Chris Christie Administration Says MSNBC Is A Partisan Network: True

New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie is in the middle of two scandals, the bridge lane closing, and use of Hurricane Sandy relief funds for tourism advertisements (where Christie himself was prominently featured while running for re-election). Yesterday MSNBC’s Up with Steve Kornacki broke the news of a third scandal. Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer says the Christie administration has withheld Sandy relief funds because she did not give her approval to a redevelopment plan in the city.

• • •

The Place For Politics: MSNBC Ratings Slip When Breaking News Is Not Political

How about this for breaking news — the news network with the tagline “The Place For Politics” doesn’t shine in the ratings department when the biggest news stories are not political. Is this really a shock to anyone? In May, MSNBC slipped to 4th place behind Fox News, CNN and HLN. This was a time of breaking news like tornadoes, and a murder trial (no, I won’t even mention the name). Usually MSNBC is a distant second to the near worship-like dominance of Fox News. Of course, ratings don’t prove that you are delivering a factually sound product, it just means you are delivering what a fervent audience wants to hear. And when it comes to faux scandals during a democratic administration, the faux news network known as Fox News is definitely your source. When it comes to coverage of non-political breaking news, CNN’s longstanding name recognition wins out. “We’re not the place for that [breaking news],” said MSNBC president Phil Griffin. “Our brand is not that.” Indeed.

• • •

Ed Schultz Out, Chris Hayes In At 8pm On MSNBC

Chris Hayes - MSNBCLast night Ed Schultz announced he was moving his show to weekends starting in April. It was not a total shock because there was speculation of an 8pm change on MSNBC that included the possibility of Ezra Klein getting the high profile spot. But in a somewhat surprise announcement, MSNBC says Chris Hayes will take over the 8pm time slot up against Bill O’Reilly on Fox News and Anderson Cooper on CNN.

• • •

Liberal: What Does It Mean? – The Rise And Fall Of Modern Social Liberalism

In May of 2011, I asked the question “What does it mean to be a liberal?” The question and the blog post that followed were written months before the launch of what is now called The Left Call. Apparently I was not alone in asking the question as that post from nearly two years ago is now the 3rd most popular on this blog. And because of that, I feel the need to expand.

• • •

Bill O’Reilly Says NBC News Is “Protecting The President” By Not Covering Drones

Last night Bill O’Reilly was even more dishonest than usual when he claimed NBC News was not covering the Obama administration’s drone policy. Never mind that Michael Isikoff broke the story for NBC. Never mind that MSNBC had ample coverage of the story on afternoon and prime time shows like The Rachel Maddow Show. And never mind that the “No Spin Zone” is actually a front for all spin, all the time. To be fair to O’Reilly, maybe he wasn’t dishonest, maybe he just didn’t care to check. On his way to fulfilling a pre-existing narrative, O’Reilly managed to fool himself.

• • •