Gavin Newsom to get his own talk show on Current TV

Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor of California, is adding a new job to his resume: talk show host.

Newsom's new show, "The Gavin Newsom Show," will premiere on Current TV (a.k.a. the channel currently in a legal battle with Keith Olbermann) in May.

Tapping into his knowledge of California politics, the weekly show will focus on interviews with newsmakers from Silicon Valley to Hollywood, among other subjects.

In a statement, Al Gore, Current TV chairman and former vice president, said, "Gavin Newsom is a courageous leader who has boldly seized every opportunity to create positive social change. First as a successful entrepreneur, then in his role as Mayor of San Francisco, and now as Lieutenant Governor, Newsom touches many worlds -- business, politics, entertainment and activism.  We are honored that Current TV will be bringing his curiosity, intelligence, insights and enthusiasm to television."

Newsom came to national attention in 2004 when the then-mayor directed the San Francisco city-county clerk to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses in violation of state law. Since then he's become a talk show regular, notably on "Real Time With Bill Maher" on HBO.

Newsom will be joining former politician Eliot M. Spitzer as a recent Current TV hire. Spitzer's program, "Viewpoint With Eliot Spitzer," began airing at the end of March as a replacement for Keith Olbermann, who was dismissed from the network.

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— Patrick Kevin Day

Photo: Gavin Newsom. Credit: Jason Merritt / Getty Images for American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Keith Olbermann 'arrogant,' 'immature,' Current court filing says

Al Gore's Current TV is blasting back at fired host Keith Olbermann.

In a court filing Friday, the network attacked the liberal opinion-maker as "arrogant" and "immature" and said that he had failed to show up for nearly half of his recent workdays. The papers were a response to Olbermann's $70-million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed Thursday against Current, which hired him as its star last year but dismissed him in late March after months of turmoil.

Current said it doesn't have to "pay a dime" to Olbermann, "who, having already been paid handsomely for showing up sporadically and utterly failing to keep his end of the bargain, now seeks to be paid tens of millions more for not working at all." The papers also point out that Olbermann told David Letterman, "I screwed up" at Current during a TV appearance this week.

The network, founded by the former vice president with legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, accuses Olbermann of leaking his $10-million salary to the media to help justify his decision to join Current, which has roughly 68 million subscribers but very low ratings. In "utter disregard" of his contract, the host rejected every idea to promote his program, the papers say, and even banned his staff at "Countdown" from speaking with the executive vice president of communications.

"[H]e arrogantly and falsely calls 'cheap' the company that has paid him the highest compensation he had ever received in his career, provided him the largest staff of any program he had ever anchored, given him the largest studio and custom-designed set on which he had ever worked, and paid over $50,000 in an eight-month period to eight different limousine companies because none of the previous seven were able to meet his patrician standards for how to drive him around New York City," the papers say. 

[UPDATE, 3 p.m.: Patty Glaser, Olbermann's attorney, said the Current filing "has no merit, presents no defense and is no problem for us."]

What do you think of the Current-Olbermann legal battle?

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-- Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Keith Olbermann is in a legal fight with former employer Current TV. Credit: Jason Kempin / Getty Images

 

 

 

Keith Olbermann's $70M suit accuses Current TV of blackmail

Keith Olbermann isn't mincing words in his $70-million lawsuit against Current TV.

Dumped last week by the upstart cable network, Olbermann let loose with a verbal barrage against co-founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt in a 43-page legal complaint for breach of contract filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing them of "blackmail" and calling them "dilettantes portraying entertainment industry executives." 

The suit peels back the curtain on Current's backstage workings, charging that Gore and Hyatt wooed Olbermann, a liberal talk host formerly on MSNBC, to Current with promises that he would be the captain of his own ship, free from corporate interference. But no sooner had he started work, Olbermann alleges, than Hyatt began meddling, running the network as his "personal hobbyhorse" and creating "an environment in which major business errors and technical failures became commonplace and acceptable."

The glitches were so bad, the suit argues, that ratings for Olbermann's program "Countdown" suffered.

Less than two weeks before the show premiered on Current, the papers allege, Hyatt -- who said he was speaking on Gore's behalf as well -- accused Olbermann's manager of leaking contract details to the Hollywood Reporter and threatened to halt the show unless Olbermann banned his representatives "from all interactions related to Current." Olbermann reluctantly agreed, but the suit now calls Hyatt "a blackmailer."

