Do We Really Need MSNBC? What For?

by Janet Crain
The proud NBC peacock is missing a few feathers and looking quite bedraggled these days. One wonders how much lower they will stink sink.

MSNBC is a 24-hour cable news channel based in the United States and available in both the US and Canada. Its name is a combination of "MSN" and "NBC".

A separate company, msnbc.com, is the news website for the NBC News family, featuring original stories and video as well as content from NBC News and partners such as The New York Times, Newsweek and The Washington Post.^[4]

Two partnerships with the name MSNBC were founded in 1996 by Microsoft and General Electric's NBC unit, which is now NBC Universal. Although Microsoft and NBC shared operations of MSNBC cable at its founding, it was announced on December 23, 2005, that NBC Universal would purchase a majority stake in the television network, which left Microsoft with 18%. The two companies remain 50-50 partners in msnbc.com. MSNBC, like sister channel CNBC, shares the NBC logo of a rainbow peacock.

Critics and some observers of the network say that MSNBC has become increasingly politically liberal compared to other networks, particularly in its prime-time lineup.^[5][6][7]

• Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left. New York Times. Published November 6, 2007. Accessed August 24, 2008.
• Kurtz, Howard (2008-09-08). "MSNBC Drops Olbermann, Matthews as News Anchors". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/08/AR2008090800008_pf.html. Retrieved on 30 September 2008
• Stelter, Brian (2008-09-07). "MSNBC Takes Incendiary Hosts From Anchor Seat". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/business/media/08msnbc.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. Retrieved on 30 September 2008

In June 2006, Don Kaplan of the New York Post (owned by News Corporation, which also owns Fox News Channel) wrote a column titled "Do We Need MSNBC?" Addressing MSNBC'S low ratings, Kaplan quoted CNN co-founder Reese Schoenfeld, who said that "[e]verybody compares MSNBC to Fox and CNN — when its real competition is Headline News". Schoenfeld pointed out that the ratings for MSNBC and Headline News are roughly the same, about 300,000 viewers on average and that "by comparison, Fox and CNN regularly average three or four times as many viewers." In the column Kaplan remarked that "the running joke in TV news is Fox and CNN are news channels with websites, but MSNBC is a website with a cable channel".^[47]

Don Imus controversy

In early April 2007, shock jock Don Imus, whose radio show Imus in the Morning was simulcast on MSNBC, made comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. The comments sparked outrage, as many individuals considered the comments to be both racist and sexist. After an initial two-week suspension of Imus' program, MSNBC canceled the simulcast as sponsors started withdrawing their advertisements from the show. Imus, as well as NBC News, apologized to the Rutgers Basketball team for the remarks.^[67]

Yet MSNBC sees fit for Morris Reid to go on a Palin-bashing rant, during which MSNBC Host Norah O’Donnell laughed hysterically at the expense of a standing U.S. Governor. JC

http://sarah-palin-2012.blogspot.com/2009/01/msnbc-mainstream-neurotic-bullcrap.html

See Alledged Obama Bias at MSNBC:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSNBC#Alleged_Obama_bias

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© Janet Crain

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