Politics
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- Georges0
What would Jesus Do when everything collapses?
- colin_s0
so i have lived in both small towns and big cities on my short 25 years on this planet and so as i'm trying to think of what the RNC meant by the stump speech pushing of "small town values," the only difference i can think of is that in small towns there are far fewer black people than in more urban areas.
i mean, talk about the most underlying racist aspect of that whole convention.
there are plenty of friendly people, churches, neighborhoods and good neighbors in cities. but in small towns, as david cross puts it, everything "stays a bit whiter out later."
go america.
- jasontroj0
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/0…
MSNBC tried a bold experiment this year by putting two politically incendiary hosts, Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews, in the anchor chair to lead the cable news channel’s coverage of the election.
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MSNBCKeith Olbermann, left, and Joe Scarborough. Mr. Olbermann’s liberal show is MSNBC’s most successful.
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MSNBCBrian Williams of NBC at the Democratic National Convention.
MSNBCKeith Olbermann, left, conveying that Chris Matthews talks too much, with Representative Steny Hoyer.
That experiment appears to be over.
After months of accusations of political bias and simmering animosity between MSNBC and its parent network NBC, the channel decided over the weekend that the NBC News correspondent and MSNBC host David Gregory would anchor news coverage of the coming debates and election night. Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews will remain as analysts during the coverage.
The change — which comes in the home stretch of the long election cycle — is a direct result of tensions associated with the channel’s perceived shift to the political left.
“The most disappointing shift is to see the partisan attitude move from prime time into what’s supposed to be straight news programming,” said Davidson Goldin, formerly the editorial director of MSNBC and a co-founder of the reputation management firm DolceGoldin.
Executives at the channel’s parent company, NBC Universal, had high hopes for MSNBC’s coverage of the political conventions. Instead, the coverage frequently descended into on-air squabbles between the anchors, embarrassing some workers at NBC’s news division, and quite possibly alienating viewers. Although MSNBC nearly doubled its total audience compared with the 2004 conventions, its competitive position did not improve, as it remained in last place among the broadcast and cable news networks. In prime time, the channel averaged 2.2 million viewers during the Democratic convention and 1.7 million viewers during the Republican convention.
The success of the Fox News Channel in the past decade along with the growth of political blogs have convinced many media companies that provocative commentary attracts viewers and lures Web browsers more than straight news delivered dispassionately.
“In a rapidly changing media environment, this is the great philosophical debate,” Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, said in a telephone interview Saturday. Fighting the ratings game, he added, “the bottom line is that we’re experiencing incredible success.”
But as the past two weeks have shown, that success has a downside. When the vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin lamented media bias during her speech, attendees of the Republican convention loudly chanted “NBC.”
In interviews, 10 current and former staff members said that long-simmering tensions between MSNBC and NBC reached a boiling point during the conventions. “MSNBC is behaving like a heroin addict,” one senior staff member observed. “They’re living from fix to fix and swearing they’ll go into rehab the next week.”
The employee, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity because the network does not permit it people to speak to the media without authorization. (The New York Times and NBC News have a content-sharing arrangement exclusively for political coverage.)
Mr. Olbermann, a 49-year-old former sportscaster, has become the face of the more aggressive MSNBC, and the lightning rod for much of the criticism. His program “Countdown,” now a liberal institution, was created by Mr. Olbermann in 2003 but it found its voice in his gnawing dissent regarding the Bush administration, often in the form of “special comment” segments.
As Mr. Olbermann raised his voice, his ratings rose as well, and he now reaches more than one million viewers a night, a higher television rating than any other show in the troubled 12-year history of the network. As a result, his identity largely defines MSNBC. “They have banked the entirety of the network on Keith Olbermann,” one employee said.
In January, Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews, the host of “Hardball,” began co-anchoring primary night coverage, drawing an audience that enjoyed the pair’s “SportsCenter”-style show. While some critics argued that the assignment was akin to having the Fox News commentator Bill O’Reilly anchor on election night — something that has never happened — MSNBC insisted that Mr. Olbermann knew the difference between news and commentary.
