125 Comments

Another dark moment in American journalism. This is not a journalistic decision, it is one of greed. It is about ratings. It is about dollars. For me, Chuck Todd ruined Meet the Press. I have not watched Meet the Press since. This coming Sunday will be no different. Going forward I will turn to CBS for my news. The panel shows on MSNBC after major events help me to make sense of what happened. Even their digesting of the primaries. I appreciate Michael Steele’s point of view. If they inject McDaniel in those panels, I will not be watching. If it’s Sunday, it’s Not Meet the Press.

Expand full comment

I am so fricking pissed. I have been an exclusive MSNBC junkie for the past 10(?) years. I retired in 2008 at a young age and spent my time fishing by day off my boathouse then watching MSNBC by night with my wife.

I have tried CNN but it never matched up with the passion for unvarnished truth displayed by the overwhelming number of class, honest reporting done by the cast from MSNBC. I may watch an occasional local news for the weather(10:12-18p.m.) but my life has revolved around familiar faces like Nicole Wallace, Arie, Joy, Chris, Rachel(Mondays & elections), Lawrence, Ruhle and Velshi. I even enjoy Jen Psaki’s hard hitting, give no quarter style.

Bottom line: NO MORE IF MS. DANIEL SHOWS HER TRAITOUS MUG.

Learn a lesson from CNN about cow towing to a wannabe dictator. You will lose loyal members like me and my wife. Count this post as two, soon to be, FORMER fans.

Expand full comment

Mike, I could not agree more. The appearance of McDaniel on MSNBC, at any time, for me, will be a reason to turn off the channel.

However, my go to will not be my former top news source, CBS. I left that once venerable source, my favorite, permanently when they hired the despicable Mick Mulvaney.

As my news reading grows, my TV destinations shrink. Only PBS and ABC left for me.

Steve has it precisely correct today. How shocking, how disappointing, and how disgraceful. Goodbye and good luck to the many fine people stuck at 30 Rock.

Expand full comment

Neil, take Steve's advice and subscribe to the Bulwark. Yes, the people who helm and staff the Bulwark are Republicans, but they are principled and very intelligent. I've learned a lot from them and I'm sure you will also.

Expand full comment

Mike, please tell us how you really feel! Excellent points…:)

Expand full comment

I know, I need to come out of my shell.

Expand full comment

Agree! CBS is likely the most unbiased news outlet, although there are some respectable journalists at NBC, CNN, ABC. Maybe a couple at Fox and Newsmax, but their opinions are likely stifled! Margaret Brennan on CBS is just great! It’s a shame ratings and profits drive the train!

Expand full comment

Yes, me either, left them not long ago. Good read, Thank You.

Expand full comment

“I can’t stop thinking about Tom Brokaw and the late Tim Russert in the aftermath of the astounding decision by NBC News and MSNBC to hire former RNC chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel as an analyst.”

Shocker! MSNBC hires a Trump shill. Let’s face it, the media, corporations and even our elite universities have become nothing more than clickbait, and a never ending series of 24 news cycles, ad nauseam.

Were we shocked when Harvard hired Sean Spicer as a professor? Mr. Trump’s inauguration was the biggest, bestest EVER????????

Were we shocked when CNN hired Rick Santorum and Kayleigh McEnany as a analysts? Mr. Same sex marriage leads to bestiality???? Or Ms. Liar, liar pants on fire McEnany, who propagated Trumps false election lies and claimed Obama didn’t give Trump a fair transitional period after the election.

America is a capitalist country, and maximizing profits in every institution has become the norm. So is it a wonder that Americans no longer trust anyone or any institution that doesn’t comport with its audience’s preconceived notions?

Do ethics actually exist anywhere in America. I guess this is a question for another day. However, being shocked is no different than Americans becoming anesthetized to all things and actions.

That said, I agree, the Bulwark is great. JVL is extremely talented and gifted. I was skeptical at first, because I’ve never been a republican, and mostly tuned out the voices from the right. Yet, JVL writes a great newsletter and I highly recommend a subscription; it’s worth it.

Puck and The Atlantic are two other periodicals I highly recommend as well.

Have a great weekend all…:)

Expand full comment

As always, great comments and insight, Robert. Sadly, too often (dare I say almost always), the north star of these institutions you mention points to and settles on green/the bottom line. There is rarely room for any kind of guiding moral compass other than profit.

Expand full comment
founding
Mar 23·edited Mar 23

Even the ones that we thought to be public institutions like BBC, DW from Germany and Associated Press today headlined the Putin’s talking point of terrorists with possible Ukraine support in the Moscow attack. No one bothers with why Kremlin plans the ethnic connection, possibly to enforce martial law in the ethnic minority areas to increase forced military services. It will also quell the Moscow elites after Navalny and give Putin a strong hand to suppress the unrest in the Caucasus. Putin has never been afraid of NATO or the US. He is very well informed that NATO and the US will never attack him. His main enemies and the ones he feared are inside Russia or are from Russia only. The combination of careless self serving reports along with Russian trolls, you now have headlines indirectly supporting Putin/KGB’s talking point spanning the globe at no cost to Putin’s regime.

