Keith Olbermann, a renowned author, sportswriter, radio commentator, and TV pundit, began his career as a play-by-play announcer for WHTR while still in high school. At the age of 16, he started college at Cornell University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in communications arts at 20.
Olbermann's career took off at UPI, RKO Radio, and WNEW in New York before joining CNN in 1981. He became a sports anchor in Boston at WCVB-TV and later moved to Los Angeles for KTLA-TV and KCBS-TV, earning 11 Golden Mike Awards for Best Sportscaster and Best Sportscast, as well as being voted Sportscaster of the Year three times.
In 1992, Olbermann was part of the team that launched ESPN Radio, and he began his stint at ESPN SportsCenter, working alongside Dan Patrick until 1997. He then moved to MSNBC, hosting "The Big Show with Keith Olbermann" and "White House in Crisis", before his contract was bought out by Fox.
Olbermann became the anchor and executive producer of "The Keith Olbermann Evening News" on Fox Sports Net on Sunday nights and host of Fox's Saturday pregame baseball studio show. However, he left Fox in 2001 for "other opportunities" and kept a low profile at ABC Radio.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, had a profound impact on Olbermann, affecting him personally and professionally. He won an 'Edward R. Murrow' Award for reporting from the site for 40 days on his ABC Radio show.
After September 11, Olbermann published a profound "Mea Culpa" to ESPN and his fellow workers, addressing the burned bridges in his career and attributing his "outbursts" to feelings of "insecurity" and "fear of being blamed". He also learned the importance of personal growth, stating that "if you're 44 years old and you're not smarter than you were when you were at 35 years old or 25 years old, just stay in your room".
Olbermann is an avid baseball historian and has a collection of at least 35,000 baseball cards. He has received numerous distinguished awards in radio and television broadcasting, including the 1995 Cable Ace Award for Best Sportscaster, 11 Golden Mike Awards for excellence in television and radio, and four Sports Emmy Awards.
In addition to his broadcasting career, Olbermann has written for various publications, including The New York Times, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Playboy. He co-authored a book with Dan Patrick, "The Big Show: A Tribute to ESPN's SportsCenter", and hosts his own political commentary show, Countdown w/ Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC.
