MSNBC

[xaxat]

Katy Tur's campaign book comes out in September. 

I've read several campaign memoirs and the are always pretty boring. But this was extraordinarily unusual campaign, and she played an unusual role in it. 

I'm buying this one.

[Just Here]

Via Politico: Kasie Hunt is in talks to host her own show on MSNBC:

Quote

MSNBC correspondent Kasie Hunt is likely to get her own show on Sunday evenings, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell POLITICO.

The deal is not done yet and the show does not have its own name, but the two sources say it’s more or less a done deal. One source suggested it would be a two-hour show on Sundays.

Edited July 27, 2017 by Just Here

[stormy]

I love Ali too.  What a dumb move for CNN not to get him back

[navelgazer]

Having BriWi on that late-late 11th Hour show really paid off for MSNBC tonight.  They had a "star" at the desk to deliver the news that the "skinny" ACA repeal bill went down to defeat in the Senate as it happened thanks to "maverick now lion" Senator McCain.  It was like watching CSPAN without having to watch CSPAN.  

[suomi]

On ‎7‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 4:37 PM, xaxat said:

Katy Tur's campaign book comes out in September. 

I've read several campaign memoirs and the are always pretty boring. But this was extraordinarily unusual campaign, and she played an unusual role in it. 

I'm buying this one.

Thank you for posting this! I pre-ordered the Kindle edition. I bet it will be delish.  

[HyeChaps]

Ok, I can't stand that lying liar Brian Williams. But I have to admit the 11 pm program is pretty good.  He seems quite suited for this daily wrap-up. However, I hope we never see him in the place of honor now occupied by the wonderful Lester Holt. 

[navelgazer]

Tonight I watched my first Richard Engel On Assignment.  Not that I didn't miss our collective 43 minutes of Rachel, but Engel went places and asked questions on the Russia Thing that I found absolutely fascinating.  And not to be shallow, but that American ex-spook RE talked to could star in his very own Jason Bourne movie.  Wow.  I loved his answer to whether or not Twitler fits the Kremlin's definition of a "useful idiot."  His face froze, his eyes rolled, his mouth pursed in a hard grimace as he said dryly "No comment."  

Nice recap here -- https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1685134

Edited July 29, 2017 by navelgazer

[BuckeyeLou]

On 7/28/2017 at 10:19 PM, navelgazer said:

Tonight I watched my first Richard Engel On Assignment.  Not that I didn't miss our collective 43 minutes of Rachel, but Engel went places and asked questions on the Russia Thing that I found absolutely fascinating.  And not to be shallow, but that American ex-spook RE talked to could star in his very own Jason Bourne movie.  Wow.  I loved his answer to whether or not Twitler fits the Kremlin's definition of a "useful idiot."  His face froze, his eyes rolled, his mouth pursed in a hard grimace as he said dryly "No comment."  

Nice recap here -- https://www.dailykos.com/stories/1685134

 

Richard Engel's report was excellent!  Informative & scary!  Hope Richard watches his back!

[potatoradio]

BriWi cracked me up last night. He was talking about Twitter and the guest said something like, "I'm sure you've never received a bad Tweet," and BriWi looked down on his papers and said, "oh, no, never. It's nothing but a giant love fest." 

Little bitter, Bri? 

I know he shouldn't be making me laugh, but he is. 

Also, I like how, at the closing credits, he puts on his glasses to arrange the papers on his desk. Dude, you've been reading stuff the entire show, but you need glasses to move papers around? Since i"m watching more cableheads than ever, I notice these things. Do each of them do a signature sign off move? Like Maddow, who always pulls her papers off her desk and spins away in her chair? Do they even realize they do this? 

I am not proud of noticing these things, but I declare helplessness to overcome my cablehead addiction given the current...ah...state of things. I want to know details about the people who are reporting what seems to me to be the death of our country (YMMV and all, of course, on that perspective). 

[stormy]

I don't like Brian as a show host.  His delivery is weird.  He seems uncomfortable.  But he has great guests.  Last night Richard Painter was the star.

[Kemper]

It seemed like every time I turned on MSNBC today, Jeff Flake was on; starting with Morning Joe.  I don't know why, but he puts me off...the grin, the tan, whatever.  It got so that by the time Chris Matthews chirped that Flake was coming on, I switched to CNN.    

