MSNBC laughtrack thread

[Maggie]

Maybe they are clearing the deck for…….. Alan Grayson (and here I thought that Ed guy, who I am convinced is sauced more than half the time, would be the one to go).

[wsushox1]

MSNBC seems to be mis-applying their own rules.

If I read it correctly, "Anyone working for NBC News".........


I don't believe Keith has ever been involved in "the news".

I could say the same thing about Glenn Beck. Especially in the earlier days of his show. He has gotten quite a bit better as time has gone on.

Wait, maybe I am getting brainwashed into thinking that he has gotten less radical.

Its all one big Media Conspiracy.

;-)

[SubGod22]

MSNBC seems to be mis-applying their own rules.

If I read it correctly, "Anyone working for NBC News".........


I don't believe Keith has ever been involved in "the news".

I could say the same thing about Glenn Beck. Especially in the earlier days of his show. He has gotten quite a bit better as time has gone on.

Wait, maybe I am getting brainwashed into thinking that he has gotten less radical.

Its all one big Media Conspiracy.

;-)

I don't know how Keith views himself but I know Glenn has never considered himself a news person and isn't considered one at Fox. I know Keith shouldn't be considered one but maybe MSNBC rolls a little differently.

[Maggie]

I read he will be back on the air Tuesday (which means, and I think I can speak for many people, it will be nice not watching him again). I don’t know if NBC or MSNBC considers Olbermann a “news/journalist type guy” – if so, they are all delusional. The guy is obviously an advocate and a partisan. All the donations tell me is that he’s probably not a cheapskate. Suspending Olbermann, even for only a couple of days, for putting his money where his mouth is makes no sense and upholds no coherent journalistic standard. While he broke an NBC “rule” – the rule is silly if it is to be applied to someone like Olbermann.

As an aside, if you want to stay informed you shouldn’t get your “news” from nightly cable shows – this includes the lineups on CNN, FOX or MSNBC. For the most part, they lack substance – it is like living entirely on Cheetos and grape soda. Although I was told that Glenn Beck actually did an entire show on Herbert Croly – which, television wise sort of strikes me as a bit nutty, but I guess it works.

You should actually read more – sources like The New Republic, the American Enterprise Institute, CATO, Reason, The Washington Post editorial section, The L.A. Times editorial section, the WSJ, The Nation (although – I don’t read it as much after Hitchens left) etc. are much better ways to keep track of the arguments flowing back and forth between the Left and the Right. However, I will admit that I like Special Report on FOX – I think the round table at the end of the show is almost always solid – providing a good give and take. And now I will stop being preachy…

[rjl]

The rule at NBC is likely a relic from the days of the fairness doctrine, where broadcast television, heavily regulated by the FCC, had to be more impartial by law. It's antiquated in the more modern time of cable television, comparatively untouched by government regulation, but this rule was most likely NBC-news-wide and Olbermann felt the pinch.

Olbermann is a clown, though. It may surprise some on here for me to say that I've probably put far more couchtime in front of Glenn Beck than I ever have Olbermann. That said, it's all pretty limited. Like so many other things, money has ruined most cable news; the moment ratings started factoring into the broadcasts is the moment they lost all credibility.

IMHO, CNN is probably the most impartial, but it's more by the process of elimination than anything else. I get my news by word and not by talking head.

[Maggie]

The rule at NBC is likely a relic from the days of the fairness doctrine, where broadcast television, heavily regulated by the FCC, had to be more impartial by law. It's antiquated in the more modern time of cable television, comparatively untouched by government regulation, but this rule was most likely NBC-news-wide and Olbermann felt the pinch.

It is a company wide rule at NBC – and Olbermann violated it. But I am not sure that it dates back to the fairness doctrine – traditionally journalists that report the news are expected to do so impartially (whether they do so is another matter entirely) – at least that is what I was taught. Ostensibly the rules barring political donations by journalists are intended to prevent journalists from giving the appearance of bias. Whether or not such rules make sense for actual reporters, such rules are silly for someone like Olbermann. Does anybody, and I mean anybody, suddenly trust Olbermann’s opinion less because of this news? I’m waiting. Does anyone think he’s less biased? More biased? Un-biased?

His job is to express his opinion; it is not to “report” the news. Olbermann resides in the realm of advocacy media.