Does anyone watch The Ed Schultz Show on MSNBC?

[beachmom]

I find it completely unwatchable. Basically, he rants like a right winger but instead it is loosely of a more "progressive" slant. I literally have to turn the TV off, or better yet, tune into the News Hour with Jim Lehrer to get the real news.

I thought it was only me, but apparently not:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/the_scoreboard_thursday_april_16_114376.asp

Blitzer consistently beats him.

Anyway, I am interested in everyone's opinion on this. I am not sure Ed's show will survive.

[Skidmore]

1. I think Ed's doing just fine.

You can keep Blitzer and the neocon channel. It wasn't so long ago that Blitzer was serving as a mouthpiece for Robertson, Falwell, and Dobson. I'm just fine with Ed and the issues he brings to the fore.

[polichick]

2. I think Ed is great, and think of Blitzer as a corporate shill. Lol - to each her own!

[beachmom]

6. The point is Ed is consistently beaten by the very unremarkable Blitzer.

This is not about point of view, guys. This is about having a good show. I may agree with Ed on certain issues, but that doesn't change the fact that in my view his show completely sucks.

[Skidmore]

8. His program hasn't even been on for two weeks yet.

[polichick]

12. Sure, corporate style in big in the U.S. - I'll take Ed's truthtelling any day...

I like his style and his show.

[beachmom]

15. I heard little in the way of "truth telling". Although to be fair 10 minutes

was the max I could take.

[polichick]

16. He's all about talking truth to power and sticking up for regular working Americans...

He's a big Obama supporter, but doesn't fail to address what he sees as mistakes ~ like the double standard re banks and car manufacturers.

[beachmom]

20. That is ALL he talks about, and he doesn't even have any reporting

to go with his rants. NOW on PBS has done much more to expose what is happening to working Americans than Ed's mindless rants. It comes across as hollow to my ears.

[polichick]

26. Then Ed is not for you. :)

[beachmom]

29. Probably not. I am reading some good defense here. That is the point

to this conversation, I guess. I will say my folks watch Hardball, but absolutely do NOT like Ed Schultz. I think 1600 was in many ways better. I also think Lawrence O'Donnell would make a great host for a show.

[meli224]

45. totally agree

I miss Shuster. I also think O'Donnell would be much better.

[Mike Daniels]

49. They should have given Ed the 10 p.m. slot and kept Shuster at 6 p.m.

Hardball and 1610 Penn. Avenue worked well together as they both fell into that point/counterpoint format which works better during standard news hour time slots.

Ed would have fit better following the other echo chamber shows (Olbermann and Maddow). The positioning between the two Hardballs was way too jarring in tone.

[Empowerer]

32. I'm tired of cable programs devoted to a host's opinion rants, regardless what side they're on

It's getting ridiculous. All day long, we get nothing but airhead Barbie and Ken dolls "umming" and "awing" and "We don't have the facts in yet, but the speculation we're hearing . . ." interspersed with various "political consultants" (who couldn't possibly be consulting with anyone in politics about anything meaningful since they spend all of their time in the studio) yelling the day's partisan talking points at each other. Then at night, we get hour after hour of personal opinion rants from hosts with no special knowledge or expertise about anything - followed by hour after hour of repeats of the same shows. Rachel Maddow is the least offensive of the lot, but even she doesn't offer anything close to news or real analysis.

It's a pretty disgraceful waste of valuable airtime that could be used to actually inform the American public about issues.

[beachmom]

34. You nailed it. And don't forget this is happening at the same time newspapers who actually

do reporting are disappearing.

These are not news shows. They are entertainment shows. Frankly, Stewart and Colbert are the best in that category, but at least they don't pretend to be real news shows.

I guess cable news has gone the way of MTV. MTV no longer plays music videos, and cable news no longer provides news and reporting.

