MSNBC

[Kitty Redstone]

Those ratings are awesome (fuck you, Fox!) but I'm disappointed that there was no mention of Chris Hayes.  There are many nights I end up enjoying his show more than Rachel's. 

I also don't like the interrupting y'all were talking about - Stephanie Ruhle, Ari Melber, Chris Jansing and Chris Matthews are the worst offenders.

Like some others, I enjoyed seeing the subs this week.  I'd love to see Yasmin Vossoughian replace Hallie Jackson or Andrea Mitchell and Ayman Mohyeldin replace Chuck Todd or Chris Matthews.  Both are smart, world knowledgeable, funny and run a great show. 

Also, I have a slight crush on Ali Velshi.  Since he's charming I forgive the times he interrupts his guests.  :-)

[oakville]

On ‎12‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 9:12 PM, Ladyrain said:

Anti-Mika.  Love it.  SR is a woman who truly knows her worth.  Meeks could learn a thing or ten from her!  ---   I don't watch enough CNN to know, but it seems like MSNBC has more female reporters and hosts, and more people of color.  But I could be wrong. 

Has Morning Joe ever had Rachel or Stephanie on as guests?  I don't recall ever seeing them there; they both seem to be the type of women who would intimidate both Joe and Mika.

Joe has had several on air arguments with Rachel Maddow. You can google them on You Tube. As a result, Joe will not allow Rachel to appear on hi show since she makes him look foolish.

[Milburn Stone]

On 1/1/2019 at 1:53 PM, Ladyrain said:

Katy Tur is kind pissing me off today.   She sounds almost argumentative with her guests, even when they all seem to be on the 'same side'.   Then she jumps right in when someone is trying to finish their point, and she will not back down when they continue talking until they're finished.  When she decides she wants to start talking then come hell or high water - or a guest who is already speaking - she's gonna start talking, dammit!   I don't view this as being a strong woman, if that indeed is what she (and many of her co-horts) is doing.   I just see it as rude.  And the men are just as guilty.  I wish they'd have etiquette meetings at MSNBC.

I suspect it's not so much that she needs to do it to show she's a strong woman, but to show that she's a strong journalist. There's a virus going around where so many of them believe that if they let a guest speak, they're letting that guest "ride all over them" instead of being "hard hitting journalists asking the hard hitting questions." It's stupid and I wish they'd have a little more self-esteem--the kind that confidently gives other people space.

Edited January 2, 2019 by Milburn Stone

[freddi]

In holiday seasons and summer, Chris Jansing appears as guest host on so many programs -- on New Year's Day, she hosted three of the daytime shows.  Today, she is guest hosting for Nicolle Wallace for the first time, I believe -- and that is after guest hosting for Stephanie Ruhle earlier today.   I am always glad to see her.    

[Chloesmom]

On 12/30/2018 at 8:09 AM, Kemper said:

I always enjoy the handover from MJ to Stephanie Ruhle.  It's like a breath of energy comes onto the screen.

I so agree, it's like night and day.  I perk up immediately when I see Stephanie or lately Chris Jansing who is 61 years old (can you believe it?  I know I was shocked when I stumbled upon that little factoid, she looks great!).

[freddi]

36 minutes ago, Chloesmom said:

I so agree, it's like night and day.  I perk up immediately when I see Stephanie or lately Chris Jansing who is 61 years old (can you believe it?  I know I was shocked when I stumbled upon that little factoid, she looks great!).

I was going to add that a seasoned woman reporter/host in her 60s is a welcome sight, but her age should be irrelevant in the face of her competence.  But yes, she is a very youthful 61-year-old (turning 62 this month!).  I am glad MSNBC uses her so well on the prominent weekday shows.  

Edited January 2, 2019 by freddi

[freddi]

I have been a frequent critic of the antics of Steve Kornacki, but I am eating my former words after seeing him host "The 11th Hour" on Wednesday evening.  He was calm, inquisitive, and a good manager of time with the guests -- plus had some intelligent questions.  No arm-waving, no crazy eyes!  And today he is guest hosting "Hardball", and is similarly full of gravitas -- but a youthful gravitas -- serious, but with energy underneath.  

[Jaded]

When I saw him hosting Hardball today I decided to stick around to watch. It's nice to see someone hosting this show who actually gives the guests time to finish their thoughts, doesn't stumble over their words and doesn't spit while speaking.

[freddi]

27 minutes ago, Jaded said:

When I saw him hosting Hardball today I decided to stick around to watch. It's nice to see someone hosting this show who actually gives the guests time to finish their thoughts, doesn't stumble over their words and doesn't spit while speaking.

