http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/busin ... ref=sloginSeptember 8, 2008
MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat
By BRIAN STELTER
MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel’s coverage of the election.
That experiment appears to be over.
After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.
The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left.
“The most disappointing shift is to see the partisan attitude move from prime time into what’s supposed to be straight news programming,” said Davidson Goldin, formerly the editorial director of MSNBC and a co-founder of the reputation management firm DolceGoldin.
Executives at the channel’s parent company, NBC Universal, had high hopes for MSNBC’s coverage of the political conventions. Instead, the coverage frequently descended into on-air squabbles between the anchors, embarrassing some workers at NBC’s news division, and quite possibly alienating viewers. Although MSNBC nearly doubled its total audience compared with the 2004 conventions, its competitive position did not improve, as it remained in last place among the broadcast and cable news networks. In prime time, the channel averaged 2.2 million viewers during the Democratic convention and 1.7 million viewers during the Republican convention.
The success of the Fox News Channel in the past decade along with the growth of political blogs have convinced many media companies that provocative commentary attracts viewers and lures Web browsers more than straight news delivered dispassionately.
“In a rapidly changing media environment, this is the great philosophical debate,” Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, said in a telephone interview Saturday. Fighting the ratings game, he added, “the bottom line is that we’re experiencing incredible success.”
But as the past two weeks have shown, that success has a downside. When the vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin lamented media bias during her speech, attendees of the Republican convention loudly chanted “NBC.”
In interviews, 10 current and former staff members said that long-simmering tensions between MSNBC and NBC reached a boiling point during the conventions. “MSNBC is behaving like a heroin addict,” one senior staff member observed. “They’re living from fix to fix and swearing they’ll go into rehab the next week.”
The employee, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not permit it people to speak to the media without authorization. (The New York Times and NBC News have a content-sharing arrangement exclusively for political coverage.)
Mr. Olbermann, a 49-year-old former sportscaster, has become the face of the more aggressive MSNBC, and the lightning rod for much of the criticism. His program “Countdown,” now a liberal institution, was created by Mr. Olbermann in 2003 but it found its voice in his gnawing dissent regarding the Bush administration, often in the form of “special comment” segments.
As Mr. Olbermann raised his voice, his ratings rose as well, and he now reaches more than one million viewers a night, a higher television rating than any other show in the troubled 12-year history of the network. As a result, his identity largely defines MSNBC. “They have banked the entirety of the network on Keith Olbermann,” one employee said.
In January, Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews, the host of “Hardball,” began co-anchoring primary night coverage, drawing an audience that enjoyed the pair’s “SportsCenter”-style show. While some critics argued that the assignment was akin to having the Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly anchor on election night — something that has never happened — MSNBC insisted that Mr. Olbermann knew the difference between news and commentary.
But in the past two weeks, that line has been blurred. On the final night of the Republican convention, after MSNBC televised the party’s video “tribute to the victims of 9/11,” including graphic footage of the World Trade Center attacks, Mr. Olbermann abruptly took off his journalistic hat.
“I’m sorry, it’s necessary to say this,” he began. After saying that the video had exploited the memories of the dead, he directly apologized to viewers who were offended. Then, sounding like a network executive, he said it was “probably not appropriate to be shown.”
In an interview on Sunday, Mr. Olbermann said that moment — and the perception that he is “not utterly neutral” — restarted months-old conversations about his role on political nights.
“I found it ironic and instructive that I could have easily said exactly what I did say, exactly when I did say it, if I had been wearing a different hat, and nobody would have taken any issue,” he said.
“Countdown” will still be shown before the three fall debates and a second edition will be shown sometime afterwards, following the program anchored by Mr. Gregory.
The change casts new doubt on what some staff members believe is an effective programming strategy: prime-time talk of a liberal sort. A like-minded talk show will now follow “Countdown” at 9 p.m.: “The Rachel Maddow Show,” hosted by the liberal radio host, begins Monday.
Mr. Griffin, MSNBC’s president, denies that it has an ideology. “I think ideology means we think one way, and we don’t,” he said. Rather than label MSNBC’s prime time as left-leaning, he says it has passion and point of view.
