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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Saturday
Jan222011

Adios, Olbermann

CW Note: below are links to stories about Keith Olbermann's parting of the ways with NBC. The articles cover several days' reporting & commentary & appear in descending date order. There are a few more stories in The Commentariat for January 24 above.

New York Times: "Keith Olbermann, the highest-rated host on MSNBC, announced abruptly on the air Friday night that he is leaving 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' immediately. The host, who has had a stormy relationship with the management of the network for some time, especially since he was suspended for two days last November, came to an agreement with NBC’s corporate management late this week to settle his contract and step down. In a closing statement on his show, Mr. Olbermann said simply that it would be the last edition of the program. He offered no explanation other than on occasion, the show had become too much for him." Here's the video:

Politico: "The departure was a stealth move, MSNBC insiders told Politico, with many top executives and on-air talent kept out of the loop as the decision was made. It came, one insider said, 'Out of the ... blue!'”

Take Howard Kurtz's analysis for what it's worth, but he does sort of give a good, quick rundown of Olbermann's highs & lows with NBC.

Colby Hall of Mediaite doesn't think it's a coincidence that Olbermann was pushed out the day after the FCC approved Comcast's takeover of NBC. "Today was Jeff Zucker’s last day at the helm, having sent a memo bidding adieu to his staff. Sources close to the situation have told Mediaite that there is no question that Comcast had expressed concerns about Olbermann."

As the New York Post headline has it, "MSNBC Pulls Plug on Gasbag Olbermann."

Here's the MSNBC story, which is pretty plain-vanilla. The story has been updated: "Starting Monday, 'The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell' will move to 8 p.m. ET/PT and 'The Ed Show,' hosted by Ed Schultz, will move to 10 p.m. ET/PT on msnbc, [MSNBC President Phil] Griffin said. 'The Rachel Maddow Show' will continue to air live at 9 p.m. ET/PT."

According to TheWrap, "It was Keith Olbermann's decision to leave his high-profile perch at MSNBC, TheWrap has learned.... But the sudden departure has a history, and the timing does not rule out a preemptive MSNBC move."

Bill Carter of the New York Times: "For the last several weeks, Mr. Olbermann and the network have been in negotiations to end his successful run on MSNBC, according to executives involved in the talks.... The deal was completed on Friday, and Mr. Olbermann made the announcement on his final 'Countdown' hours later. Friday’s separation agreement between MSNBC and Mr. Olbermann includes restrictions on when he can next lead a television show and when he can give interviews about the decision to end his association with the news channel.... The decision was completed a year to the day from the last time NBC decided to end a relationship with an on-air star: Conan O’Brien. Mr. O’Brien’s settlement had similar restrictions."

Prima Donna, Exit Left. Bill Carter & Brian Stelter of the New York Times: "MSNBC never had any doubt about what it was getting when it made Keith Olbermann the face of the network in 2003: a highly talented broadcaster, a distinctive and outspoken voice and a mercurial personality with a track record of attacking his superiors and making early exits." CW: I suppose we shall have to consider this the definitive word on the breakup of MSNBC & Olbermann; it is the New York Times, after all. ...

CW: Niall Stanage, writing in Salon, expresses my sentiments exactly: "The smugness, the narcissism, the never-ending parade of yes-man guests: Goodnight and good riddance!" A number of my friends were totally bummed by Olbermann's exit, & I think they were a little mad at me for kissing him good-bye without a tear. But they're coming around.

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