Rosie O'Donnell, MSNBC end talks

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - It's no go for Rosie. A possible deal for a one-hour MSNBC talk show hosted by Rosie O'Donnell has collapsed, the comedian said on her Web site late Wednesday.

"We were close to a deal almost done," O'Donnell wrote on her blog (http://www.rosie.com). Negotiations continued late into Wednesday, but it was clear by evening that there would be no deal and no show.

"My career as a pundit is over b4 it began," O'Donnell wrote.

The onetime moderator on "The View" revealed the potential deal at a Miami book fair during the weekend. She seemed to blame herself for the collapse, saying that her letting it slip in Miami caused "panic."

A show starring O'Donnell would have given MSNBC a liberal counterpunch to the rest of cable news fare that includes CNN's "Larry King Live" and Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes." The channel, which has gotten some lift from "Countdown With Keith Olbermann" at 8 p.m., hasn't seen as much success with either "Scarborough Country" or a talk show hosted by former MSNBC general manager Dan Abrams.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter