Rhodes Scholar Reporting the News Show Discussion

[Medicine Crow]

Just now, maraleia said:

Also, Burnett is married to Roma Downey. I wonder how she is reacting to this latest news.

I purposely refrained from mentioning her name for a number of reasons!!!

[xaxat]

That was a pretty remarkable hour of news reporting. First the initial story, which should have been unthinkable. Then Paul Ryan cuts and runs. And then her interview with the reporter talking about the Republican party making plans should their nominee step down with a month left in the race!

Only then did I realize how true her earlier statement, "This is real. This is happening." was.

[BuckeyeLou]

3 hours ago, Medicine Crow said:

I don't think "anyone" saw the Donald Trump "news" coming.

Why are people 'shocked" by Trump's remarks now?!  Trump has been making vile, disgusting remarks all along!

[Sesquipedalia]

So from comments, it looks like TRMS was on tonight? I watch online or listen to the podcast, and they have been sloooow putting those up lately. Usually I wait patiently until they're posted, but tonight I can't wait to hear what Rachel has to say about pussygate.

[Medicine Crow]

42 minutes ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Why are people 'shocked" by Trump's remarks now?!  Trump has been making vile, disgusting remarks all along!

Ya but no one has been able to catch him in the act .... irrefutably.  Hah!!!  & then the disgusting POS says that Bill Clinton has said worse to him on the golf course.  Ya sure Donald, prove it!!!

[nowandlater]

The MSNBC thread is gone, so I'm wondering if I could technically be allowed to discuss Lawrence?

Anyways, it's 1 am ET, 10 pm PT, and Lawrence is still covering this story live. Go Lawrence!

I also love how Rachel and Lawrence, who each had Pussy-story breaker David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post on, despite him scooping MSNBC's Katy Tur with this story by only 7 minutes, by one account.

Edited to add: Chris Matthews is on from his studio -- yes, at 1:09 am ET -- but Lawrence is hosting.

Edited October 8, 2016 by nowandlater

[jjj]

I am so thankful this thread is still alive!  Went off the forums for a couple of days, and came back to my Notification "likes" going to dead threads, except this one!  (not asking for an explanation, kind of figuring it out)  Missed Rachel's initial hour, tuned in for the repeat, and see that Lawrence O'Donnell was still going strong then and now almost four hours after his own show started!  I guess everyone else left for the weekend?  This news tonight is the kind that I'd expect Rachel to stick around to cover.  But at least the network stayed live. 

Hoping they put up the podcast of Rachel's Friday show soon; based on what I am reading here, it is one not to miss. 

[Medicine Crow]

Check out Real Time with Bill Maher ... Super show!!!

[attica]

I would be stunned if Burnett and co were not under an ironclad NDA, given DJT's proclivity for them. So if we see any Apprentice 'found footage', it'll be from a leak.

For all the handwringing, there's nothing from a practical standpoint that the Rs can do. There's no time to (nor apparatus for) getting anybody else on the ballot in 50 states. That's why there's no such thing as a 'September Surprise''! Even if Trump drops out, he's still on the ticket. 

As for the tape itself, I expected nothing else of the candidate. My dislike of the cretinous Billy Bush, however, has strengthened by several levels. His eagerness and delight to pimp the actor ("aww, give him a hug!") after the conversation they just had reveals a profound depth of odiousness.

Edited October 8, 2016 by attica

[33kaitykaity]

32 minutes ago, attica said:

I would be stunned if Burnett and co were not under an ironclad NDA, given DJT's proclivity for them. So if we see any Apprentice 'found footage', it'll be from a leak.

For all the handwringing, there's nothing from a practical standpoint that the Rs can do. There's no time to (nor apparatus for) getting anybody else on the ballot in 50 states. That's why there's no such thing as a 'September Surprise''! Even if Trump drops out, he's still on the ticket. 

Yeah, all of the deadlines for getting on state ballots are long past.  I heard something on TeeVee about the Party giving their voters stickers to put over Trump's name, but that that is difficult because the ballots aren't the same in every state.  

