Lean Forward Falls On Top of MSNBC Journalists?
Meidiate’s Alex Alvarez takes a few whacks at MSNBC’s new Lean Forward ad featuring Tamron Hall…
While not exactly a particularly shocking point of view for an MSNBC personality to have, Hall’s new ad seems to undermine the network’s own assertion that its opinion programming begins at 3 pm — right after Hall’s show.
Yes it does. One gets the sense MSNBC is subtly pushing its news anchors into more publicly ideologically partisan positions. I haven’t seen this done to them all and I question whether those who have had it done to them realize they’re being used to this degree in advancing MSNBC’s increasingly ostentatious projection of Progressive themes across all dayparts save for a few notable remaining dayside holdouts.
Even if you find yourself more or less in line with the slant MSNBC offers, you have to admit that its morning coverage isn’t without a clear left-leaning bias, even if its offers something distinct from the network’s primetime “advocacy programming.” And while leaning left can mean many different things — Ed Schultz’s take on an issue may be markedly different from, say, Thomas Roberts’ — MSNBC’s daytime programming reflects a certain ideology, both in its choice of stories and the way these stories are presented and discussed with guests or among panelists.
Here, Alvarez loses me partly. I don’t think you can convincingly irrefutably argue that MSNBC’s morning coverage isn’t without a clear left-leaning bias equally across all shows and all show hosts. I think it’s headed in that direction, barring a course correction or another internal rebellion from inside NBC News of the type that occurred four years ago, and may indeed ultimately wind up there (but not without some talent changes as I know certain anchors there would never subjugate and compromise themselves and their reputations that way though apparently we can count Andrea Mitchell out of that group). But I think it’s still premature to argue what Alvarez is arguing here.
One cannot dispute that MSNBC has stacked its dayside analyst deck full of Progressives. I don’t see nearly enough partisan Conservative analysts arguing as forcefully and convincingly as I do Progressive analysts, which I regard with considerable alarm. Worse, I’ve noticed that some of the Conservative analysts MSNBC used to regularly showcase have started popping up with greater frequency at CNN, though I don’t have enough empirical evidence at hand to draw a direct causal relationship between these two events because there is a lot of cross-analyst movement between networks.
March 28, 2012 at 4:51 pm
Tamron Hall’s show may be loosely classified as non-opinion but only loosely. Hall makes it clear where she stands on just about every issue. Most of the lean forward ads are pretty ridiculous and aren’t much more than DNC propaganda ads but I have a hard time getting outraged about it. I simply don’t consider really anything coming out of MSNBC as news. CNN is left-wing but they are a news channel. Same with the big 3 networks. MSNBC is basically all propaganda, all the time. They are what they are so I don’t care that Sharpton is covering himself and the rally’s, I don’t care that Ed takes money from the unions, I don’t care that Tamron films a propaganda ad. I think that people who do care only do so because they still regard MSNBC as a news network.
March 28, 2012 at 4:58 pm
FWIW, I don’t mean for my above comment to come across as anti-MSNBC. I’m not anti-MSNBC. I have no interest in getting any of their anchors fired, boycotting their sponsors, etc. I honestly don’t care what they do. They could hold a telethon to raise money for the Obama campaign for all I care. My point is that I don’t consider them a news network so it’s hard to be outraged over things like Ms. Hall’s “lean forward” ad.
March 28, 2012 at 5:06 pm
I think it sucks for the actual journalists who work there. Not that I care or anything.
March 28, 2012 at 5:15 pm
Identify the actual “journalists” that work at MSNBC. Are these people only working for MSNBC or BOTH NBC and MSNBC? I would think their contracts will state they must be on both forums. If their contract is only with MSNBC I hesitate to say they are “true” journalists”. These folks are more like people who need/want a job and don’t believe they have the opportunity to be a “journalist” anywhere else so they are comfortable being what they are at MSNBC.
Don;t know if that makes sense or not.
March 28, 2012 at 5:21 pm
Anybody who watches that Tamron Hall commercial and sees it as some kind of bias or lack of objectivity, you have a couple of screws loose up there.
Her point about our troops is absolutely true and she wasn’t taking a specific stance defending liberals or conservatives. She was defending our troops, and the last time I checked, that’s the American thing to do.
March 28, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Wrong ad, Prog.
March 28, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Andrea Mitchell…..newswoman? Come on now…she has been an old Leftist hag for years. Headed to take over the Helen Thomas mantle.
March 28, 2012 at 5:40 pm
“I’m not anti-MSNBC. I have no interest in getting any of their anchors fired, boycotting their sponsors, etc. I honestly don’t care what they do. They could hold a telethon to raise money for the Obama campaign for all I care. My point is that I don’t consider them a news network so it’s hard to be outraged over things like Ms. Hall’s “lean forward” ad.”
