Did MSNBC suspend Keith Olbermann because he refused to apologize for his campaign finance activities on camera?
That's what Politico's Mike Allen is reporting Sunday (h/t Mediaite):
Network sources tell Playbook that Keith Olbermann was suspended because he refused to deliver an on-camera mea culpa, which would have allowed him to continue anchoring “Countdown.” Olbermann told his bosses he didn't know he was barred from making campaign contributions, although he is resisting saying that publicly.
Allen goes on to point out that Olbermann mightn't be as much in the driver's seat at MSNBC as he used to be.
At $7 million a year, his salary is quite lofty given his ratings, especially as Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell who both make far less are drawing roughly the same number of eyeballs in their respective time slots.
As Olbermann has always had problems with his employers wherever he's worked, maybe this incident was enough for MSNBC management to finally wonder whether he's really worth what they're paying him.
Stay tuned.
