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NYTV
Hard Fall: What Happened to NBC?
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NYTV
On Tuesday afternoon, Phil Griffin, the president of cable-news network MSNBC, had had enough of the interviews and was getting angry.
Roughly 48 hours earlier, Mr. Griffin had announced his decision to remove Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from anchoring big political nights for his network. Henceforth, according to Mr. Griffin’s dictum, NBC News’ chief White House correspondent, David Gregory, would handle the news duties for MSNBC. Mr. Matthews and Mr. Olbermann would shift into purely revved-up pundit mode.
This morning, Mr. Griffin was batting back a report from the New York Post that Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of NBC’s parent company General Electric, had facilitated the change after “a lot, maybe thousands” of shareholders had called up to complain about Mr. Olbermann’s performance in the anchor chair during the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
“This makes me so mad, because it’s so untrue,” Mr. Griffin said. “Somebody is spreading rumors. It’s wrong. It’s getting into the echo chamber.”
On any other day, the dispute could be chalked up to the long-running feud between a newspaper owned by News Corp. and the cable-news network that airs Countdown With Keith Olbermann.
But Mr. Griffin’s decision, coming as it did on the heels of criticism from his sister-brothers over at the main news division of NBC and from the floor of the Republican National Convention, has taken on more importance than some internecine media squabble. MSNBC has become the poster child of the chastened media, now (finally!) ready to treat the McCain campaign fairly, and to pay its obeisances to the “straight” journalists of NBC (Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw), whose bosses themselves won’t sacrifice prime time to put them on the air wall-to-wall during events as uninspiring as the conventions.
So how did it happen, according to Phil Griffin?
The “beauty of my job,” he said, was that nobody from GE had ever big-footed his domain. He said he dealt purely with NBC Universal’s president and CEO, Jeff Zucker, and NBC News’ president, Steve Capus. He had come to this decision, he said, after consulting first with Mr. Olbermann and later with Mr. Matthews.
He said they had been having a philosophical debate on the subject for months. “I think what came to a head this time is that our guys don’t want to be restrained,” said Mr. Griffin. “That was it. … If you move a chair over, you can say what you really think.”
It had indeed been a months-long debate, and a philosophical one. That it never saw any practical results until the convention is probably as much a matter of circumstance as anything else. But the circumstances build a case that has not looked good for Mr. Griffin and his people.
Roughly a month ago, on a hot summer evening in early August, a small crowd of reporters, anchors, and producers from the Washington bureau of NBC News descended on Café Milano, a seen-and-be-seen watering hole in Washington, D.C., for a night of martinis, braised baby octopus, and frank conversations with their bosses—including Mr. Capus, Mr. Zucker, and Mr. Immelt.
Mr. Immelt served as host of the night’s festivities, which was nothing new. Every year, the 52-year-old executive of the massive multinational company, uses the annual dinner to touch base with his news division in the nation’s capital and to gossip about politics, business, and the economy in a relaxed private setting. This year, the get-together had special significance. Less than two months earlier, the news division had lost their beloved bureau chief, Tim Russert, to a sudden heart attack. Mr. Russert had not only been a close friend of nearly every guest in the room but was also the unquestioned leader, guiding the ambitious and high-strung pack of journalists along the tumultuous campaign trail and keeping the collection of big egos working together for the good of the collective team.
As the dinner got under way, Mr. Immelt praised the D.C. staffers for pulling together through the crisis. Later, according to sources at the network, he also praised the work of their colleagues at the sibling network, MSNBC. When the floor eventually opened up for questions, according to sources, Andrea Mitchell, the veteran political correspondent and wife of Alan Greenspan, noted on behalf of her colleagues that there was some ongoing uneasiness about having Keith Olbermann—MSNBC’s liberal pundit and caustic anchor of their hit show Countdown—co-anchoring (along with Hardball’s Chris Matthews) the network’s coverage on big political nights. What happened to the traditional firewall between news and opinion? There were risks involved with blurring the distinction.
Such complaints were not new but had increased significantly over the past year, as more and more seasoned NBC News reporters (following Mr. Russert’s lead) had started playing significant roles on the cable-news channel. “After years of ignoring the place, they came into the tenement and decided that they needed to clean up the building,” said one source familiar with the inner workings of the newsroom.
At Café Milano, the bosses listened. But for the time being, nothing changed—that is, until this past weekend, when Mr. Griffin confirmed news of the switch to reporters at The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Afterward, on Monday morning, the MSNBC offices in New York and Washington were buzzing. There was no widespread, internal e-mail explaining the philosophy behind the change. The decision, everyone seemed to believe, was the inevitable result, after many accumulated grievances, of a situation that had got out of control and needed a correction. Theories about the timing and most salient reason for the change varied.
