Editing Countdown with Keith Olbermann (section)

==About the show==
The show's theme music was the opening bars of the second movement of [[Beethoven's Ninth Symphony]], a nod to NBC's ''[[Huntley-Brinkley Report]]'' and ''[[NBC Nightly News]]'' themes from the 1960s and 1970s. During the opening sequence of each nightly episode, Olbermann, in [[voice-over]], previewed upcoming stories after asking: "Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow?" On MSNBC, the stories featured in the show's "countdown" were introduced by a "5-4-3-2-1" format; this format, however, was downplayed after ''Countdown''{{'s}} move to Current TV.

Musical commentary on the podcast is often provided by [[Nancy Faust]] on the "Stadium Organ." Olbermann frequently refers to her in closing credits as "the best baseball stadium organist ever".

===Special comments===
{{Main|List of Keith Olbermann's special comments}}

==="Worst Person in the World" segment===
{{Redirect|Worst Person in the World||The Worst Person in the World (disambiguation){{!}}The Worst Person in the World}}
The "Worst Person in the World" segment was a nightly feature in which Olbermann recounts three news stories involving people saying or doing things that offended Olbermann. "Nominees" for the "Worst Person in the World" award were declared "worse", "worser", and "worst", which Olbermann refers to as [[bronze]], [[silver]], and [[gold]] levels, respectively. On a few occasions, during the show's MSNBC run, the segment was either briefly suspended or renamed in response to concerns that it contributed to an atmosphere of political divisiveness.<ref>[http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/keith-olbermanns-worst-persons-suspension-returning-according-to-his-twitter-it-is_b40332 Keith Olbermann's 'Worst Person' Suspension Over? According to his Twitter It is] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918120744/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/keith-olbermanns-worst-persons-suspension-returning-according-to-his-twitter-it-is_b40332 |date=2011-09-18 }}, [[TVNewser]], 17 November 2010</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.msnbc.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110114220019/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/vp/41011118#41011118|url-status=live|archive-date=January 14, 2011|title=A note on 'Worst Persons in the World' (VIDEO)|date=January 10, 2010|access-date=2010-01-10|publisher=[[MSNBC]]}}</ref>

Based on this segment of the show, a book titled ''[[The Worst Person in the World (book)|The Worst Person in the World]]'' was published in September 2006. It includes transcripts of segments that aired from this feature's inception on July 1, 2005, through May 31, 2006, as well as some original material.<ref name="worstpersonbook">{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14840571 |title=The Worst Person in the World |last=Olbermann |first=Keith |work=[[NBC News]] |date=September 15, 2006 |access-date=2008-03-11 |archive-date=2015-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107115736/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14840571 |url-status=live }}</ref> Another such book, ''Pitchforks and Torches''—named after Olbermann's catchphrase in introducing the segment—was released in 2010.

A modified version, focused on sports, was featured on Olbermann's [[Olbermann (TV series)|self titled ESPN2 sports show]] during its run. In this iteration the segment was preceded by a disclaimer that the nominations weren't meant entirely seriously and that those nominated were not literally the worst people in the sports world.

On October 7, 2020, Olbermann revived the "Worst Person in the World" branding for a current-events [[webseries]], delivering an extended commentary on one selected individual (either [[Donald Trump]] or someone associated with his administration) followed by a brief rundown of other news headlines.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/rE-GxWyhw_Q Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201007211225/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-GxWyhw_Q&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-GxWyhw_Q&feature=youtu.be| title = Olbermann Vs. Trump #1: Trump Is A Mass Murderer | website=[[YouTube]]| date = 7 October 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Beginning with the fifteenth episode, dated October 27, the series was renamed "Olbermann vs. Trump".

==="Time Marches On" segment===
In the "Time Marches On" segment, another nightly feature, Olbermann showed footage of strange news stories from around the world. The segment was originally called "Oddball", a reference to the MSNBC program ''[[Hardball with Chris Matthews]]''.

===The "Keith number"===
During the [[United States presidential primary|2008 U.S. Presidential Primary]] season, Olbermann began using the term "Keith number" in reference to the sum of a pre-election [[Opinion poll|opinion poll's]] [[margin of error]] and the percentage of respondents who are undecided. Olbermann believes this value tends to be predictive of the extent to which a poll may vary from actual election results, and also of the volatility of the electorate's leanings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/mysterypollster/2008/021408.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217115438/http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/mysterypollster/2008/021408.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 17, 2008 |title=The Keith number |last=Blumenthal |first=Mark |date=February 14, 2008 |access-date=2008-04-05 |work=Mystery Pollster |publisher=[[National Journal]] }}</ref>

To summarize:
* The greater the poll's margin of error, the farther the results may be from the ''current'' views of the voters.
* The more undecided voters, the more likely voters are to change their views in the ''future''.

On the January 11, 2008, episode of ''Countdown'', Olbermann described the number as follows:
{{cquote|What, you ask, is the 'Keith number'? This is the margin of error plus the percentage of undecided &mdash; in this case, four-and-a-half margin of error plus five percent undecided. I thought of it, so I named it after myself. You think of a better caveat for polls from now on and we'll name it after you.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna22648992|title=''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' for January 11, 2008|date=2008-01-14|publisher=[[NBC News]]|work=Countdown with Keith Olbermann|access-date=2020-04-16|archive-date=2016-03-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305094908/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/22648992/|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Olbermann's "Keith number" is unrelated (mathematically or otherwise) to [[Keith number|the more traditional use of the term]].