I'm watching an all MSNBC lineup tonight [View all]

[hyphenate]

The lineup at Current dismays me. I've watched all three shows more or less since their start, but I was watching Current because of Keith. In comparison to those shows, Ed Schultz, Rachel and Lawrence are seasoned professionals.

With Current, there was an anchor. There was a seasoned pro who could usher in the less than professional hosts, and give them a nod. Without KO, there is no anchor, no name who can draw people in, no reason for people to check them out.

I'm certain the others will get better as time passes, and that's fine. But without KO's passion, even his ego, the network elicits no desire in me to watch relative amateurs in their ongoing TV host training, especially in this primary season, with all the ongoing politics which are so vital to our democracy.

I know some people dislike KO. That's okay--I, too, hate some things on TV, like stupid reality shows. But I also am well aware that Hollywood, as a state of mind, hates amateurs--or it DID, before the networks started handing out cameras and TV shows to just about everyone, including garbage collectors. Polish was a virtue, something that made a diference in the way a host (and therefore, a show) was perceived. It still does, to an extent--I wish it still meant more. But it's difficult to stitch the wide variety of news viewers out there--in order to please everyone, there would be a vast empty space in TV land. But there will always be fearless pioneers who push the edge of the envelope so that TV evolves, and KO was one of them.

I don't watch all news all the time. Hell, watching the primetime lineup tonight was actually a fluke. But sports messed up some of my shows, and I decided to stay tuned to MSNBC. It wasn't so much a choice as it was a necessity.

There is still a lot of anger in me toward Current. I am irritated at Keith as well--it's not ALL Current's fault, but letting Keith go was a colossal mistake, and they're going to be paying for it for a long while. I'll be surprised if anyone even knows who they are at election time.