Wow, the bar is so low for guest host as improvement on "Hardball":  "no spitting while speaking".

I was the same -- about to turn off the channel when "Hardball" comes on, because I can't stand it -- but when I saw Kornacki, I wanted to see if last night was a total fluke, or if he could be an intelligent host again.  And he was.  

Edited January 4, 2019 by freddi

[car54]

Did Joy Reid get a new title?   She got the special tomorrow night hosting Nancy Pelosi's town hall, and tonight she's on Lawrence's show and the chyron identifies her as NBC National Correspondent.   Lawrence used that title and added "Host of AM Joy".

I know last year she did a lot of side gigs, writing and teaching, I wonder if this means she is with NBC more of the time?

[Ladyrain]

On 1/3/2019 at 7:50 PM, Jaded said:

When I saw him hosting Hardball today I decided to stick around to watch. It's nice to see someone hosting this show who actually gives the guests time to finish their thoughts, doesn't stumble over their words and doesn't spit while speaking.

I too enjoyed Steve's subbing for Chris.  In fact, I was rather disappointed when Chris returned.  I think his time in the spotlight should be over.  He speaks so fast that he slurs all the syllables together, yes - spits when he talks! - and on more than one occasion I've heard him burp.  He takes forever to ask a question, then jumps in and answers it himself as soon as his guest start speaking.   And even when he lets them talk, he won't allow them to finish a thought.   He's got his talking points and woe be to anyone who horns in on his time.   I used to really like him, but there are far more qualified newspeople at MSNBC now.   Just not Hallie Jackson. 

[Kemper]

Saw Heidi Przbyla (spelling probably not correct) tonight on...maybe Ari Melbar or Chris Matthews.  She looked fabulous!  She always does but her hair seems newly highlighted, her makeup was perfect, she was gorgeous.  MSNBC, take notice.

[xaxat]

This administration is like full employment program for former federal prosecutors turned talking heads. 

I made fun of Jacob Soboroff when he was on the millennial beat during the election, but he's doing good work on the border story.

[Ohwell]

Good God, I just tuned into Al Sharpton's show.  He looks like a corpse.  I hope he's not ill. 

[Ladyrain]

I try really hard to adjust my eyes to Joy Reid's ever-changing wardrobe of wigs.   But that dress she wore this weekend made me squint.   Loud, busy 1970 geometric pattern in such awful colors.   Some days she looks so nice, then others, eh.  How can she get it so right sometimes and then so wrong?

[bad things are bad]

I was happily surprised to see Kendis Gibson got a show on weekend afternoons. He was delightful on the ABC overnight news (Informing Insomniacs for over Two Decades!) and I hope he does well, but at least he'll get some sleep!

Edited January 29, 2019 by bad things are bad

[xaxat]

I don't remember if it was here or the Morning Joe thread, but someone speculated that Steve Schmidt's absence was because he was joining the Howard Schultz campaign. 

Just saw an interview with him on Nichole Wallace's show and that's it. Good call.

[stormy]

Quote

13 hours ago, xaxat said:

I don't remember if it was here or the Morning Joe thread, but someone speculated that Steve Schmidt's absence was because he was joining the Howard Schultz campaign. 

Just saw an interview with him on Nichole Wallace's show and that's it. Good call.

 

I'm glad we got that figured out!

[xaxat]

About Steve's new gig. It's not going to well.

Quote

Steve Schmidt Storms Off Own Podcast When Asked About Advising Howard Schultz

‘This is bullsh*t,’ Schmidt exclaims. ‘I’m not doing this.’

And it's not like it was a hostile interviewer. One of the hosts was Elise Jordan, who he worked with at MSNBC not too long ago.

ETA As a never Trumper on MSNBC, Schmidt put a lot of distance between himself and the Sarah Palin fiasco and did a good job rehabbing his image. In the last couple of weeks, his association with Howard Schultz has pretty much destroyed that.

Edited February 12, 2019 by xaxat

[Medicine Crow]

Anyone interested in Ari Melber's take (evisceration) of Susan Collins should catch his show today (.25 minute mark).  Very interesting!!!

[xaxat]

42 minutes ago, Medicine Crow said:

Anyone interested in Ari Melber's take (evisceration) of Susan Collins should catch his show today (.25 minute mark).  Very interesting!!!

The best part was "Pro life groups expected him to vote that way. Pro choice groups expected him to vote that way. The one who didn't was Susan Collins."

She's up for reelection in 2020. I suspect a retirement before then.

[Jaded]

It's safe to watch Hardball tonight. Tweety is off and Steve Kornacki is hosting.

