Dear MSNBC (re Hunter Biden)

[BaronChocula]

The Hunter Biden legal case only tracks with the maga cult. No one else cares. Hunter isn't on any ballot anywhere. Yes, the Republicans will harp on it. They were harping on it before. They weren't going to stop harping on it EVEN IF he accepted the plea deal. Your analysis that this is a crucial election issue makes me laugh. I'm sure that as the day goes on wiser guest analysts will agree with me. I'm betting the president agrees with me.

[Polly Hennessey]

1. I agree with you. I still don't understand what the Hunter Biden thing is?

Some Media love the trivial.

[Caliman73]

10. The "Hunter Biden thing" is simply this...

From the Conservative standpoint: It is a way to smear Joe Biden. Since they have no policy issues on which to attack Biden, they are trying to link his son's behavior with the Presidency, which from all accounts, have NO link whatsoever. It is a standard dirty trick from people who have no desire to govern, but want POWER.

From the Media standpoint: This is a juicy "horse race" or "conflict story". The media is CREATING the effect on the election that they are saying, "can have an effect on the election". They want ratings rather than to inform. I am sure that some think it is an important story, but it really isn't. The REAL story is why Republicans are trying to smear the President rather than focusing on policies they think will convince voters to choose them.

[BaronChocula]

12. My ears are still ringing

from Chris Jansing opening her show every day with "INFLATION! BIDEN! MIDTERMS!" a year ago. Drama, drama, drama. Why do I still watch!

[PCIntern]

24. She and Lemire were/are two of a kind

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

47. It's basically: Nice family you have there Joe. Shame if something was to happen to them.

[MayReasonRule]

36. People Are Obsessed With His Gigantic Dick?

I don't personally know as I have purposefully avoided viewing Hunter Biden's dick pic.

It's rumored as such...

[Quakerfriend]

2. It certainly should not qualify as

breaking news. My thought as I listened to MSNBC was O.K., I guess more from Jack Smith is about to drop.

[Rebl2]

32. Well I

felt it was because the judge rejected his plea deal. I thought the judge would accept the deal and she said no to it.

[BillyBobBrilliant]

3. MSNBC meets

People Magazine, and National Enquirer for a three way.

[PatSeg]

4. If MSNBC has time to cover the Hunter Biden story,

then maybe they can find time in their 24/7 schedule to actually cover some other news as well. It seems they cover the same three, maybe four stories all day long. Then they bring in panels of "experts" as filler to rehash whatever story they've reported. If they need filler so badly, maybe they should look around and report "news".

And god forbid if some celebrity dies! Then apparently the whole world stops and that is the only story, sometimes for days.

[BaronChocula]

11. Totally!

I wonder if it's because of lack of budget, lack of editorial imagination, or both.

[jaxexpat]

17. The low hanging fruit of high media viewership is scandal

That Biden has this "chink" in his narrative has a man bites dog attraction factor because his administration is rational, respectable and successful. In short, it's a 180 from his predecessor and the Republican party.

[BaronChocula]

37. and not to mention

I feel the editorial class in the moderate news media feels they aren't being "fair and objective" unless they find things to be equally enraged over for "both sides." It can't possibly be a fact that Biden is more ethically and morally sound than any Republican in office or currently seeking office. They're afraid of seeming unfair to people who don't matter (Fox News Nation).

[jaxexpat]

43. It is a problem of artificial intelligence.

I don't think editors ever even look at the dialogue/print above their names. I think they let algorithms do their jobs for them.

[PatSeg]

38. I think budget concerns contribute,

but they also seem to try too hard to compete for ratings. In the process, so many actual news stories get sidelined. Right now I get email news alerts from both The New York Times and The Washington Post, and I'm shocked at how many stories never get even a mention on cable TV news.

I like a certain amount of commentary with my news, but it seems that in recent years, most of cable news is commentary. So we end up hearing the same story told from numerous different points of view over and over again. I suppose that could be both lack of budget and lack of imagination - it certainly comes across as rather lazy.

I used to watch hours of MSNBC every day, but now I rarely watch an entire hour.

[LakeArenal]

13. Oh gawd yessss....

[AnotherMother4Peace]

5. Jared Kushner received $2 billion from the Saudies & he was trump's SENIOR advisor. It wasn't

for his investment skills which sucks, e.g.: his gross overpayment and economic disaster of 666 Fifth Ave.

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

21. Funny, when I speak to the Trump-ites

and they say Jr Biden got $17 million,
I have to say well, just one Trump jr got $2000 million (because they generally don't get million v billion)

[snowybirdie]

6. Yes!

K & R

[Kennah]

7. Remind me again of Hunter Biden's position in government?

[mopinko]

8. it's the new buttery males.

or is it the new clenis?

[dem4decades]

9. Nevertheless, WTF is with Hunter's attorneys? They sure effed up.

[TalenaGor]

14. I noticed that everyone but ABC was covering that but...

ABC was covering the UFO hearing and OMG - so maybe they were trying to squash the significance of the UFO story?
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/watch-live-house-panel-holds-160732913.html

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. I really do not give a darn about this case

[brooklynite]

16. So, MSNBC should only cover stories that liberals care about?

[Leith]

19. Of course not

Neither should they harp on news that only magats care about.