While questions lingered, MSNBC staffers thought back to the previous Friday, when, in retrospect, it should have clear that some change was afoot. According to one network source, on Friday, Sept. 5, on the heels of Mr. Olbermann’ impromptu criticism of a RNC video about the Sept. 11 attacks, MSNBC managers began spreading the word among staff, producers, reporters, and anchors of a new set of marching orders. For the previous four days, the McCain surrogates had been busy pounding the media for bias against their candidate, and many in TV news were feeling defensive. One week earlier, on Friday, Aug. 29, during a breaking news segment about Sarah Palin’s nomination as Senator McCain’s vice presidential candidate, MSNBC producers had run a graphic at the bottom of the screen asking, “How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?”
Now word was spreading at MSNBC day side: Edge was out, caution was in. “Every day-side anchor, every producer, everybody was told the word on high is that no more edge,” said our source. “Be especially careful not to inject any sort of opinion or ridicule or anything like that. Play it straight down the middle. If you say something is not true, you have to say who’s claiming that it’s not true. The managers were saying, ‘Go for boring. That’s all we care about right now, be boring.’”
Over the past two weeks, during its round-the-clock coverage of the Democratic and Republican national conventions, the cable news network had been anything but boring. Next Page >
Why can't the policies of both the nominees be presented in a clear, fact based analysis as this. F.G. we need more people to report the truth during this heated election. Well written, well researched. Thabks for the insight.
all B.S.
signed/Keith Olbermann
Let Chris and Keith and whomever else talk rubbish all day long, the most offensive show on MSNBC roster is "Morning Joke." Joe "does Cindy McCain work the pole?" Scab and Mika
"I can't help these 'ums' and 'ohs'" Bz have GOT TO GO!!!!
Echo Chamber Indeed. MSNBC has been competing for the gold metal for white noise with Fox News and CNN ever since the day MSNBC was invented. Griffin knows a lot about that chamber since his corporate bosses opened the door and gave him and his predecessors the key.
So Griffin's plaints ring hollow.
Worse, he is jeapordizing the only real asset that MSNBC has worth mentioning, Keith Olbermann. With the possible exception of the new Rachel Maddow show, MSNBC has only pale, flabby, unconvincing bloviating losers - - and that includes the most loose cannon on TV, Chris Matthews.
The parent corporation, GE, has a VERY big stake in profiting by the Iraq war. [Maybe they thought we didn't know about it, but, ya know, the news leaks out eventually]. MSNBC is the voice of GE and its sister corporations, but it has encountered a dilemma: a plain-spoken, somewhat abrasive LIBERAL. Not an insane liar and Bush White House trained seal we see 24/7 on Fox News.
That LIBERAL (Heaven forbid !) has captured a very large market share - something that GE understands very well, Griffin's whining notwithstanding.
LIBERALS, of course, are anathema to GE, since the LIBERAL mindset is not (normally) good for business, their biases tell them and therefore MSNBC, but the market share motive has become a complicated picture. Liberals actually have a share in the communications market ! - - something that somehow surprises the management and shareholdrers of GE and, naturally, MSNBC.
They've got themselves a problem. The shareholders (presumably) are screaming to displace Olbermann, but if he goes, it will do a hit on their wallets, not to speak of the CEO's stock options.
They've got some thinking to do. Whatever your ideology, LIBERALS have become an increasingly large market. Ronnie Reagan is not here any longer to deliver "conservative" sermons, and Cheney/Bush ideologs have screwed the Republican Party. Now there's market share and profit margin involved, something that wakes them up to reality. They've gotta make up their minds: market share or ideology.
David Gregory is the result of Griffin's "thinking." What a big mistake, like having white bread toast.
Dear Editor
YOU TUBE DELETED ALL SARAH PLIN 'S SPEECH WHY ?
WHY YOU TUE DID IT ?
WHO ORDERED IT ?
REGARDS
"One week earlier, on Friday, Aug. 29, during a breaking news segment about Sarah Palin’s nomination as Senator McCain’s vice presidential candidate, MSNBC producers had run a graphic at the bottom of the screen asking, “How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?”
I'd like to know the names of people like the writer of this graphic. Unlike the on-air hosts and anchors, they hide behind their anonymity and spew forth their biased views.
This move will hurt MSNBC. The conservatives makes noise and now MSNBC must fall in line. David Gregory is a big mistake.