But MSNBC is the cable arm of NBC News, the dispassionate news division of NBC Universal. MSNBC, “Today” and “NBC Nightly News” share some staff members, workspace and content. And some critics are claiming they also share a political affiliation.
The McCain campaign has filed letters of complaint to the news division about its coverage and openly tied MSNBC to it. Tension between the network and the campaign hit an apex the day Mr. McCain announced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. MSNBC had reported Friday morning that Ms. Palin’s plane was enroute to the announcement and she was likely the pick. But McCain campaign officials warned the network off, with one official going so far as to say that all of the candidates on the short list were on their way — which MSNBC then reported.
“The fact that it was reported in real time was very embarrassing,” said a senior MSNBC official. “We were told, ‘No, it’s not Sarah Palin and you don’t know who it is.’ ”
Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, the past and present anchors of “NBC Nightly News,” have told friends and colleagues that they are finding it tougher and tougher to defend the cable arm of the news division, even while they anchored daytime hours of convention coverage on MSNBC and contributed commentary each evening.
Mr. Williams did not respond to a request for comment and Mr. Brokaw declined to comment. At a panel discussion in Denver, Mr. Brokaw acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews had “gone too far” at times, but emphasized they were “not the only voices” on MSNBC, according to The Washington Post.
Al Hunt, the executive Washington bureau chief of Bloomberg News, said that the entire news division was being singled out by Republicans because of the work of partisans like Mr. Olbermann. “To go and tar the whole news network and Brokaw and Mitchell is grossly unfair,” he said, referring to the NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell.
Some tensions have spilled out on-screen. On the first night in Denver, as the fellow MSNBC host Joe Scarborough talked about the resurgence of the McCain campaign, Mr. Olbermann dismissed it by saying: “Jesus, Joe, why don’t you get a shovel?”
The following night, Mr. Olbermann and his co-anchor for convention coverage, Mr. Matthews, had their own squabble after Mr. Olbermann observed that Mr. Matthews had talked too long.
Some staff members said the tension led to the network’s decision to keep Mr. Olbermann in New York for the Republican convention, after he ran the desk in Denver during the Democratic convention. MSNBC said that he stayed in New York to anchor coverage of Hurricane Gustav. But some workers say there were other reasons — namely, that Mr. Olbermann was concerned about his safety in St. Paul, given the loud crowds at MSNBC’s set in Denver.
NBC Universal executives are also known to be concerned about the perception that MSNBC’s partisan tilt in prime time is bleeding into the rest of the programming day. On a recent Friday afternoon, a graphic labeled “Breaking News” asked: “How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?” Mr. Griffin called the graphic “an embarrassment.”
According to three staff members, Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, president of NBC News, considered flying to the Republican convention in Minnesota last week to address the lingering tensions.
Up to now, the company’s public support for MSNBC’s strategy has been enthusiastic. At an anniversary party for Mr. Olbermann in April, Mr. Zucker called “Countdown” “one of the signature brands of the entire company.”
Just last year, Mr. Olbermann signed a four-year, $4-million-a-year contract with MSNBC. NBC is close to supplementing that contract with Mr. Olbermann, extending his deal through 2013 — and ensuring that he will be on MSNBC through the next election.
Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting for this article.
For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Moderator: Jesus H Christ
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For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
...these fuckers even give partisan journalism a bad name. How bad do you have to suck to be too left-wing for MessNBC?
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
How typical of Dio to argue that because A=B that it necessarily follows that B must equal C.
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
How typical of BSuck to not follow what I'm saying.BSmack wrote:How typical of Dio to argue that because A=B that it necessarily follows that B must equal C.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
I think most reasonable people understand that all the major news outlets are biased to some degree or another.
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
How typical of diogenes to think he's actually saying something besides "watch me right click, copy and paste!".Diogenes wrote:How typical of BSuck to not follow what I'm saying.BSmack wrote:How typical of Dio to argue that because A=B that it necessarily follows that B must equal C.
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
BSmack wrote:
LA, LA, LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU
.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
How typical of mikey to say absolutely nothingMikey wrote:How typical of Diogenes to think he's actually saying something besides "watch me right click, copy and paste!".Diogenes wrote:How typical of BSuck to not follow what I'm saying.BSmack wrote:How typical of Dio to argue that because A=B that it necessarily follows that B must equal C.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Would it be an example of partisan bias if we just trots this thread?