Expand full comment

Exactly…:)

Expand full comment

Brokaw & Russert would certainly add greatly to this conversation! Love to hear what they’d say!

Expand full comment

Nothing good I’m sure…:)

Expand full comment

Might be bleeped out! Too afraid of the orange, narcissistic psychopath!

Expand full comment

Yep, I picked 3 to follow at first. The Bulwark was one. Been following Bill Kristol on X, when it was Twitter, in 2009.

Expand full comment

Spot on!

Expand full comment

I rarely watch the news, other than Deadline White House. I turned the TV off 3 years ago. I always had it on as background noise really, especially on the days I was working from home. But one day, I stopped. I realized I couldn’t stand the noise of it all any longer. I read the news, tune in to Deadline White House and will turn in on if there is an event. Otherwise, the quiet has become my friend during the day. By evening, the last thing I want is someone droning on. I decided I wanted to end my day on a more quiet and peaceful note.

Even with my limited watching, I find what NBC has done to be intolerable. Reading through social media yesterday afternoon one guy posted, “ what Goebbels wasn’t available.” I laughed, but thought it was a great point.

We are failing, Steve. It is amazing to me, but actions such as this just contribute to the failure.

Expand full comment

“what Goebbels wasn’t available.” I laughed, but thought it was a great point.”

Agreed and an excellent point. I watch Nicole and Ari occasionally, but don’t really bother with cable or network news at all.

These network and cable shows have become nothing more than spectacles. We often depict the Trump show as a train wreck gone amok, but the news networks and cable shows resemble either Jerry Springer or Morton Downey Jr.. These shows used to be the exception, now they’re the rule….:)

Expand full comment

Most of my TV news watching is on MSNBC but there is no way that I would be able to tolerate it being on as background fill. The ads between the segments are intolerable, I use YouTube TV to record anything I might want to watch or rewatch, that allows me to fast forward past the ads, I doubt that I watch 1 out of 100. The hiring of Romney McDaniel represents a new low for the NBC echo system, she was OK with removing Romney from her name with the RNC because it offended the insipid clown, can you imagine doing that, I would have told him to fuck off, which I would be happy to tell him anytime day or night. Even PBS with the News Hour has left it’s integrity in the mud with their both-sides crap 💩, you can’t put lipstick on a pig and get a kiss that you would ever want to own up too. Surely there is enough wealth in those companies to get through the rest of this year by speaking nothing but the truth, the ratings be damned, the public needs to hear it, and they have an obligation to give it to them.

Expand full comment

The Quiet Time is wonderful medicine!

Expand full comment

OMG Steve- how can this possibly be happening!! When I think of how addicted I am to MSNBC I guess it's time for withdrawal! To think that Rachel, Ari Melber, Ali Velshi, Nicolle Wallace,etc. etc will have to deal with that piece of slime sends chills down my spine!!! I think that they should stage a walkout/ Tom Russert must be turning in his grave/ integrity is no longer a word that I can associate with MSNBC- so very sad 😢

Expand full comment

I started my withdrawal last night. I usually watch Hayes, O'Donnell and Ruhle every night and Maddow on Mondays. Last night, I did not watch MSNBC at all.

Expand full comment

Steve, this is outrageous. They screw over a superb journalist like Mehdi Hasan and hire a serial liar like Rona. I've gotten to the point where I watch cable news less and less. We'll see how Rachel and Lawrence handle this.

Expand full comment

For those of us who have been wondering what happened to the MSM, this is it. No Edward R Murrows telling the truth on prime time. When the story of this time is written, the cowardice of the media will be a critical part of the tragedy.

Expand full comment

I stopped watching the news, including MSNBC, years ago. Despite top people like Maddow and O'Donnell, as a whole, the station wasn't telling the story clearly or accurately enough. I learn more from independent journalists. But McDaniels on MSNBC surprises me. This will cost them viewers, so I'm not sure where they're coming from. Is there foreign or MAGA infiltration at many corporate news offices, not just Fox, Newsmax, etc.?

Expand full comment

I had the same WTF reaction to the hiring of Ronna McDaniel. I count on MSNBC for news analysis, inasmuch as I realize the network is a narrow, rickety plank over shark infested waters.

For years they've stayed within the boundaries of a safe center left perspective. I get that. Medhi Hasan was the last anchor to learn that you can't be the "Last DJ" on MSNBC and "play what you want to play and say what you want to say". Outspokenness makes advertisers jittery. With that said, the hiring of Ronna McDaniel signals an ominous shift at the worst possible time. C'mon NBC! Do you really think the hiring of a MAGA stooge will really extend your advertising appeal beyond Jardiance or Kathie Lee snake-powder pills?

