Eff you M$NBC

[malaise]

Stop trying to compare Hunter Biden with Smelvis the Slobfather.
This has not one shit to do with Joe Biden. Jebus Effin Krist - - enough

[ananda]

1. And yet so many of us still contribute to their ratings.

...

[malaise]

3. I am not a fan of their day time line up

Just saying

[PatSeg]

46. I rarely turn on the TV during the day

I only watch daytime cable news when there is some major event. I used to have it on all the time, but life is so much better when I only watch an hour or two at night, if that.

[malaise]

53. Now that he"s finally a felon

I may reduce my watch time😀

[PatSeg]

58. Yes, it has taken a lot of pressure off

to check the news all day long. Can you imagine if the trial had been televised? We wouldn't be able to tear ourselves away from our TVs. I think I could have done that without any regrets. There is nothing quite like witnessing history in real time.

Right now, I'm reading a book and "witnessing" birds and squirrels in the backyard!!

[bdamomma]

96. You know

it's getting sickening. Biden is doing so much for the American people. Propaganda is rotting people's heads, I guess Putin is very proud.

[brush]

101. Who was the host? I only watch after Tur and the earlier right leaners are done.

From Nicole Wallace on they're mostly left-leaning.

[malaise]

102. Anna Navarro n/t

[PatrickforB]

57. This is because MSNBC is owned by Comcast. You know how I feel about the legal

doctrine of shareholder primacy, so I won't belabor it, except to say that the fiduciary responsibility of MSNBC's executive producers and directors has nothing to do with truth in news. Their only job is to run programming that generates profits for shareholders.

Until we overturn the doctrine of shareholder primacy and force corporations to change governance to a stakeholder approach where profits are no longer supreme, but held equal with worker and consumer interests (including specific verbiage around objective truth in news) and the environment, we will continue to have biased new reporting from all publicly traded cable and network (ABC is owned by Disney and CBS by Paramount, did you know?) news organs.

Essentially, we never get the whole objective story. It is always a horserace because Wall Street and libertarian billionaire parasites want it that way. Hey, if we all hate and mistrust each other, their theory is we will not notice them squeezing every nickel and dime they can get out of us.

This is why I was so disgusted with the grossly irresponsible 2017 tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. Back in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, corporations paid in around 35% of the governments tax revenue and we had money to run the government and for programs that materially benefit us.

But starting with the snake Reagan, we had cut after cut until corporate income tax only contributes around 9%. As to individual taxpayers, our contribution went from around 45% back in the day to around 85% now. Interestingly, Wall Street lobbies powerfully through billionaire-owned think tanks like Heritage Foundation and ALEC as well as corporate-funded superPACS to get just a little more. Just a little. Nickel and dime, nickel and dime.

If we wanted to get rid of corporate corruption these two steps, changing corporate governance to a stakeholder approach, and revising the tax code so billionaires and corporations pay their fair share. It would solve a lot of seemingly intractable problems like environmental degradation, corporate malfeasance, and yes, truth in news, if we made those two little tiny policy changes.

Now, Malaise, we have this 2025 project. If you haven't read it it is definitely worth a skim. Because these billionaire-funded think tanks, primarily the Heritage Foundation, have gone line by line through all the federal agencies and outlined policies that will yield the most profit - things like removing sanctions on drilling for oil on tribal and public lands, gutting the EPA, getting rid of voter protections, and on and on. So if we end up with a right-wing theocratic dictatorship here, we will also have billionaire oligarchs really turning the screws on workers, consumers and forgetting about the environment altogether. Not to mention outlawing birth control as well as a national abortion ban.

It is all about greed. Nothing else. We do not actually worship God in this country. It is NOT a Christian nation. We worship the golden calf in the form of the bronze bull on Wall Street. Greed, envy, white nationalism (pride and wrath), lust, gluttony, and we are offered ever more addictive activities to distract us from our true nature while funneling more and more and more and more from the public treasury into the pockets of a few billionaire greed-lizard parasites.

