Biografia
Keith Olbermann, author, sportswriter, radio commentator, and TV pundit, published his first book, "The Major League Coaches," at age 14. While still in high school, he started his career as a play-by-play announcer for WHTR. He entered college at 16 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in communications arts from Cornell University by age 20.
Olbermann began his professional journey at UPI, followed by RKO Radio and New York's WNEW, before joining CNN in 1981. In 1984, he became a sports anchor at Boston's WCVB-TV, then moved to Los Angeles to work at KTLA-TV and KCBS-TV. During his time in California, he won 11 Golden Mike Awards for Best Sportscaster and Best Sportscast and was named Sportscaster of the Year three times.
In 1992, Olbermann helped launch ESPN Radio and took on his notable role at ESPN SportsCenter, working alongside Dan Patrick until 1997. He then joined MSNBC, hosting "The Big Show with Keith Olbermann" and "White House in Crisis." Disliking the 24-hour coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, his contract was purchased by Fox, where he became anchor and executive producer of "The Keith Olbermann Evening News" on Fox Sports Net Sundays and hosted Fox's Saturday pregame baseball studio show.
Olbermann left Fox in 2001 to pursue other opportunities and maintained a low profile at ABC Radio. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks deeply affected him—he lost five acquaintances in the tragedy and spent 40 days reporting from the World Trade Center site for ABC Radio, earning an Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage.
Following September 11, while contributing to Salon.com, Olbermann published a candid "Mea Culpa" addressed to ESPN and colleagues, reflecting on damaged relationships in his career. He attributed many of his outbursts to insecurity and fear of blame. The experience taught him that if, by age 44, one isn't wiser than at 35 or 25, it's better to stay reflective.
A passionate baseball historian, Olbermann owns a collection of at least 35,000 baseball cards. His accolades include the 1995 Cable Ace Award for Best Sportscaster, 11 Golden Mike Awards for excellence in television and radio, and four Sports Emmy Awards.
He has contributed to numerous publications such as The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Playboy. Alongside Dan Patrick, he co-authored "The Big Show: A Tribute to ESPN's SportsCenter." Olbermann hosts the political commentary program Countdown with Keith Olbermann (2002) on MSNBC, one of the network's highest-rated shows, and led MSNBC's coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
