Last July, when the Daily Caller announced the purchase of KeithOlbermann.com — your one-stop shop for Keith Olbermann news and commentary! — Tucker told Mediaite that Olbermann is “despised at MSNBC… because he’s cruel to people who work for him.”
Deadline Hollywood provides more evidence for this claim, quoting an unnamed MSNBC insider (emphasis mine):
“This was all Keith’s choice. He has several times over the years said that he wants out of his contract. He never meant it until this year. He started lawyers negotiating twice this year. He stopped them in the spring. Then, about a month ago with the guidance of his new ICM team and a new LA manager (who were making zero $ on his current deal), he once again said he wanted to leave and this time they negotiated the full package.
“Because of all the false threats in the past, it was impossible for the network to know if he was really going to sign the final document yesterday. That’s why promos for his show were still running after he quit on the air. The network couldn’t really believe it or act on it until he said it on TV. They couldn’t tell the promo people to pull Keith’s show out of the cycle until they were sure. His staff learned he was quitting when they heard him say it on TV.“
There are reports that Olby quit MSNBC to form his own “media empire.” If that’s true, best of luck to him. More importantly: best of luck to his poor employees.