MSNBC

[BuckeyeLou]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

So, a producer at MSNBC recently quit because she felt the same way. It's a fascinating read, and is exactly why the only TV news I consume is a few minutes of Headline News in the mornings to see if there's anything I actually need to know about going on. 

It's all about money. The link I posted is from a person with MSNBC experience, but what she's saying applies evenly to almost all news sources. All of this stuff is slanted heavily towards what will generate ratings and revenue. 

It makes me upset as well. I don't think we can return to the past, but I don't believe this is a permanent problem either. 

I agree with some of this, but not all.  There have been some interesting in-depth stories by Jacob Soboroff about the 'kids in cages at the border",  and Cynthia McFadden has in-depth stories, and I always find 60 Minutes informative & interesting, with more in-depth stories.  So, even though on a daily basis, we get too much "Breaking News" every hour, on the whole I think journalists are doing a good job of examining the crazy world we live in.

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

There have been some interesting in-depth stories

Absolutely. I shouldn't say it's ALL about the money. I should have said it's mostly about the money, which would have been in line with what you're saying and what the MSNBC producer said in her explanation of why she was quitting:

Quote

Occasionally, the producers will choose to do a topic or story without regard for how they think it will rate, but that is the exception, not the rule. Due to the simple structure of the industry – the desire to charge more money for commercials, as well as the ratings bonuses that top-tier decision-makers earn – they always relapse into their old profitable programming habits.

 

[freddi]

So, are the regular hosts on MSNBC in midday taking holidays before the big schedule change?  Someone was guesting for the Brian/Nicolle hour, and now Sam Seder is guest hosting "Deadline" White House" for Nicolle.   Heaven knows they deserve vacations, but my interest level in MSNBC plummets when the regular hosts are gone.  I hope they get charged for the election season.  

[moosegal]

18 hours ago, freddi said:

So, are the regular hosts on MSNBC in midday taking holidays before the big schedule change?  Someone was guesting for the Brian/Nicolle hour, and now Sam SeIder is guest hosting "Deadline" White House" for Nicolle.   Heaven knows they deserve vacations, but my interest level in MSNBC plummets when the regular hosts are gone.  I hope they get charged for the election season.  

I haven't heard anything for a while of Hallie Jackson.  Is she still anchoring or on leave or what?  Anyone know?

[rcc]

1 hour ago, moosegal said:

I haven't heard anything for a while of Hallie Jackson.  Is she still anchoring or on leave or what?  Anyone know?

Still on maternity leave.

[annzeepark914]

20 hours ago, freddi said:

So, are the regular hosts on MSNBC in midday taking holidays before the big schedule change?  Someone was guesting for the Brian/Nicolle hour, and now Sam Seder is guest hosting "Deadline" White House" for Nicolle.   Heaven knows they deserve vacations, but my interest level in MSNBC plummets when the regular hosts are gone.  I hope they get charged for the election season.  

If Nicholle is away, I lose interest (unless Heilman is subbing!) 

[freddi]

I know that the network arranges the guest hosts well in advance when someone has scheduled vacation, but I found it very satisfying that Chris Jansing got to host the hour when the Biden/Harris ticket made its first appearance on camera.  She provided such a dignified and engaged commentary as they waited, when others would have been distracted by all the hopeful bystanders trying to get a glimpse of the candidates.  

For contrast, for some reason, in the middle of it all, she explained the network system of green screens ("I'm not really in front of the White House") and that her apartment window was behind the "White House".  And then "I hope I'm not giving anything away by saying this."  Yeah, I knew the shows have been broadcast from basements and home offices, but it was still funny.  

Edited August 13, 2020 by freddi

[rcc]

Hallie will be back Monday on her show at 10 am ET.

