n_1030169.html
* ↑ http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200703300001
* ↑ http://current.com/shows/countdown/episodes/2012-01-19
* 1 2 http://rawstory.com/08/news/2009/07/10/olbermann-reviews-new-terms-spawned-by-republican-scandals/
* ↑ http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3116806&st=7590
* ↑ http://www.politicususa.com/en/olbermann-palin-prayer

## External links

* MSNBC - Countdown with Keith Olbermann Front Page
* Bloggermann Olbermann's web log on the Countdown web site.