Histrionic TV anchor Keith Olbermann is joining low key Al Gore’s Current TV, according to this morning’s Politico. The Tatler has learned an 11 am conference call “by invitation only” will formally announce the deal this morning. Olbermann reportedly received a severance check estimated at $7 million when he was fired by MSNBC.
Rumors at NBC — Olbermann’s former employer — are floating that he wants to challenge the Huffngton Post, which just sealed a sizzling $315 million cash deal from flagging media giant AOL.
The Olbermann-Huff Post shoot out should be entertaining to see who can attract more demoralized progressives. Expect an uber-war of sensationalized headlines as they try to grab each other’s base. And of course also on the wings is Tina Brown’s Daily Beast, which recently acquired Newsweek from the Washington Post for $1. Brown is on a hiring spree of herself, paying large six figure salaries from former liberal journalists like WaPo‘s Howard Kurtz.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member