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
- Antonio Brown
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
- Antonio Brown
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
How typical of diogenes to respond with IKYABWAI.Diogenes wrote:
How typical of mikey to say absolutely nothing
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Yeah, but Olberman is the worst. A hissing, spitting, venomous snake that needs it's head chopped off. Dude makes O'reilly look like a paragon of objectivity in comparison. Even though it's not fair to guys like Brokaw and Williams, he tars the entire NBC network with his brush.Tom In VA wrote:I think most reasonable people understand that all the major news outlets are biased to some degree or another.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
How typical of mikey to continue saying absolutely nothing.Mikey wrote:How typical of Diogenes to respond with IKYABWAI.Diogenes wrote:
How typical of mikey to say absolutely nothing.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Why? Because he gets ratings? Because he's got enough juice to spin his show off into another full hour called the Rachel Maddow show? Olbermann gives the lie to the argument that shows with a liberal bent can't get ratings, and that pisses you off.War Wagon wrote:Yeah, but Olberman is the worst. A hissing, spitting, venomous snake that needs it's head chopped off. Dude makes O'reilly look like a paragon of objectivity in comparison. Even though it's not fair to guys like Brokaw and Williams, he tars the entire NBC network with his brush.Tom In VA wrote:I think most reasonable people understand that all the major news outlets are biased to some degree or another.
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
- Antonio Brown
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
- Antonio Brown
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
The fact is these loons are pissing off everyone in the organization who believes in actual journalism.War Wagon wrote:Yeah, but Olberman is the worst. A hissing, spitting, venomous snake that needs it's head chopped off. Dude makes O'reilly look like a paragon of objectivity in comparison. Even though it's not fair to guys like Brokaw and Williams, he tars the entire NBC network with his brush.Tom In VA wrote:I think most reasonable people understand that all the major news outlets are biased to some degree or another.
And having the highest ratings on MessNBC isn't a lot to brag about.Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, the past and present anchors of “NBC Nightly News,” have told friends and colleagues that they are finding it tougher and tougher to defend the cable arm of the news division, even while they anchored daytime hours of convention coverage on MSNBC and contributed commentary each evening.
Mr. Williams did not respond to a request for comment and Mr. Brokaw declined to comment. At a panel discussion in Denver, Mr. Brokaw acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews had “gone too far” at times, but emphasized they were “not the only voices” on MSNBC, according to The Washington Post.
Who has the highest ratings on the Home Shopping Network?
Oh wait. I don't care about that either.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
He doesn't get ratings, dumbfuck. Re-runs of I Love Lucy have more viewersBSmack wrote:Why? Because he gets ratings? Because he's got enough juice to spin his show off into another full hour called the Rachel Maddow show? Olbermann gives the lie to the argument that shows with a liberal bent can't get ratings, and that pisses you off.
WacoFan wrote:Flying any airplane that you can hear the radio over the roaring radial engine is just ghey anyway.... Of course, Cirri are the Miata of airplanes..
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
if Olbermann didn't get ratings, you losers wouldn't be so fucking bitter about MSNBC. But he does and you are.Cuda wrote:He doesn't get ratings, dumbfuck. Re-runs of I Love Lucy have more viewersBSmack wrote:Why? Because he gets ratings? Because he's got enough juice to spin his show off into another full hour called the Rachel Maddow show? Olbermann gives the lie to the argument that shows with a liberal bent can't get ratings, and that pisses you off.
"Once upon a time, dinosaurs didn't have families. They lived in the woods and ate their children. It was a golden age."
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
- Antonio Brown
—Earl Sinclair
"I do have respect for authority even though I throw jelly dicks at them.
- Antonio Brown
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
I think a lot of folks would be disappointed if Fox News wasn't biased.
King Crimson wrote:anytime you have a smoke tunnel and it's not Judas Priest in the mid 80's....watch out.
mvscal wrote:France totally kicks ass.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
who has tried Taco Bells Volcano taco yet?