This is sort of what I thought would happen with Clinton -- that after Comey came out with that list of 
"events/mistakes" but declined to indict her and after the convention that something devastating would come out and she wouldn't survive it but the Democrats would be stuck with her..  Never could I have imagined this.

[car54]

This clarifies why Rachel repeated that SHE had no access to the Access Hollywood tapes and why David Farenhold would not speak about how he got it.

Evidently NBC news had the story but were not going to air it before the Sunday debate and there is some supposition that someone at NBC got frustrated with it and sent it to Farenhold.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/07/media/access-hollywood-donald-trump-tape/index.html

[jjj]

26 minutes ago, car54 said:

This clarifies why Rachel repeated that SHE had no access to the Access Hollywood tapes and why David Farenhold would not speak about how he got it.

Evidently NBC news had the story but were not going to air it before the Sunday debate and there is some supposition that someone at NBC got frustrated with it and sent it to Farenhold.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/10/07/media/access-hollywood-donald-trump-tape/index.html

Thanks for this -- I finally got to see the Rachel Maddow Show at the 3:00 AM repeat (West Coast), and was surprised to see that the tape itself had not been seen when her show had first aired.  I still have not been able to get to the end of the show, where I think I saw the famous bus containing Trump.  Even this is not enough to overcome the need for sleep! 

Side note about Rachel's show -- the full episodes are available On Demand on Comcast for a few days -- but they just changed the setup for these, so we cannot fast forward through any part of the show.  So if I want to re-watch a segment of the show, I have to let it run in real time until it gets there.  This is so frustrating! 

I cannot figure out where to talk about the MSNBC coverage that is not part of a named show -- like Chris Jansing covering the hurricane up to her knees in water in South Carolina.  Or some of these guest commentators on various issues on the morning shows before AM Joy. 

Edited October 8, 2016 by jjj

[NewDigs]

1 hour ago, jjj said:

Thanks for this -- I finally got to see the Rachel Maddow Show at the 3:00 AM repeat (West Coast), and was surprised to see that the tape itself had not been seen when her show had first aired.  I still have not been able to get to the end of the show, where I think I saw the famous bus containing Trump.  Even this is not enough to overcome the need for sleep! 

Side note about Rachel's show -- the full episodes are available On Demand on Comcast for a few days -- but they just changed the setup for these, so we cannot fast forward through any part of the show.  So if I want to re-watch a segment of the show, I have to let it run in real time until it gets there.  This is so frustrating! 

I cannot figure out where to talk about the MSNBC coverage that is not part of a named show -- like Chris Jansing covering the hurricane up to her knees in water in South Carolina.  Or some of these guest commentators on various issues on the morning shows before AM Joy. 

You might find what you're looking for in The Business of Networks or Genre Talk. It's a little confusing.

How many Chris Jansings are there? Lol

She's everywhere!

[kassygreene]

TRMS is also available on the MSNBC website, after you verify/login (and if you have Comcast you can do that with Xfinity).  I wound up watching the extended Last Word (someone said four hours!?!) waiting for that "apology".

For ballots, as many have noted early voting is already happening, as is vote-by-mail, and at least a half-million have voted.  Ballots have been printed.  This sticker vote thing some are promoting - c'mon!  The districts that still do entirely electronic voting (bad for so many reasons - I'm old IT, and I know of what I speak) - where would you stick it?  But more relevantly, if you have a paper ballot that runs through an optical scanner for tabulating, O Sweet Jesus, that sticker is going to peel off at some point, probably in the machine, and jam it; or even peel off later and screw up recounts.....  I just checked, and my ballot has a Write-In option for Pres, Senate, and House - there are problems with consistent spelling, and no one who thinks about it wants some group of people staring at handwriting to divine the intent, but the options exist!

Trump will never voluntarily withdraw.  Tomorrow's debate has the potential to be the spectacle of the millennium.  Tonight's SNL may be epic.  Sleep for me ain't happening this weekend.

[jjj]

7 minutes ago, kassygreene said:

TRMS is also available on the MSNBC website, after you verify/login (and if you have Comcast you can do that with Xfinity).  I wound up watching the extended Last Word (someone said four hours!?!) waiting for that "apology".