[potatoradio]

3 hours ago, Kemper said:

It seemed like every time I turned on MSNBC today, Jeff Flake was on; starting with Morning Joe.  I don't know why, but he puts me off...the grin, the tan, whatever.  It got so that by the time Chris Matthews chirped that Flake was coming on, I switched to CNN.    

Flake wrote a book that apparently denounces Trump. Yesterday was the one time I rooted for Chris Matthews, spittle and interruptions and all, because he asked, point blank, whether Flake thought Trump was unfit, etc. etc. etc. and Flake responded with dodging via generalities and Matthews was clearly irritated that Flake wouldn't even acknowledge what he said in the book. I don't know how well that fake tan held up under all the flying spit. Anyway, FLake came off looking, to me, incredibly phony and I know zip about the guy.  Or, at least, regretful that his book apparently caught the attention of the lean-not-so-forward press.  But then, he's a big boy and he agreed to come on the show, so...

Edited August 2, 2017 by potatoradio

[Medicine Crow]

I loved seeing James Carville on Brian Williams' show last night!!  Now let's see George Will!!

[Ohwell]

Jeff Flake came off to me as a sleazy hack trying to sell a book.  I was glad that Chris Matthews jammed him up, and for once I didn't mind the flying spittle.  

[Mumbles]

Quote

Ok, I can't stand that lying liar Brian Williams. But I have to admit the 11 pm program is pretty good.  He seems quite suited for this daily wrap-up. However, I hope we never see him in the place of honor now occupied by the wonderful Lester Holt. 

I do like a live 11pm show but Williams should have nothing to do with it. Sorry, credibility is really all you have as currency in journalism and he lost it all. Dan Rather is a far, far better journalist  than most of the people doing it, and he lost his job for a lot less (hell, give the 11pm show to him!)

[Ladyrain]

On 8/2/2017 at 7:05 PM, Mumbles said:

I do like a live 11pm show but Williams should have nothing to do with it. Sorry, credibility is really all you have as currency in journalism and he lost it all. Dan Rather is a far, far better journalist  than most of the people doing it, and he lost his job for a lot less (hell, give the 11pm show to him!)

I don't like BriWi either, however I always watch his show.  Go figure.  Maybe it's my MSNBC addiction and his is the last live show of the day.  Or I like his guests.  Or politics.  -   I can't stand his delivery style / speech pattern; he sounds so pompous and self-important.  Like Thurston Howell.  But yet I watch...

[navelgazer]

11 minutes ago, Ladyrain said:

I don't like BriWi either, however I always watch his show.  Go figure.  Maybe it's my MSNBC addiction and his is the last live show of the day.  Or I like his guests.  Or politics.  -   I can't stand his delivery style / speech pattern; he sounds so pompous and self-important.  Like Thurston Howell.  But yet I watch...

I think why I watch the 11th Hour, I'm firmly in the "everyone deserves a second chance" camp.  BriWi seems to me to have done his penance with a good attitude -- he seems to just be happy to still be with the network, he doesn't care in what capacity.  A plus in his favor is his anchor desk skills still come in handy every now and again.  

[Ladyrain]

2 hours ago, navelgazer said:

I think why I watch the 11th Hour, I'm firmly in the "everyone deserves a second chance" camp.  BriWi seems to me to have done his penance with a good attitude -- he seems to just be happy to still be with the network, he doesn't care in what capacity.  A plus in his favor is his anchor desk skills still come in handy every now and again.  

Truth.  And I love your avatar.  Absolutely love it.

I'm sad that I don't know how to find one/make one/post one.  I'm that low-tech. ?

[jjj]

4 hours ago, Ladyrain said:

I don't like BriWi either, however I always watch his show.  Go figure.  Maybe it's my MSNBC addiction and his is the last live show of the day.  Or I like his guests.  Or politics.  -   I can't stand his delivery style / speech pattern; he sounds so pompous and self-important.  Like Thurston Howell.  But yet I watch...

Excuse me, that's Thurston Howell THE THIRD (III) (!) -- but your comparison is on the mark.  We are so the little people to Brian Williams. 

ETA:  Whew!  Ignore paragraph below -- it is a live show after all, with Ari Melber, with actual news that has not been covered yet today.