Still, I am growing more optimistic daily about sweeping Democratic victories nationwide. Because look what is happening: Trumpy is an adjudicated rapist, conman and embezzler, and now a convicted felon. The Republicans have painted themselves in a corner after eschewing numerous chances to get rid of Trump and his crazy Nazi base. Lara Trump is in charge of the RNC and is funneling money that should go to downticket Republican candidates to Trump for his legal fees. Trump is putting out cease and desist orders for those candidates who are trying to campaign on his 'policies' such as they are. They aren't even pretending to be virtuous any more and are talking about setting up camps, deporting millions, ending the constitution.

And all the time, the Dobbs decision is hanging around their collective neck like a giant millstone.

I'm thinking we will win Senate, House and White House in November. The pendulum is swinging because sane Americans are getting pretty sick of the GOP culture wars and their refusal to do anything to actually govern the country.

[slightlv]

60. i think the think tanks

have also gone line by line of the Constitution and changed on their own what they don't like... or recommended doing away with whole sections... 2/3 votes of the states be damned. They want to fundamentally change this country to remake it more in line with Russia or Hungary. And T is only the idiot figurehead.

[Farmer-Rick]

64. Well written explanation of how

The economy affects our politics.

Well said.

I would add that remember, the convicted felon, stinking Nazi has already built concentration camps for immigrants and their children.

His next time around, he'll build them for Democratic and liberal voters.

[bdamomma]

97. I just

heard on Joy Reid that half of Americans want those deportation camps, like WTF???? They don't think those deportation camps will cast that net for them too. Scary thought.

JUST VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[oasis]

85. Terrific post with upbeat final

thought.

[mopinko]

4. i dont have cable. only see snippets on yt.

[PortTack]

29. Exactly...I refuse to watch...

[33taw]

35. I quit watching on 11/9/2016. They were as obsessed with Trump as any organization.

[Kurovski]

76. I quit in 2015

The "pied piper" plan to get Trump in as the candidate to go up against Sec. Clinton was in full, nauseating play.

[ificandream]

90. So what are you watching?

[33taw]

91. I watch some clips of various stations on YouTube. I cut DirecTV about a year ago. Mostly, I read online.

[MustLoveBeagles]

68. I like their nighttime lineup

The daytime not so much.

[marble falls]

2. Absolutely anybody else would have been allowed his original plea deal. Just plain WTF.

[Traurigkeit]

55. Thank/Blame the fucking bastids REPUBLICANS !!! M------------

[LiberalFighter]

5. I don't care for coverage by Ana Cabrera and Jose Diaz-Balart

Same for the 12 to 4 pm segments.

In addition not a fan of Danny Cevallos or Misty Marris.

[PatSeg]

49. I wasn't familiar with Ana Cabrera until recently

I think she was filling in for someone and I was really unimpressed with her. She didn't strike me as a serious, competent journalist.

[jimfields33]

83. There's only one real journalist and that's Rachel

The others read from a screen. Occasionally they may ask a question not on a card or screen to a panel.

[NanaCat]

88. Nonsense

Joy Reid was a TV news reporter long before MSNBC.

Chris Hayes was a print reporter before MSNBC hired him.

Lawrence O'Donnell was originally a freelance journalist.

Rachel Maddow never worked as a reporter. She wasn't even hired for her first job from the interview process other aspiring journalists must endure, but got her first job in radio because she won a contest put on by a morning talk show to be one of their talking heads.

[bdamomma]

98. Wasn't Rachel on

Air America, if I remember that correctly.

[TSExile]

6. The weekend daytime MSNBC lineup is eons better than the weekday one.

Just saying...

[malaise]

7. Good point

Rec

[TSExile]

8. Yes!!

Velshi, Katie Phang, Jonathan Capehart, Ayman...and Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend have really gelled together on "The Weekend". They laugh together all the time and it feels genuine.

[malaise]

9. Ayman had Mehdi on last night

Was good to see him

[TSExile]

14. Yes, that was great!!

I know Mehdi wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but I liked him and his show. It's great that he still pops up as a guest occasionally.

[bdamomma]

99. Oh shoot!!!

I missed Medhi.