Trump will never voluntarily withdraw.  Tomorrow's debate has the potential to be the spectacle of the millennium.  Tonight's SNL may be epic.  Sleep for me ain't happening this weekend.

Thanks, sometimes I watch TRMS on Xfinity, but had appreciated being able to go back to some segments On Demand to record them.  And yes, Lawrence kept going for four hours, doing great, including over one hour when there was no commercial break.  

Really, how can SNL top reality?  But last week indicates they will find a way.  Alec Baldwin was such a perfect choice for this role.  I am hoping Rachel will be on the air before the Sunday debate.  Maybe on MTP?  But they will have such a crowd of options for guests this week. 

[maraleia]

I'm getting worried that Rachel has been a part of MSNBC so long that she's lost her progressive roots because she's loving this so-called horse race of an election cycle at the expense of laying out the horrible that the GOP in general are spewing. Being paired with lying Brian Williams has also affected her in negative ways because last night she was embarrassing. This makes me sad.

[jjj]

2 hours ago, maraleia said:

I'm getting worried that Rachel has been a part of MSNBC so long that she's lost her progressive roots because she's loving this so-called horse race of an election cycle at the expense of laying out the horrible that the GOP in general are spewing. Being paired with lying Brian Williams has also affected her in negative ways because last night she was embarrassing. This makes me sad.

On her own show, she has run remarkably anti-Trump, anti-hypocrisy segments.  The debate forum is a different animal.  I have no worries about Rachel softening on her progressive roots.  I think this election has strengthened them. 

[33kaitykaity]

10 minutes ago, jjj said:

On her own show, she has run remarkably anti-Trump, anti-hypocrisy segments.  The debate forum is a different animal.  I have no worries about Rachel softening on her progressive roots.  I think this election has strengthened them. 

I can't more strongly disagree [emphasis mine].  IMHO, Rachel was in the bag for HRC all through the primary against the only real progressive in this race, Bernie Sanders.  (I have several specific examples I'm happy to share via PM.)  It was so obvious that Rachel wanted HRC to win so bad she was sometimes overbearing about it.  

[gatopretoNYC]

I about died when Rachel sang "everything is awe-some" tonight.

[attica]

17 hours ago, maraleia said:

she's loving this so-called horse race of an election cycle at the expense of laying out the horrible that the GOP in general are spewing.

I do distinctly remember being very glad that Joy Reid showed up to set things to right on debate night. 

[Sesquipedalia]

What did Rachel do that you all are thinking needed to be set right? I only get the podcast and videos they post on TRMS web site, so maybe I missed something.

[maraleia]

1 hour ago, Sesquipedalia said:

What did Rachel do that you all are thinking needed to be set right? I only get the podcast and videos they post on TRMS web site, so maybe I missed something.

She's fallen into the horse race hole that almost every TV news personality has done this past year.

[attica]

I did appreciate the inclusion of the Women For Trump rally and the lovely (not) placard carried by the dude. Thank you for showing us who you are, sir.

[Quilt Fairy]

57 minutes ago, maraleia said:

She's fallen into the horse race hole that almost every TV news personality has done this past year.

I haven't seen that happening on her show. I have not watched the debates, but there she's part of a panel and is more of a co-moderator with Brian Williams than an analyst like Nicolle Wallace or Steve Schmidt. (And speaking of them, I certainly hope we have a Game Change equivalent tell-all book when this is all over.)  But on her show, she's more than willing to show that the emperor has no clothes.  The only thing I hate are the endless Trump clips on her show as well as all the MSNBC shows.  Trump doesn't need to buy airtime, he gets it for free.

Edited October 11, 2016 by Quilt Fairy
Apostrophes are important.

[Grommet]

Just as I was thinking "but the Dems never capitalize on opportunities," Rachel said the same thing. We are simpatico! Except I couldn't be polite to the odious KAConway.

[attica]

I'm happy that Rachel emphasized a pet peeve of mine: DJT's pronunciation of 'asterick.' Holy crap, if he weren't odious in enough ways, he keeps piling on!!