[It looks like the Lawrence O'Donnell hour on Friday (tonight as I write this) is going to be a clip show -- they are advertising "Trump Under Siege" in the corner of the Richard Engel special show.  Oh, well, just a year ago they were still going to "Lockdown" after the first airing of Rachel's show, so any news show is better than that -- but I still don't need recycled headlines when so much is happening. ]

Edited August 5, 2017 by jjj

[lb60]

Ari's on for Lawrence and he said they were live.  I'm pretty sure I saw him (and Nicolle) on Today this morning. That, plus his own show, plus now in for Lawrence, I'm thinking Ari must be really, really tired. lol  I'm actually surprised he's subbing.  I thought since he has his own show now his subbing days would be over.  Joy has also been working overtime subbing for Rachel, plus her own show this weekend. These people work some long ass days.

Edited August 5, 2017 by lb60

[jjj]

Yes, I was glad to see Ari instead of a clip show -- odd that they were promoting the show as "Trump Under Siege", which is usually the sign of clips.  These days, they could rename the network as "Trump Under Siege".

Poor Ari, it seemed like the tech staff took the night off with Lawrence -- a few missed video cues and problems with audio with guests -- but Ari did get to promote his own show at the end, still calling it "brand new".

Agree that it has to be stressful to sit in on another show when they are busy with their own shows -- but someone must think it is good to draw on viewers in other time slots.

48 minutes ago, lb60 said:

Ari's on for Lawrence and he said they were live.  I'm pretty sure I saw him (and Nicolle) on Today this morning. That, plus his own show, plus now in for Lawrence, I'm thinking Ari must be really, really tired. lol  I'm actually surprised he's subbing.  I thought since he has his own show now his subbing days would be over.  Joy has also been working overtime subbing for Rachel, plus her own show this weekend. These people work some long ass days.

[Medicine Crow]

I'll watch Ari read the phone book, but that's after Brian Williams.  Just sayin'.

[jjj]

Just heard Brian tell a Kansas City newspaper reporter (formerly from New York CIty) that now she is out "among the real Americans".  Thanks, Brian, from all of us who live outside of Manhattan. 

8 minutes ago, Medicine Crow said:

I'll watch Ari read the phone book, but that's after Brian Williams.  Just sayin'.

Still preferred by me to "Lockup", but I hear you!

[netlyon2]

Question for those who watch MtP Daily and/or watched Greta vS's show:  did Chuck Todd do the "toss" from MtP into the 6:00 show before The Beat with Ari began?  Since I didn't watch the 6pm hour until Ari's show, I wasn't sure if this was something Todd has been doing or something he just started.

He seems really bad at it.  Granted, I'm one who doesn't do well with second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness, but it's been painful.  Ari is still trying to get a handle on it, too, but he's got some experience from subbing for Rachel and Lawrence.

It makes me wonder if they started doing it due to the popularity of the Chris/Rachel/Lawrence shows.  They're already using that Joy/Rachel handoff as an ad; maybe they've decided to expand it as part of a branding strategy.

[jjj]

Some of the morning/early afternoon shows all seem to have a pretty lengthy handoff; I can't remember when they did not do that.  (I know it started at some point, but just don't know when.)  Originally, Rachel did not do a handoff to Lawrence O'Donnell, who originally seemed to have pre-taped his shows earlier in the evening -- or he wanted completely scripted shows, or both.  His show has become more involved in ongoing breaking news, and they have been doing a Rachel/Lawrence handoff most evenings for a couple of years now.  But Lawrence never hands off to Brian Williams.  

[Ohwell]

The Rachel-to-Lawrence handoffs go on much too long.  It's as if she doesn't want to shut up.

[lb60]

1 hour ago, Ohwell said:

The Rachel-to-Lawrence handoffs go on much too long.  It's as if she doesn't want to shut up.

I love them.  It's actually one of my favorite things.  Loved the other night when he called Joy, Rachel.  I think that it's more Lawrence that doesn't want to let Rachel go.  He's said in the past that he's usually getting yelled at in his ear by the producers to wrap it up.  I love all the various handoffs. I think it's a little window to the working relationships they all have.  Seems like a very supportive environment.  Of course, kicking ass in the ratings probably helps with all the good will they have towards each other.  

[Ohwell]

18 minutes ago, lb60 said:

I love them.  It's actually one of my favorite things.  Loved the other night when he called Joy, Rachel.  I think that it's more Lawrence that doesn't want to let Rachel go.  He's said in the past that he's usually getting yelled at in his ear by the producers to wrap it up.  I love all the various handoffs. I think it's a little window to the working relationships they all have.  Seems like a very supportive environment.  Of course, kicking ass in the ratings probably helps with all the good will they have towards each other.  