[ShazzieB]

48. And the evening lineup on week days is excellent.

There are people on MSNBC who are doing great work. I will never stop watching those people just because there are a few loons on in the daytime.

I think it's very unfair (not to mention silly) to declare all of MSNBC to be garbage based on something somebody said on one show (or even a few).

[PatSeg]

50. I agree

Over the years, my preferences have changed, but right now I am loving Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell. I do catch Rachel's show on Monday and sometimes she is great, other times I fast-forward through all the repetition. That said, her book "Prequel" is extraordinary. She is an excellent writer and podcaster.

[soldierant]

73. No one does it better than Lawrence, Chris, and Rachel

but I do like Nicolle. (I don't have Cable either - I use streaming exclusively.0

[CTyankee]

75. My husband loves Nicolle Wallace (he has good taste in women, ahem)

So we routinely watch her show. She is great, does a fine job...

[PatSeg]

79. Yes, I like Nicolle as well

I don't usually turn the TV on that early, but she is an excellent host. She is very relaxed and authentic. Also she doesn't cut off her guests. She actually appears to be listening.

[PatSeg]

80. Yes, I like Nicolle as well

I don't usually turn the TV on that early, but she is an excellent host. She is very relaxed and authentic. Also she doesn't cut off her guests. She actually appears to be listening.

[PatSeg]

80. Yes, I like Nicolle as well

I don't usually turn the TV on that early, but she is an excellent host. She is very relaxed and authentic. Also she doesn't cut off her guests. She actually appears to be listening.

[PatSeg]

78. Yes I like Nicolle

But everyday for two hours is a bit too much for me. I watch her now and then, but I rarely turn the TV during the day unless something major is happening.

[soldierant]

84. I can't watch anyone for two hours at a time

or really even one hour. Roughly 25 minutes is my limit.

[PatSeg]

86. I've become the same way

Even if I really like a person, the sound of their voice can start to irritate me if I watch them too much. I've gotten in the habit of fast-forwarding as so many cable news shows are so redundant.

[PatSeg]

87. I've become the same way

Even if I really like a person, the sound of their voice can start to irritate me if I watch them too much. I've gotten in the habit of fast-forwarding as so many cable news shows are so redundant.

[spanone]

10. K&R

[FarPoint]

11. I totally agree...

I am not watching any cable news or MSNBC by choice until maybe late evening.....for this identified reason...they all create a narrative of division for sensationalizing a story.... Cable NEWS has morphed into fiction news networks...

[malaise]

16. I switched to the T20 cricket World Cup

RSA v Sri Lanka in New York.

[FarPoint]

26. Now...

Is that experience, switching to something normal much more satisfying? I find it a relief of sorts....I go to Cooking shows, Supernatural, Star Trek, Price is Right.... yea...less tension for me.

I can barely handle local news as well...also inflammatory, focused om crimes, wrecks and abuse stuff, murders, shootings....I remember when local events were a hot topic... yea, the weather is also sensationalized too.

[malaise]

30. We make the same switches

Sports, food, quiz shows/game shows😀

[FarPoint]

33. The upcoming Paris Olympics will help a bit...

Healthy diversion...

Fri, Jul 26, 2024 – Sun, Aug 11, 2024

[malaise]

34. Indeed

😀

[The Mouth]

12. I want him to be treated exactly the way Don Junior or Eric Trump would be

for the same crimes.

No better, no worse.

[ancianita]

13. Back in 2017 I wrote to ...

[e-mail]

... about the likely firing of Lawrence O'Donnell.

Part of it read...

"... If you get rid of Lawrence O'Donnell, you can take your contempt for progressive America, stay in your cowardly "both sides"/false equivalency bubble where consumers will detest your name as badly as they already do your parent company's.

Americans' distrust of media isn't as accurately described by this president as it is when MSNBC Cable news shows insult progressive Americans with false equivalency journalism and market infotainments.

I'm glad you when you're slammed at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
When you pander to progressive issues, yet fire progressive news hosts; when you sacrifice your prime time news ratings for ideological dictates of some distant parent company, you deserve all the ever-growing distrust, contempt and sponsor boycotts that you'll get from viewers.

