At least the editorial page gets it even if the dense-headed TV critic Rob Owen pooh-poohs it. But from an email exchange I had with him over ABC's 9-11 drama I suspect he's a wingnut.-----
Earlier this week, Pittsburgh cable subscribers attempted to tune in to MSNBC only to find the Golf Channel sitting where "Morning Joe" and "Hardball with Chris Matthews" used to be aired.
What happened last year in Portland and other cities is now happening in Western Pennsylvania. Viewers are just as angry. More than a dozen channels were bumped, but only MSNBC, TruTV, Oxygen and the Hallmark Channel were kicked from standard to digital premium.
On local talk radio, the suspicion is that Comcast is engaging in a back-door rate increase that disproportionately affects Democrats during an important election year. Because MSNBC caters to liberal voices in ways that Fox and CNN don't, moving it to a more expensive tier is suspect.
The reasons for moving MSNBC may be far more mundane than liberal-bashing conspiracy theories allow. Decisions for doing so also may vary according to local programming carriage agreements. These deals are complex, so cable companies aren't always forthcoming about them.
Still, there are a lot of unhappy subscribers who want their MSNBC. If a cable subscriber is truly mad enough, complaining to Comcast, moving to a competitor, pulling the plug or subscribing to the paper may be the way to go.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08201/898010-192.stm