But in the past two weeks, that line has been blurred. On the final night of the Republican convention, after MSNBC televised the party’s video “tribute to the victims of 9/11,” including graphic footage of the World Trade Center attacks, Mr. Olbermann abruptly took off his journalistic hat.
“I’m sorry, it’s necessary to say this,” he began. After saying that the video had exploited the memories of the dead, he directly apologized to viewers who were offended. Then, sounding like a network executive, he said it was “probably not appropriate to be shown.”
In an interview on Sunday, Mr. Olbermann said that moment — and the perception that he is “not utterly neutral” — restarted months-old conversations about his role on political nights.
“I found it ironic and instructive that I could have easily said exactly what I did say, exactly when I did say it, if I had been wearing a different hat, and nobody would have taken any issue,” he said.
“Countdown” will still be shown before the three fall debates and a second edition will be shown sometime afterwards, following the program anchored by Mr. Gregory.
The change casts new doubt on what some staff members believe is an effective programming strategy: prime-time talk of a liberal sort. A like-minded talk show will now follow “Countdown” at 9 p.m.: “The Rachel Maddow Show,” hosted by the liberal radio host, begins Monday.
Mr. Griffin, MSNBC’s president, denies that it has an ideology. “I think ideology means we think one way, and we don’t,” he said. Rather than label MSNBC’s prime time as left-leaning, he says it has passion and point of view.
But MSNBC is the cable arm of NBC News, the dispassionate news division of NBC Universal. MSNBC, “Today” and “NBC Nightly News” share some staff members, workspace and content. And some critics are claiming they also share a political affiliation.
The McCain campaign has filed letters of complaint to the news division about its coverage and openly tied MSNBC to it. Tension between the network and the campaign hit an apex the day Mr. McCain announced Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. MSNBC had reported Friday morning that Ms. Palin’s plane was enroute to the announcement and she was likely the pick. But McCain campaign officials warned the network off, with one official going so far as to say that all of the candidates on the short list were on their way — which MSNBC then reported.
“The fact that it was reported in real time was very embarrassing,” said a senior MSNBC official. “We were told, ‘No, it’s not Sarah Palin and you don’t know who it is.’ ”
Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams, the past and present anchors of “NBC Nightly News,” have told friends and colleagues that they are finding it tougher and tougher to defend the cable arm of the news division, even while they anchored daytime hours of convention coverage on MSNBC and contributed commentary each evening.
Mr. Williams did not respond to a request for comment and Mr. Brokaw declined to comment. At a panel discussion in Denver, Mr. Brokaw acknowledged that Mr. Olbermann and Mr. Matthews had “gone too far” at times, but emphasized they were “not the only voices” on MSNBC, according to The Washington Post.
Al Hunt, the executive Washington bureau chief of Bloomberg News, said that the entire news division was being singled out by Republicans because of the work of partisans like Mr. Olbermann. “To go and tar the whole news network and Brokaw and Mitchell is grossly unfair,” he said, referring to the NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell.
Some tensions have spilled out on-screen. On the first night in Denver, as the fellow MSNBC host Joe Scarborough talked about the resurgence of the McCain campaign, Mr. Olbermann dismissed it by saying: “Jesus, Joe, why don’t you get a shovel?”
The following night, Mr. Olbermann and his co-anchor for convention coverage, Mr. Matthews, had their own squabble after Mr. Olbermann observed that Mr. Matthews had talked too long.
Some staff members said the tension led to the network’s decision to keep Mr. Olbermann in New York for the Republican convention, after he ran the desk in Denver during the Democratic convention. MSNBC said that he stayed in New York to anchor coverage of Hurricane Gustav. But some workers say there were other reasons — namely, that Mr. Olbermann was concerned about his safety in St. Paul, given the loud crowds at MSNBC’s set in Denver.