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Nah ... just good judgment.BSmack wrote:Would it be an example of partisan bias if we just trots this thread?
Stultorum infinitus est numerus
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
TV's priorities:Tom In VA wrote:I think most reasonable people understand that all the major news outlets are biased to some degree or another.
1. Ratings through entertainment
2. Personalities (see No. 1)
127. Reporting the news
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Or just move it and about 4 others to the Spin Zone where they belong. Not suggesting that Cul de Smack is some great bastion of intelligence, but too much Diaphanous turns it into the Cul de Suck.Smackie Chan wrote:Nah ... just good judgment.BSmack wrote:Would it be an example of partisan bias if we just trots this thread?
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
I want to hear more about this Taco Bell Volcano.Supersized wrote:who has tried Taco Bells Volcano taco yet?
Is it biased towards turning my asshole into a fiery geyser of mud?
rock rock to the planet rock ... don't stop
Felix wrote:you've become very bitter since you became jewish......
Kierland drop-kicking Wolftard wrote: Aren’t you part of the silent generation?
Why don’t you just STFU.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
As long as you takeless biotches are still obsessing over me, I must be doing something right.Goober McTuber wrote:Or just move it and about 4 others to the Spin Zone where they belong. Not suggesting that Cul de Smack is some great bastion of intelligence, but too much Diogenes turns it into the Cul de Suck.Smackie Chan wrote:Nah ... just good judgment.BSmack wrote:Would it be an example of partisan bias if we just trots this thread?
Carry on, losers.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
I love you too you great big hunk of teddy bear.Papa Willie wrote:Mikey wrote:How typical of diogenes to respond with IKYABWAI.Diogenes wrote:
How typical of mikey to say absolutely nothing
Have I told you how much we appreciate you guys giving us Michael Turner? :D
Mwah!!
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Not at all pissed, just tired of the cynicism which has become a cottage industry these past several years.BSmack wrote:Olbermann gives the lie to the argument that shows with a liberal bent can't get ratings, and that pisses you off.
I don't mind the poisonous barbs from guys like Jon Stewart, he actually does it in a humorous way and makes me laugh at our own foibles. Pretty much loved seeing him stick it to Bill O' over his hypocrisy between Palins daughters pregancy and that of Spears daughter. Fucking hilarious.
But guys like Olbermann and Mayer have long since abandoned any sense of objectivity or fairness with the garbage they spew. Correction: They never had any to begin with. Rather than piss me off, it sickens me that there's a willing audience ready to lap that up.
You have probably felt the same way about the other side, particularly Limbaugh, so I guess I now know where you're coming from.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
The differance is that Limbaugh has never pretended to be a journalist, and his show never proports to be a news station.War Wagon wrote:You have probably felt the same way about the other side, particularly Limbaugh, so I guess I now know where you're coming from.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
First part is spot on.Diogenes wrote:The differance is that Limbaugh has never pretended to be a journalist, and his show never proports to be a news station.
His show is on Clear Channel, for the most part, which sucks Fox "News" Radio's dick hard.
Not to mention the fact that Clear Channel pretty much bought up every major FM music radio station in this country and turned it into homogenized horseshit.
There is that.
Van wrote:It's like rimming an unbathed fat chick from Missouri. It's highly distinctive, miserably unforgettable and completely wrong.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Given that Clear Channel sucks ass, they still don't pretend to be a news network.RadioFan wrote:First part is spot on.Diogenes wrote:The differance is that Limbaugh has never pretended to be a journalist, and his show never proports to be a news station.
His show is on Clear Channel, for the most part, which sucks Fox "News" Radio's dick hard.
Not to mention the fact that Clear Channel pretty much bought up every major FM music radio station in this country and turned it into homogenized horseshit.
There is that.
I have no problem with Matthews doing Whiffleball, or Ostrichman doing Whateverthefuckhedoes.
But pretending the two twits are journalists is like lobodomizing Hannity and O'Reilly and passing them off as anchors.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
True. They only own the broadcast rights to a pretend one.Diogenes wrote:Given that Clear Channel sucks ass, they still don't pretend to be a news network.