If you ________ (insert key criticism here), I will never watch your network again for any reason, ever, because you have shown yourselves to be the kind of media cowards that Russia uses...."

I've no idea whether anyone eve read it, malaise, but O'Donnell wasn't fired; instead, he became a powerful progressive voice with high ratings.

Just thought I'd share this along with a suggestion that you (maybe) fire off an ultimatum to MSNBC, just in case they care about viewership numbers.

Glad you're pissed off.. Thanks for your post. This weaselly BS is exactly why MSNBC ratings aren't higher.

[malaise]

15. That was great

Rec.

[ancianita]

17. Meant for you!

Maybe try that email address?

[malaise]

19. Not sure they care

Whether foreigners watch😀

[ancianita]

23. What?? You're a voting American, right? Either way, you're still a viewer, so of course they care! Imagine

their losing Jamaican viewership! Tell them you are an influencer, read and listened to far and wide, and msnbc would lose thousands more viewers than you! Sounds hyperbolic, but so what -- they do the same f'n thing to the Bidens every chance they get as their corporate producers play along with rethug bullshit.

They deserve to be told to Eff off every single time they use this false equivalence messaging BS.

[malaise]

24. Nope

😀

[ancianita]

25. Cool. Duly noted.

[TSExile]

18. Was that over the "stop the hammering" debacle?

I think that was in 2017.

[ancianita]

20. Whatever it was about it was some 'pretext' in his latest contract re-negotiation. I wrote it in mid-May of that year.

[TSExile]

21. Got it.

I think the "stop the hammering" clip happened in September or October 2017. Thanks!!

[malaise]

45. Check this

Donald Trump is trying once again to knock me out of my job. He has always failed in his attempts to get me fired, so now he’s planning a bigger attack to shut down the whole network.

My response to Donald will lead off
@TheLastWord
10pm tonight.

From November 30 2023

[ancianita]

61. HAH! Great one! Good catch, thanks!

I remember this one! It's a killer LOD episode that proves tsf's and Clark's infinite idiocy is exactly why Project 2025 funders WANT them!



I'm laughing not because it's funny -- it's some serious ish -- but over the twilight zone idiotic absurdity of it all.

Thanks.

[malaise]

74. It was one of his best and there have been many

Great programs 😄

[ShazzieB]

51. Yes, it was.

Last edited Mon Jun 3, 2024, 05:50 PM - Edit history (2)

7 years ago and Lawrence is still going strong. If there were rumors of him being fired back then, I'd say they were no more than that: rumors.

[ancianita]

63. It was a big deal on DU at the time.

[ShazzieB]

70. I see.

I missed all that because I wasn't hanging out here then. Didn't become active here until sometime in 2019 or 2020.

I'm very glad those rumors came to nothing, because I enjoy his show so much. He's my favorite thing on MSNBC since Rachel went to one day a week.

[ancianita]

71. Yep, it was more than a rumor then. I'm with you. I love him the best, though Nicolle comes in a close second.

She lays out all the issues of the day during her two hours, and offers so much insight and context.

Then again, when Joy is really ON, she beats them all. They've got a great lineup at night. Daytime kinda sucks, tho'.

[The Grand Illuminist]

22. I stick with FSTV

Pure total truth.

[mjvpi]

42. Great choice.

[gab13by13]

27. Thom Hartmann comes on at noon.

[quickesst]

28. They are trying...

...to make a point of hypocrisy in the simplest of terms. It was obvious to me. It has nothing to do with the equating of charges against each of them. That said, Trump's cult probably didn't get it either.

[onecaliberal]

31. TURN IT OFF

[ificandream]

32. Why do I see more complaints here about MSNBC than Fox?

MSNBC is no danger to democracy. Fox is. That’s what people should be complaining about. And then Fox trolls come in here and tell you to turn MSNBC off. Good grief.

