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MatrixRunner57
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Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
It has been announced that Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann have been kicked off political coverage at MSNBC. Both of them engaged in over the top bickering with each other and others. And as a result, MSNBC finished last in cable coverage of both conventions.
I saw it covered in the Daily Show and politico.com and it was amazing. Olbermann telling Joe Scarborough to get a shovel when he was talking positively about Republicans.
It was a beautiful train wreck...
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9/8/2008, 12:32 pm
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pc44
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
From USA Today
MSNBC: Olbermann, Matthews won't anchor political coverage
By David Bauder, Associated Press
NEW YORK — MSNBC said Sunday it is replacing Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews as co-anchors of political night coverage with David Gregory, and will use the two newsmen as commentators.
The change reflects tensions between the freewheeling, opinionated MSNBC and the impartial newsgatherers at NBC News. Throughout the primaries and summer, MSNBC argued that Olbermann and Matthews could serve as dispassionate anchors on political news nights and that viewers would accept them in that role, but things fell apart during the conventions.
Gregory, the veteran Washington hand, will anchor MSNBC's coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates and election night, said Jeremy Gaines, network spokesman. The change was first reported by The New York Times.
The tipping point appears to have come during the Republican convention when Olbermann, after the network aired a Sept. 11-themed video prepared by the Republicans, said that MSNBC should not have shown it.
MSNBC executives, who had publicly defended their anchors' roles while privately monitoring it throughout the political season, made the change over the weekend after discussions with Olbermann. Despite the controversy around him, Olbermann has been a hero with left-leaning viewers and keyed MSNBC's growth among coveted young viewers.
During her acceptance speech last week, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin talked about the "Washington elite" not accepting her qualifications for the job. Some delegates on the convention floor began chanting, "N-B-C, N-B-C."
Olbermann began to have difficulty keeping his opinions in check, or simply stopped trying.
He sarcastically dismissed GOP pundit Pat Buchanan on the air after Buchanan said the GOP had been enlivened by the entrance of a conservative Republican.
"Those reading US Weekly with the picture of her and her youngest daughter with the word 'scandal' written across it won't be so happy," Olbermann said.
He expressed little sympathy at another point when GOP anger at rumors over the Internet about Palin were being discussed.
"We'll see if people feel sorry for unfounded rumors on the Internet," he said. "If that's the case, Sen. Obama's probably standing up and cheering and waiting for people to feel sorry for him."
Perhaps most embarrassing, Joe Scarborough was discussing positive developments in John McCain's campaign at one point when Olbermann was heard on an offstage microphone saying: "Jesus, Joe, why don't you get a shovel?"
Scarborough, a former Republican congressman and host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, got in another nasty on-air exchange with MSNBC reporter David Shuster, and Matthews snapped at Olbermann on-air when it appeared Olbermann was criticizing him for talking too much.
All the drama made MSNBC a punch line when top NBC anchor Brian Williams appeared on Comedy Central's The Daily Show last week. "Is there no control?" Stewart asked him. "'Is it Lord of the Flies? "
A sheepish Williams said that every family has a dynamic of its own.
"But does MSNBC have to be the Lohans?" Stewart said.
Olbermann was in Denver during the Democratic national convention, but performed his co-hosting duties for the GOP convention in a New York studio. NBC President Steve Capus said the decision was not political, that Olbermann had been sent back to anchor coverage of Hurricane Gustav.
MSNBC's decision comes just before Olbermann's Countdown show is set to air, on Monday, Olbermann's interview with Barack Obama. That will put Olbermann in direct competition with his nemesis, Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, who interviewed Obama last week and is airing a portion of it Monday in the same 8 p.m. ET time slot.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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9/8/2008, 1:00 pm
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redheadelizabeth
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
Some years ago there was a study done of the content of major news outlets compared to the American public (not editorial, but news). Essentially, it showed that almost all of them were to the left and only Fox (barely) and the Washington Times were to the right.
In those days, both CNN and MSNBC were located at the mid-left to the American public (at the time Newsweek, The New York Times, and, believe it or not, the Wall Street Journal were the furthest left). But in the past couple of years, MSNBC made an explicit decision to tilt coverage leftward to differentiate itself so that it would be to the hard left, CNN in the mid-left, and Fox in the center, in order to pick up those most leftist viewers. For awhile, as it had at one time one half the viewership of CNN and one quarter the viewership of Fox, it worked as it drew level with CNN. But I guess something is going wrong.
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9/8/2008, 4:59 pm
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Amanda369
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
Really, I don't think anyone by any measure could classify Fox News as anything but well to the right of center. Not far-right, perhaps, but centrist? Not a chance.