Olberman at the RNC is like Limbaugh at the DNC. The difference is that if Olberman had not commented on the 9/11 video, he might still be wearing his "objective" journalist hat for MSNBC. Limbaugh would have been pilloried, and no network would have allowed him within 100 miles of Denver.
The corporate owned media being directed by corporations? Really? It is only acceptable to spin for the Republican party, never against it. David Gregory will never be considered objective. He threw all journalistic objectivity out the window when he became Karl Rove's dance partner. Furthermore, didn't Tom Brokaw retire? Why are we continually subjected to his opinion? NBC can't handle success. They have a hit in Olberman, one to counter the noise from Fox, and they can't handle a bit of criticism from the biggest violator of fair and balanced?
fox only gives right wing opinions and they scared off msnbc execs! shame on them for backing down! like the others, they can now report right wing lies as news and then act surprised when the republicans win and further screw up this country!!
what is wrong with hope, anyway??
A big reason I no longer watch TV news is that the "liberals" and "unbiased" news people let the radical right wing get away unscathed with lying, side-stepping, obfuscating, and whining. The 'liberals' (read: rational people) seem too stupid to know they have been turned into co-conspirators in the radical right plan to take over this country. A plan that is working better than most people can understand.
I'd be willing to watch the "news" if the interviewers would question, ask for clarification, demand responsive answers, etc, from the right-wingers.
FOX is the propaganda machine of the right and MSNBC needs to show gumption, guts, and graciousness in stopping their own cave-in to the right.
Palin is going to make fools of everybody because no one has the guts to call her on her garbage talk.
I'm not opposed to Keith & Chris being on the sidelines but they have completely lost their way if they say "If you say something is not true, you have to say who’s claiming that it’s not true." What happen to investigative reporting and stating facts - GO GET THE FACTS!!!!!
What a DISGRACE!
Well, nothing more than lobbyists winning again in the name of the "shareholders" (just wonder what group of shareholders?? Preferred one? Over 1 mil shares?). Keith (can't say the same for Chris) had a SHARP show, far away the BEST around, comparing will all the others boring, HATEFUL (Shawn Hanitty?? don't care how his name is spelled) ones. Guess what? The Dish Network includes Fox News as part of the package called "Family" along with CNN Nancy Grace (at least she is calling "dear" any caller). How and who in the world determined that? I bet another group of "shareholders". MSNBC signed its own death by firing Keith, I bet soon they will be included in the "Family" package.
MSNBC will no longer be my go to choice for political coverage, and I will do everything I can to spread the word to my friends as well. We needed a counterbalance to the FOX propaganda machine and now GE and NBC have caved to the right wing nutcases. FOX is actually now billing themselves (laughably) not only as "fair and balanced", but that they should be the relied upon network for accurate and truthful coverage of this campaign!! FOX and the GOP really think that if they say something (anything......see "I stopped the Bridge to Nowhere" fiasco) enough times, people will believe it and assume it must be true..........MSNBC, especially with Keith, were the best at countering this BS!! I guess $$ gets in the way of what's right for GE/NBC/MSNBC management. We should punish them financially as well by going elsewhere. As far as MSNBC is concerned, I will now only watch Countdown. Bye Bye MSNBC!!
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN to me why:
(1) They consider Countdown with Keith Olbermann a "HIT SHOW" when his competitors DOUBLE HIS RATINGS (In FOX's case, QUADRUPLE) every night for the past several years SINCE HE BEGAN???
(2) Why do they allow MSNBC's general manager to say "It's all working" when MSNBC is dead last in the ratings with NO MOVEMENT FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. (Again, their ratings ARE QUADRUPLED by their competitors)
NBC is disgraceful because they've changed from a news organization to A PROPOGANDA ARM OF A POLITICAL PARTY. This is why their ratings stink, THE AUDIENCE are expressing their opinion, BUT THEY KEEP DOING THE SAME OLD THING.
ISN'T THAT WHAT THEY DESTROY GEORGE BUSH FOR DOING???
Great story. I don't envy David Gregory, though. He has to reassure the Olbamaniacs. Maybe he should wear a beret, broadcast in French, and practice a world-weary shrug of his shoulders after stories about McCain.
It's not about boring, or keep it down the middle. It's about not reporting lies. In my opinion the McCain/Palin ticket lies when their lips move, yet MSNBC report it as truth. Why can't the pundits do some fact checking before opening their mouth? Obama thinks while he is talking, MSNBC pundits talk without thinking. I am making an assumption that journalism ethics say you do not report lies or you clarify which part of the news has a truth basis. With the exception of Olbermann and Maddow, I see none of this with Morning Joe, Pat (racist) Buchanan.