My mom had two Corvairs during my childhood. We loved those freaking cars, and were so sad to not be able to get a new one in the latter part of the 60s. (My gearhead uncle still has one, lovingly restored and maintained. A drop top, to boot.) Seeing the report about them got me all nostalgic all over again. 

[atomationage]

Rachel had Robert Costa of the Washington Post reporting that Drumpf's campaign is going into war mode against his accusers, and apparently Steve Bannon wants to attack Bill Clinton some more:

[telemachus2]

Ready to get whacked - I'm new to TRMS & find her almost unwatchable, due to rapid-fire delivery & facial expressions.  Am I just too old??

[Jaded]

This is going to sound crazy I know. Here I go anyway though.

At the start of last night's show Rachel's under eye concealer was really distracting be because of how much lighter it was then the rest of her face. You can see what I mean in the clip @atomationage posted. I kept wondering how they let her go on air like that. The distraction went away the further she got into the DJT coverage and when she did the segments standing up.

[attica]

I'm trying to bear in mind that they were dealing with all kinds of 'breaking' information last night, but it was entirely frustrating for Rachel to fill up so much airtime teasing the early-voting data instead of actually presenting the early-voting data. I think they could have spent another couple of minutes on it, had they just reallocated some of the teaser time.

[car54]

Thank you Rachel for re-broadcasting Michelle Obama's speech, but you also wasted 12 minutes on Geraldo--and what?  No Chris Christie/Bridgegate update?   

[Medicine Crow]

I still like Rachel, but I've had a snoot-full of her preachy "tirades" about stuff that doesn't matter NOW!!!  Just sayin'.

[nowandlater]

13 hours ago, attica said:

I'm trying to bear in mind that they were dealing with all kinds of 'breaking' information last night, but it was entirely frustrating for Rachel to fill up so much airtime teasing the early-voting data instead of actually presenting the early-voting data. I think they could have spent another couple of minutes on it, had they just reallocated some of the teaser time.

I may be exaggerating, but there seems to be a lot of teasing these days. Like tonight teasing the huge unprecedented thing she was going to do...or teasing that "this is exclusive to us" and it's something that's interesting, but not really that interesting... stuff that never really resonates in the twittersphere.

[jjj]

4 hours ago, nowandlater said:

I may be exaggerating, but there seems to be a lot of teasing these days. Like tonight teasing the huge unprecedented thing she was going to do...or teasing that "this is exclusive to us" and it's something that's interesting, but not really that interesting... 

I completely agree.  We are watching because it is a *news* show, so the presumption is that it will be news.  And that some of it will not have been covered in other shows.  

I was glad Rachel's show had so much of the speech, because when it was live earlier in the day, the feed was very poor, with many breaks of sound while she was speaking.  

[M. Darcy]

Quote

you also wasted 12 minutes on Geraldo--and what?  No Chris Christie/Bridgegate update?   

Especially since she didn't play a clip of Homer Simpson singing "there was nothing in Al Capone's vault, but it wasn't Gerardo's fault".  Seriously, though, a criminal summons and she didn't say anything??

[teddysmom]

Quote

Thank you Rachel for re-broadcasting Michelle Obama's speech, but you also wasted 12 minutes on Geraldo--and what?  No Chris Christie/Bridgegate update?

Agree, it was a long way to go to make a point about hype.  Hyping something that is nothing, showmanship, etc. People paying attention to Trump and giving him credibility when he is in fact, Al Capone's vault.   Sometimes she forgets she's preaching to the choir.   She & L O'D have a way of hyping/teasing a subject to keep viewers, and it's annoying as hell..   Lawrence took like 5 minutes the night of the tax return release teasing a number that would embarrass Trump, ie his income.  It was ridiculous. 

But she pulled me back in with Michelle's speech. I was almost in tears at the end.  

Quote

At the start of last night's show Rachel's under eye concealer was really distracting be because of how much lighter it was then the rest of her face. You can see what I mean in the clip @ATOMATIONAGE posted. I kept wondering how they let her go on air like that. The distraction went away the further she got into the DJT coverage and when she did the segments standing up.

