MSNBC star Olbermann gives final, sudden sign-off

NEW YORK – Keith Olbermann, MSNBC’s most successful and controversial personality for his outspoken liberal prime-time program, gave an abrupt goodbye to viewers and said Friday was his last show.

It was not immediately known if he quit or was fired. Olbermann did not address the question, and MSNBC said only that they and Olbermann had ended their contract. He signed a four-year contract two years ago.

“MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC’s success and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” the network said in a statement.

A spokesman said Phil Griffin, MSNBC’s president, would not comment on Olbermann’s exit. Spokesman Jeremy Gaines would say only that the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast, which received regulatory approval this week, had nothing to do with the decision.

Olbermann was suspended without pay from the network for two days in November for donating to three Democratic candidates, which violated NBC News’ policy on political donations. Olbermann complained that he was being punished for mistakenly violating an inconsistently applied rule that he had known nothing about.

The host apologized to fans – but not to the network.

MSNBC essentially molded the network in Olbermann’s image. His program is MSNBC’s top-rated, gaining in viewers after his evolution from a humorous look at the day’s headlines into a combatively political show in the latter days of the Bush administration. MSNBC decided that point-of-view programming was the way to go, and hired Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O’Donnell – both occasional subs for Olbermann – to fill out its prime-time lineup.

His exit was so sudden that MSNBC didn’t have time to change its ads; a “Lean Forward” promotion for the network featuring Olbermann aired within a half-hour of his final goodbye.

Olbermann, before leaving the show with a final signature toss of his script toward the camera, thanked his audience for sticking with him. As was often his habit on Friday nights, he read a James Thurber short story, this one titled “Scottie Who Knew Too Much” and published in 1940.

The story’s final line: “It is better to ask some of the questions than to know all of the answers.”

He thanked a series of people, including the late Tim Russert, but pointedly not Griffin or NBC News President Steve Capus.

MSNBC announced that O’Donnell, who had frequently filled in for Olbermann before starting his own 10 p.m. show, will take over Olbermann’s time slot starting Monday. “The Ed Show,” with Ed Schultz, will move to 10 p.m. Cenk Uygur of the Web show “The Young Turks” will fill Schultz’s vacated 6 p.m. time slot.

It’s unclear what Olbermann’s plans are now.