Hardball with Chris Matthews

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Hardball with Chris Matthews

Genre	Talk/Debate program
Running time	60 minutes
Starring	Chris Matthews
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	CNBC (now on MSNBC)
Original run	1997 - 1999 (CNBC) 1999–present (MSNBC)
No. of episodes	Unknown

Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on CNBC.

Hardball is a talking-head style cable news show where the moderator advances opinions on a wide range of topics, focusing primarily on political issues. These issues are discussed with a panel of guests that usually consist of political analysts and sometimes include politicians. The format of the show can lead to confrontations: During coverage of the 2004 Republican National Convention, Democratic Senator Zell Miller angrily stated that he wished he could challenge Matthews to a duel because of Matthews' questioning ([1]).

The show features many regular guests including right-wing pundit and author Ann Coulter, conservative radio show personality G. Gordon Liddy, infamous from the Watergate scandal, conservative author Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, liberal author Katrina vanden Heuvel, contributor to The Nation, MSNBC pundit Pat Buchanan, former presidential candidate, and essayist Christopher Hitchens, among others.

Hardball often follows Countdown with Keith Olbermann as the second most-watched show in MSNBC's evening lineup. (Source: Nielsen Media Research, 2006.)

[edit] Guest Hosts

Hardball has had a variety of guest hosts when Chris Matthews is unavailable. Hosts include Norah O'Donnell, Mike Barnicle, David Shuster, Andrea Mitchell, Pete Williams, and Campbell Brown.

[edit] International broadcasts

Chris Matthews

MSNBC and NBC News programming is shown for several hours a day on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. This includes Hardball with Chris Matthews.