Olbermann Watch FAQ
We've updated the FAQ again and posted it below. If you have any questions not covered in the FAQ let us know and maybe we'll add your question.
Olbermann Watch FAQ
Q. If Keith Olbermann is so unimportant why do you have a whole web site devoted to attacking him?
A. Keith Olbermann is the most dangerous man on television today and must be stopped!
Q. Why do you hate Olbermann more than Bill O'Reilly?
A. We don't "hate" Olbermann...we pity him.
Q. Why are you singling out Keith Olbermann when others [insert name here] are far worse?
A. Keith is far worse than anyone else. He is the most dangerous man on television today (see above)
Q. What about the Olbermann - O'Reilly Feud?
A. What about it?
Q. Haven't Olbermann ratings improved?
A. From when he first launched they are up slightly, from the all-time lows in 2004 he is up a good deal off a very low base (113,000 per night in the demo). Keith had a recent spurt in the ratings between September and November and has been in decline since the 2006 election. Basically he is up more than this detractors want to admit and now as much as the hype would seem to indicate. The show is still a very low-rated show and often finishes 3rd or 4th in the ratings.
Q. When is Keith Olbermann's contract with MSNBC up?
A. March 1st, 2011.
Q. What's the deal with the countdown clock?
A. We have a countdown clock until the big day when Keith's contract expires on the home page.
Q. When did Countdown first air?
A. We weren't really paying attention. Technically there were two different shows, Countdown:Iraq and Countdown with Keith Olbermann back in 2003. Keith told Brian Lamb on C-SPAN, "My first show the second time around was March 31st, 2003." He ought to know so I suppose that's right.
Q. When did you start Olbermann Watch?
A. The site was officially launched on November 30, 2004 as an offshoot of another blog which began covering Olbermann in 2003.
Q. Why did you start Olbermann Watch?
A. Fear. OK. Not really. What really got me going on Keith was expressed in my post MSNBC Defines Deviancy Down as Keith Olbermann's Internet-feuled Jihad on Journalistic Ethics Continues from late 2004.
Q. Why does Olbermann Watch have the tag line "reality-based news for the belligerently uninformed"?
A. Well the first part "reality-based" comes from journalist and author Ron Susskind who wrote in The New York Times that a senior Bush aide used that term to describe the way the Bush White House understood the world. The last part "belligerently uninformed" comes from Keith himself who used that term in a newspaper interview to describe me and the other folks who helped launch Olbermann Watch. We kinda liked it and so adopted the term as our own. Thanks Keith!
Q. Is Olbermann Watch really that #1 "Olbermann" blog on the web?
A. Yep! The rankings change all the time so we always have to check to answer this question. But for the past couple of years we have been the top non-MSNBC blog during that time based on Technorati, Truth Laid Bare Ecosystem, Google and any other ranking we could find. For more than a week in March 2007 we took the site down which meant a loss of traffic, expiration of some links and an overall drop in many of the rankings. It will take several weeks for the site to fully recover but it was and is the #1 Keith Olbermann blog during that period. We have always been well ahead of all the KO fans sites and forums in terms of traffic, page views, Google Page Rank and all of the meaningful metrics by which web sites area measured. And, before you ask, yep...the OlbyLoons really, really hate that.
Q. Didn't this Olbermann guy have a real serious head injury a few years ago?
A. Yes. He bumped his head entering a car on the #7 train out by Shea Stadium. He told Brian Lamb all about it on C-SPAN.
Q. If his ratings are so bad then why do you feel it necessary to devote any time (let alone an entire website) to his show ?
A. The going battle for truth and justice has nothing to do with ratings. We are doing God's work.
Q. Why do you make such a big deal about ratings?
A. We don't. Keith does. As long as he and his pals in the left-wing media continue to harp on his supposed "ratings success" we will continue to point out when they are lying, exaggerating or manipulating the truth.
Q. Why do you make such a big deal about "the 25-54 year old demo"?
A. This is a corollary to the ratings issue. As was the case with the failed Air America Radio network, MSNBC has sought to redefine the battlefield, so to speak, by comparing themselves to their competitors in terms of a narrow slice of the overall cable new audience where the viewership gap is smaller in terms of raw numbers. They can't compete in the "P2+" or "total viewer" ratings race so they try shift the focus away from straight up audience comparisons. While ALL segments of the audience are important, and the 25-54 "demo" is used as the basis for setting ad rates it is less significant in the TV news business because the viewers tend to be older. We usually mention it in the context of Keith, MSNBC or the MSM TCA crowd promoting the demo ratings as "proof" that Keith has a large and growing audience which he does not.