NBC Universal executives are also known to be concerned about the perception that MSNBC’s partisan tilt in prime time is bleeding into the rest of the programming day. On a recent Friday afternoon, a graphic labeled “Breaking News” asked: “How many houses does Palin add to the Republican ticket?” Mr. Griffin called the graphic “an embarrassment.”
According to three staff members, Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC Universal, and Steve Capus, president of NBC News, considered flying to the Republican convention in Minnesota last week to address the lingering tensions.
Up to now, the company’s public support for MSNBC’s strategy has been enthusiastic. At an anniversary party for Mr. Olbermann in April, Mr. Zucker called “Countdown” “one of the signature brands of the entire company.”
Just last year, Mr. Olbermann signed a four-year, $4-million-a-year contract with MSNBC. NBC is close to supplementing that contract with Mr. Olbermann, extending his deal through 2013 — and ensuring that he will be on MSNBC through the next election.
Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting for this article.
- Sans paragraphs 2-4. I thought I got all the images out.jasontroj
- fooler20
<iframe height="339" width="425" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/26551721#26551721" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
- fooler20
Keith Olbermann Apologizes For RNC's Graphic 9/11 Tribute (VIDEO)
- molo0
- morilla0
So, I finally got my ass in to see the Dark Knight yesterday and I was subject to this during the previews. Wtf?
Besides the point that the song is pure shit and he is no longer relevant to society... More proof of our nations marketing. Nascar & Kid Rock. What could be more American than guns, gas and shitkickin'?!! Yee-haW
- Ya we saw Tropic Thunder last night.. and had to sit thru that as well.. Yeeee HAAAWWWnicnichols
- do you love your guns, god, and government?Soler
- nascar and war - brothers - with kid rock!megE
- It is crap. But since we're all too big of pussies to get out from behind our computers, let's hope it works for some other people. I'm sure it will.jjoeth6
- capsize0
an email from an old friend:
You've probably heard the line, but Mark Shields said on our show on
Friday, "Remember, Jesus Christ was a community organizer."
David Dill, the editor turned Episcopal priest said, "and Pontius Pilate
was a Governor."- oh snap!TheBlueOne
- There's got to be a joke about two roman senators in there somewhere though...TheBlueOne
- Is Rev. Jeremiah Wright Nicodemus?Mimio
- And Bush would be what? Fiddling?TheBlueOne
- Cheney is the Gerasene demonMimio
- Witt0
Why are Dems donkeys and Reps elephants?
- Andrew Jackson borrowed the donkey from a cartoon about him and used it on his campaign posters/flyers.Mimio
- ah yes... story here:
http://en.wikipedia.…
http://en.wikipedia.…Witt - Google-wiki-magic!Mimio
- Instant knowledge. Just add water.Witt
- jackassesSarahPalin
- I find the donkey a very good symbol of sportsmanship, but I guess that doesn't matter any more.Witt
- monkeyshine0
- Quick! Back to the undisclosed location! Flee from the journalists! Flee!TheBlueOne
- How she is going to get through this debate with her dignity is beyond me...but then look at Bush. :/monkeyshine
- I like when they gave her an foreign policy talking point to parot back at the RNC convention about Georgia.Mimio
- Clearly she can believe her own bullshit.Mimio
- They're republicans. They have no dignity.TheBlueOne
- SarahPalin0
^Huffington Post?
That's almost as bad as linking an NBC article.- it's there as well honey.morilla
- I rest my caseSarahPalin
- yes, care to comment on the content you neophyte.monkeyshine
- I just did jackass. It's a bad source. Nobody with a sense reads that garbage.SarahPalin
- So, it didn't happen then? That video...faked. Wow...the left wing conspiracy!monkeyshine
- sarahPahlin you foxy cuntMirpour
- Did you even watch the video or did you make an assumption?SarahPalin
- it's everywheremorilla
- If it was on Fox, now that would make it credible...BusterBoy
- ethanfink0
How can you contain ALL politics into one stinky thread...?
