MSNBC blows off Obama Notre Dame Address…
The Baltimore Sun’s David Zurawik chastises MSNBC for not covering President Obama’s Notre Dame address; something both CNN and FNC did do…
Both Fox and CNN provided wall-to-wall coverage of the activities at Notre Dame Sunday afternoon along with informed analysis and debate by analysts, experts and advocates on both sides of the abortion issue.
Kudos to both of them for blanketing this important cultural moment.
As for MSNBC, they should get around to putting their A-Team on it Monday night when they can show their two chief ideologues, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, making faces and heaping scorn on their political opponents on the right. That’s low-rent talk radio with a camera, not work worthy of a national news channel. And this one has the resources of NBC News behind it. Why don’t they just go all the way at MSNBC and show infomercials on Sunday afternoons?
Obvious point Zurawik missed: This episode should put to rest once and for all the notion that MSNBC is in the tank for Obama. If it were, it surely would have covered the address and done it in a way that would have been over the top. Yes, I agree they should have covered it (and this should raise serious questions as to why it wasn’t covered). But the fact that it didn’t, shows that the network isn’t about all things Obama all the time.
May 17, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I like MSNBC and try to see the good in the network (need a magnifying glass), but its kind of hard when they make boneheaded decisions like this. Yeah, its more important to show an old Scott Peterson documentary than the President. Give me a snorking break.
May 17, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Only MSNBC Prime Time is in the tank (but they are still critical at times). Actually, I think Maddow and Olbermann are more critical of Obama than Matthews and Shuster.
The problem with MSNBC? They would be nothing without Olby and Maddow. CNN and FNC have a lot more talent to go around. MSNBC blowing off the Obama Notre Dame address is evidence of that.
May 17, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Why couldn’t they get Jansing or someone from Dayside in to cover it? Its not like it was a spur of the moment event, they knew of this for awhile.
May 17, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Does this have anything to do with all of the staff cuts @ MSNBC? Perhaps they do not have the “right staff” to properly handle an important weekend news topic.
May 17, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I would like to see the ratings. I agree that it was silly not to cover this big event, but is there any chance they were counterprograming? Not that it makes it any better if you want to be a real news channel. But they usually do well on the weekends with the docs, could it have been a financial choice ignoring the “mission” of the whole channel? Management needs to be contacted by the media.
May 17, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I think Chip hit the nail on the head on this one. I think it was all about saving money. Bad decision just the same.
May 18, 2009 at 7:39 am
Spud, I am baffled by your continued disbelief in the obvious bias that goes on with the media, MSNBC in particular.
It’s painfully obvious to everyone, except you, that MSNBC is in the tank for Obama. Just like FOX is in the tank for conservative issues.
This was purely a financial decision. They didn’t want to pay production & anchor staff to come in on a weekend. Period.
Their bias remains wholly intact.
And Corny, you are mistaken that the bias is just prime time. Andrea Mitchell, Norah O’Donnell, David Shyster, etc. are all so tilted to the left they’re on the verge of toppling over.
May 18, 2009 at 8:12 am
From TVNewser:
“An MSNBC insider authorized to speak on the matter said, “We chose to remain with our regularly scheduled programming.” But others at MSNBC think the network should have interrupted programming. One tells TVNewser, “I think we should have taken it. We did all these stories on it, then to not air the speech? It’s like, are those crime shows that important.” Another says it’s rare for MSNBC to break in to weekend afternoon programming for anything other than breaking news. “It’s a skeleton staff on weekends,” says the insider.”
May 18, 2009 at 10:23 am
Sorry, you’re not seriously suggesting that MSNBC’s non-coverage of this address is evidence that they’re not strongly pro-Obama.
As Zurawik pointed outl, they’ll cover it this evening with the Olbermann and Maddow dog-and-pony show of fake outrage at Obama’s critics and swooning over the President’s brilliance.
That’s if there aren’t any more risque photos of Miss California that Olbermann can show and then act like a 12 year old with his pants around his ankles over.
Again.
Somerby said it better; grow up Olbermann, please.
May 18, 2009 at 11:04 am
Bigred, you’re right. Mitchell and O’Donnell are pretty much in the tank. I forgot about them!
May 18, 2009 at 11:37 am
“MSNBC is in the tank for Obama.” You guys need new material, especially now that Rachel Maddow is practically ready to impeach the guy.
May 18, 2009 at 11:56 am
Joe…if the 2012 election were tomorrow & it was Obama vs. “GOP Candidate”, you can’t tell me that RM wouldn’t vote for Obama.
There were many areas that I, as a traditionalist, disliked GWB:
- Immigration
- Spending
- Trade
However, I still voted for GWB over John Kerry because Kerry scared me more. RM is just upset because Obama is ultimately responsible for the safety/security of this country & he’s making decisions that he feels is in this country’s best interest instead of what he campaigned for/against. Candidates that become Presidents ultimately have to make these kind of decisions.
Now, if RM wants to recruit/support a primary candidate to run against Obama in 2012 that would be interesting. It’s not going to happen, but it certainly would be interesting.
May 18, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Chips, I agree about your assessment of Obama. He’s becoming the President I thought I was voting for, not the Dennis Kucinich far-lefty “progressives” (hate that term) were hoping for. Of course RM would always vote aganst the GOP, but I think she would vote for a more liberal Green Party candidate over the Dem in some instances.
May 18, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Joe…agreed about Obama. You got me thinking/laughing about good ol’ Dennis Kucinich. I’m certain he’s going to run again in 2016 (it’s in his DNA). God help us all if he ever became President. The man is a few vegan beans short of a happy meal (jmho).