MSNBC boots Matthews & Olbermann from election night

New York, NY (AP)--MSNBC says Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews are out as co-anchors of political night coverage.

Veteran reporter David Gregory will anchor coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates, along with election night. Olbermann and Matthews will stay on as commentators on the cable news network's coverage.

The change reflects tensions between the more opinionated MSNBC and the impartial reporters at NBC News.

MSNBC's executives have spent months arguing that Olbermann and Matthews could be dispassionate anchors on political news nights while offering their opinions most other nights, and that viewers would accept them in that role.

But things fell apart during the conventions, when Olbermann, Matthews and MSNBC pundits engaged in a series of on-air spats.