"Olbermann deeply regrets his decision to put his trust in Hyatt and Gore," the suit states.

Current bosses also slotted guest hosts of "Countdown" without his approval, in breach of his contract, and disseminated inaccurate data to the media that understated the program's ratings, the papers say.

In a statement, Current spokesman Chris Lehane called the Olbermann suit "false and malicious."

"Current terminated Keith Olbermann last Thursday for serial, material breaches of his contract, including the failure to show up at work, sabotaging the network and attacking Current and its executives," the statement said, adding a swipe: "We hope Mr. Olbermann understands that when it comes to the legal process, he is actually required to show up."

What do you think of Olbermann's claims?

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--Scott Collins

twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT

Photo: Keith Olbermann, left, with David Letterman this week. Credit: Jeffrey R. Staab / Associated Press

Keith Olbermann tells David Letterman: 'I screwed up'

 

Keith Olbermann is remorseful - sort of.

The freshly fired host from Current TV told his side of the story on Tuesday's "Late Show with David Letterman," although it wasn't always clear how firmly his tongue was planted in cheek. He implied that he came to the network with the best intentions but was undone by its lack of resources.

"I screwed up really big on this," Olbermann said. "I thought we could do this.  It’s my fault that it didn’t succeed in the sense that I didn’t think the whole thing through.  I didn’t say, ‘You know, if you buy a $10-million chandelier, you should have a house to put it in. Just walking around with a $10-million chandelier isn’t going to do anybody a lot of good, and it’s not going to do any good to the chandelier.’  And then it turned out we didn’t have a lot to put the house on to put the chandelier in, or a building permit, and I should have known that."

After a brief pause, Letterman asked: "You're the chandelier?"

As the crowd laughed, Olbermann replied, "I'm the chandelier."

Current TV, the network co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore and legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, sacked Olbermann last week after months of friction over his time spent on-camera, set issues and other problems. Olbermann has vowed to sue over his firing, although papers have not yet been filed.

What did you think of Olbermann's appearance?

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--Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)

Conservatives rejoice at Keith Olbermann's Current ouster

For years, Keith Olbermann has been a scourge to conservative politicians. So right-of-center commentators wasted little time Friday in gloating over the "Countdown" host's firing from Al Gore's Current TV.

"Let us have a brief moment of silence, followed by hours of exultation," Ken Shepherd, managing editor at the online site NewsBusters, wrote.

Using the Twitter hashtag #nextjobforkeith, detractors proposed that Olbermann could find work as a junior sales associate at a bank, a Little League game broadcaster or a publicist for WikiLeaks.

"Clown? No he's done that," sniped Dan Gainor, a Fox News online columnist whom Olbermann once picked for his "Worst Person in the World" segment.

Many noted the irony that Olbermann is now vowing litigation against another leading liberal, former Vice President Al Gore, who co-founded Current. "It's going to be [a] clash of the lefty darlings," observed blogger Melissa Clouthier.

Reaction among Olbermann's liberal constituency appeared much more subdued, perhaps reflecting a weariness that has set in given the host's serial battles with network employers. But some admirers could still be found. On Twitter, @mickeleh noted that Olbermann covered the Occupy movement "when nobody else on cable would touch it."

What do you think of Olbermann's firing?

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-- Scott Collins (twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT)

Photo: Liberal host Keith Olbermann's ouster from Current TV has been hailed by conservatives. Credit: Charles Sykes / Associated Press.

 

 

 

 

Keith Olbermann sacked by Current; likely legal battle looms

After barely a year, Current TV has sacked fiery host Keith Olbermann.

In a statement Friday afternoon, former Vice President Al Gore and legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, who cofounded the upstart cable network, took an extraordinary swipe at their outspoken host, who endured rocky tenures with a series of previous network employers, including MSNBC and ESPN. "Countdown," Olbermann's show, will evidently be canceled immediately.

Gore and Hyatt said Current was founded on "the values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty to our viewers.  Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it." Former New York Gov. Eliot M. Spitzer, whose CNN talk show failed to catch on, will replace Olbermann, the pair added.