[Kemper]

14 hours ago, Jaded said:

It's safe to watch Hardball tonight. Tweety is off and Steve Kornacki is hosting.

I know!  Mr. Kemper and I were going to switch to Netflix until we saw Kornacki appear.  If they would just give Matthews an "Elder Statesman" type of role at the network; and replace Chuck Todd with someone who doesn't drip insider-ness and smugness, that would go a long way towards the remote grabbing.

I say Elder Statesman as an over-70-year-old myself; and I know Chuck Todd  has worked very hard to get where he is.  It is just that the lineup could use some freshening up.

[stormy]

This just reminds me of the good old days of MSNBC.

Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz even Don Imus first thing in the morning.

[stormy]

20 hours ago, Kemper said:

I know!  Mr. Kemper and I were going to switch to Netflix until we saw Kornacki appear.  If they would just give Matthews an "Elder Statesman" type of role at the network; and replace Chuck Todd with someone who doesn't drip insider-ness and smugness, that would go a long way towards the remote grabbing.

I say Elder Statesman as an over-70-year-old myself; and I know Chuck Todd  has worked very hard to get where he is.  It is just that the lineup could use some freshening up.

Chris is just that.  MSNBC's elder statesman.  But he should have an Andy Rooney type role.

[xaxat]

It is weird that that MSNBC managed to hire two Republican operatives named Michael Steele. And on top of that, one is white and the other is black.

[Jaded]

I wasn't sure if I had heard that comment correctly then I saw Chris's face and knew I did. 😄

[annzeepark914]

So, where's Chris? It's been nice having a host the past week or so who lets his guests talk. These are the only times now that I watch Hardball. I can't take the name screw-ups and confusion any more. But I'm wondering what's going on.

[Ladyrain]

5 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

So, where's Chris? It's been nice having a host the past week or so who lets his guests talk. These are the only times now that I watch Hardball. I can't take the name screw-ups and confusion any more. But I'm wondering what's going on.

I can't seem to find information on this anywhere.  What is up with that??   MSNBC seems to be trying to hide something.  If Chris was on vacation, or if he was dealing with health or family issues, wouldn't there at least be a mention of "Chris will be back next week, blah blah blah" or something?   I can't help getting the feeling that something is going on behind the scenes that is not pretty.  However, they still do put up his photo in promos for the show.   Which just confuses the situation even more.  If Chris is still missing next week, I'd think the network would have to give some kind of explanation at that point.  -   And if he is gone/losing the show, I wonder who the next rising star will be to fill that slot. 

Edited February 27, 2019 by Ladyrain

[Kemper]

5 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

So, where's Chris? It's been nice having a host the past week or so who lets his guests talk. These are the only times now that I watch Hardball. I can't take the name screw-ups and confusion any more. But I'm wondering what's going on.

Mr. Kemper and I were wondering the same thing; hope he isn't sick or having a family crisis.  That said, we have enjoyed someone else hosting.  Questions get asked and answered.  Follow-ups.  

Someone upthread mentioned giving Chris an "Andy Rooney" type role and I think that is a great idea.  He could appear the last 5 minutes on someone else's show.  I doubt he would ever take on something like that and I can't say as I blame him.  Maybe give him a show on the weekend...some of Alex's time.  😖

[annzeepark914]

@Kemper: Yes, a brief appearance where he could read his script & not have to worry about messing up. But you're right--he probably wouldn't take a job like that. If he's on vacation right now, he has to he going crazy what with all the stuff going on this week.

[stormy]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

Mr. Kemper and I were wondering the same thing; hope he isn't sick or having a family crisis.  That said, we have enjoyed someone else hosting.  Questions get asked and answered.  Follow-ups.  

Someone upthread mentioned giving Chris an "Andy Rooney" type role and I think that is a great idea.  He could appear the last 5 minutes on someone else's show.  I doubt he would ever take on something like that and I can't say as I blame him.  Maybe give him a show on the weekend...some of Alex's time.  😖

Yep Kemper. That was me 

But I actually think Andy was more loveable and curmudgeonly!

Edited February 27, 2019 by stormy

[Jaded]

Chris has a twitter that hasn't had a new tweet since Feb. 14th almost two weeks ago. That tweet was about something airing on Hardball that night. Who knows how really telling that is especially since it's not known if it's really him tweeting or not.

[stormy]

6 hours ago, Jaded said:

Chris has a twitter that hasn't had a new tweet since Feb. 14th almost two weeks ago. That tweet was about something airing on Hardball that night. Who knows how really telling that is especially since it's not known if it's really him tweeting or not.

Chris has been known to go on vacations to Europe and elsewhere out of the country.