Expand full comment

Through the horrifying deterioration taking place in all three branches of our government, I have clung to the fourth branch of government, a free press, as our hope for righting the wrongs. And through the devolution of the free press by corporate hack press workers like Fox and so many others (I can’t call them journalists), I have clung for sustenance to NPR, PBS, the BBC and - MSNBC. Frankly, this news breaks my heart. Has the Almighty Dollar finally eclipsed the bright sunshine of even the last standing, on-air patriots? Hell, NO! My money says there will be a massive walk-out of the best and brightest across the board at NBC and MSNBC. And if there isn’t, there must be a Couch Potato Revolution among us viewers, which should start with a national boycott of products advertised on their channels. Especially Liberty Mutual, whose ubiquitous commercials should be pulled anyway.

Expand full comment

I hear things, and people are saying, Ronna and Kelly Ann should co-host a NBC show called the Narrow View. A look from inside the circle of the corrupt, deviant and crazy world of a fascist movement here in Amerika. They are truly qualified to host that show and you could have no problem imagining their guest list. A long line of malcontents and future residents of our penal system, if democracy holds.

Expand full comment

A new category: the Rom-Con.

Expand full comment

That's beautiful, lol

Expand full comment

In recent years, the landscape of media has undergone a profound transformation, marked by the rise of opinion-driven platforms and a departure from the traditional standards of unbiased reporting. From the emergence of Fox News to the proliferation of Radio Jocks and Newsmax, the once-respected bastions of journalism have become overrun with talking heads more concerned with espousing their own viewpoints than delivering factual, researched content.

Gone are the days when mainstream media (MSM) was considered the fourth arm of government, providing citizens with meticulously researched, unbiased reporting. Instead, many channels and outlets now prioritize sensationalism over substance, amplifying divisive rhetoric and political polarization.

The decline of esteemed programs like "Meet the Press" on NBC, symbolized by the replacement of Chuck Todd for Tim Russert, underscores this shift. Meanwhile, networks like MSNBC, once known for their insightful anchors, have devolved into platforms dominated by self-aggrandizing pundits fixated on the spectacle of personalities like Trump.

Faced with this erosion of journalistic integrity, many discerning individuals, like yourself, have sought refuge in alternative sources of information such as Substack, AP, Reuters, PBS, and NPR. These platforms prioritize factual reporting over sensationalism, offering a sanctuary for those seeking unadulterated news in a media landscape plagued by noise and bias.

Expand full comment

I was with you Steve, until you mentioned Hoda Kotb in your list of superb NBC journalists. You might as well have included my cat.

Expand full comment

And Chuck Todd!!

Expand full comment

And Savanah

Expand full comment

When integrity meets money you get intellectual mediocrity without a moral compass.

Expand full comment

I’m unsettled. I haven’t been watching news on the TV every day, all day, as I have in the past. When I do I generally watch MSNBC. Even my viewing time with MSNBC has vastly declined. Those reasons are legion and appropriate for a different discussion.

I can’t say I’ve heard anything about McDaniel’s hire except there. I watched Deadline: Whitehouse and nothing more today. I paid attention to the terror attacks in Moscow, not so much to other stories, which didn’t cover anything about McDaniels. The end of Deadline, I went out to run errands and came home to March Madness. (Our team won!)

I’m should be sound asleep but I’m paying attention to this. I’m taking a wait and see stance for the moment. I remember YEARS ago the program, GRETA!, was new to the afternoon lineup. I didn’t know one thing at all about her except I didn’t like her. REALLY didn’t like her. She didn’t last long and now Ari Melber has been host of that time spot for a long time and is among my top favorite hosts.

My MSNBC viewing has become very selective. I will wait to see how this shakes out. “Commentator”is one thing. But “Host” is a billion levels greater than commentator. In my humble opinion, she needs to be tested as a guest before becoming “an MSNBC commentator” and well before, even before guest host!!!

This is NOT a promising bedtime mindset for sweet dreams!

Expand full comment

Real journalism and real journalists are on life support. It is truly the rare breathe of fresh air these days. It’s hard to find a journalist or even a newspaper or news agency that will drill down on any subject of worth. The Sunday shows are garbage in , garbage out. The guests now are irrelevant blowhards, media whores with nothing cogent to say. What’s worse are the hosts pretending to be journalists that never really challenge their guests to get the truth or to dispel their lies.

The networks are hollow corporations just out there to make a buck. Networks play to the lowest common denominator. Ronald McDonald McDaniel is just another example of “the news” pretending they have integrity. Fox is at least honest in a sense that they have been outed as liars, propagandists. They don’t care, it makes them money and that is only what they care about.

It’s the phony news media like CNN MSNBC ABC CBS NBC that try to disguise their ineptitude and pandering to the lowest common denominator. They too are about money not integrity.

The days of Walter Cronkite, Huntley and Brinkley, are of a bygone era.

In another year it won’t matter, it will be simply state run TV. News organizations should have a higher standard to present the news, to present the facts . They had a duty to get all the facts. Sadly there is only a colonel of news smothered in opinions.

News organizations have long ago broken their trust to report the facts and get to the truth. Now it’s headlines, irrelevant people, and opinions disguised as news.

We are the losers for not demanding a higher standard. We are to blame for allowing Rupert Murdock for poisoning our airwaves and CNN and the others to pollute our water with toxins low bar journalism

Expand full comment

This makes me wonder who’s really pulling the strings at MSNBC and NBC.

Expand full comment