MSNBC CANCELS DONAHUE!

DRUDGE ^

[Recovering_Democrat]

HEADLINE ON DRUDGE!

[fivetoes]

Be sure to give Donahue some ratings tonight. I have heard the author of this book will be on.

[JustPiper]

How odd and great! I have written them email about him having no place on MSNBC and he can take Bill Press with him!

[JustPiper]

Here we go:

News Home - Yahoo! - Help -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MSNBC Axes Phil Donahue's Talk Show - Tue Feb 25, 4:09PMET

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK - MSNBC fired Phil Donahue on Tuesday, abruptly ending the veteran talk show host's return to television after six months of poor ratings.

Donahue's final show will be Friday night. The news show that precedes him on the air, "Countdown: Iraq," temporarily will be expanded to two hours to replace him.

"We're proud of the program and we're disappointed that the show was not able to attract the viewership we had hoped for and expected," said Erik Sorenson, MSNBC president. "We thank Phil and his staff for their dedication, commitment and passion."

Donahue's office referred calls to his agent on Thursday, and he did not immediately return a call for comment.

The move was not a surprise. MSNBC hoped "Donahue" would provide a liberal counterweight to Fox News Channel's competing "The O'Reilly Factor," but the ratings started poorly and didn't improve.

MSNBC tried to tweak the show in November, putting Donahue in front of a live audience in New York instead of in a New Jersey studio, but it made little difference.

The political talk show format has yet to prove — and may never — that it can support a liberal voice, said Andrew Tyndall, head of ADT Research, a television news consulting firm.

Donahue's chances weren't helped by MSNBC's impatience, he said.

"They're very quick to cancel shows," Tyndall said. "Right from the start, they haven't settled on a format and let it grow so people can find it. If it's not working in a few months, they cancel it and move on to something else."

MSNBC also has sought a younger audience than its cable news rivals and the hiring of Donahue, 67, went against that strategy. "Anyone who's under 25 doesn't remember when his old talk show was on the air," Tyndall said.

During this month, a "sweeps" month in which ratings are watched closely to set advertising rates, "Donahue" averaged 446,000 viewers. O'Reilly drew 2.7 million viewers, up 28 percent from February 2002, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Connie Chung's CNN show that debuted shortly before "Donahue" averaged 985,000 viewers this month, Nielsen said.

"Countdown: Iraq," with Lester Holt as host, is one of the network's few success stories, occasionally inching past CNN to second in the cable news ratings.

Donahue was a nine-time Daytime Emmy winner for his syndicated talk show, which began in 1967 and aired nationally from 1970 to 1996, paving the way for dozens of such shows to follow.

He began his MSNBC show July 15 with a panel discussion on whether the United States should try to oust Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). On Monday night, with Rosie O'Donnell (news) as guest, they talked about the same topic.

The show's failure is "a footnote" to Donahue's career, Tyndall said. "His legacy is unharmed," he said. "He invented an entire genre of television."

[disgruntledinCa]

Donahue is Goneahue...........A damn shame.....HAHAHAAHAHA!!

[quesera]

I'm with you. I don't always hear what she is saying, but she's nice to look at.

Me neither, and she is very attractive, she would really be a great catch for FOX. Kelly O'Donnel is pretty nice too, but I'm all for Norah, who knows, maybe FOX is already working on it.

[quesera]

Norah's a lib....but a cute perky one. There is some saving grace there.

AAH! That hurts. But hey, boys will be boys:)

[Guillermo]

ROFLMAO!

[ChadGore]

CROSSIFRE 0.7
HARDBALL 0.4
DONAHUE 0.4
In all fairness, shouldn't Chrissy Matthews be next?

---

He wrote this "I'm a good American" book in an effort to endear himself to conservatives, but it's to little to late. He shilled for clinton for YEARS, build his CAREER on defending the indefensable. So, in short, yes, he's next.

[Ron in Acreage]

They gave Donahue much more time, and a better time slot to Donahue than Alan Keyes ever got. Racism anyone? Who has the timeline of Keyes time on the air? Would love to see the comparison. Ratings etc.. Matthews should be next. But what other loser would they get?

[Veritas01]

hahaha, i'm laughing so hard i'm crying.

[petuniasevan]

Too bad!

[leprechaun9]

If Donohue was cancelled because of "Low Ratings," then why is Whiffleball Matthews still on? I understand that the Matthews ratings are as low or lower!

[capydick]

Not surprising. It's easier to make excuses rather than fact cold,hard,facts. NOBODY wants to hear from them anymore. Their arrogance and ego will always fool them into believing their own lies. I dont feel sorry for either one of them.

[capydick]

Now that Donawhore is out of the way - sissy chrissy will own the basement there. Donaspew actually served a purpose there for ol' chrissy, his ratings kept matthews out of the basement. No longer. Maybe I'll see if she looks worried tonight. HeHeheHe....

[bannie]

...so now they will try the other end of the spectrum. Michael Savage

hm. I guess they were looking for testosterone. Hasn't Rosie left?

titter...

[shootist]

so sad, so sad he,he, he ha,ha SOOOOOOooooo sad

[cateizgr8]

Donahue's final show will be Friday night. The news show that precedes him on the air, "Countdown: Iraq," will be temporarily expanded to two hours to replace him.

I love how they are extending "Countdown: Iraq" as his replacement