So let me get this straight:
- Olbermann is the reason MSNBC had achieved all the success Griffin's bragging about in the last paragraph -- so they get rid of Olbermann from the election desk.
- David Gregory's show is getting poor ratings -- so they repace Olbermann with him on the election desk.
- Scarborough compares Cindy McCain to a stripper - but that's okay because he's conservative. (Remember "IOKIYAR?")
- Meanwhile Fox Noise acts as an arm of the Republican party, but Republicans' complaints prompt a shakeup at *MSNBC*.
Okay, now I get it.
Cindy's being compared to a stripper. John McCain used to date a stripper. Maybe that (& her money) explains his attraction to her.
msnbc buckled.
it's embarrassing to hear david shuster tell a repub congresswoman who spouted endless talking points "thank you for letting me as you this question'
he was the one you could count on to tell a mouthpiece
'it's not true'
griffin should know his audience wants the truth
not unchallenged rep talking points
morning joe is just right wing world...totally oppressive
it's over
it's the right wing's world we're just living in it.
i hear a german marching band marching up the back of my neck
Gee..what a shame...on FOX you get the real big bucks for telling lies...everywhere else in the media the truth comes pretty cheap!
When David Gregory first got his show on MSNBC, I tried watching it. He is terrible as a news person. First he is extremely boring and his voice is to monotone for me to pay attention. Plus he sits weird, like slouched over, maybe because he is so tall, it looks ridiculous. I can not, ever watch him again cause I can't stand looking at him and when he talks he is so monotone what ever he says does not penetrate. Who is the idiot that hired him, they should be fired. Also who cares what GE says, they will be MSNBC's downfall. I love Keith Olbermann and Rachel, and they give me a reason to watch the news. I like Chris Matthews also he is entertaining. I can't stand, Morning Scar(Joe). What's going on, is MSNBC trying to turn into Faux News? I boycotted Faux News years ago and might have to boycott MSNBC also. David Gregory, boringggggggggggggggggggggggggg.
Well, that is the end of MSNBC - Olberman was the only show worth watching, and David Gregory does not get even a cursory glance from me - could bore you to death in one minute. Morning Joe is pure Fox, so there is no alternative but to return to the old favorite - CNN - I do love Olberman and think I would like Rachal Maddow just as much but am not going to stick around and have to endure Gregory.
When David Gregory first got his show on MSNBC, I tried watching it. He is terrible as a news person. First he is extremely boring and his voice is to monotone for me to pay attention. Plus he sits weird, like slouched over, maybe because he is so tall, it looks ridiculous. I can not, ever watch him again cause I can't stand looking at him and when he talks he is so monotone what ever he says does not penetrate. Who is the idiot that hired him, they should be fired. Also who cares what GE says, they will be MSNBC's downfall. I love Keith Olbermann and Rachel, and they give me a reason to watch the news. I like Chris Matthews also he is entertaining. I can't stand, Morning Scar(Joe). What's going on, is MSNBC trying to turn into Faux News? I boycotted Faux News years ago and might have to boycott MSNBC also. David Gregory, boringggggggggggggggggggggggggg, his head is to big for the TV screen and he is not good looking.
More proof of the power of this corrupt White House and the powerful rich Republican owners of the networks. The two best anchors at MSNBC have been silenced. That's really the American way! NOT!
This move was a joke and a bad attempt to please the RNC and the McCain camp! Mr. Griffin , NBC and MSNBC are wimps with no spine whatsoever..Fox can be aligned with the right and no one says a word? The media is a joke, but who should be surprised because it was their lack of integrity that got this country in this mess after 8 years anyway? And now, the media is complicit in their attempts to shove 4 more years of the same B.S. down the people's throat again? It's on the people to rise up and stop this madness before they destroy this great country!!!
I guess MSNBC thinks having David Gregory, who is in this pocket of the Republican White House, will be better. I still have this picture of Gregory doing stupid dances with Karl ROVE at a White House event about a year ago. He is so obvious. He cuts off anyone leaning toward Obama and often doesn't even let them respond to nut cases like Pat Buchanan.
The only MSM source that wasn't toeing the GOP line is now under control again. Welcome President McCain and VP Palin.
Amazing how we all look at politics and coverage through the tinted lens of our own political affiliation. For the record, it wasn't just "right-wing nut jobs" that were raising concerns over MSNBC's coverage. Even many Democrats expressed concerns about the blatant partisanship from the desks, led by Olberman. As someone who watches all 3 news networks, I have found far more Democratic representation on Fox News than I have Republican representation on MSNBC.