A Current spokeswoman declined to elaborate. But a source familiar with the situation said Olbermann was actually fired Thursday morning, after managers grew increasingly frustrated with his absenteeism and other work habits. The network expects litigation over the ouster, the source added. 

The host bashed back quickly. "I'd like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV," Olbermann tweeted late Friday. "Editorially, 'Countdown' had never been better." He also vowed a lawsuit against the network.

Patty Glaser, an experienced litigator who has repped Olbermann in the past, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

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Photo: Keith Olbermann has been fired from Currrent TV. Credit: Current TV.

 

 

 

Al Gore looking beyond Keith Olbermann spat at Current

Al Gore says his Keith Olbermann problem is in the past.

"He's an extremely talented man, and we're fine," the former vice president and Nobel laureate who cofounded Current told The Times in an interview at the TV press tour in Pasadena on Friday. 

Olbermann, the cantankerous liberal host who joined the upstart network last year, was a conspicuous no-show during Current's coverage of the Iowa caucuses. Speculation that he was on the outs with his bosses increased after he tweeted and made public statements seeming to criticize the network.

Gore, who started Current with legal entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, dismissed such talk: "He also tweeted that any reports that he's disgruntled are inaccurate." Earlier this week, Olbermann said he would appear on-air for Current's future election coverage, although not for the New Hampshire primary, which was held Tuesday.

"He has been absolutely essential to our transformation to a 24/7 news and information network, looking at the news from a progressive point of view," Gore said. "We're very happy about that."

Asked if he regretted hiring Olbermann — who famously tangled with bosses during stints at MSNBC, ESPN and Fox Sports Net — Gore replied: "No."

Gore and Hyatt visited the press tour to tout "The War Room," a new Current program hosted by former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm that premieres Jan. 30.

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Photo: Former Vice President and Current co-founder Al Gore is flanked by Current President David Bohrman and Gore's business partner Joel Hyatt. Credit: Michael Robinson Chavez/Los Angeles Times.

 

 

 

Keith Olbermann says he'll run Current election coverage

Keith Olbermann was AWOL for coverage of the Iowa caucuses, but now the opinionated host says he's ready to roll for Al Gore's Current cable network. However, a lot of questions still remain. 

"I'm pleased to tell you that I'll be running the election coverage on Current, after New Hampshire," Olbermann tweeted to his followers late Sunday. He added, referring to his famously liberal viewpoints: "Not sure GOP will share my satisfaction."

The network itself is taking a wait-and-see attitude.

“Keith has agreed to do special election coverage following New Hampshire," a Current spokeswoman told Show Tracker. "We hope it comes to pass, and we’re looking forward to it.”

If it happens, Olbermann will executive produce and host that coverage. But the network still has no idea what it might look like. It's possible it may consist of hours of coverage on primary nights. Or, it may be contained in just the regular hour of Olbermann's regular show "Countdown" - which presumably would make the coverage not "special" at all.

Olbermann had spent much of the previous week engaged in a strange standoff with his employers at the little-watched Current, where he landed last year after a falling-out with MSNBC.

Current says it had invited him to host coverage of the Iowa caucuses, but that he had refused without explaining why. The network went ahead without him, with an analysis team that included former Vice President Gore.

Olbermann - who's made no attempt to hide his exasperation with technical snafus that have bedeviled his program - tweeted that he was "never given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions."

Olbermann did not drop his confrontational posture on Sunday. After he announced his agreement to host the election coverage, he renewed his attacks on the New York Times, saying that the news outlet had gotten the story's new twist "all wrong" in a Monday column.

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Photo: Keith Olbermann says he will run Current's special election coverage after Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Credit: Current

 

Now it's Keith Olbermann vs. the New York Times

Keith Olbermann, one of America's leading pugnacious TV hosts, spent part of Thursday in a Twitter salvo — not with his bosses at Current but rather with the New York Times.

Olbermann is still engaged in a standoff with the tiny network he joined last year over his role in election coverage. But the host took time off from that battle to square off against media reporter Brian Stelter for his reporting on the Current affair. 

In a series of tweets, Olbermann lambasted Stelter for what he said was an attempt to threaten him into commenting for the record. When Stelter replied via Twitter that he had merely told Olbermann what he was going to report, the host accused the journalist of "flat-out lying."