Van wrote:It's like rimming an unbathed fat chick from Missouri. It's highly distinctive, miserably unforgettable and completely wrong.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Not obsessing. Just tired of seeing the Spin Zone relocated to Cul de Smack, you spamming bitch.Diogenes wrote:As long as you takeless biotches are still obsessing over me, I must be doing something right.Goober McTuber wrote:Or just move it and about 4 others to the Spin Zone where they belong. Not suggesting that Cul de Smack is some great bastion of intelligence, but too much Diaphanous turns it into the Cul de Suck.Smackie Chan wrote: Nah ... just good judgment.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Countdown to Complete Meltdown
Keith, Chris, and a network in turmoil.
By Stephen Spruiell
In late October of last year, MSNBC moved its offices from Secaucus, N.J., to NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “It was cool,” one longtime MSNBC employee says of the move. “All these old offices with so much history . . . you’d be walking around and someone would point out John Belushi’s old office.”
But one MSNBC employee wasn’t happy with his office. According to two sources who worked for the network at the time, Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC’s Countdown, didn’t like his door. It had a window. He wanted a solid one.
He called the building manager. “They told him, ‘Look, it’s an old building, we’re not changing the doors,’” the longtime employee says. “So Keith calls [MSNBC president] Phil Griffin and says, ‘I want a new door or I’m not going on the air tonight.’ And so Phil went and got him a new door.”
Because whatever Keith wants, Keith gets.
Thus began a cover story I wrote for a recent issue of National Review about the Olberfication of NBC News. The story went to press before the Democratic convention, and little did I know that within two weeks, Olbermann would, to borrow a phrase from someone I talked to who works at the network, “collapse under the weight of his own insanity.”
The Democratic convention was a disaster for MSNBC. With Olbermann and fellow Obama-lover Chris Matthews in the anchor chairs, the network became a glass case exhibiting a zoo of dysfunctional egos within. Olbermann and Matthews bickered all week. At one point, Olbermann made fun of Matthews by making a flapping-gums hand gesture, prompting Matthews to say, “You made that sound, Keith. I can do the same to you.”
Olbermann also sparred with Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough. After Scarborough noted that McCain had gained in the polls, Olbermann muttered, “Jesus Joe, why don’t you get a shovel?” (the implication being that Scarborough was full of something one finds in a barnyard). Scarborough tried to defend his point, until Matthews asked, “Are we done?” Scarborough replied, “Well, if you want to be done. Would you like me to get another shovel?”
The following Monday, MSNBC surprised its viewers by changing its lineup and keeping Olbermann in New York rather than sending him to St. Paul to co-anchor the network’s coverage of the GOP with Matthews. Network brass said this was so Olbermann could cover Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in Louisiana the first day of the convention. But even after the hurricane passed, Olbermann remained in New York, while Matthews anchored the coverage in St. Paul. The most likely explanation is that Olbermann’s bosses did not want a repeat of what happened the previous week in Denver.
But keeping Olbermann in New York was not enough to keep him out of trouble. After the Republicans played a video at the convention that included some footage of the 9/11 attacks, Olbermann again courted controversy from the anchor chair by accusing the Republican party of “exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again.” He then apologized on behalf of the network for airing the video.
In St. Paul, his colleagues were no better. Conservatives, energized by the appearance of Sarah Palin at the convention, got a huge kick out of MSNBC’s reaction to Palin’s speech. I got a large number of e-mails from conservatives after I posted this video of NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell angrily asking Rudy Giuliani how dare he attack Obama and glumly declaring that, with the addition of Palin to the Republican ticket, “The war has begun.”
Not only did MSNBC fail to beat CNN or Fox News in the ratings during the conventions, but the behavior of its on-air personalities turned the network into a national laughingstock. Most notably, The Daily Show did a segment on the constant squabbling. When NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams appeared on the show, host Jon Stewart asked him about all the infighting at MSNBC. Williams said that “every family has a dynamic all its own,” to which Stewart replied, “But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?”