That's fine if you love their handoffs; as I stated, I don't.  

Some handoffs between hosts are longer than others, and Rachel seems to talk the longest during hers and O'Donnell's.  I'm sure there's goodwill among them, and that's a good thing, but Rachel has had her hour (of non-stop talking, by the way), and it's time for Lawrence to have his hour with his guests.  

Edited August 5, 2017 by Ohwell

[Ladyrain]

21 hours ago, Ohwell said:

The Rachel-to-Lawrence handoffs go on much too long.  It's as if she doesn't want to shut up.

I begrudgingly must agree.  I love and worship Rachel but sometimes I wonder if Lawrence doesn't get a bit fidgety waiting for her to finally call it quits.  But maybe he loves the interaction.  Who knows.  I do like the hand-offs between hosts but it can get uncomfortable (for me, the viewer) if they go on too long.

[Ohwell]

10 minutes ago, Ladyrain said:

I begrudgingly must agree.  I love and worship Rachel but sometimes I wonder if Lawrence doesn't get a bit fidgety waiting for her to finally call it quits.  But maybe he loves the interaction.  Who knows.  I do like the hand-offs between hosts but it can get uncomfortable (for me, the viewer) if they go on too long.

Thanks for not jumping on me.  I know that Rachel has her worshipers, but I'm sometimes reluctant to even post anything negative about her for fear of someone tracking me down.  ; )

[Ladyrain]

On 8/5/2017 at 7:22 AM, netlyon2 said:

Question for those who watch MtP Daily and/or watched Greta vS's show:  did Chuck Todd do the "toss" from MtP into the 6:00 show before The Beat with Ari began?  Since I didn't watch the 6pm hour until Ari's show, I wasn't sure if this was something Todd has been doing or something he just started.

He seems really bad at it.  Granted, I'm one who doesn't do well with second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness, but it's been painful.  Ari is still trying to get a handle on it, too, but he's got some experience from subbing for Rachel and Lawrence.

It makes me wonder if they started doing it due to the popularity of the Chris/Rachel/Lawrence shows.  They're already using that Joy/Rachel handoff as an ad; maybe they've decided to expand it as part of a branding strategy.

I did watch MtP/Greta and honestly can't remember 100% if they did the hand off, but somehow I think they did.  Neither of them is a smooth operator so I think I recall some awkward moments between the two of them.  But maybe I'm hallucinating.

Her show was the most boring sixty minutes on MSNBC, at least until Hugh Hewitt's show.  Or maybe his show isn't that boring but he is, so I change the channel as soon as he comes on.

I am loving Ari at 6:00.  He's enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and I can understand every word he speaks, unlike Greta's mush-mouthing.

[Ladyrain]

20 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

Thanks for not jumping on me.  I know that Rachel has her worshipers, but I'm sometimes reluctant to even post anything negative about her for fear of someone tracking me down.  ; )

No jumping from me.  On another board here we are one big happy family of friends.  But boy can we snark about the topic at hand!  The rule is - and I believe it comes from On High - that we can take on the subject matter however we see fit, but we are not to disrespect one another.  There are occasional differences in viewpoints, but no attacking on another, name-calling, etc.  I don't know if that rule is site-wide or just for that board.

As I said, I adore Rachel but I honestly can see how her presentation style could be irksome to others.  She lives in my neck of the woods out here in western MA and my thrill of a lifetime would be to see her in person.  Hasn't happened yet but ya never know.  

Edited August 6, 2017 by Ladyrain

[jjj]

There is a pleasant profile of Nicolle Wallace in today's (Sunday) New York Times Magazine.  The comments are also worth reading -- lots of begrudging praise for Nicolle from Democratic party viewers.  And lots of criticism for her saying that Palin was the forerunner of Trump, in that Palin also latched onto a segment of the population that liked to be stirred up without having to think too hard about issues.  And Nicolle basically says that we only know the "tip of the iceberg" about the Palin campaign, and the same is true of the current White House leaks -- there is so much that never leaks out.    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/magazine/nicolle-wallace-thinks-white-house-staffers-need-to-have-a-limit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below 

[Apprentice79]

