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 (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