Here are my observations on the new MSNBC, and the conservative take over by Comcast that is underway:
1) They are dunning down programming,
2) New anchors are less than intelligent - one giddily used the word gazillions on 8-14-2015 to describe Trumps wealth,
3) Lots more Republican oriented staff and commentators,
4) Less Facts - lots more opinion presented as facts,
5) Wrong facts - one of the old anchors still there stopped a new republican "commentator" in the last week and said (in so many words) "that is not true" to a comment she made blaming Black fathers for something and using a typical Republican slanted unture comment about them...,
6) Much more repetition of stupid points and stupid questions (heard one small trivial campaign point on Trump repeated 6 times in 2 minutes on 8-15-2015 - by both anchor person and new reporter).
7) Either intentionally or completely unaware reporters making borderline racist comments in the last week.
8) Less respect for their audience's intelligence and desire for real news.
From WSJ
WSJ: MSNBC’s Reboot: More News, Less ‘Leaning’ Cable channel tries different tack, as it looks to make up lost ground against Fox, CNN Five years after branding itself the “lean forward” cable news network for liberals, MSNBC is taking a step back.
The channel is gutting the bulk of its daytime schedule of partisan political talk in favor of straight news. Brian Williams, who earlier this year was removed as anchor of NBC’s “Nightly News” for embellishing his reporting résumé, is expected to play a prominent role in the makeover.
Also drafted to help jump start MSNBC is “Meet the Press” anchor Chuck Todd, who will anchor a daily political news show in the afternoons. Among the programs MSNBC is saying goodbye to: “The Ed Show,” anchored by Ed Schultz and “Now with Alex Wagner.”
Revenue is down 2% - Time to Gut the Network? And these number are before Christmas this year and the 2016 Elections.
MSNBC’s ratings woes are hurting its ad sales, though not yet in a big way. The channel will take in $217.2 million in advertising revenue this year, down about 2% from $221.3 million last year, according to industry consulting firm SNL Kagan. By comparison, in 2015 CNN is projected to have ad revenue of $330 million and Fox $801.4 million. WSJ
Chris Hays may be the next to go:
In moving to Mr. Williams to MSNBC [In September] —which has no plans to change its name—the hope is that one damaged brand can lift another. The former anchor of NBC’s “Nightly News” has been off the air since February and is expected to return next month to report on the pope’s visit. Mr. Williams will cover breaking news for MSNBC and be a highly visible presence on the network.
For now, MSNBC’s evening approach of left-leaning talk will remain intact but some of the personalities could change. Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow will remain centerpieces but “All In with Chris Hayes” could be in jeopardy, said people familiar with the network’s thinking. A spokeswoman for MSNBC declined to comment. WSJ
Final Thoughts:
I suspect Jeff Bezos will continue to build on the Washington Post talent he bought in 2014, perhaps into a 24/7 TV news station that might take over much of the market MSNBC seems to be throwing away.
NYTimes “I didn’t know anything about the newspaper business, but I did know something about the Internet,” Mr. Bezos said. “That, combined with the financial runway that I can provide, is the reason why I bought The Post.”
Under Mr. Bezos, the paper has already taken initial steps to that end. Last month, The Post introduced a free app for Kindles, the immensely popular e-reader products built by Amazon, which will bring free daily editions of the newspaper to Kindle Fire owners for six months; after that, it will cost $1 for the next six months.
He has also placed much of his faith in Shailesh Prakash, The Post’s head of technology, who has worked closely with Mr. Bezos on how the paper’s app will work with Amazon’s devices. And the paper has made a string of 15 or 16 hires specifically with the Kindle app in mind, Martin Baron, the paper’s editor, has said.
Ultimately, Mr. Bezos’ goal is to rework The Post into something that expands beyond the local daily newspaper, into one that reaches across borders.
“The Post has the good fortune of being the newspaper of the capital city of the United States of America,” he said. “That’s a great starting point to being a national and even global publication.”
One more final thought. Personally I cannot help but think that this is about the
Comcast Executives hating
Hilary and Bernie. Hilary they seem to be only able to attack/run negative stories (and puff pieces on actual proposals by her) this week. Bernie does not exist for during hours of programming by them, and when he exists it is mere seconds of shallow coverage.
Thoughts/insights/proposals appreciated. MSNBC has been a valuable part of our community and i would hate to see it disappear in the next few weeks. I would doubly hate to see the changes hurt Progressives election chances in 2016.
UPDATE 10:21 am: after more research
MSNBC has two income sources
2014 License Fee Revenue (in millions) 273.6
2014 Ad Revenue (in millions) 221.3
TOTAL REVENUE 494.9
2014 Profit ($ millions) 205.6
source Pew Research
So MSNBC brings in 1/2 Billion a Year, profits of nearly 1/4 Billion
So Not Broken
Income Similar to 25 Local TV Stations for their News Divisions
The change is about censorship not profits