Your posts seem very... uhh... interesting.

[brooklynite]

25. Reporting on a Court session and legal development doesn't seem to be "harping".

[crimycarny]

27. Reporting is one thing--opining is another

To report what's going on in the Hunter Biden case is fine, but to state this may have "election consequences" is an opinion, not fact.

This is the whole "horse race" crap that the media loves, regardless of political bent. Ratings, ratings, ratings. With 7x24 news they have to over-dramatize everything.

[brooklynite]

28. Half of cable news is "opinion"

If Rachel Maddow opined that it wouldn't have an impact, nobody here would be complaining.

[crimycarny]

39. Rachel Maddow is an opinion show

Um...It's "The Rachel Maddow Show" for a reason. The whole point of Rachel Maddow's show is to give her own opinion/analysis/spin on current events.

[brooklynite]

41. If you demand "news only" programming, I suggest you turn off the TV

Every MSNBC show includes opinions by experts, pundits, politicians, etc.

[crimycarny]

48. What are you even talking about?

I believe my original comment was my observation that with 7x24 media competing for ratings, there is a tendency to try and create a "horse race" and over-dramatize issues for ratings.

No one is "demanding" anything, just making an observation.

Why so angry?

[BaronChocula]

44. Here, let us explain it to you in simple terms

Is the Hunter Biden plea a news item? Yes.
Should it require an hour plus of uninterrupted coverage on non-Fox News channels? Absolutely not.

It is of some interest that Hunter Biden is in legal trouble. As of yet, outside of the fantasy realm of Fox et al, this really has no impact on the lives of Americans like, say, a reputed lying former president with a history of fraud (charities, universities) who tried to overturn an election because he didn't like the fact that he lost, and found himself under looming indictments for all of the failed rackets he put in order to prevent his rightful removal from office.

Of course, if you live in Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham's Hateville, where you're trying to convince everyone that there is such a thing as "The Biden Crime Family" then you would be thrilled to see as much coverage as possible of this inconsequential story that will have virtually no impact on the election, aside from it taking precious time from real issues during presidential debates.

So yes, I guess MSNBC should carry stories liberals care about since in my experience liberals care about all news items and the DU news feed reflects that. The context of the original post was in response to coverage overkill and infantile analysis. I hope this answers your question.

[brooklynite]

45. It received the coverage it received because there was a Court Hearing TODAY...

I doubt you'll see the same focus tomorrow.

[spanone]

18. I did hear Andrea Mitchell say the 'Plea deals are rarely rejected'

[MichMan]

22. They are when each side has a completely different understanding of them

From an earlier post

U.S. District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika pressed federal prosecutors and Biden’s lawyers to come to some “meeting of the minds.” But that appeared unlikely, as the two sides said they did not see eye to eye about the precise terms of their own plea agreement. At one point in the hearing, Biden’s lawyer declared there was no deal.

[twodogsbarking]

20. We have right wing news media and right wing media pretending to be liberal to appease us.

There is no reality.

[brooklynite]

42. I'd say MSNBC is doing a poor job of being RW...

...considering all the pro-Biden, anti-Trump stories and opinions they allow.

[Warpy]

23. They need to stop letting the mAGAts dictate their content

You're right, the simple tax case was settled. He's probably going to have to pay the IRS a bundle. That's old news and what the MAGAts are hyperventilating over is not news, at all.

[IcyPeas]

26. I turn on the news and literally count the seconds until they say the word "trump".

Then I change the channel. I just cant take it anymore. I don't even get to the first mention of "Hunter".

Has any single human EVER been the topic of every damn news outlet for the past 9 years???

ENOUGH!!!

ENOUGH!!!!!!

Tune in to BBC world news. It's a little better.

[tritsofme]

29. My advice is for you to watch something other than cable news all day.

It will do you good. I probably haven’t popped it on all summer.

And guess what? I missed absolutely nothing.

[dchill]

30. MSNBC daytime is all bothsiderism...

...until 4:00 pm.

[LiberalFighter]

35. Exactly!

I watch Deadline Whitehouse. Maybe some Chris and record Lawrence.

[gordianot]

31. Hunter stopped being Joe Biden's responsibility decades ago.

By now Hunter knows whatever the charge in court he will have to pay and whatever privilege he had is gone.

[JohnnyRingo]

33. News is news. Even if we don't like to hear it.

No media outlet is going to be scooped on a story just because it hurts people's feelings. I would be furious if MSNBC buried a topical story and I had to hear it elsewhere.

Leave it to the pundits to sort out the headline. That's their job.

[BlueIdaho]

34. And for this stunt

The judge got how much payola?

[former9thward]

40. What stunt?

And where is the evidence "payola" was involved?

[BidenRocks]

46. MSNBC "The Place For Politics "

There is no misrepresentation. They do not do news. Just politics.
CNN does some news.

I agree that Hunter is as exciting as Benghazi.