June 3, 2013

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.

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April 9, 2013

Melissa Harris-Perry Responds To ‘Hateful’ And ‘Vitriolic’ Conservatives

Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and other conservatives just couldn’t believe their ears when they heard Melissa Harris-Perry say, “kids belong to whole communities,” in a recent MSNBC “Lean Forward” advertisement. The fake outrage by these prominent conservatives caused the predictable: their minions sent Harris-Perry countless “hateful, personal attacks” to her inbox.

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March 31, 2013

MHP: Corporate Welfare Queens, And The America They Hold Hostage

I was glad to see today’s Melissa Harris-Perry (MHP) show focus on the real takers in society, big corporations and their obscenely rich executives. As Americans gather with family today with plates overflowing (as Americans do on just about any holiday), we should remember that tens of millions of Americans rely on food stamps for their next meal.

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March 14, 2013

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.

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February 20, 2013

Republicans Are Cowards On Taxes

You gotta love MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. On The Last Word, he called out Republican cowardice on taxes during the Rewrite segment. The crux of the presentation focused on one simple fact — Democrats are responsible when it comes to taxation and Republicans bank on it.

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February 7, 2013

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.

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November 11, 2012

The ‘Fiscal Cliff’ That Isn’t

On today’s Up on MSNBC, Chris Hayes said if the debt and deficit were really a major concern in Washington, we would not have a debate framed around a fictional “fiscal cliff.” Hayes said that it is neither fiscal or a cliff. At best it’s a fiscal curb, but even that isn’t correct because on the fiscal side, the “fiscal cliff’ is actually a major dose of austerity.

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