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Countdown with Keith Olbermann

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Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long nightly newscast on MSNBC which airs live at 8:00pm eastern time and reruns at midnight. The show, hosted by Keith Olbermann, debuted on March 31, 2003 and counts down the top news stories of the day with news reports and interviews with guests.

The show is notable for Olbermann's elaborate writing style, fast-paced delivery, historical and pop culture references, and signature witty interjections, which make Countdown more colorful than average newscasts. Olbermann interleaves serious news stories with humorous segments, including "Keeping Tabs" celebrity news, Top 3 Newsmakers of the Day, Top 3 Soundbites of the Day, and "Oddball," featuring offbeat news stories (a play on Hardball, another MSNBC show).

While other MSNBC shows such as Scarborough Country, The Abrams Report and Hardball with Chris Matthews consist mainly of opinion and analysis, Countdown is a nightly newscast, covering major national and international stories. Clips from NBC network news broadcasts are featured on a regular basis. Olbermann typically treats guests on the show courteously, eschewing the aggressive style of interrogation employed by some of his competitors and colleagues.

According to The Cornell Daily Sun, Olbermann has a staff of roughly 10 to 12 people who work on the show. They spend the morning looking for noteworthy or interesting stories. The group meets via conference call at 11am for a half-hour discussion to toss around possible subjects for the evening's show. By 12:15, Olbermann receives a final list of story prospects, picks what he likes, and puts them in order. He emails the list back to the staff, and the writing process begins. He arrives at MSNBC's studios in Secaucus, New Jersey by 2pm and works on writing the show's material in his office until 7:30, when he goes to makeup, before going on air at 8pm.

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