MSNBC Ratings Rise on First Night Without Keith Olbermann

MSNBC didn't suffer in its first night without Keith Olbermann.

Lawrence O’Donnell, who took over Olbermann timeslot, averaged 1.5 million total viewers for his first night, reports the New York Times.   That was up a little under 50 percent from Olbermann’s average number in that hour, just over 1 million viewers, according to the Times.   During the 9 p.m hour, host Rachel Maddow was up by about the same amount to 1.4 million viewers for the hour.   Reasons for Olbermann’s abrupt Jan. 21 departure remain unanswered, but on Monday night, he took to his Twitter page to declare: "The reports of the death of my career are greatly exaggerated."   He Tweeted Tuesday that "Tonight's State of the Union will be live-tweeted by our team. Well, by one of the guys. OK - by me."