Q. Why do you make such a big deal out of "Live" and "Live Plus" ratings?
A. This is a corollary to the ratings issue as well. At the request of the broadcast networks, Nielsen Media Research began to report new sets of ratings data that included estimates on how many viewers were recording shows on DVRs (Tivos) and watching them later. They then sought to pressure advertisers into paying for these viewers. The advertisers balked on the grounds that Tivo viewers were not likely to watch ads and the networks ultimately caved in and sold ads based only on the live data. It became an issue with Olbermann because most Tivo users are also in the Demo so MSNBC stood to gain more than their competitors because they get a larger share of their audience from within the demo. But what what made it a big issue for Olbermann Watch is that we caught TVNewser manipulating the ratings data to boost Keith's numbers; he switched from "Live" to "Live Plus" ratings in early 2006 without informing his readers and without any sort of disclaimer.
Q. Why are you so critical of TVNewser?
A. The blogger at TVNewser, Brian Stelter, is a well-known apologist for Keith Olbermann and a flack for MSNBC. As such as he is part of the KO Spin machine and so we like to expose him for being the hack we know him to be. We have caught him red-handed lying on his blog and even posting false statements on THIS blog.
Q. Why do my posts appear twice?
A. Sometimes our server cannot keep up with the heavy volume of traffic on the site so commenters will get a server error message. Instead of hitting the "back" button and refreshing the page to see if the comment appears on the site they resubmit the comment and it appears twice (sometimes more depending on how determined they are). Someday soom we hope to move to a bigger server and get some better software (you can advertise on our site if you really care!). We moved to a new, more powerful server in January 2007 and this problem has almost entirely disappeared.
Q. Is Keith Olbermann the "Edward R. Murrow of our generation"?
A. No.
Q. Does Keith Olbermann speak truth to power?
A. Only when he is talking to a light bulb.
Q. Did you delete my comment because you disagree with me?
A. We never delete comments because we "disagree" with them no matter how idiotic. We delete spam. If your posted a perfectly legit comments and it deleted that would have only been the result of an error and we would try to fix it if you tell us about it.
Q. How come all you do is write negatively about Keith?
A. We don't. We have always been willing to allow any pro-KO point of view on the site including comments, guest posts and contributors. We have a standing offer, open to anyone including OlbyLoons, to accept KO-centric guest posts. Ideally they would be about 250 words and reasonably well-written. They can be from ANY political view point but the person has to provide a name or screen name and some way for readers to contact that person like an email address (hotmail or otherwise). We might publish a post anonymously but it is not likely. We recently added Doug Krile as a contributor to write Pro-KO posts.
Q. You keep saying that Keith "lied", can you back that up with proof?
A. Yes. Just read the site every day and you will come to see that he lies pretty much every time he opens his mouth. Sometimes we even make lists but with Keith it is hard to keep current on his latest lies and distortions. Like I said, keep watching Countdown and keep reading Olbermann Watch. You might also want to check out his infamous Hoosier Gazette story. For a sports guy, even we were surprised to catch KO out on this story when he began claiming that Bill O'Reilly lied about his college football career at Marist College.
Q. You say that Keith lifts materials from blogs without attribution, can you back that up?
A. Sure. These days, as part of the marketing strategy for the show, Keith has been better about crediting blue blogs like Think Progress, Media Matters for America and Crooks and Liars but he has lifted material from all of them. Here's one from Media Matters that got my pals over there steamed up.
Q. Does Keith Olbermann read this blog?
A. Of course, all time time. He used to come in via the msnbc.com Secaucus server but wised up and now comes in via an anonymizer service. He is a regular.
Q. Come on! You mean that Keith Olbermann actally knows about this site?
A. Yep...and he has bitched about it many times in the press including The New York Observer, The Hartford Courtant, and talk radio. He has also made numerous indirect comemnts about Olbermann Watch. We have also been prominently mentioned in KO stories from the Associated Press, Online Journalism Review, The Washington Post, PBS and many more.
Q. You claim that Keith lifts material from Olbermann Watch, is that really true?
A. Yep. Sometimes we put little codes in things so we can track him like when he lifted some radio show audio from OlbyWatch. Or the time he reworked something I wrote on logical fallacies and used that in his opening monologue. Or shortly after I linked an Op-Ed piece I wrote for the McClatchy newspaper chain on Holmes' dissent in Abrams - the famed "marketplace of ideas" dissent.
Q. Why do you display a picture of Keith Olbermann giving the Nazi salute?
A. As a sign of his hypocrisy. There are two versions on this site. One with a Bill O'Reilly mask (that one is real) and the other is with an Adolph Hilter mask (I photoshopped that one) Keith has editorialized on the use of Nazi imagery by others yet has often done the same thing himself. The Nazi Salute image is just a classic example of Olbypocrisy. We sent the picture to the Anti-Defamation League and the ADL condemned Keith for it.