[annzeepark914]

On 8/13/2020 at 12:09 AM, freddi said:

For contrast, for some reason, in the middle of it all, she explained the network system of green screens ("I'm not really in front of the White House") and that her apartment window was behind the "White House".  And then "I hope I'm not giving anything away by saying this."  Yeah, I knew the shows have been broadcast from basements and home offices, but it was still funny.  

Years ago a local weatherman (on a station maybe in Raleigh?) said in an interview that he was looking at a blank wall, pretending to look at a map we viewers were seeing, as he gave the weather report. 

I can't wait for folks to return from vacation (I'm spoiled--I like my regulars).

[rcc]

On 5/1/2020 at 7:13 AM, tres bien said:

Steve Kornacki is back this week. 

Still wearing the same God awful pants. For the love of God, buy a pair of pants. You'll have to order them online but believe me,  it's easy.

I remembered this post and this morning with Hallie he had on those same pants. MSNBC needs to give him a raise or clothes allowance. He looks ridiculous.

[annzeepark914]

29 minutes ago, rcc said:

I remembered this post and this morning with Hallie he had on those same pants. MSNBC needs to give him a raise or clothes allowance. He looks ridiculous.

Awww... poor Steve. I sense that he's just not all that interested in clothes. He's into precincts!!

[xaxat]

 

[annzeepark914]

It didn't take her long to offend another group of people. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/02/msnbcs-joy-reid-under-fire-casual-islamophobia/

[Just Here]

Kasie Hunt is taking over the 5:00 a.m. weekday slot, starting Monday, September 21st.

Quote

[T]he network is bringing back its weekday morning show “Way Too Early” Monday through Friday at 5 a.m. ET hosted by Kasie Hunt. A campaign-trail veteran and widely sourced congressional beat reporter, Hunt will bring her expert reporting and deep bench of sources on both sides of the aisle to keep viewers updated with the latest on what’s driving the day in Washington. “Way Too Early with Kasie Hunt” will be anchored from the nation’s capital and will cover both the day’s inside-the-beltway political news as well as the critical stories shaping the national conversation leading into “Morning Joe.” The show launches September 21.

 

The weekend p.m. line-up is also changing.

Quote

“American Voices with Alicia Menendez” will air on Saturdays and Sundays from 6 to 8 p.m. ET. MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez will focus on the biggest political stories of the week while elevating news on under-reported issues with under-represented voices that require a national platform. 

“The Week with Joshua Johnson” will air Saturdays and Sundays from 8 to 10 p.m. ET. MSNBC anchor Joshua Johnson will connect everyday people, newsmakers and trailblazers for candid conversations about each week’s big stories, thinking through the challenges we all face and prepping viewers for the days ahead.

MSNBC’s new weekend lineup also includes anchor Yasmin Vossoughian who will host “MSNBC Live” Saturdays and Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m. ET. Vossoughian will deliver sharp reporting and analysis from years of international journalism taking a no-nonsense look at the day’s important stories and focusing on solution-based conversations.

The full press release is on the recently updated nbcumv.com website.

Edited September 10, 2020 by Just Here
formatting

[tres bien]

I'm glad Kasie's show is getting the original name.

I'm happy to see Yasmin getting a new time slot.

Edited September 10, 2020 by tres bien

[annzeepark914]

14 hours ago, tres bien said:

I'm glad Kasie's show is getting the original name.

I laughed when I saw the name of Kasie's show. it was new to me cause I never watch TV at that time. Well, I think the only times I've put the TV on at 5 is if the weather is horrendous & wakes me up. I'll miss seeing her. Kasie will be the first to catch all the tweets.

[Calvada]

Ok, America, let's quiet down. Steve Kornacki is trying to sleep.  Five straight days of doing math live on the air - he was amazing.  

[xaxat]

I liked Gura's weekend show. But after the latest round of musical chairs, it was clear he was the one left standing.

[Crashcourse]

Damn.  I like David Gura.  I hope he shows up on another network.

