So, by now you've heard that MSNBC is holding hostage the last segment (five minutes?) of the July 30 edition of RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE. I say...
"FREE THE MSNBC 5!!!"
Viewers -- be they Tucker & Gregory Fan Club members or simply those dutiful few who watch for the good of democracy (because SOMEONE has to) -- we butter MSNBC's bread. We make the ratings that sell the ads that pay the network bosses. We're adults (mostly). We can handle the ugly but fascinating scene of Pat Buchanan getting a little truth shoved up his nose, even if it leaves him drooling. It's no more gory than anything on CSI. We might even LEARN something (like we do sometimes watching CSI).
Tell MSNBC: "FREE THE MSNBC 5!!!"
letters@msnbc.com or call 212-790-2299.
Or we could just wait 'til someone posts it on YouTube.
Below the fold: A company exec explains the kidnapping...
A network executive, seeking to explain MSNBC's apparent kidnapping of its own footage, spoke of his company's public-interest obligations.
“Viewers are incredibly engaged this election season, with a real appetite for political news,” said Phil Griffin, Senior Vice President, NBC News and Executive in Charge of MSNBC. "But sometimes, for viewers' own good -- and to maintain our good standing in the Village -- we have to self-censor. Some truths are just too painful, and we have a responsibility to protect the public as well as inform them."
UPDATE: Here, finally, isa link to the video... The question still deserves to be pushed in MSNBC's face: Why censor what was a reasonable and actually informative exchange? Who made the decision? Will MSNBC free its footage, and let the record speak for itself?