11 hours ago, jjj said:

There is a pleasant profile of Nicolle Wallace in today's (Sunday) New York Times Magazine.  The comments are also worth reading -- lots of begrudging praise for Nicolle from Democratic party viewers.  And lots of criticism for her saying that Palin was the forerunner of Trump, in that Palin also latched onto a segment of the population that liked to be stirred up without having to think too hard about issues.  And Nicolle basically says that we only know the "tip of the iceberg" about the Palin campaign, and the same is true of the current White House leaks -- there is so much that never leaks out.    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/magazine/nicolle-wallace-thinks-white-house-staffers-need-to-have-a-limit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below 

Nicole is a gem and I love her.  I am so happy that she got her own show.  I would love for Steve Schmidt to get his own show.  He is another  Republican that I enjoy  on MSNBC.

[prican58]

Has it been discussed here if Lawrence is off on Friday nights during the summer? Fridays is my one day to stay up and watch him and while I like Joy and Ari, I really adore Lawrence and his manner.

[jjj]

Well, CNN managed to keep reporting on Charlottesville after MSNBC switched over to "Lockup" on Saturday.  How can they run a continuous banner of "Breaking News" and just go to default reruns when there is actual breaking news outside of regular business hours? 

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 7:23 PM, prican58 said:

Has it been discussed here if Lawrence is off on Friday nights during the summer? Fridays is my one day to stay up and watch him and while I like Joy and Ari, I really adore Lawrence and his manner.

There is a thread for his show -- maybe there?

[Jaded]

I thought they were going to finally get rid of Lockup? Ugh. 

[oakville]

On 8/6/2017 at 10:56 PM, jjj said:

There is a pleasant profile of Nicolle Wallace in today's (Sunday) New York Times Magazine.  The comments are also worth reading -- lots of begrudging praise for Nicolle from Democratic party viewers.  And lots of criticism for her saying that Palin was the forerunner of Trump, in that Palin also latched onto a segment of the population that liked to be stirred up without having to think too hard about issues.  And Nicolle basically says that we only know the "tip of the iceberg" about the Palin campaign, and the same is true of the current White House leaks -- there is so much that never leaks out.    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/magazine/nicolle-wallace-thinks-white-house-staffers-need-to-have-a-limit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below 

Unfortunately, Nicolle "Cackles" Wallace never explained to viewers her role in the nomination of Palin as VP. If she was opposed to it, why didn't she resign from the campaign after she was nominated? The story of her forgetting to vote in the 2008 election is silly. I watched her on Morning Joe & she was very friendly with Trump when he was a daily caller to Morning Joe. She would always mention to Trump that her parents were strong supporters of him & never had any tough questions for him. She was loyal to Jeb Bush.

[Apprentice79]

14 hours ago, oakville said:

Unfortunately, Nicolle "Cackles" Wallace never explained to viewers her role in the nomination of Palin as VP. If she was opposed to it, why didn't she resign from the campaign after she was nominated? The story of her forgetting to vote in the 2008 election is silly. I watched her on Morning Joe & she was very friendly with Trump when he was a daily caller to Morning Joe. She would always mention to Trump that her parents were strong supporters of him & never had any tough questions for him. She was loyal to Jeb Bush.

Familiarity breeds contempt, the more, she got to know Trump, the more, she realized that he was an anathema to her Republican values.. Plus, she has hinted that there were some things about Palin that the Public was not privy to and that it was much worst... I always assumed that she signed a non disclosure agreement form that precludes her from spilling the tea. 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Apprentice79

[oakville]

15 minutes ago, Apprentice79 said:

Familiarity breeds contempt, the more, she got to know Trump, the more, she realized that he was an anathema to her Republican values.. Plus, she has hinted that there were some things about Palin that the Public was not privy to and that it was much worst... I always assumed that she signed a non disclosure agreement form that precludes her from spilling the tea. 

The problem with Wallace is that from Day 1 of the Trump campaign, he made it clear that he was going to make derogatory comments about Mexicans etc.

She was a regular panelist on Morning Joe & refused to attack Trump then because Mika & Joe were pro -Trump back then.

She only became comfortable attacking Trump when Joe & Mika went against him.

She should admit that she made a huge error in judgement in working with Palin. The honorable thing to do woul be to resign from the campaign after she set up Palin to have the interview with Katie Couric.

