The following is a history of MSNBC since 2008, a cable news television channel founded in 1996. Since Phil Griffin has become president of the cable news channel MSNBC, television ratings have gone up dramatically. This is largely due to the dramatic changes in programming.
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Tucker Carlson's program was canceled in March 2008 and replaced at the 6 p.m. slot with Race to the White House hosted by David Gregory. The show was later renamed 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in November after the election. When Gregory became the permanent host for Meet the Press, he stepped down as host of his MSNBC show, and David Shuster became the permanent host for the show.
Over the Presidency of George W. Bush, MSNBC hosts Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann became outgoing Bush critics[1] and slowly took liberal stances on the issues over the years.[2] Countdown with Keith Olbermann lead the network in ratings.[3]
In the 2008 election, MSNBC was accused of bias in favor of Barack Obama[4][5] and bias against primary challenger Hillary Clinton.[6][7][8][9][10] During the conventions, Matthews and Olbermann had a bitter argument on the air.[11] As a result, David Gregory took over as the only news anchor of debates and election night.[12] Despite this, however, all of the aforementioned anchors were present on the 2008 general election coverage without incident, giving notion that the "dust-up" earlier in the year was taken completely out of proportion.
In the fall of 2008, MSNBC had a new channel slogan called "The Power of Change" which put emphasis on their support for Obama's "change" rhetoric.[13][14]
In July 2008, former CNN producer Phil Griffin was announced as President of MSNBC, replacing Dan Abrams. He worked with NBC for over 25 years, including working for MSNBC since its launch. The network's primetime ratings were up 54% in the first half of 2008, propelling MSNBC into the tightest race with its cable news competitors since 2001. Griffin will also oversee NBC News' Specials coverage.[15]
On September 8, 2008, The Rachel Maddow Show debuted in the 9 p.m. slot, effectively replacing Verdict with Dan Abrams. Rachel Maddow, who describes herself as a progressive, is openly lesbian, and is also a radio talk show host. In his first big move, Phil Griffin said
“Those people should just watch the show. We’re hiring Rachel because she’s a smart person. Rachel goes far beyond politics. She’s an expert on military affairs. She was a Rhodes scholar.”[16]
Reviews for the show were mostly positive. Los Angeles Times writer Matea Gold stated that Maddow, "finds the right formula on MSNBC",[17] while The Guardian writes Maddow has become the "star of America's cable news".[18] The New York Times writer Alessandra Stanley opined, "Her program adds a good-humored female face to a cable news channel whose prime time is dominated by unruly, often squabbling schoolboys; Ms. Maddow’s deep, modulated voice is reassuringly calm after so much shrill emotionalism and catfights among the channel's aging, white male divas".[19]
The move to create a new program for the network was widely seen as a smart ratings move, where beforehand, the network lagged behind in coveted primetime ratings.[20] Now, the show regularly outperforms CNN's Larry King Live, and made the network competitive in the program's time slot for the first time in over a decade.[21][22]
On January 21, 2009, The New York Times reported that Phil Griffin, the president of MSNBC, is making 10 p.m. a priority now. In an interview on Tuesday in a studio on the Mall, hours after the inauguration of President Obama, Mr. Griffin said that the channel needed a third original show in its lineup.[23] “We can’t let this momentum stop,” he said. The new show would compete with Fox News Channel's On the Record with Greta Van Susteren and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360. Keith Olbermann is working with Griffin to develop the show.[23] He said:
"Losing the 10 p.m. replay is a very small price to pay for a last piece to the puzzle."