In retrospect, this was probably the beginning of the end of Olbermann’s stint in the anchor chair. When I interviewed him for the cover piece, I asked Center for Media and Public Affairs president Robert Lichter if he thought MSNBC would change its approach in response to conservative criticism. He answered, “Journalists are not going to change their coverage because of what John McCain says. They are going to change their coverage because of what Jon Stewart says.” Now that MSNBC has decided to replace the anchor team of Olbermann and Matthews with NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory, Lichter’s words seem remarkably prescient.
Olbermann will, of course, remain the host of Countdown, and Matthews will still have Hardball. And, with the addition of a new show hosted by Air America’s Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s prime-time will remain a haven for left-wing bloggers and others who believe George W. Bush should be indicted for war crimes. But for the time being, it appears that the grown-ups at NBC News have reasserted control over what was fast becoming the Olbermann Broadcasting Network.
— Stephen Spruiell is an NRO staff reporter.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NW ... E3ZGMzOGM=
Keith, Chris, and a network in turmoil.
By Stephen Spruiell
In late October of last year, MSNBC moved its offices from Secaucus, N.J., to NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. “It was cool,” one longtime MSNBC employee says of the move. “All these old offices with so much history . . . you’d be walking around and someone would point out John Belushi’s old office.”
But one MSNBC employee wasn’t happy with his office. According to two sources who worked for the network at the time, Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC’s Countdown, didn’t like his door. It had a window. He wanted a solid one.
He called the building manager. “They told him, ‘Look, it’s an old building, we’re not changing the doors,’” the longtime employee says. “So Keith calls [MSNBC president] Phil Griffin and says, ‘I want a new door or I’m not going on the air tonight.’ And so Phil went and got him a new door.”
Because whatever Keith wants, Keith gets.
Thus began a cover story I wrote for a recent issue of National Review about the Olberfication of NBC News. The story went to press before the Democratic convention, and little did I know that within two weeks, Olbermann would, to borrow a phrase from someone I talked to who works at the network, “collapse under the weight of his own insanity.”
The Democratic convention was a disaster for MSNBC. With Olbermann and fellow Obama-lover Chris Matthews in the anchor chairs, the network became a glass case exhibiting a zoo of dysfunctional egos within. Olbermann and Matthews bickered all week. At one point, Olbermann made fun of Matthews by making a flapping-gums hand gesture, prompting Matthews to say, “You made that sound, Keith. I can do the same to you.”
Olbermann also sparred with Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough. After Scarborough noted that McCain had gained in the polls, Olbermann muttered, “Jesus Joe, why don’t you get a shovel?” (the implication being that Scarborough was full of something one finds in a barnyard). Scarborough tried to defend his point, until Matthews asked, “Are we done?” Scarborough replied, “Well, if you want to be done. Would you like me to get another shovel?”
The following Monday, MSNBC surprised its viewers by changing its lineup and keeping Olbermann in New York rather than sending him to St. Paul to co-anchor the network’s coverage of the GOP with Matthews. Network brass said this was so Olbermann could cover Hurricane Gustav, which made landfall in Louisiana the first day of the convention. But even after the hurricane passed, Olbermann remained in New York, while Matthews anchored the coverage in St. Paul. The most likely explanation is that Olbermann’s bosses did not want a repeat of what happened the previous week in Denver.
But keeping Olbermann in New York was not enough to keep him out of trouble. After the Republicans played a video at the convention that included some footage of the 9/11 attacks, Olbermann again courted controversy from the anchor chair by accusing the Republican party of “exploiting the memories of the dead, and perhaps even for trying to evoke that pain again.” He then apologized on behalf of the network for airing the video.
In St. Paul, his colleagues were no better. Conservatives, energized by the appearance of Sarah Palin at the convention, got a huge kick out of MSNBC’s reaction to Palin’s speech. I got a large number of e-mails from conservatives after I posted this video of NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell angrily asking Rudy Giuliani how dare he attack Obama and glumly declaring that, with the addition of Palin to the Republican ticket, “The war has begun.”
Not only did MSNBC fail to beat CNN or Fox News in the ratings during the conventions, but the behavior of its on-air personalities turned the network into a national laughingstock. Most notably, The Daily Show did a segment on the constant squabbling. When NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams appeared on the show, host Jon Stewart asked him about all the infighting at MSNBC. Williams said that “every family has a dynamic all its own,” to which Stewart replied, “But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?”
