Report that Chris Hayes to take over Ed Schultz time slot on MSNBC

[Laurian]

According to this article:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/chris-hayes-to-take-over-8-p-m-show-on-msnbc/?smid=tw-share

I like Chris, but I prefer the variety provided by Ed on his current show during the week.

[WCGreen]

1. I like Chris Hayes but he talks too fast...

[Laurian]

3. Agree. Keeping up can be exhausting. Also, back to back

inside Washington wonk discussions (Chris and Rachel) could be a bit much. I liked the different perspectives Ed provided with his emphasis on middle America and labor. Middle class folks squeezed out of the picture again.

[Samantha]

2. I think it is a disturbing trend at NBC to make decisions based on target groups of audiences

they want to capture.

Excellence in broadcasting doesn't have anything to do with age. If you would like to disagree with that statement, I will ask you what kind of draw do you think someone like Barney Frank could have gotten for the network? And what do you think of Bernie Sanders' commentary when he appears on cable. These are two people who have a depth that many others do not, regardless of age.

Harry's Law was canceled although it was the second most viewed show behind SMASH. Why? It did not reach the target age group of viewers advertisers demanded. That was an excellent show, great scripts, great actors, but it is gone because it did not appeal to a targeted age group.

I personally think that is a seriously flawed approach to deciding who and what will be broadcasted, especially inasmuch as there is a ton of material on cable today that is simply mindless or trashy.

This trend could easily persuade many to not renew their cable contracts, but to just move on over to other access of shows they choose to watch when they want to watch for better content costing less money. I for one am definitely in that group, and I do not think I am alone.

Sam

[Zen Democrat]

4. But it's not about popular programming. It's about selling crap to a target audience.

They don't care if millions watched Harry's Law if that show didn't attract the high-end advertisers. Follow the money. Remember, in television the advertising is content and the programming is filler to pull in a target audience to view the product propaganda.

[Samantha]

6. I was following the money - maybe I didn't make that clear

NBC advertisers insisted on attracting a viewership within a certain age bracket. Harry's Law did not attract that target audience and was canceled. Aren't we saying the same thing?

Sam

[BlueStreak]

5. Ed's show is little more than 47 minutes of ranting and 13 minutes of ads

When Ed isn't ranting, he has on the usual stooges to carry on the rant.

No better than Faux "news".

And that's essentially the same thing that ALL the evening programs have turned into. And what is worse, they all rant on the same damn 3 stories. Every damn night. It is fatiguing. Unwatchable by anybody with functioning brain cells.

Hayes' show goes into a lot more depth. But I bet within 2 weeks being on the daily cycle, his show will be just as bad as the rest. And Ed's weekend show will probably be good. When you have more time to prepare, you can plan a better hour.