in today's Star Tribune
Posted on 08/16/2003 5:12:44 AM PDT by rhema
Rather than playing live five nights a week, former Gov. Jesse Ventura's long-gestating MSNBC talk show will be a taped affair running once a week, on Saturday evenings. And there may be a new Ventura radio show.
But no, our former governor was not available for comment after news broke Thursday.
In a statement released by New Jersey-based MSNBC, Ventura said, "For me, it's like putting on a pair of comfortable shoes and going home. I believe the Saturday time slot is perfect for me. It's not as confining as weeknight programming and will allow me more freedom to strut my stuff and make my case.
"We're heading into another important election year, and obviously I represent millions of American news viewers who don't feel well represented by the current two-party system."
We'll take MSNBC at its word that that's exactly what our guy said, even though the syntax sounds a little alien. Whatever. His Largeness' network TV stuff will be strutted Saturdays, after a Friday taping, before an audience in downtown St. Paul.
MSNBC President Erik Sorenson was asked if Ventura is happy about this decision.
"I think he is," Sorenson said. "We were both disappointed a couple weeks ago when we were coming to the realization that we just didn't have a format that was going to work for us five nights a week, 260 nights a year. It was a pretty tall order, and we didn't make it any easier for ourselves by trying to do something that wasn't exactly your grandfather's talk show."
Ventura spokesman/MSNBC consultant John Wodele said of the former guv, "Yeah, he's excited about it." No hard feelings? "No."
Sorenson said Ventura will probably appear on MSNBC a couple of times a week with written commentaries, which "tested through the roof" with audiences of the pilots Ventura has been shooting at TPT in St. Paul.
"We'll also use him for unscripted commentaries, like he did with 'Hardball' this week. There's definitely a role for him in California with his old pal, Arnold, and everything. And once that wraps up, we're pretty much into the election cycle for 2004."
The Ventura announcement came in the second half of a media advisory announcing that MSNBC will stick with "The Abrams Report" in its current 8 p.m. timeslot. That show is hosted by NBC News' chief legal correspondent Dan Abrams.
With Martha Stewart, Scott Peterson and Kobe Bryant facing high-profile trials, it's tough for cable news to go wrong with a legal-affairs show.
The decision to slot Ventura into Saturdays (an exact time is yet to be announced) ends months of planning, prepping, rehearsing and spinning. The show, which at full, five-day-a-week strength, would have employed 15 to 25 people in St. Paul, depending on who did the counting, had been declared all but DOA by Internet gossip Matt Drudge, a charge that infuriated Ventura.
Sorenson would not comment on financial ramifications of a once-a-week show. Ventura, on the other hand, has been explicit in interviews that he had a "play or pay" deal with the cable network (a union of Microsoft and NBC, which is a division of General Electric).
The new radio show idea has nothing to do with MSNBC. "That's entirely Jesse's business," Sorenson said. Wodele didn't know of any specific radio deal, other than to say Ventura remains interested in a nationally syndicated show and is exploring opportunities.
He was in full flower on local TV news last night, claiming (outside the St. Paul Cathedral at Herb Brooks' wake) that hockey legend Brooks endorsed his governorship: [paraphrased] "I always knew I was a good governor whenever I saw Herb Brooks. He'd tell me, 'Keep givin' 'em hell, Jesse.'"
I'm not surprised.
The last starring role he had was a bust also.
in today's Star Tribune
Now I know why.
As a disclaimer, Ventura was on before it was announced Warren Buffet was an Arnold advisor, and I basically dropped off the Arnold bandwagon.
But Ventura's performance on the Today show was dsigusting, with him basically saying how she looks so beautiful in the morning, yada, yada, yada, and Katie lapped it up, like a cackling school girl.
I especially like the ventura tape being held in the tongs.
Many thanks for the thought.
Well, we've at least gotta give him credit for knowing from which side of the political spectrum his sycophants will come.
Notice that it even managed to work in a reference to Ventura's reincarnational fantasy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.