Q. Why do you keep using the phrases "infamous, deplorable", or "discredited sports guy"?
A. I will let J$ answer that one. He writes "Our favorite phrases for Keith are ones he uses on others. He referred to 'the infamous, deplorable Matt Drudge' when telling a lie about him, so we put the phrase into the rotation. Similarly, Robert Novak was identified not as a columnist, but as 'the discredited columnist', Roger Ailes a 'Fat Ass', Chris Wallace a 'monkey', etc. The latest addition to the rotation: 'slovenly political hack'." Many of Olbermann's most outrageous personal attacks are documented in The Olbersaurus.
Q. What is the Olbermann Manhood Quotient?
A. Keith made a big deal about Bill O'Reilly when the O.J. book controversy erupted. In addition to lying that O'Reilly didn't criticize his own network, Keith insisted that anyone who is critical of others should be just as critical of his own network, or he has "no manhood". So we are holding Keith Olbermann to his own standards. He attacks Fox (and occasionally CNN) based on items he lifts from his favorite blue blog sources, but you won't find him going after MSNBC, despite the fact that those same sources routinely do. Periodically we tally these discrepancies and report the Olbermann Manhood Quotient. The last time we checked, it was limp, or so we heard.
Q. What's with the sound effects, like [Ding!]?
A. Keith is praised by the gullible as a brilliant wordsmith. In fact, he relies on repetitive, hoary cliches, along with special OlbySpin terms. So sometimes we'll ring the bell when he uses terms like "escalation", "throw under the bus", "proverbial", "Nixonian", "metaphor", etc.
Q. Why do some people on OlbyWatch reference Keith Olbermann and a phone booth?
A. On his radio show, shortly before leaving to become White House Press Secretary, Tony Snow said you could fit all of Keith's friends inside a phone booth. We thought that was funny. What makes it funny is that its kinda true.
Q. Why are you obsessed with Keith Olbermann?
A. Are we?
Q. Don't you have something better to do than obsess about Keith Olbermann?
A. Not that I can think of.
Q. What's the deal with the labels on certain comments?
A. As noted on the site "To assist clear-thinking OW readers we have implemented a color-coded warning system to quickly identify inane comments made by the tinfoil hat brigade. Kooky comments will be clearly marked easy-to-recognize Loony-Level warning icons. No longer will you need to spend your precious time trying to understand the nonsensical ravings of lunatic minds. When you see a Loony-Level warning icon just skip right down to the next sensible comment." Unfortunately, too many OlbyLoons took to posting gross images on the site so we had to disable to the HTML in comments and so those labels are no longer visible on the site. If we ever get new software maybe we can fix that.
Q. What's an OlbyLoon?
A. Generally, any person who is a fan of Keith Olbermann or otherwise takes him seriously. If you have ever said "He's the Edward R. Murrow of our generation" then you are an OlbyLoon. If you have ever said "Keith is speaking truth to power" then you are an OlbyLoon. If you have ever said "you go, girl" while watching Keith deliver a "special comment" then you are an OlbyLoon. If you come to a site dedicated to mocking Keith Olbermann and leave comments on the site bitching about how unfairly Keith is treated on that site then you are an OlbyLoon. If you get into an argument with the editor of this site you are also probably an OlbyLoon; at the very least you are most likely wrong.
The DSM IV criteria for the diagnosis of "Olbyloon Disorder"
* 101.00A/2 Olbyloon Disorder / Olbermannia (see also, Bush Derangement Syndrome)
A. A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of non-leftists such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
1. suspects, without sufficient basis, that non-leftists are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her
2. is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of non-leftists
3. is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her by Olbermannwatch
4. reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events
5. persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights to Olbermann
6. perceives attacks on his or Olbermann's character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack
7. Stubbornly defends every statement from Keith Olbermann.
B. Does not occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia, a mood disorder with psychotic features, or another psychotic disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.
Q. Do you really have a Keith Olbermann Book Club?
A. No. That was just for fun.
Q. What is the "mini-blog"?
A. It is sub-section of the site created using a Del.icio.us (Yahoo!) service that turns bookmarked web pages about Keith Olbermann into a smaller version of the main blog. That mini-blog is spliced into the main RSS feed for the site.
Q. What's the deal with the RSS feed?
A. RSS is the greatest thing since sliced bread and the BEST way to read Olbermann Watch. You can read all about it here
Q. What's the deal with the limericks?
A. I don't know. One reader started writing them and then lots of other folks joined in. We will update the complete list periodically.