Olbermann later derided Stelter's coverage as "unsupervised pseudo-journalism by kids." Olbermann, at 52, is twice Stelter's age.

If it has done nothing else, the latest front in Olbermann's war has united him with a longtime ideological nemesis: Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is likewise no fan of the New York Times.

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Photo: Keith Olbermann has turned his sights on the New York Times. Credit: Current.

Keith Olbermann in spat with his Current TV bosses

Keith Olbermann may not have as many viewers as he used to, but he's still able to make headlines — off camera, at least.

Olbermann, whose "Countdown" migrated from MSNBC to the little-watched Current TV last year, was absent from the airwaves during Current's coverage of the Iowa caucuses Tuesday night, leading to speculation of a rift between the tempestuous host and his new bosses, who include former Vice President Al Gore. 

"I was not given a legitimate opportunity to host under acceptable conditions," Olbermann wrote in a statement Wednesday to the Hollywood Reporter. "They know it and I know it."

Olbermann did not clarify what conditions he wanted, according to the Reporter. A spokeswoman for Current did not return a call and email seeking comment.

If a fight has indeed erupted, it would be in keeping with Olbermann's previous career. He abruptly left MSNBC just weeks after the network suspended him for making donations to political candidates. Earlier, he had a famously stormy tenure at ESPN and was fired from Fox Sports Net. ("He's crazy," Fox boss Rupert Murdoch reportedly said when asked about Olbermann.)

As it happens, Wednesday marks the 20th anniversary of Olbermann's joining ESPN.

But if anyone got the idea that Olbermann might not be long for Current TV, the host himself — who reportedly has an equity stake in the network — seems to believe he's not going anywhere.

When a Twitter user wondered Wednesday if "Countdown" was off the air, Olbermann tweeted: "Huh? On tonight at 8 p.m."

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Photo: Keith Olbermann is feuding with his bosses at Current TV. Credit: Current.

 

Current TV taps former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm

Moving ahead with its push to challenge MSNBC as the channel of choice for the left side of the political spectrum, Current TV has signed former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to host a nightly prime-time show.

"The War Room With Jennifer Granholm" will premiere in January in the 9 p.m. hour immediately following Keith Olbermann's "Countdown."

Current TV co-founder and former Vice President Al Gore said on a conference call announcing the hire that Granholm's show goes "right at the core of Current TV's strategy to be a trusted resource for intelligent and compelling commentary."

David Bohrman, the former CNN executive who was named president of Current TV in August, promised that Granholm's show "is not going to be 'Crossfire' with people sniping at each other every 30 seconds."

"I don't think there is a former governor who has lived this jobs issues like I have," Granholm said, referring to what would be the main focus of her show. In the news release that Current issued on Granholm's hiring, she said of her show that "Democrats will love it" and "the far right will hate it."

Granholm, who has been a frequent contributor to NBC's "Meet the Press," will host the show out of Current TV's San Francisco headquarters. She recently took a post at UC Berkeley.

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Photo: Jennifer Granholm. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

TV review: Keith Olbermann comes out swinging on Current's new ‘Countdown'

 
There's really no reason to describe the new "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" that debuted Monday night on Current TV when, not surprisingly, Olbermann has that covered already. After first guest and brand-new "Countdown" contributor Michael Moore told Olbermann that no doubt "your parents are looking down tonight, very proud of you for keeping the good fight going," Olbermann used the potentially tender moment to lay out his manifesto.

"In the briefest of special comments ... this is a newscast of contextualization, it is to be presented with a viewpoint, that the weakest citizen of this country is more important than the strongest corporation, that the nation is losing its independence through the malfeasance of one political party and the timidity of another and that even though you and I should not have to be the last line of defense, apparently we are so we damn well better start being it."

Just in case you were wondering if the political-news equivalent of Larry David had spent the months since his abrupt departure from MSNBC early this year mellowing on a beach somewhere, the answer would be no. He is the same fast-talking, hard-charging, unapologetically self-righteous defender of his version of liberal ideology that he always was. Only this time he has a platform with no commercial constraints -- Al Gore is the founder of the struggling Current TV and he has said that he went into his deal with the famously high-maintenance Olbermann with his eyes wide open (and this is a man who was Bill Clinton's V.P.). So what is the new "Countdown" like?

Olbermann Unleashed.