^^My exact position of FNC.
March 28, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Copy cat.
March 28, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Hall’s ads are not very good IMHO.
The first one about using the troops as a pawn doesn’t make much sense as that almost never occurs.Most on the left or right don’t blame the troops for the US military policy. in fact most go out of their way to praise the US military’s performance and to point out that they are not to blame. The back and forth at the end is an obvious take off on the Obama speech at Kerry’s nomination in 2004.
The new one states an obvious fact and I can’t see what point she is trying to make. It’s only feature is that it is remarkably hard to remember anything she said in it.
You can argue that Sharpton’s and other ‘Lean Forward’ ads are biased or propaganda but at least you remember them. Hall’s go in one ear and out the other.
March 28, 2012 at 7:48 pm
It’s hard line … I didn’t think the anchors should have even done the “Lean Forward” stuff. Most people can figure out what is news and what is POV , SInce MSNBC is corporate and care about the bottom line and their lean forward programming has been good in their eyes ratingswise they have sought to expand it. Their thinking could be is most people look for news on the web why have a channel for news ,the POV brings in ratings.
March 29, 2012 at 7:36 am
If you are saying that Chris Jansing won’t allow herself to be pushed “forward”, I beg to differ. On Monday this week, she interviewed Al Sharpton in his public figure “advocacy” capacity (or was it in his MSNBC host capacity? It is hard to distinguish the two). I was shocked that she allowed her journalistic integrity to be compromised by Shilling for Sharpton.
March 29, 2012 at 7:53 am
MSNBC has become faux news.
March 29, 2012 at 8:25 am
“I was shocked that she allowed her journalistic integrity to be compromised by Shilling for Sharpton.”
Shocked yes; but were you outraged?
I suggest you stick with FNC where journalistic integrity is never compromised.
March 29, 2012 at 10:54 am
Wait, wait, wait… MSNBC is full of progressives and FNC is full of conservatives? Now that’s news.
Seriously, is anyone surprised Tamron Hall is liberal?? Really?
“My exact position of FNC. ” Fritz3, I am so with ya.
March 29, 2012 at 10:58 am
Tamron Hall’s ad is very annoying. Nobody is calling the troops un-American.
March 29, 2012 at 11:13 am
Ideological biases show up in many ways. Its not just what an anchor says during the broadcast but what they choose to cover and how they present information. CNN can get all high and mighty about their “straight news” but even they are creeping into the point-of-view market. Granted, they have the most objective news anchors in cable news, but their recent endeavors show a willingness to cross that line even if they do not want to admit it. Soledad O’Brien, Piers Morgan, Erin Burnett, and Fareed Zakaria all regularly display an ideological leaning and/or express a POV. I don’t have a problem with that because at least I know where they are coming from. My only complaint is when the news channel tries to convince me there is no bias whatsoever when anyone watching their show can tell otherwise. Don’t give me your “take” and then tell me that you are only expressing the unbiased, unvarnished, indisputable truth as if your “viewpoint” is fact. CNN has become political hack central so they have an army of pundits from both ends of the political spectrum who do nothing but push an ideological agenda. For better or worse, the lines have been crossed and it is never going back.
March 29, 2012 at 2:16 pm
CNN is about as unbiased as the East German Olympic judges were.
March 29, 2012 at 2:22 pm
^ Yeah, but the women don’t have facial hair.
March 29, 2012 at 5:20 pm
^ there is nothing I could say to that which would no get me in deep doodoo.
March 29, 2012 at 5:26 pm
I think what Hall is trying to say is the Right claims the military for their own and uses that claim for political benefit. She believes nobody has any business doing so because the troups make up all of America. (well, the part willing to enlist)
To me, it sounds like an arguments from 30 years ago.
March 29, 2012 at 8:10 pm
“They’re Americans! And that’s a fact.”
Duh. It sounds sillier each time it plays.
March 29, 2012 at 8:24 pm
“I am America, and so can you!”
March 29, 2012 at 8:35 pm
The only reason why Jansing doesn’t have a “lean forward” ad is because msnbc hasn’t asked her to do one yet. Hall, Mitchell, and Todd are msnbc’s top day-side anchors, that’s why they have ad’s.
March 29, 2012 at 8:40 pm
Just to pick up on what I said above: Jansing has no promos advertising her show. She’s the only person on msnbc who has a “branded” show with no advertising. I’ve never seen an ad for “Jansing co” but I’ve definitely seen ad’s for all the other branded shows on msnbc. I think that speak volumes.