Q. Why is Bob Cox so much smarter than all the OlbyLoons?
A. It is a combination of things really. Cox is very, very smart. And most OlbyLoons are very, very dumb.
Q. Why do you list Olbermann fan sites on your blog roll?
A. We believe that the best way to expose OlbyLoonThink is to provide out clear-thinking readers an opportunity to see OlbyLoons in their natural habitat.
Q. What the deal with Olbermann and Wikipedia?
A. I debated Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales on the failure of the "Neutral Point of View" policy to deal with entries such as those for Keith Olbermann and Countdown with Keith Olbermann which are co-opted by OlbyLoons seeking to promote their sycophantic view of Keith Olbermann and their far-left political agenda. You can learn more on the PBS.org site.
Q. Why do you say Olbermann is partisan when he is just telling the truth about you $#%@!! Repukes! and your @!!%@@* Chimp! and your $%^^&!!war!!!!!!!
A. You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!
Q. Why do you make such a big deal about Olbermann's refusal to have dissenting points of view on his program?
A. It is just one of many ways in which we highlight the obvious liberal bias in the show. J$ keeps a running tally of guests of different political persuasions. Almost all guests and analysts are liberal/Democrat. A very easy way to get on Countdown is to register as a Republican, get yourself elected somewhere and then criticize Bush. Keith's bookers will be wining and dining you faster than you can say "Katy Tur".
Q. What is the deal with Olbermann's orange face or "man tan"?
A. Keith has had problems with the make-up people who "do" his face before he goes on the air. Some nights his skin tone is decidedly orange. This problem has dissipated somewhat since Olbermann Watch readers began pointing it out and we made fun of him.
Q. Why is Olby gone half the time?
A. Keith is a big believer in using all his vacation days, sick days and personal days. And strangely, his co-workers at MSNBC never seem to complain that Keith is not around enough.
Q. What's the deal with Olby and 22-year old23-year old girls?
A. No comment.
Q. Why all the references to Olby and the bathtub?
A. John Gibson used to fill in for Keith on MSNBC. On the radio one day, Gibson said that one of the reason he guest-hosted so often is that there were many days when the MSNBC limo would go to pick up Keith and he would be in his bathtub and refuse to come out. Word on the street is that he was not speaking metaphorically.
Q. Why does Olby have such a man-crush on Joe Wilson, Dana Milbank, John Dean and Howard Fineman?
A. Keith likes these men. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
Q. Why does Olbermann have David Brock write his script every night?
A. Keith is very busy in the afternoons bathing and doing an hour on ESPN radio with Dan Patrick.
Q. Why is David Shuster considered a serious reporter?
A. Who said that?
Q. Why doesn't Olbermann just have Jason Leopold guest host for him?
A. Leopold refuses to jeopardize his journalistic reputation by appearing with Keith.
Q. Is Countdown supposed to be a news show?
A. Ironically, yes.
Q. Why does Keith hide under his desk?
A. Because he can't fit under the coffee table.
Q. What's your policy on comment moderation?
A. We generally do not moderate the comments. We will delete/ban if someone is spamming the site or otherwise being disruptive. Usually they will get a warning. Occassionally we edit a comment for length (for example, someone repeateing the words "Keith Olbermann rocks!" 400 times may be cut to just 4 times). Sometimes, if I am in the mood, I will not give a warning. Overall, it's just best that folks stay on topic and not be annoying - right, left or otherwise.
Q. Do you review all comments?
A. Sometimes. Just remember, there are no absolutes.
Q. Do you read all comments?
A. Sometimes.
Q. Why do some comment threads say "this comment thread is now closed?
A. Because once the spammers find open threads on a blog they keep pounding those threads with comment spam and I think we all get enough Viagra and Free Poker as it is.
Q. How long do you keep comment threads open?
A. As long as possible but that usually means 2-4 weeks.
Q. Why do you close some comment threads and not others?
A. We try and close them all after a month unless they are active. Sometimes we miss a few. Have you ever SEEN the admin side of a Movable Type installation. It is a really pain to work with.
Q. Has anyone affiliated with this website ever touched a woman?
A. Not sure.
Q. Do frequent visitors to this site suffer from the same genetic disorder?
A. No. Each visitor has his or her own disorder.
Q. Who are you idiots?
A. We are the smartest people in the world who have taken time out of our busy day to enlighten the masses.
Q. Exactly how many moonbats does it take to keep Keith on the air?
A. Not many, judging from his ratings.
Q. Would forcing Gitmo detainees to watch Olbermann's show be against the rules of the Geneva Convention?
A. Clearly.
Q. Are you as stupid as you sound?
A. Probably.
Q. Why do you sometimes display a picture of David Shuster upside down?
A. We post it upside down because he has been so thoroughly, utterly discredited. And besides, he turns the truth on its head. It is, as Olbermann might say, a "metaphor"
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