General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNew Republic: Phil Griffin Wanted MSNBC to Be Conservative after 9/11 and Mocked Olbermann
I don't trust Griffin's instincts since he "lucked" into the channel he runs now. Can you trust his programming decisions when he doesn't appear to be a progressive at all?
and Tucker Carlson "discovered" Rachel Maddow
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112733/roger-ailes-msnbc-how-phil-griffin-created-lefts-fox-news
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/new-report-on-msnbc-reveals-tucker-carlson-brought-in-maddow-pres-phil-griffin-mocked-olbermann-joked-he-was-a-virgin/
alsame
(7,784 posts)Its a mistake for us to limit ourselves to news, he says. He wants to build something he calls the MSNBC lifestyle, and so hes spending a lot of time figuring out what works for Bravo and USA, two hugely lucrative cable properties also owned by Comcast. We may find that they can teach us more about how to find our audience than CNN or NBC News can, he says.
He sees MSNBC covering fashion, entertainment, sports, and food, and he imagines an audience coming to his anchors not just for their takes on the immigration bill, but also for their restaurant recommendations or their thoughts on a summerblockbuster. Im giving Chris Matthews a [digital] channel to talk about movies and good television shows like Mad Men and Homeland, he says.
WTF?? Gee, I can't wait for the Real Housewives of MSNBC.
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)Can you believe he tried to get a job at Fox News in 2003?
I don't know if he's very good at his job. It seems that MSNBC has achieved its success in spite of his best judgement. He want's to run a channel like ABC or CBS and eventually will try to shoehorn MSNBC into that mold.
alsame
(7,784 posts)do much news.
WTH is the "MSNBC lifestyle"? There are plenty of cable "lifestyle" channels, he should go work there.
I think he's misunderstanding his audience if he thinks we want restaurant recommendations and movie reviews
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)StrayKat
(570 posts)Matthews already won't shut up about movies on his current show-- Silver Lining's Playbook, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty. They've been showing clips of him saying he loves movies and makes sure to catch them all.
Really bad move though. There are already lifestyle channels ad nauseum. Even lifestyle and media queen Oprah has had trouble with an already super saturated market.
Raine
(30,540 posts)on two or three of his Friday shows. I was wondering what the hell was up with that, now I know!
KoKo
(84,711 posts)NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)alsame
(7,784 posts)'leftie' guest that he used to argue with on his MSNBC show. I could never tolerate him at all, so I only watched him a few times, but I seem to remember her as the token liberal. I think she was at Air America at the time.
ETA: I found an article about it
http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/reviews/12171/
Rooting for Lefty
The Situations Rachel Maddow outshines host Tucker Carlson, finally giving liberals a feisty voice.
No, the reason to watch this Situation is the programs decision to have Air America radio host Rachel Maddow represent the left. Maddow, unlike Crossfires toothless hacks Paul Begala and James Carville, actually articulates leftist, progressive, sometimes even radical ideas. This immediately distinguishes her from everyone else on television since Abbie Hoffman circa The Dick Cavett Show. In her initial appearances, Maddow has made quick, cogent cases against John Boltons U.N. nomination and the No Child Left Behind initiative; when Carlson suggested that Guantánamo Bay detainees had it pretty cushy because there was now a dentist on the premises, she scoffed fiercely, Well, when you hold people in captivity for life, you occasionally have to extract their teeth.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)ratings for his show so her argued for her to be hired. Tuckers now gone and Rachel is doing very well with her own show. (didn't work out so well for him, after all)
Thanks for the info on that. When I read the article...it just didn't make sense. I never watched Carlson's show...but remember Rachel on Air America and that's why I didn't get the Tucker/Maddow connection from the article.
Adenoid_Hynkel
(14,093 posts)Rachel was on Tucker's show before she was on with Keith.
I remember she even brought Tucker on to Al Franken's show when she guest-hosted for him on AAR during the week of Hurrican Katrina.
sadbear
(4,340 posts)She was destined for television. And she's so good at what she does, she would have turned any network (maybe even fox news) liberal.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)I feel compromised.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)If I didn't I'd watch one of hundred other possibilities. I also like news because I can put it on for the day and night and still do other things. That's why I don't like movies...have to keep paying attention or you lose the story. I like a lot of different stories that I can listen to or not without losing the quality of the story I chose to listen to. I'm not so sure that makes sense...but in a nutshell...I watch it because I don't have to watch it all the time to understand what's going on. Of course I'm also passionate about the news and care what's happening to our country.
Rex
(65,616 posts)The country decided to go to hell in a handbasket and the M$M asked if they could decorate the basket for us. For a huge fee, of course.
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)I made a comment in my graduate school class regarding how we as Americans were likely to toss away many of our freedoms after this event.
Rex
(65,616 posts)One reason the GOP hates higher education. They want to do away with all critical thinking skills. History would no longer be relevant.
olddots
(10,237 posts)I think advertisers can only buy blocks of time and seem to have little say in where and when the ads get shown .Not much is sponsored anymore because the country is divided like never before.
Will MSNBC be liberal friendly two years from now ? Fox News because of it's deep pockets could last till the sun burns out while everything else will become an endless infomercial for wonder bras and Viagra .
NOVA_Dem
(620 posts)If it wasn't for Keith we probably wouldn't have a station at all.
Raine
(30,540 posts)news segment for a half hour or an hour.