[Medicine Crow]

Oops, wrong thread!!

Edited August 15, 2017 by Medicine Crow

[teddysmom]

Quote

I thought they were going to finally get rid of Lockup? Ugh. 

I know. FFS it's NBC, show reruns of The West Wing.  You own that show. 

[car54]

15 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

I know. FFS it's NBC, show reruns of The West Wing.  You own that show. 

Boy is that a great idea.  I'd watch the heck out of that.

[Jaded]

They seem to have cancelled it. Guess they are going to pull out old episodes for ratings. At one time it was one of their highest rated shows that helped them in the ratings.

https://www.mediaite.com/online/msnbc-canceling-lockup-and-caught-on-camera-cutting-ten-staffers/

[teddysmom]

Quote

 

I know. FFS it's NBC, show reruns of The West Wing.  You own that show. 

Boy is that a great idea.  I'd watch the heck out of that.

 

I even expanded on it while walking the dog at lunch. West Wing, 30 Rock, The Office, Parks & Rec.

Blammo. Saturday & Sunday nights programmed. 

[jjj]

I never know if they are old or new episodes of Lockup -- but I know it runs for many hours on the weekends.  But not with me watching, just see it listed when I am looking for a news channel. 

4 hours ago, Jaded said:

They seem to have cancelled it. Guess they are going to pull out old episodes for ratings. At one time it was one of their highest rated shows that helped them in the ratings.

https://www.mediaite.com/online/msnbc-canceling-lockup-and-caught-on-camera-cutting-ten-staffers/

[clb1016]

MSNBC was the highest-rated basic cabe show Wednesday for the entire day.

http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/msnbc-was-the-no-1-cable-network-yesterday-across-total-day-a-network-first/338390?utm_source=CNN+Media%3A+Reliable+Sources&utm_campaign=de19b7f2f1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_06_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e95cdc16a9-de19b7f2f1-84785917

[Kemper]

Is it just me who flips the channel when Chuck Todd comes on?  I love Ali Velshi at 3; Nicole Wallace at 4 and then...I immediately flip to the local news or CNN.  I do watch when Katy Tur takes over for him on Mondays.  I can't put my finger on why.  Maybe it started when he infamously said it was not his job to hold a guest's feet to the fire.  Not in those exact words, but that was the gist.  He is sooo low energy;  remember a certain presidential candidate called him "sleepy-eyed" or some such?

When he started on MSNBC way back when, his job was "numbers and stats" ... I think.  At the time I liked him but at some point he got maybe too comfortable, and possibly  started thinking of himself as a true journalist (he is not!) and seems to be just phoning it in nowadays.  MSNBC has such a great stable of up-and-coming talent it seems a shame to let someone just take up space.  It just that he projects as being above the fray...not outwardly putting any enthusiasm into his job.  Possibly he is spread too thin with the Meet The Press hosting on Sundays.  

Maybe this should go under "unpopular opinions' or some such.

[xaxat]

The absolute best coverage of the eclipse was Craig Melvine's interview with his mother who experience totality in South Carolina.

[oakville]

7 hours ago, Kemper said:

Is it just me who flips the channel when Chuck Todd comes on?  I love Ali Velshi at 3; Nicole Wallace at 4 and then...I immediately flip to the local news or CNN.  I do watch when Katy Tur takes over for him on Mondays.  I can't put my finger on why.  Maybe it started when he infamously said it was not his job to hold a guest's feet to the fire.  Not in those exact words, but that was the gist.  He is sooo low energy;  remember a certain presidential candidate called him "sleepy-eyed" or some such?

When he started on MSNBC way back when, his job was "numbers and stats" ... I think.  At the time I liked him but at some point he got maybe too comfortable, and possibly  started thinking of himself as a true journalist (he is not!) and seems to be just phoning it in nowadays.  MSNBC has such a great stable of up-and-coming talent it seems a shame to let someone just take up space.  It just that he projects as being above the fray...not outwardly putting any enthusiasm into his job.  Possibly he is spread too thin with the Meet The Press hosting on Sundays.  

Maybe this should go under "unpopular opinions' or some such.

Chuck was a big star in 2008. He had his own fan club back then. He was doing the job that Kornacki does now with the magic wall. I think he was upset that he failed to call the election correctly. He's not the only broadcaster that failed. Chuck does a good job on Meet the Press Sunday edition.