MSNBC leaning left for ratings?
Cory Bergman November 7th, 2007
From an article by NYTimes’ Jacques Steinberg, “Riding a ratings wave from ‘Countdown With Keith Olbermann,’ a program that takes strong issue with the Bush administration, MSNBC is increasingly seeking to showcase its nighttime lineup as a welcome haven for viewers of a similar mind. Lest there be any doubt that the cable channel believes there is ratings gold in shows that criticize the administration with the same vigor with which Fox News’s hosts often champion it, two NBC executives acknowledged yesterday that they were talking to Rosie O’Donnell about a prime-time show on MSNBC.”
UPDATE: Rosie writes on her blog she won’t be doing a show on MSNBC.
14 Comments Add your own
1. Rocker | November 7th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Cory, I think it’s funny that you STILL have a question mark in the header. I’m trying to picture a heading like “Fox News leaning right?”. It’s been blatantly apparent for some time that MSNBC is left-leaning…in the article you reference, they flat-out acknowledge it. We need to accept it…not pretend it’s still a subject for debate.
Not a journalist, but I remember journalism classes in college a couple of decades back. Being told that good journalism is objective. Kept thinking to myself…”but it isn’t, really…in fact, not even theoretically possible”. Bias sets in the minute you decide on a topic. So I actually think the upfront p.o.v. thing is good, as long as there’s an effort to be fair and acknowledge other points of view. If you’re fair, you’ll also acknowledge that Fox News actually does this, even though it’s always clear which perspective is “the point” and which is the “counterpoint”. If MSNBC does the same, I don’t see a problem.
2. Rick Ellis | November 7th, 2007 at 11:42 am
The surprise to me isn’t that they’re moving left, it’s that it took them so long to decide to embrace the idea.
After seeing the piece above, I found something I had written four years ago, recommending the move left. And I was by means the only person arguing that.
Now if they could just find more anchor talent who are capable of pulling off the change.
3. Anonymous | November 7th, 2007 at 1:42 pm
I was also surprised how long it took for someone to think, “maybe we should try a channel for not-Republicans?”
But MSNBC has made clear they’re not committed to this idea Ailes-like. Should Rosie fail at cable news talk (which I’m hoping she will), I’m sure they’ll rethink things.
4. Gorman | November 7th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Granted, I don’t watch MSNBC very often, but I always thought that Countdown was the only blatantly left-targeted show, mostly by Olbermann’s design (I read a piece where he saw a particular press conference and got fed up, hence his first special comment).
Sure there would be an audience for the Fox haters, but they better be careful not to completely undermine their credibility.
I can’t stand Fox News, not because the politics of its apparent bias, but because it tries to pass itself off as “fair and balanced” while doing so.
If MSNBC starts adopting that practice and weighing everything against a dogma coming from the top down, that will get old soon. If I saw Rosie hosting a political show, I couldn’t change the channel fast enough. I’d like to see them put Scarborough back to following Olbermann.
5. Jason P. | November 7th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Rosie O’Donnell? Seriously, this is the best “left-leaner” they could come up with? She’s nutty! She’s a 9/11 conspiracy theorist! There are serious and interesting progressives out there who deserve a TV show: Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, Cliff Schecter are some examples. It just seems like some conservative media ownership people were sitting around a table and the only progressive they could come up with is Rosie O’Donnell. Ugh.
6. Anonymous | November 7th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Rachel Maddow is impressive. I particularly like her because she doesn’t seem to get unhinged or go into diatribes, and always has a sense of humor about her, while having a very effective comprehension of news and facts. She’s refreshing, better than any of the blowhards with their own shows right now. I hope when Tucker is cancelled, she replaces him. (She’s often Tucker’s foil on the show.)
7. Anonymous | November 7th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
End rightward slant. Ha.
8. Anonymous | November 7th, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Hmm, try again.
9. Swift Loris | November 7th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
“It’s been blatantly apparent for some time that MSNBC is left-leaning”
For some value of “some time,” that is. Does the name “Phil Donahue” ring any bells? He was canceled in February 2003 at a point when his show was top rated on MSNBC because (as leaked memos revealed) the network was nervous about his antiwar stance “at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity.”
10. Frank Strovel III | November 8th, 2007 at 6:39 am
It’s all probably a moot point now. Rosie is saying talks with MSNBC have broken off.
11. Rick Ellis | November 8th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Ah, Swift, thanks for the memories on the Donahue thing.
I actually broke that story, and I’m fascinated by the fact that it still resonates so strongly with people.
12. Rocker | November 8th, 2007 at 11:07 am
re; Donahue: They may have been nervous about his anti-war posture, but I think he was cancelled because he was being annihilated in the ratings by O’Reiiley.
13. Anonymous | November 8th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Rocker, it was MSNBC’s highest-rated program.
14. The Dude | December 13th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
There are reasons why msnbc’s ratings are in the toilet.
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