Tale of would-be VP not knowing Africa's a continent fooled media
New York Times Nov 13, 08 9:43 AM CST
(Newser)
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MSNBC thought it had a scoop: On Monday, it identified "Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser" as the man who claimed Sarah Palin didn't know Africa was a continent. Only trouble? Martin Eisenstadt doesn't exist—he's a character in an elaborate, months-long hoax that has taken in news organizations from the New Republic to the LA Times , the New York Times reports.
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Parenting groups applaud response to Morning Joe's F-bomb
Broadcasting & Cable Nov 12, 08 10:06 AM CST
(Newser)
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MSNBC is putting a 7-second muzzle on Joe Scarborough, after the Morning Joe host accidentally uttered the F-word during Monday’s show. Though cable networks are immune from FCC decency rules, MSNBC confirmed that it was instituting the delay to prevent a repeat incident and noted it had done the same thing for Don Imus when his gums flapped a little to wide.
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OPINION
Host has crusaded against TV profanity
Salon Nov 10, 08 12:15 PM CST
(Newser)
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MSNBC host Joe Scarborough dropped what he calls an F-bomb on Morning Joe today, letting the profanity slip when describing Rahm Emanuel's hard-charging style as “flipping people off and screaming F-you at the top of their lungs.” Which might be inconsequential, writes Glenn Greenwald for Salon, except that Scarborough has relentlessly railed against profanity on American airwaves and pushed for strict FCC penalties against violators.
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GLOSSIES
MSNBC's unlikely hit powered by brains, drive
New York Nov 3, 08 12:57 PM CST
(Newser)
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Rachel Maddow is an unlikely cable-news pundit: butch lesbian, holder of a doctorate from Oxford, erstwhile drive-time radio sidekick. But her MSNBC show, launched in September, has been wildly successful, not least because of her good humor and outsider credentials. She plays well with Pat Buchanan, and still snags a critical young demographic, Jessica Pressler writes in a New York feature.
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OPINION
Washington Post Oct 27, 08 12:29 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama has suggested voters are “seeing two different realities, a Sean Hannity reality and a Keith Olbermann reality”—and he’s right, Howard Kurtz writes in the Washington Post . "Adored by fans and derided by critics," Fox's Hannity is an unapologetic John McCain booster, while Olbermann uses his MSNBC pulpit to promote Obama.
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Execs thrilled as new host grabs for
Larry King's crown
New York Times Oct 21, 08 2:41 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Rachel Maddow has made MSNBC a prime-time contender with dizzying speed, the New York Times reports. The liberal pundit's Rachel Maddow Show more than doubled the network's ratings in the 9 pm slot within days of its debut six weeks ago, and has beaten CNN's Larry King Live among viewers ages 25 to 54 more often than not.
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Russert's fill-in has played diplomat between NBC, McCain
New York Times Sep 30, 08 10:47 AM CDT
(Newser)
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NBC is preparing for a post-Brokaw Meet the Press, but replacing the elder statesman won’t be easy, the New York Times reports. Brokaw has exceeded expectations as a fill-in for Tim Russert, keeping NBC’s Sunday show atop the ratings. Less publicly, he’s been a crucial diplomat between the network and the McCain campaign, which associates NBC with left-wing MSNBC hosts like Keith Olbermann.
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OPINION
Host only shines in clashes with the right
New York Times Sep 25, 08 4:39 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Despite all the hype and the glowing blogosphere reviews since she got her own MSNBC slot Sept. 8, Rachel Maddow’s program has turned out to be a clone of the Keith Olbermann vehicle that precedes her: “less a show than an annex,” Alessandra Stanley writes in the New York Times . With guests fitting MSNBC’s liberal, Anti-Fox News tilt, “that kind of echo chamber doesn’t make for very interesting television.”
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OPINION
Blogger calls for Matthews, Olbermann to keep their jobs
Gawker Sep 8, 08 5:09 PM CDT
(Newser)
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David Gregory will be the face of MSNBC's election coverage, and the ouster of "loud shouty people" Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews isn't sitting well with at least one viewer. "It's a stupid, stupid idea, for many reasons," Alex Pareene writes on Gawker of NBC Universal's decision. "If people wanted Brian Williams and David Gregory to cover everything quietly and politely they'd actually watch your evening news."
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Lefty has own ideas for mainstream medium
Boston Globe Sep 8, 08 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Rachel Maddow’s own show debuts at 9 EDT tonight on MSNBC, but the liberal pundit doesn’t sound so much excited as worried. TV has “homogenizing tendencies,” she tells the Boston Globe . “It’s like being put through a meat grinder.” But worried or not, the Air America host is making the leap, bringing another lefty to the brink of mainstream pundit stardom.
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David Gregory will host election coverage
New York Times Sep 8, 08 5:27 AM CDT
(Newser)
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After months of criticism and pointed derision at the Republican convention, MSNBC will yank Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews from the anchor seats during this fall's debates and election. NBC News correspondent David Gregory will host election coverage, while Olbermann and Matthews remain as commentators. Ratings at the struggling network have been up, but critics of the network have questioned its more partisan coverage.
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OPINION
Broadcasters cede historic role as political pundits
Los Angeles Times Sep 1, 08 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The Democratic Convention made it official, writes Scott Collilns in the Los Angeles Times: The broadcast networks have passed the political torch to the cable networks. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC not only delivered “wall to wall coverage” compared to the broadcast nets' paltry hour of nightly programming. Their ratings soared, while the networks' "stank."
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Gets personal and political on-air at the DNC
New York Post Aug 27, 08 10:17 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Infighting between MSNBC anchors is turning the Democratic National Convention into a partisan catfight. Joe Scarborough, who once served as Republican representative, got touchy when David Shuster yesterday referred to “your party, the Republican Party” and Scarborough and Tom Brokaw are miffed at the channel’s decision to increase its left-leaning programming.
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