[Fla Dem]

43. I don't mind truth telling, but Ed would be more watchable when he's not on the verge

of blowing a gasket. His intense delivery may be good for radio, but on tv a more relaxed, calm approach would go a long way to grabbing the audience. Life is crazy enough not to having people screaming at you when all you want is an intelligent discourse of the days issues.

[polichick]

47. Ed just seems enthusiastic to me - to each his or her own.

[Jennicut]

24. Um, Blitzer is well known and been there for like 20 years or something

Ed just started. I personally like him, he is a down to earth guy.

[otohara]

3. I Like His Radio Show - But on TV....

not so much.

So no, I don't watch The Ed Show (which is a dumb name)
Hate the set.

[beachmom]

13. I think he needs to re-tool ASAP. The set sucks, but more importantly

starting off with a ranting "Op Ed" is lame. "Main Street vs. Wall Street"!! Geez, that is the lamest of slogans which I didn't care for even coming from Obama.

Liberals are less inclined to like rants. That is why Fox News will always win the ratings wars -- rants are more popular with conservatives than liberals who prefer NPR & BBC.

[NatBurner]

i can't deal with the obnoxious "equalizer" lights

in the background myself

other than that, eh

[Peacetrain]

4. I have watched it a few times.. he is not as smooth as 1600 was

but I think he is doing pretty good. He needs some times to find his niche

[Thrill]

5. Of course Wolf beats him. Ed just started. My problem is with letting RW nuts on the show

and allowing them to speak their garbage

[beachmom]

7. Rachel Maddow did well from the beginning, because she put together a good show.

She is good on TV, is smart, has good guests on, and is a good interviewer.

[Thrill]

44. If Ed was on at 10, he would be doing better now too.

But Ed has also upped MSNBC's ratings for the timeslot

[madmom]

50. I have to disagree here, IMO when Rachel first started she was just a

rehash of everything Olberman already did. Here late she is much better, but I will only watch after I see she is doing something other than what Keith already has done.

[babylonsister]

9. I'm not crazy about it, but will give him some time to sharpen his

TV skills. I watch News Hour after his show.

[DevonRex]

10. Ed is new at doing his own TV show. Even Rachel had a learning curve

and she is absolutely brilliant. Give Ed some time. Plus, I think it's great that we have somebody like Ed on. He's more likely to bring in disgruntled conservatives and left-leaning independents.

[PBS Poll-435]

11. Your concern is noted

Thanks. :hi:

[beachmom]

18. Ah, this is just expressing opinions on an ENTERTAINMENT show.

Amazing how if you express an opinion that doesn't go with the pack here, it is inferred that you are a "concern" troll.

[PBS Poll-435]

30. Again. Noted.

Have a nice day!

[beachmom]

33. This is a good discussion, and your conspiracy theories which do not hold up

given my post history are inappropriate.

[PBS Poll-435]

38. Whoa...

Take it down a notch.

I never said you were a concern troll, my point was that it was wasted effort. MSNBC is going to grow the show and it will probably attract 1.2 M total viewers a night. They aren't going to cancel it.


In that same data, King beat Maddow. (Like Wolf beat Ed).



:shrug:

[beachmom]

40. Then why didn't you say that in the first place? "Concern" means concern troll.

I have not seen it mean anything but that.

But let's just put the misunderstanding behind us then. Shall we?

[PBS Poll-435]

42. We shall

:-)

[Cha]

36. We know you're not

a concern troll, beachmom!

[AtomicKitten]

14. I like Ed but prefer David Shuster. n/t

[Dollface]

17. Ed is a little ranty for my tastes but I do like Psycho Talk and his support for labor. I record

and watch selectively. Can't do Blitzer.

[grantcart]

19. The flashing lights in the background effect my vertigo so I can't watch him

I think it is the worst set ever for a news/cable show.

Looks like something for the Price Is Right.

[napi21]

21. I like his show. I think it's a bit unfair to judge his ratings on

mediabistro this soon. He's only been on ONE WEEK! I'm very glad SOMEONE, and I think Ed's the only one, yelling at the head of the unions for not getting out there and fighting for the workers. The auto co's are out there defending themselves. The Pubs are everywhere blaming the car co's problems all on the union workers, and at least Ed is fighting for the workers.