[Kemper]

I get exhausted by all the one-hour shows and hosts during the week.  Morning Joe is three hours; then it is Stephanie Ruhle for an hour...and I forget how the lineup goes after that.  Hallie Jackson, Katy Tur, Andrea Mitchell, Craig Melvin? Does he have a show? etc.  Nicole has two hours; that is perfect.  After the inauguration maybe the network could revamp the daytime schedule...maybe co-hosts for a 2 hour show/shows.  It works with Nicole.

With switching out hosts every hour we get different hosts but all repeating the same news as all of the hours and shows before.  At least with a 2-hour show it would go more smoothly...not having to transition to a new person reading the same news.  I guess I have Covid/election fatigue.  I would love more nationwide/worldwide news; doesn't have to be a lot.  But CNN manages to do it.

I can't even go into Alex can't-remember-her-last-name on weekends.  Eye-popping pageant hair, sometimes showing a bit of cleavage and droning voice.  And what seems-to-be white lipstick sometimes.  Jarring.  Just me?  I will lap from my saucer of milk now.

[Jaded]

28 minutes ago, Kemper said:

I get exhausted by all the one-hour shows and hosts during the week.  Morning Joe is three hours; then it is Stephanie Ruhle for an hour...and I forget how the lineup goes after that.  Hallie Jackson, Katy Tur, Andrea Mitchell, Craig Melvin? Does he have a show? etc.  Nicole has two hours; that is perfect.  After the inauguration maybe the network could revamp the daytime schedule...maybe co-hosts for a 2 hour show/shows.  It works with Nicole.

I can't even go into Alex can't-remember-her-last-name on weekends.  Eye-popping pageant hair, sometimes showing a bit of cleavage and droning voice.  And what seems-to-be white lipstick sometimes.  Jarring.  Just me?  I will lap from my saucer of milk now.

It does get extremely tiring having each hour with a different host's "show" repeat everything without much variation in content. If COVID hadn't happened I wouldn't have minded if they tried more duos hosting for a couple hours each day. I remember before the network got 24hr political when they had general news too they'd pair people in the daytime hours which would make things more entertaining somewhat. They didn't rely on talking heads as much either. 

I'll join you with a saucer of my own seeing as I've posted about my annoyances with Weekend Alex on more than one occasion. I guess she gets good ratings on the weekends because I'd rather not think about other reasons she's stuck around so long while others come and go some in the blink of an eye.

[Jaded]

I really liked David Gura and am sad to see him go. 

[Crashcourse]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

I can't even go into Alex can't-remember-her-last-name on weekends.  Eye-popping pageant hair, sometimes showing a bit of cleavage and droning voice.  And what seems-to-be white lipstick sometimes.  Jarring.  Just me?  I will lap from my saucer of milk now.

Her name is Alex Witt but I've always called her Alex Twit.  Also, that hair just annoys the hell out of me.

Meowwww.

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Her name is Alex Witt but I've always called her Alex Twit.  Also, that hair just annoys the hell out of me.

Meowwww.

I cannot stand all this pageant hair and the unprofessional clothes of too many female broadcasters. Sometimes, instead of grinding my teeth, I try to envision how their male counterparts would look in equally inappropriate clothes and hair styles. It bugs me when I think of what so many female media pioneers endured just to get serious on-air jobs (as opposed to cooking shows and lifestyle segments during the day).

[xaxat]

Pretty good for a guy who only wears brown khakis and points to a big monitor.

Edited November 20, 2020 by xaxat

[Crashcourse]

I love a sexy geek in khakis!

[annzeepark914]

He's such a cutie and comes across as a nice person.  I bet he & John King are still recuperating from election night & subsequent days!

[freddi]

Thanksgiving, also known as the Chris Jansing Full Employment Act at MSNBC.  I’ve been glad that they have been using her more frequently in recent months for the daytime shows; but I’ve seen her guest hosting several shows in the past few days.  