In retrospect, this was probably the beginning of the end of Olbermann’s stint in the anchor chair. When I interviewed him for the cover piece, I asked Center for Media and Public Affairs president Robert Lichter if he thought MSNBC would change its approach in response to conservative criticism. He answered, “Journalists are not going to change their coverage because of what John McCain says. They are going to change their coverage because of what Jon Stewart says.” Now that MSNBC has decided to replace the anchor team of Olbermann and Matthews with NBC News White House correspondent David Gregory, Lichter’s words seem remarkably prescient.
Olbermann will, of course, remain the host of Countdown, and Matthews will still have Hardball. And, with the addition of a new show hosted by Air America’s Rachel Maddow, MSNBC’s prime-time will remain a haven for left-wing bloggers and others who believe George W. Bush should be indicted for war crimes. But for the time being, it appears that the grown-ups at NBC News have reasserted control over what was fast becoming the Olbermann Broadcasting Network.
— Stephen Spruiell is an NRO staff reporter.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NW ... E3ZGMzOGM=
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Like I care.Screw_Michigan wrote:Nobody gives a fuck.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
I'm just here to say, "Rack the Trolls!" And WAR Vicki Peck.
What were we just talking about?
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Who the fuck is Vicki Peck, you asscheek-akimbo simpleton?
King Crimson wrote:anytime you have a smoke tunnel and it's not Judas Priest in the mid 80's....watch out.
mvscal wrote:France totally kicks ass.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Heya PSU!
Euroclone posted the funniest thread ever about Ms. Scunthorpe. And the winner was Vicki Peck. 2nd place had like 400 votes, and Vicki had 150 thousand. It still makes me laugh, thinking about it.
How are things in the great state of Pennsylvania?
Your bestest buddy,
Scott Boudet
Euroclone posted the funniest thread ever about Ms. Scunthorpe. And the winner was Vicki Peck. 2nd place had like 400 votes, and Vicki had 150 thousand. It still makes me laugh, thinking about it.
How are things in the great state of Pennsylvania?
Your bestest buddy,
Scott Boudet
What were we just talking about?
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Personal info. A bannable offense.Roger_the_Shrubber wrote:Your bestest buddy,
Scott Boudet
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Goobs,that was me posting as RogGoober McTuber wrote:Personal info. A bannable offense.Roger_the_Shrubber wrote:Your bestest buddy,
Scott Boudet
jiminphilly wrote:SaladTosser wrote:What's going on here?
A few of us are ruining some tube socks.
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
RtS posts his name in an attempt to make the case that it's no big deal when he uses someone else's name.Goober McTuber wrote:Personal info. A bannable offense.Roger_the_Shrubber wrote:Your bestest buddy,
Scott Boudet
Y2Koresh better truck on over and restore his pill cache, wheel him into the sunlight, etc.
King Crimson wrote:anytime you have a smoke tunnel and it's not Judas Priest in the mid 80's....watch out.
mvscal wrote:France totally kicks ass.
Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
I'd wheel him off the end of a pier;)PSUFAN wrote:RtS posts his name in an attempt to make the case that it's no big deal when he uses someone else's name.Goober McTuber wrote:Personal info. A bannable offense.Roger_the_Shrubber wrote:Your bestest buddy,
Scott Boudet
Y2Koresh better truck on over and restore his pill cache, wheel him into the sunlight, etc.
jiminphilly wrote:SaladTosser wrote:What's going on here?
A few of us are ruining some tube socks.
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Re: For you losers who think FOX News is biased...
Hey DiT!!!
The best way to tell the truth is to veil it with a lie. Or is that the other way around? Old news.
Anyway, house the housepainting biz?
Hope Oklahoma is still treating you well.
Let's let bygones be bygones, and just agree the PSUfan is a moron.
Sincerely,
teduoB ttocS
Is that better?
The best way to tell the truth is to veil it with a lie. Or is that the other way around? Old news.
Anyway, house the housepainting biz?
Hope Oklahoma is still treating you well.
Let's let bygones be bygones, and just agree the PSUfan is a moron.
Sincerely,
teduoB ttocS
Is that better?
What were we just talking about?