MSNBC FUTURE IN DOUBT

DrudgeReport.com ^ | August 18, 2002

[Paul Atreides]

"The fall may be the make-or-break time for MSNBC," NEW YORK TIMES TV hotshot Bill Carter is preparing to write in Monday editions.

According to newsroom sources, Carter is set to warn how "future investment and promotion budgets for the channel" may be at risk during the coming months, as the all-news network continues to slump in the ratings, lead by the nearly still-born DONAHUE.

The pressure is coming from the very top of the MSNBCNBCGE tree.

Earlier this year, at a meeting of NBC's top management, Jeffrey Immelt, the chairman of GENERAL ELECTRIC, specifically cited MSNBC as the area of NBC that most needed attention. "He gave the order," a senior NBC executive has told Carter said, "and the order was, 'Fix it."'

As for the ailing DONAHUE, MSNBC prez Erik Sorenson tells Carter: "We're in the silly season. The news is so slow; it's been the summer of kidnappings. That plays more toward [CNN's] Connie [Chung]. Her show is cotton candy. It's all tabloid, all the time."

Sorenson said that come fall DONAHUE will start to take advantage of more hard news developments. "We'll have an election to cover and a war in Iraq," Sorenson said.

Beyond that, look for Donahue to book more celebrities. "He's going to have Oprah on and Harrison Ford and George Clooney," Sorenson said. "I don't honestly expect to have an answer on this until November."

Developing...

[alloysteel]

MSNBC in a death spiral? Who'da thunk it?

CNN must just about be on life support as well...

[Timesink]

Their capital offense was cancelling Soledad O'Brien's show "The Site". Haven't watched it for a minute since then.

Even if it hadn't been canceled when it was, there's no way it would be around today. The Net-as-Cool-New-Technology paradigm is long since dead. The show would be an anachronism, almost as bizarre as a show about the latest daily news from the world of radio.

[Paul Atreides]

Lamb's interview of Ann Coulter was very good. Philth, Katie, and others should have been taking notes.

[ErnBatavia]

Dona-who, Chung and...yes...even O'Reilly (remember "Inside Edition from whence he emanated?).....these clowns are all tabloid kids; not a journalist (by definition) among 'em....

[thinktwice]

Alan Keyes was worth watching -- intelligent and interesting -- but Donahue?

Never!

[pittsburgh gop guy]

If they made it the LAW & ORDER network and only showed reruns of the different L&O shows, the ratings would probably be higher. Oh, forget it, they already do that on the regular NBC network, with a couple of episodes of Friends, er and Will & Gayrce thrown in.

[Paul Atreides]

Are you speaking of Herdildo Rivera?

[Dazedcat]

Oh yeah, you're right there. Didn't she have a robot or a 3D Hologram that used to co-host.....do you remember?

[Timesink]

CNN must just about be on life support as well...

Nope. Believe it or not, CNN remains a major cash cow for AOL Time Warner. Their ratings are down from their all-time highs, but not nearly enough to stop them from practically being a license to print money.

[GraniteStateConservative]

About 5 or 6 years ago I sent an email to her (in letter format) telling her she did good work, and got her autographed B&W 8x10 photo in the mail. I have a soft-spot in my heart for her.

[Timesink]

Oh yeah, you're right there. Didn't she have a robot or a 3D Hologram that used to co-host.....do you remember?

Dev Null. I believe he was voiced by none other than Leo Laporte.

Amusing sidenote: The guy that create The Site is now the executive producer of the Aaron Brown show on CNN.

[Bigg Red]

DONAHUE will start to take advantage of more hard news developments. "We'll have an election to cover and a war in Iraq," Sorenson said.


Beyond that, look for Donahue to book more celebrities. "He's going to have Oprah on and Harrison Ford and George Clooney," Sorenson said. "I don't honestly expect to have an answer on this until November."
+++

Okay, I guess to these yahoos "hard news" involves interviewing their fellow celebrities.

[Paul Atreides]

Wasn't she banned for really being he?

I don't follow you...

[MontanaFreeper]

Love your posts Paul.

In my opinion, MSNBC has tried to copy format/etc/etc from the FoxNews Channel but missed the most important thing: the liberal bias. Why is it they cannot see the most obvious? Don't DemoRAT/Liberal's have business sense? If it's a matter of $$ then why can't they realize that the fortune and success of Fox is based on a true balance of politic's and not ramming the left-wing crap in our faces (read: CNN). Guess they have found out the hard way that NOBODY'S LISTENING. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

[Paul Atreides]

They claim to be in a slow news cycle. Time has written about Enron's heavy involvement with the Bubba Administration. Think the landPhil will have anything about it on his show?

[VaBthang4]

I eagerly await the fall of MSDNC but if Jeffrey Immelt sends in the Six Sigma Jedi Knights...it is only a matter of time before MSDNC becomes legitimate and whoops everyone.

IMHO

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Brian Lamb's author interview show "Booknotes" is the single best program on television. And the CSPAN-2 weekend BookTV is my idea of public service.

In the immortal words of Billy Martin, "I feel strongly both ways. I never argue."

I love the book author shows, BookTV and Booknotes. When it's good it's very, very good.

OTOH, C-Span has a bias. It's unavoidable, when you have a perspective, that it will be a "bias" to others who don't perfectly agree with your perspective. C-Span's bias is that no conclusion can ever be drawn, no matter what evidence is available, between the parties. Or indeed, third parties.

That logic is wonderful for Ross Perot, but not ideal for Republicans. Republicans get a better shake on C-Span than most anywhere on TV, but refusal to judge is bad for republicans. Republicans do best with people who face up to the need to choose one or the other of the two parties, on merity. Democratic politicians rely on wooly-headed voters.

[bert]

CCRM bump....

Maybe we should FReep General Electric and Microsoft to throw what's there away and build a new channel that han o leftists on the staff and shows no bias.

[mystery-ak]

Geeeez!.....I gotta get a job in cable news programing....I and everyone here at FR said no one will watch Phillis......hahahaha.

[Paul Atreides]

Thanks for the compliment!

I can remember seeing landPhil Donahue on the television during the seventies. His routine hasn't changed a bit; he will have on a guest, with whom he totally disagrees, go on the offense when he fires questions to the guest, and will interrupt in the middle of the guest's answer. Then, he would strut over, as if he had just slain a dragon, to some dimbulb for her staggeringly idiotic response. He is not about discussion; he is about getting across his personal worldview and trying to make anyone who disagrees look like a Nazi.