I always turn Ed's show on, even though I miss Cafferty's last question. (I usually watch The Sit Room just because of Jack!)

[beachmom]

23. Thanks. Good defense of the show. nt

[vaberella]

22. I love it. I find KO to be more rant-like. n/t

[beachmom]

25. Oh. Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of KO's "Special Comments". I do

find the first 20 minutes of KO pretty good though. I can't stand the silly stuff though.

[beachmom]

27. I'm trying to be fair here. This diary thinks Ed's show is a boost for MSNBC:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/8/717883/-The-Ed-Show-Gives-MSNBC-a-Ratings-Hike-wPoll

[Polly Hennessey]

28. Ed's Show

I sure do watch him. I like his emphasis on the middle-class and his passion for his issues. I hope he will be around for awhile. I also watch BBC America for international news and their slant on US issues. I watch Keith and Rachael. I don't necessarily have to agree with everything that is said on these shows. I do gain lots of insight and information on lots of topics. I like variety and Ed just adds to the mix.

[beachmom]

31. I like BBC America, too.

[Rowdyboy]

35. I've really tried to give it a shot but I agree with you....

I wouldn't call it "completely unwatchable" just "nearly unwatchable".

Lehrer really is a better bet.

[Hellataz]

37. I love Ed, he's fun to watch, but his show's production needs an upgrade

The equalizer flashy background needs to be toned down, it's really distracting. And they have major camera and audio problems all the time. Part of it might be due to Ed's inexperience in front of the camera, but they are always late switching to the camera he turns to and the audio is a mess. Otherwise I like his segments and I like the progressive rantings, it fits in well with the hardball, countdown and maddow block.

[traxster]

39. I had been looking forward to the Ed show just like I was looking forward to Maddow's Show...

Now, I won't miss Rachael's show ever. I will watch her over Keith. But, Ed's show has disappointed, I think he is trying too hard. And I don't like that it open's up with the Op-ed. I want to know his opinion, but I'm not one that just wants to hear someone's opinion spit at me. I like facts. I do like his "Psycho Talk" segment.

I think if he did more interviews, or brought something different to the table, I think that would be better.

[beachmom]

41. I probably should have said this at the outset: I thought Ed was pretty good

as a sub on 1600 Penn. Avenue. So my view is the format is all wrong. I think Ed should be a more serious news person. This new show is like AM radio, except you see neon orange on your screen. In contrast, Ed on 1600 seemed to have grown onto TV. I just think he should make the show more serious. Less AM radio-like.

[traxster]

48. I'm right there with you...

the Ed that was saw subbing on 1600 and being a guest pundit on the MSNBC shows is not the Ed that is on his show, if that makes sense.

[NYCGirl]

46. Yes, It's a good show and will get even better. NT

[Hamlette]

51. I find it unwatchable too. I watched the first day, lasted about 15 minutes, turned it off

I've surfed over there a time or two since and its the same. I don't find his stories compelling and his style is too Lou Dobbs on ludes.

[Nancy Waterman]

52. I find his hyper-emotionalism really tiresome

I adore Rachel and have from the beginning even though I could see that she needed a week or so to get her "sealegs" when she started. I just think she is much smarter and more able to put it all together in a really coherent way for us. I used to listen to Ed's radio show all the time, but even that is grating on me now. Too much emotion and not enough really interesting thought, imo.

[SeaLyons]

53. I like Ed....n/t

[wowimthere]

54. Great Show.

[falcon97]

55. I kind of like the show.

I did not watch it initially, but have gotten into it more lately. He seems to be good on TV, which I didn't expect. I don't always agree with Ed and am not the biggest fan of his radio show. But, I'm not always in agreement with KO or Rachel either.

OT: I just recently started watching when David Schuster fills in for Olbermann. Not quite the same, but still pretty good.