Is MSNBC "about to blow up?"

We've been discussing the on-air implosion at MSNBC, and suddenly, so are a whole lot of other people. Politico.com quotes someone at MSNBC as saying, "The situation at our channel is about to blow up," with other sources at the network adding that the on-air tiffs "were a public glimpse of much more intense behind-the-scenes turmoil."

And the Schadenfreude is growing: Jossip.com reports:

"Meanwhile, in the past few hours we've spoke to a number of 30 Rock staffers in Denver, New York, and Washington -- some of whom thought it more productive to speak to us than attend to the on-going live DNC coverage -- and the common wisdom is: 1) Nobody can believe how much Keith Olbermann is getting away with, even if he does draw ratings; 2) As an Olbermann protege, Rachel Maddow is attracting negative feelings from staffers, since she stays mum on many of these catfights, but "there's still time" to represent; 3) MSNBC head Phil Griffin is alienating staffers by publicly defending Olbermann while privately bashing him, and it's left many wondering when that will leak (oops); 4) MSNBC publicist Jeremy Gaines appears increasingly stressed out and can be seen "shaking" with a phone attached to his ear dealing with reporters; 5) You don't want to run into Chris Matthews anytime soon, especially en route to the bathroom, because he has zero pleasant things to say right now; 6) Joe Scarborough is definitely stressed, but he's managed to calm down a bit today and can be seen laughing and gabbing; 7) None of this is helping ratings, with MSNBC scoring the lowest numbers against Fox News and CNN in convention coverage."

("Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!")

Connie Chung, who had a short-lived show on MSNBC, told the Wall Street Journal, "My reaction to that is: 'Grow up!'"

About the on-air-squabbling, Griffin told Variety, "Look it happens. Everyone is working hard here, and people are passionate about their feelings, and this is the rough-and-tumble world of politics." Griffin, naturally, would prefer his reporters not to quarrel for the cameras, "but it wasn't the first time and probably won't be the last. The main thing is, this does not define us. Don't make more of this than it is."

Too late for that now. There was another microphone glitch yesterday, as Olbermann was caught trying to run conservative pundit Mike Murphy off the air following rumors that he had tried to ban him from MSNBC's coverage:

CHRIS MATTHEWS: Let me ask you Mike: are we to, to place the credibility of you as a pundit on your belief, that you've just asserted, that the Clintons will vote for John McCain?

MURPHY: Absolutely. I really believe Hillary Clinton will vote for McCain. Look, they're friends. [Crowd boos]. Ah, come on, don't shout me down: let me talk. I mean come on, this is, you guys are so in the tank we ought to be filming this on a submarine. The fact is, Barack Obama, to his credit, has moved closer to Hillary Clinton and John McCain on foreign policy, Hillary and John McCain have worked --

MATTHEWS: That's an argument -- that's not what I'm asking you.

MURPHY: I really believe --

MATTHEWS: Mike, let me get back to --

KEITH OLBERMANN (OFF CAMERA): Let's wrap him up, all right?

All this, and Olbermann designed "Countdown" so that there wouldn't be the sort of partisan shouting matches that inform so much cable-news airtime. If there is such animosity among MSNBC minions towards Olbermann, perhaps someone's intentionally not shutting his mic off and passing it off as a gaffe. On the other hand, if you are trying to present intelligent coverage of this campaign, you probably don't want to give air time to some bozo who, off the top of his head, says stuff like "I really believe Hillary Clinton will vote for McCain," so you can't blame Olbermann for rolling his eyes verbally.

Sensing an opening, Fox News executive John Moody lit up on Olbermann in a blog entry:

"Thank goodness for online video streaming. It's about the only way I could watch Keith Olbermann.

"Earlier this week, Keith, an MSNBC propagandist who has come to believe people care what he hopes/thinks/says/because-there's-no-filter-in-between, smeared my colleague Howard Wolfson, who was Hillary Clinton's communication director and is now a FOX News political analyst. Keith compared Howard to Tokyo Rose. ...

"Keith is too important to be constrained (restrained might be a different matter) by facts. He is the heir to Huntley, to Brinkley, to Chancellor, to Brokaw. (Sorry, NBC).

"Keith thinks Democrats shouldn't deign to appear on FOX. That's the same philosophy that served John Edwards so well when he was an active candidate (among other things). Like Sen. Edwards, Keith is a non-factor now that the real decisions have been made. And like Tokyo Rose, he is a fictional conflation."

Olbermann responded: "John Moody is a hysterical, doctrinaire, Right Wing hack propagandist, who conveniently forgets that when he thought I shared his allegiance to his dark view of the world, tried to hire me for Fox News. As for Mr. Wolfson, I feel very sorry for the choices he made that led him to his sad state." Fox News denies it ever offered Keith a gig.

Whew. On one hand, Olbermann did turn MSNBC around, and in more ways than one. One the other, he does have a reputation for having an ego, and though he seemed to have tamped it down more recently, it wouldn't be surprising if success has gone to his head. And finally, regardless of what one thinks of MSNBC's tilt to the left, at least they're not willfully crapping on facts like the folks at Fox like to do, though, like Fox, they do seem to ignore inconvenient ones.

Oh, and some guy named Barack Obama's going to try to get some air time tonight amid the bickering.