[ancianita]

36. Seriously? Criticism of liberal media bs isn't allowed? And who are the Fox trolls again?

[ificandream]

89. I didn't say criticism of liberal media isn't allowed. But MSNBC is not the problem. Fox and the RW media is.

[ancianita]

92. MSNBC, being as corporate owned as FOX, can still succumb to interpretation not grounded in fact,

and so it's in viewers interests to keep it more honest/less biased or extreme than FOX, and in the greater public interest of knowing who/what secures or endangers their freedoms. Its parent NBC-Universal, isn't to be trusted to look out for the public interest. It's not "letters to the editor" anymore, but viewership numbers and emails to corporate offices/producers, etc, that explain the numbers. Right and left have settled into profitable political markets.

I get that MSNBC might not be the problem, but corporate media bias (Fox) would likely be less of a problem for the public if the Fairness Doctrine had not been abolished in 1987, though it never applied to either cable or small radio networks, IIRC, since they weren't all in the "broadcast" licensing area. Thanks, Reagan & Bush. Then in swept the Rush Limbaugh darkness & division, profitable ever since for other, mostly right wing corporate media, that have practiced shallow hype over 'facts & context'.

Just my opinion, not a criticism of your post. Fox itself has already shown it's only had to change a few key words of its scripted narrative because of the $800 million win by Dominion. Nothing else changes there for its naive, poorer viewers, who suffer mental harm that's not measurable in courts.

[ificandream]

93. I think part of the problem is that pundits on all cable news are improvising as they go and get their tongues tied.

I realize that some, as journalists, are trying to make a news point, but sometimes the way they go about it is either confusing or just not making sense. I think they're trying their best (that includes Katy Tur and others who have been criticized here) but if there sometimes doesn't seem to be enough thought in those free-standing comments.

[ancianita]

100. They have producers and technicians for their shows. They have scripts. The problem is that the issues

are more targeted for their particular hour's viewership dataset -- and might or might not be of national press importance. Keeping good experts who can get to the heart of national issues, and asking, not improvised, but well thought out questions and followups is what gets good host/guest conversations going and increased viewership. Katy Tur is perceptive & smart, but she's lost perspective, and her producers...who knows...so far they've only gotten her to smile more.

If anchors or hosts seem confused, or can't lead guests with good questions, or get knowledgeable guests, it seems to me that that's when they have to start reading more, that's when their producers come in and get experts to give more events facts & context, so hosts can draw out their guests' thinking. Corporate news has a programming schedule and producers, and on some shows, the lack of information & insight shows.

[Blue_Adept]

40. The amount of hate-watching people do continues to boggle me.

[ificandream]

44. Yup.

Amazes me too. Do you think magas complain about Fox as much as liberals complain about MSNBC? They don’t.

[Magoo48]

52. Manipulated, incomplete, shallow, and corporate censored is always a threat.

It’s been over thirty years seen I’ve watched network news, I turned off MSNBC a decade ago. I’ve never seen FOX NEWS, and I most certainly am not any kind of right wing troll. I’m probably far left here on DU.

Corporate news is corporate news. If it’s got a CEO or shareholders anywhere in its lineage, it’s censored or restricted somehow. That’s corporate nature.

I watch or listen to listener-supported news, I get some news from DU and other progressive forums. I follow 2 foreign reports on the USA, I trust a few podcasts and blogs and research things the best I can.

I don’t care if folks watch news for profit, but if you do, really, why bitch?

[state of stupid]

37. same old same old

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=eagles%20dirty%20laundry%20live%20videos&FORM=VDRVSR&mid=5D4F6BA05F23BECB9F955D4F6BA05F23BECB9F95&view=detail&ru=%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Deagles%20dirty%20laundry%20live&ajaxhist=0

[Goldenlight]

38. MAGAT beware

Be careful what you ask for maggots. So all of the rednecks who buy a gun and do not mark the correct box of using illegally designated substances can be equally held liable. Or not…. as this is a Biden you know

[NoMoreRepugs]

39. Bothsiderism is really past its freshness date. I so look forward to reality being reality again at some point.

[Blue Owl]

41. M$M desperation

Things are looking disasterous for the GOP in November -- the M$M will be working overtime to do anything they can to demonize the Democrats and try to save the sinking GOP who ironically are the actual demons...

[ificandream]

47. The desperation isn't with the MSM.

It’s with the people who should be barking about the real dangerous to democracy like Fox.