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9/9/2008, 6:40 am
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pc44
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
I agree Amanda. I saw part of the Palin story the other night. It was pretty much a Republican commercial. I also saw some of Keith Olbermann last night(I never watch). That was one long Obama lovefest. If Obama was in the room, I'm sure Olbermann would drop to one knee and plant a big kiss on his cheeks.
I was also surprised that the WSJ was considered furthest left. I read to Journal.
In general, I find the TV news more biased. Why? You read a complete news story from AP, then you see it on the evening news. You realize that they tell "this" part of the story and leave of "that" part. This routine editing for time is where the subtle continous bias takes place.
Speaking as a Republican, it was amusing to see the Clinton's anger on being on the receiving end of that Obama adoration.
Paul
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9/9/2008, 7:04 am
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redheadelizabeth
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
>I don't think anyone by any measure could classify Fox News as anything but well to the right of center.
The study had Fox just to the right of center. Remember, this is news coverage, not editorial. Which is why the Wall Street Journal could score as the most liberal in terms of news. Both it and Fox are to the right on editorial content, but the study concentrated on news coverage. Even so, right in the middle Fox was rated the second-most conservative outlet (along with, interestingly enough, NPR).
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9/9/2008, 3:49 pm
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215079
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
Redheadelizabeth, who did the study? Was the study done by an independant organization? Did Rupert Murdoch have the study commissioned? Come on, I could claim I had read a study that stated that Fox news was so blatantly right wing that people should not consider their news coverage worthy of watching.
I have watched interviews with McCain and Obama. I have liked a great deal of what I have heard from both men. If I were able to vote for President ( I am not), I would make my decision based on their view of the future for American citizens, not on what political party they belong to.
By the way, what does left, right and centrist mean anymore? It seems to me that the American view is that to be left wing means that you are not willing to support your country's politicos every whim. To be right wing means to fully support the political agenda unfailingly. Centrist now sounds like an expletive, when one is so labelled.
The rumours (Canadian spelling) and negative comments about Palin are as attacking as what I have read about Obama.
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9/9/2008, 5:20 pm
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redheadelizabeth
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
The study was done by a political scientist at UCLA.
From your note, it's clear you don't know a lot about Americans' attitudes about politics or their thoughts on their political system. I think left and right mean here what they pretty much mean in other Western democracies -- the right believes government intrudes too much on personal liberties, beyond its basic function of protection, and should allow markets and other impartial mechanisms to work as freely se possible, while the left believes governemnt is there to remake society and people into an image it supports (regardless whether that actually comports to reality) because it perceives certain problems being caused by humans exercising their liberty. Your view is far too unsophisiticated.
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9/10/2008, 5:23 pm
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215079
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
Well, a political scientist from UCLA! That still doesn't answer my questions. Who is the scientist? Was the study paid for by an external agency? If you are going to make statements as fact, supply the background to support the facts. Too often, think tanks and corporations fund research for their own end.
I stand by my statements about the views of the left and right. It is the neocons/Republicans who have labelled anyone on the left as "looney". Why are all the leftist ideas looney? Because often they do not support the dominant view of the Republican party. For example, Palin has accused Obama of trying to save the world, as if that is a terrible thing to try and do.
Republicans on the other hand support everything that the Bush administration has done, including creating the biggest deficit the US has ever seen;it is still growing! I thought Republicans were against debt and big government, but this is the greatest accomplishment of the Bush government - massive debt and the largest federal government ever.
Isn't it time to examine the Republican ideology with its course of action? I realize you are a Republican in thought, I have only tried to express views that encompass facts over propaganda.
Maybe I am to "unsophisticated".
B
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9/10/2008, 7:00 pm
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richnh
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Re: Olbermann and Matthews booted off Political Coverage
quote:
215079 wrote:
Republicans on the other hand support everything that the Bush administration has done,
B
That is just totally false. I've been a Republican all my life and I certainly have not supported everything that Bush has done.
If you feel that Republicans are so single minded and are not open minded on issues, take the latest "rage" in the Republican camp, Sarah Palin. Here's the link from another thread about Palin. Time Mag article
The point is that Matthew Scully (Google his name) is not what many people would think of as your typical Republican and yet here he is, very involved in Republican politics. It is indeed a big tent.
I wish everyone would stop using labels to group people and then make assumptions on the individuals of the group. You cannot determine an individual's specific position on any given issue by an individual's membership in any given group. You certainly cannot make such broad sweeping statements about the individuals of such a large diverse group and expect to be taken seriously.
Here, I tell you what, let's try to break out of the left/right classes into something a bit more diverse. Try taking this extremely short political quiz and see where you stand. I wind up in the Libertarian camp.
Political quiz
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9/10/2008, 8:06 pm
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