I've noticed that with Joy Reid too.  She was on Chris Hayes or some other evening show and all I could do was stare at her eyes.  Whoever is doing make up at 30 Rock needs a master class in blending.  Or at least go out in the studio with them and check their make up under the lights before air time. 

[Gemma Violet]

Quote

She & L O'D have a way of hyping/teasing a subject to keep viewers, and it's annoying as hell.

It's getting to the point where I fast-forward through some of the preliminaries so I can get to the story.  Except sometimes I over-do it, and then I have to back up.  I realize there are 60 minutes to fill (well, 40 minutes with commercials), but I wish they'd stop with all the filler.  I'd rather hear Rachel discuss her last fishing trip than hear a 10-minute speech about Geraldo's Al Capone fiasco.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Gemma Violet

[car54]

With 3 more weeks to go of our National Nightmare, I find Harry Enten's interview very comforting.

[Sharpie66]

(To be honest, and very shallow, I find Harry Enten very attractive!!)

[atomationage]

I think Enten is a much better face for 538.com than Nate Silver.

[car54]

Rachel has the opportunity to give us a Paul LePage update since he called Trump's whining about the election being "rigged"   an absolutely stupid move.

I thought LePage was never going to speak to the press again.......that didn't last too long.

[M. Darcy]

Al Franken!  He was much nicer to Trump that I think he deserved.  That speech made me sick. 

[attica]

The mystery of the night to me was whether Rudy Giuliani looked more like Nosferatu or Underdog's villain Simon Bar Sinister.  What a horrible creature.

I enjoy hearing comedians explicate joke construction.

[Grommet]

I too love listening to comedians talk about comedy, especially smart ones like Al. And I think his "not a fan" remark was, as they say, politic.

My first experience of binge-watching politics was Al anchoring Comedy Central's coverage of the conventions and elections in 1992. Good times.

[alias1]

2 hours ago, attica said:

The mystery of the night to me was whether Rudy Giuliani looked more like Nosferatu or Underdog's villain Simon Bar Sinister.  What a horrible creature.

I enjoy hearing comedians explicate joke construction.

Oh, he will always be Nosferatu to me.  He is a loathsome creature.  He didn't get the Statue of Liberty joke. 

And maybe I didn't hear this correctly (because I just can't stand him), but didn't she take a dig at him by naming all the wonderful elected officials of New York, and then saying, and then there's Giuliani.

[jjj]

I don't recall that Rachel has discussed the NJ Bridgegate trial lately -- and today Christie's former aide Bridget Kelly had quite a bit to say about what Christie knew in advance -- and that he once threw a water bottle at her when unhappy with her planning for an event.  I hope they are giving Rachel enough to have an update. 

Giuliani can be seen just scowling and saying "WHAT???" at the Statue of Liberty joke last night (was that one that Al Franken ranked as one of the "pretty good" ones?) -- and he was cozying up to Trump in the time break before the speeches.  Does anyone think Trump will give Giuliani any time once this debacle is over?  I think Trump will move on the to media movers and shakers, and Giuliani will be shunned by the GOP as well as Trump.  What a pile of bad choices and soul-selling Giuliani made to keep himself on camera. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

9 hours ago, SierraMist said:

And maybe I didn't hear this correctly (because I just can't stand him), but didn't she take a dig at him by naming all the wonderful elected officials of New York, and then saying, and then there's Giuliani.

Hillary did say that.  Rudy was really not happy about that joke.

[Sesquipedalia]

I'm waiting to see what people thought of Rachel's weird children's book parable thingy.

[Hanahope]

Please, as if Trump was ever interested in public service.  He just likes the adulation and power. No way he's continuing with public service. I can totally see him doing his own tv channel, so he can do a new apprentice, a new beauty contest, a shopping show for Ivanka, a hunting show for the boys, etc.

[attica]

Friday's was a great hour! A good mix of good stories, well-paced, not too much tease-fluffer. Kind of a relief after such campaign dumpster fire centric stuff of late.