[Jaded]

Brian Williams may score top time slot after late-night ratings success
 

Quote

Brian Williams could come back from TV news exile, Page Six is told.

The anchor was booted from the “NBC Nightly News” in 2015 after it was revealed that he’d embellished some stories with fictional details — and sent to the relative Siberia of 11 p.m. on sister station MSNBC.

But despite his tarnished reputation and graveyard-adjacent time slot, Williams has made his “11th Hour With Brian Williams” show a legit hit, beating CNN and Fox News for three months straight.

Now 30 Rock insiders say Williams could move to a more prominent time slot, possibly replacing vet Chris Matthews at 7 p.m.

Multiple sources told us that execs think Matthews’ “Hardball” has gone soft, and they’re looking for relief from the bullpen.

Industry rumors suggest that bosses are unimpressed with Chuck Todd’s “Meet the Press” spinoff, “MTP Daily.”

Around MSNBC watercoolers, there’s also a wild theory that Williams could one day replace the hugely successful “Morning Joe” broadcast, should host and former pol Joe Scarborough revive his political career or exit for any reason.

Read the rest by clicking the link above....

Edited March 1, 2019 by Jaded

[Kemper]

Jaded, I read this, too.  I could watch Brian Williams at 5:00; anything to escape Chuck Todd and his terrible bangs.  And it seems it is not just "us" who thinks the lineup could use some freshening/livening up.  

[annzeepark914]

Re: MTP Daily? I know one thing & that is that I'm always happy when Katy Tur fills in for Chuck. One talk show I've become very impressed with is Nicolle Wallace's Deadline White House. Good guests. 

[Medicine Crow]

Yay ... I'd love to see Brian Williams on earlier.  Love him (despite his flaws)!!!

[xaxat]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

Chuck Todd and his terrible bangs.

He really needs to admit that hairline fight has been lost.

[rcc]

Chuck Todd and his bangs with the smarmy attitude should be replaced IMO.

[annzeepark914]

23 minutes ago, rcc said:

Chuck Todd and his bangs with the smarmy attitude should be replaced IMO.

Mr P914 can't stand him. A neighbor's grandkids attend the same school as Chuck's kids. She says he's so nice & down to earth. But...he doesn't come across that way on TV, which is odd.

IMO, someone should work w/ Steve Kornacki, tone him down a bit. He's such a personable & smart guy, and could be a really good talk show host. Wish they'd get rid of that corpse, Al Sharpton. I just seethe every time I see him (will never forgive him & Tawana for the damage & misery they dumped on certain towns & innocent people). Ok...done venting for the day. Feel much better 😎

[Jaded]

I'm sure Chuck has enough money for hair plugs unless he had some, they failed and this is the result. 

[stormy]

Who will fill in for Katy while she's on maternity leave?

[annzeepark914]

Chris will be back on Monday (just announced rather dramatically by Steve). 😑

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Chris will be back on Monday (just announced rather dramatically by Steve). 😑

I thank him out loud for warning us ahead of time. 😒

[Kemper]

I was also wondering about Katy Tur; she is a great sub for Chuck T; she subs for a lot of anchors, I think.  I'm going to miss her while she is on maternity leave.

And yes, someone should work a bit with Steve Kornacki; I love him but he kind of loses me when he goes to the charts.  Other than that, he is a good interviewer and lets his guests talk.  Two things that Matthews does not do well.

[HyeChaps]

I just posted on Chris’ forum that I have it on very good authority that Chris was on a trip to New Zealand. 

[pivot]

Ugh, so annoyed Brian Williams may be moving up. They are letting him anchor election nights and it has become vapid. He just lacks the intelligence to keep up with Maddow and Hayes so they have to dumb everything down. I vote they give MTP to Williams and get him off MSNBC and on NBC.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, pivot said:

Ugh, so annoyed Brian Williams may be moving up. They are letting him anchor election nights and it has become vapid. He just lacks the intelligence to keep up with Maddow and Hayes so they have to dumb everything down. I vote they give MTP to Williams and get him off MSNBC and on NBC.

IMO, Brian should just read the news.  He's lucky he even has a job there after what he's done.  I can't see him handling the talking heads on Hardball, especially these days when things are popping left and right in DC and NYC (especially with the SDNY!!)  From here on out, it's going to get wilder and wilder.

[xaxat]

3 hours ago, pivot said:

He just lacks the intelligence to keep up with Maddow and Hayes so they have to dumb everything down.

He's always reminded me of the William Hurt character from Broadcast News.

(Which I guess would make Maddow the Holly Hunter character. Except he is totally not her type.)

Edited March 3, 2019 by xaxat