[Roy Rolling]

43. Daytime News

It’s like daytime TV soap operas. It’s programmed to sell soap.

[Hekate]

54. Who in particular? Rachel Maddow? Nicolle Wallace? Their guests? Is it a time zone problem?

I know a lot of people hate Joe&Mika, but I don’t get up at 3 bloody a.m. to watch cable news, so frankly I don’t care. In my time zone I click on while making coffee, but if Andrea is nattering and doesn’t have a good panel discussing actual news to offset her, I just turn her right off. Nicolle comes on at a decent hour in mid day, and I make sure she gets recorded.

But the whole station? Everybody? Sad.

[malaise]

56. The morning and early afternoon crew

😀

[Hekate]

59. Ah, it is a time zone problem then

[duckworth969]

62. No MSM for me

Corporate overlords at the helm?

F them.

Don’t give ‘em clicks, that feeds the beast.

[flvegan]

65. MSNothingButCommercials?

I usually only tune in to the evening broadcasts now and then. Basically unwatchable at this point, which is a shame.

[Martin68]

66. I think the comparison is very useful, if hypocritical and false. It makes is much harder for Trump and his MAGA cult

followers to accuse the Justice Department of favoritism and unjustly "targeting" Trump. I agree - under ordinary circumstances it would be a travesty. But these are not ordinary times, and the indictment and trial of Hunter for a real crime, no matter how insignificant in the big picture - particularly while his father is president - removes the power of totally bogus claims that Trump was railroaded by the Biden administration. Let the trial run its course, let the media conduct make their silly analogies, and keep our eyes on the real prize. The presidency.

[republianmushroom]

67. Question, does Jr. own any guns ?

If so, can we expect a SC to investigate or would that be to political for the AG ?

[Deep State Witch]

69. Both Him and Eric

Are into trophy hunting. Especially the curated kind, where they release animals for people to hunt. Not actually hunting.

[prodigitalson]

72. Hunter Biden is basiclly a George W. Bush with better politics

and a George W. Bush with plain old George W. Bush politics is still much more honorable of a man than tfg

that make sense?

[Silent Type]

77. I liked 3 things about George war bush. He didn't buy into hatred of immigrants coming here

for a better life across southern border, despite its imperfections he signed/supported Part D Medicare, and I liked the button down shirts he wore.

But, otherwise, he sucked. I about threw my TV out when he joked about looking for WMDs in the Oval Office after he killed twice as many of our troops and contractors in Iraq than died on 9/11, and 150K innocent Iraqis.

As to Hunter Biden, this is all they could get him on after investigating his Ukrainian ties. To be honest, those should have been investigated, though not in public, but glad he passed.

[Akakoji]

82. It's incredibly useful to compare the two.

This has everything to do with Joe Biden.
That's why they are going after Hunter.
No Biden has to pay millions of dollars to people to testify for him.
His family is there supporting him from day one.
He's a person of integrity and decency who has not withheld the truth.
A white guy who just like Trump must follow the Rule of Law.

Good opportunity to compare that with Trump.

I'm grateful MSNBC is doing it.

It gives good talking points for the people that typically watch because we all know that the GOP is only interested in provoking the President. They have succeeded.

Today Joe told the world that he loved his son, and was especially proud of his fight against things in life so many of us have faced.

I want to see the entire trial broadcast.

And I want people to keep publicly comparing how a man acts versus a cowardly, manipulative traitor acts.

We can not remind people enough that Trump was convicted of 34 felonies because some of his friends testified with the truth at his trial, and a jury of his peers found him guilty. That wasn't a design flaw. It's how Democracy works.

No Biden needs to run away from that.

[bdamomma]

94. Why

don't they focus on Don Jr, coke addict. Sickening GQP they are all Putin's Puppets. What is it Kompromat??

[malaise]

95. Jared's money from the Saudis

Why is that off limits?

[dem4decades]

103. MSNBC is nothing to write home about, wasn't Katy Tur on Trump's list of reporters for positive stories?

That's MSNBC's next generation? Trump bootlickers?