[Kemper]

MSNBC....it is unseemly the way you let Show Hosts, when they write a book, promote said book shamelessly and for hours on their own show.  But now it seems that you allow them to shill loudly and often on other shows.  I was hoping that this practice ended with the never-ending book tour that Chris Matthews took on your network when his Kennedy book came out.  Please stop.  I immediately change the channel when this happens; and I am sure others do, too.  This surely does not help your bottom line or Nielson ratings.  Maybe I am naive.

But I did not notice Lawrence O'Donnell or Rachel Maddow spewing their books incessantly 24/7 on your network.  As soon as I see this happen, I flip to CNN.  And I can't help but think that these books would never crack the top 20, much less the top 10, without your shameless allowing your "stars" to take over your programming for weeks or months at a time.  Stop!  Even Hallmark Christmas movies are preferable.  A sentence I never thought I would type.

[Kemper]

Sorry, it is me again.  Tuned in to the network at 5 pm and there is a "special" hour of Morning Joe.  Guess what is being discussed.  I have to wonder how other anchors and reporters feel about one of the hosts taking over what would seem to be the dialog of an entire network to sell a book.  And it would seem to be all taped.  Riveting. 

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Kemper said:

Sorry, it is me again.  Tuned in to the network at 5 pm and there is a "special" hour of Morning Joe.  Guess what is being discussed.  I have to wonder how other anchors and reporters feel about one of the hosts taking over what would seem to be the dialog of an entire network to sell a book.  And it would seem to be all taped.  Riveting. 

I turned it on but he was babbling away, per usual, dominating the conversation...so I returned to CNN. He really loves to hear himself talk.

[xaxat]

 

[annzeepark914]

23 minutes ago, xaxat said:

 

Awww...love this guy! He's so "for real".

[annzeepark914]

19 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Awww...love this guy! He's so "for real".

Actually, I started to say he's so *earnest* but couldn't remember how to spell the word so that it wasn't a man's name.  Sheesh...is it Christmas yet?

[Crashcourse]

oops, wrong thread

Edited December 2, 2020 by Crashcourse

[Crashcourse]

Yasmin needs some new glasses because she looks like an idjit with those huge frames.

[annzeepark914]

19 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Yasmin needs some new glasses because she looks like an idjit with those huge frames.

I'm tellin' ya...some of the frames people select are so awful. Dr Gupta (the MSNBC Gupta) looks so strange whenever he wears his specs. I guess I'm weird cause I can't look at him when he's wearing them. I've noticed several other TV news folks, usually women,  wearing *enormous* frames. They look like cartoons wearing exaggerated glasses for comic effect.

 

 

[Moose135]

Kornacki is on the Sunday Night Football halftime show with his big video screen, recapping the playoff standings. Sounds just like when he's doing election results.

[xaxat]

1 minute ago, Moose135 said:

Sounds just like when he's doing election results.

ITA

Hell of a year for Steve. Living his best life.

[ebk57]

I wonder if Leslie Jones was watching.

[freddi]

I had noted here how much work Chris Jansing was getting as a sub—now we know that Stephanie Ruhle has  been sick with COVID for the past two weeks.  And her husband and two children.   She is back but very hoarse.  

She thanked Chris for filling in while she was sick.  

ETA:  She said at the end if the show that MSNBC sends rapid tests to its employees at home, which was what allowed her and her family to get test results the day before Thanksgiving.  

Edited December 7, 2020 by freddi

[Milburn Stone]

3 hours ago, freddi said:

ETA:  She said at the end if the show that MSNBC sends rapid tests to its employees at home, which was what allowed her and her family to get test results the day before Thanksgiving.  

Tangent (I'll try to turn it back to MSNBC by the end of the sentence) but is this a rapid home test that anyone can get, or just privileged people like the anchors of MSNBC?

[Just Here]

Phil Griffin is maybe, finally, hopefully leaving MSNBC in the next month or so...