- It's not politics. It's more like a circle jerk of liberals and envious europeans.SarahPalin
- its QBN suckaMirpour
- So hedge/bryce/obama is back as SarahPalin?TheBlueOne
- ... "envious europeans"... grow up.Witt
- AHAHAH.Witt
- SarahPalin0
Question: How ignorant are the British about America?
Answer: Very. For instance:A poll of nearly 2,000 Britons by YouGov/PHI found that 70 per cent of respondents incorrectly said it was true that the US had done a worse job than the European Union in reducing carbon emissions since 2000. More than 50 per cent presumed that polygamy was legal in the US, when it is illegal in all 50 states.
- How ignorant are the British about America?SarahPalin
- Who the fuck cares? How ignorant are YOU?Lt_Jack_Hammer
- fuck is wrong with you even the BBC wants your stupid party to winMirpour
- Man, you're as good as your namesake with the smoke and mirrors and distracting non-relevant bullshit aren't you?TheBlueOne
- SarahPalin0
The survey showed that a majority agreed with the false statement that since the Second World War the US had more often sided with non-Muslims when they had come into conflict with Muslims. In fact in 11 out of 12 major conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims, Muslims and secular forces, or Arabs and non-Arabs, the US has sided with the former group. Those conflicts included Turkey and Greece, Bosnia and Yugoslavia, and and Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
Asked if it was true that “from 1973 to 1990 the United States sold Saddam Hussein more than a quarter of his weapons,” 80 per cent of British respondents said yes. However the US sold just 0.46 per cent of Saddam’s arsenal to him, compared to Russia’s 57 per cent, France’s 13 per cent and China’s 12 per cent.
Note that the British tend to believe the the imaginary worst of the US. So AmericaInTheWorld, to be launched by British Conservative leader David Cameron, declares war.
- How ignorant are the British about America?SarahPalin
- per cent? you are doing it wrong....morilla
- Lt_Jack_Hammer0
^ You are a loser.
- robotron3k0
timeline similarities: sarah palin & george bush
- lowimpakt0
Hey Sarah.
Have you got a link to that poll - i'd be interested in reading some of the other questions? I did a quick search and couldn't find an original reference only a few random articles and blog posts.
- ukit0
Hey Sarah,
You spelled about wrong. Should be "aboot." Try to stay in character.
- TheBlueOne0
Some media biases we've seen that are anti-Obama this election season:
"If you get 18 million people to vote for you in a national presidential primary, you're a "phoney." Get 100,000+ people to vote you governor of the 47th most populous state in the Union, you're "well loved."
If you are biracial and born in a state not connected to the lower 48, America needs darn near 2 years and 3 major speeches to "get to know you." If you're white and from a state not connected to the lower 48, America needs 36 minutes and 38 seconds worth of an acceptance speech to know you're "one of us."
If you give your wife a dap on stage, it's actually a "terrorist fist jab." If your daughter licks her palm so that she can slick down your youngest child's hair on national TV it's an "adorable moment." (Seriously, forget about abstinence only, teach these folks some grooming skills).
If your pastor rails against inequality in the United States of America, you're an "extremist." If your pastor welcomes a sermon by a member of Jews for Jesus who preaches that the killing of Jews by terrorists is a lesson to Jews that they must convert to Christianity, you're a "fundamentalist."
If you're a black man and you use a scholarship to get into college, then work your way up to being the president of the Harvard Law Review, you're "uppity." If you're a conservative and your parents pay your way to Hawaii Pacific University . . . you only have four more schools to attend over the next five years before you somehow manage to graduate (it might be five more schools over the next five years. No one has yet verified whether or not Palin was actually ever registered at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. But, you know how shady people are who ever attended any kind of school in Hawaii).
If you're 18, white, and get a 16 year old girl pregnant "life happens." If you're 18, black, and impregnate a 16 year old girl, you're a "registered sex offender."
If you spend 18 months building a campaign around the theme of "Change," it's just "empty rhetoric." If one week before your party's national convention you SUDDENLY make your candidacy about "Change," that's "red meat."