(not the actress/etc. Rashida Jones)

Variety's quick write-up: 

Quote

Rashida Jones, an up-and-coming news executive at NBCUniversal, will take the reins at the company’s MSNBC cable-news outlet in February, according to a person familiar with the matter, setting her up to be the first Black executive to run one of the nation’s biggest cable-news outlets at time when that business is of growing importance to big media companies.

Phil Griffin, who has been president of MSNBC for years, is expected to step down at the end of January, this person said. Griffin has enjoyed close ties to many of MSNBC’s primetime stars, including Rachel Maddow, the linchpin of the network’s lineup.

Here is Jones' abridged official MSNBC bio:

Quote

Rashida Jones is senior vice president, NBC News and MSNBC.  
 
In this role, she leads and serves as the executive producer of breaking news and major events for both NBC News and MSNBC...

Jones also leads MSNBC Dayside programming, managing hours of live programming and newsgathering for the network, focusing on breaking news, live reporting and infusing the resources and journalism of NBC News. 

In addition, she oversees NBC News’ network-wide series, including Justice For All, Climate in Crisis and Kids Under Pressure, as well as the 2019 launch of NBC News’ new streaming network, NBC News NOW. Jones is also responsible for the NBC News Decision Desk – the network’s team of data scientists responsible for making all election decisions on primary and election nights.
  
Prior to her time with MSNBC, she was the news director for the NBC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina, where she rebuilt and rebranded the news team to focus on in-depth investigative reporting. The station was number one in the market. Jones also served as director of live programming at The Weather Channel, leading coverage and programming for some of the network’s most historic weather events, including Hurricane Katrina, mass tornado outbreaks and paralyzing snow storms.
 
Jones is a graduate of Hampton University, where she was inducted into the Scripps Howard Journalism Hall of Fame...

Edited December 7, 2020 by Just Here

[freddi]

5 hours ago, Just Here said:

Phil Griffin is maybe, finally, hopefully leaving MSNBC in the next month or so...

Not the actress/etc. Rashida Jones)

Thank you, I was very confused about her name.  I am not familiar with the Griffin issues, but I have heard about management problems.  Thanks for the links! 

[Kemper]

21 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

Tangent (I'll try to turn it back to MSNBC by the end of the sentence) but is this a rapid home test that anyone can get, or just privileged people like the anchors of MSNBC?

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Crashcourse]

I noticed that others have been filling in for Stephanie Ruhle the past couple days.  I wonder if she or someone in her family is sick again due to COVID.

[Bronx Babe]

On 8/10/2020 at 9:20 AM, JTMacc99 said:

 

It makes me upset as well. I don't think we can return to the past, but I don't believe this is a permanent problem either. 

You're more optimistic than I am.  

I even miss Chris Matthews.  Never thought I'd say that.

Nicole Wallace just cannot stop laughing, even while talking about the number of deaths by Covid inside a New York hospital.  

[Medicine Crow]

3 hours ago, Bronx Babe said:

Nicole Wallace just cannot stop laughing, even while talking about the number of deaths by Covid inside a New York hospital.  

I've seen the poor woman on the verge of tears more times than I can count.  I think she tries to laugh or smile to keep from crying.

[Bronx Babe]

I'd like to truly believe Nicole is a caring and passionate person in that regard, @Medicine Crow and I understand there are a lot of people who can only express their feelings in psychologically displaced ways.   But she still pisses me off!  

Edited December 18, 2020 by Bronx Babe

[freddi]

The credits at the end of the 11th Hour (which ended as Christmas Eve began in EST) showed the credits with images of all the production staff who have been working remotely this past half year or so.  It was amazing -- I actually had not realized that so many people were able to work from home to produce the show.  And there were a lot, a lot of cats and dogs (many with reindeer antlers!) and some children at the various production sites.  That these shows look so seamless, mostly, is astonishing.  Have a wonderful holiday, everyone, the best one you can have this year.  

Edited December 24, 2020 by freddi