Three talk show hosts were campaigning for the job. They include Cenk Uygur, Sam Seder, and David Sirota, all of who are self-declared or considered by critics as liberal or progressive. Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, was lobbying for the 10 p.m. slot. On January 22, Uyger announced his candidacy for the bid. He encouraged his viewers to send MSNBC emails or simply mail them.[24] The show has gotten endorsements from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and former General Wesley Clark.[25] A Facebook group lobbied for MSNBC to choose Air America Radio liberal talk show host Sam Seder on the 10 p.m. slot.[26] Seder was the co-host for The Majority Report and his own show The Sam Seder Show. He currently co-hosts, with comedian Marc Maron, the weekday Air America Media webcast Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder. Seder is also a comedian and actor. David Sirota is a progressive commentator who makes guest appearances on many TV shows. On February 25, 2009 he announced his candidacy and also created a Facebook page. He stated four reasons: he's great on TV, he's a leading anti-corporate, influence over the media, and increasing a chance the slot will be landed by a progressive.[27]
On March 31, 2009, Griffin announced that at that time the 10 p.m. slot would not be filled because ratings of the re-run were higher.[28] However, Cenk Uygur decided to continue the campaign anyway and decided to start "Stage 2".[29][30][31] On June 1, 2009, Griffin went back on what he said a few months earlier by saying:
"Clearly it should be someone who is both smart and funny like she is.... But I will make one promise: we're not done yet! This is such a vibrant time in media, and I want to say to Rachel's audience – and everywhere I go I get stopped, there's such a connection between her and her audience, she's helped open a new world of approaches for us – that people who like Rachel will like our new 10 o'clock show host and what we are going to do there. No, I take that back, Rachel's audience will love it! I promise."[32]
Starting on September 27, 2010, Lawrence O'Donnell will host a 10 p.m. ET show on the channel called The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell.[33]
On March 10, 2009, Air America radio host Ed Schultz hosted as a substitute for David Shuster on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and did it again on March 18 and March 23.[34] On March 20, 2009, The New York Observer reported that Griffin was in discussions with Schultz.[35]
The Ed Schultz Show is the most listened to progressive radio show with 3 million listeners each week.[36]
On April 1, 2009, the network announced that Schultz had been given the 6:00 p.m. Eastern time slot, replacing 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue hosted by David Shuster. Instead, Shuster will be the substitute host for Olbermann[37] The Ed Show premiered on April 6, 2009.
Morning Meeting with Dylan Ratigan was an American cable news show hosted by Dylan Ratigan, formerly of sister CNBC's Fast Money. It was launched on June 29, 2009 as part of sweeping changes to MSNBC's daytime weekday programs along with a revamp of the channel's graphics and its launch in high definition.[38] It aired weekdays from 9am to 11am Eastern Time. The show launched on June 29, 2009, the same day MSNBC HD was launched, before being replaced by the Dylan Ratigan show in January 2010.
When relaunched under the current branding on January 11, 2010 the show featured a new graphics package and set design. The change was made in order to make room for The Daily Rundown with Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie at 9 am, as part of MSNBC's commitment to straight news programming during the day.[39] The show focuses on debate and discussion relating to politics and the economy. Ratigan often offers commentary on the subject matter and rebuttal to many of the guests who appear on the show.
On April 2, 2009, it was announced that MSNBC HD would launch on June 29, 2009.[40]
In March 2009, MSNBC finished in second place in prime-time, ahead of CNN for the first time in its existence. Phil Griffin, MSNBC chief executive, attributed this to the network's decision to go liberal with Olbermann and Maddow along with problems at CNN.[41]
In the first quarter of 2010, the network beat CNN in primetime and overall ratings, marking the first time doing so since 2001.[42] The network also beat CNN in total adult viewers in March, marking the seventh out of the past eight months MSNBC achieved that accolade.[42] In addition, the programs Morning Joe, The Ed Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and The Rachel Maddow Show all finished ahead of their time slot competitors on CNN.[42]
In November 2010, MSNBC announced that Keith Olbermann, the host of the highly-rated news/opinion show Countdown, was suspended for violating an NBC News policy barring personalities from donating to political candidates; MSNBC had discovered that Olbermann had donated to three Democratic Party candidates in the run-up to the 2010 mid-term congressional elections.
On the January 21, 2011, episode of Countdown, Olbermann abruptly announced that the show would be his final MSNBC broadcast.[43] Before reading a James Thurber short story called "The Scottie Who Knew Too Much", Olbermann thanked viewers, producers, and technical staff for his show's eight-year success. However, he did not thank or even mention Griffin or Capus. Olbermann did not disclose the reason for his departure, and a statement from MSNBC would only reveal that the two parties had ended the commentator's four-year contract. Many liberal bloggers and commentators blamed the cable operator Comcast for Olbermann's sudden departure, accusing the company of silencing the host for political purposes just days after acquiring NBC Universal on January 18.[44][45] Statements from MSNBC and Comcast denied this allegation. Daily Beast media critic Howard Kurtz, former MSNBC anchor David Shuster, and an anonymous NBC executive[46] said that Olbermann's past suspension and subsequent conflicts with network management was a more likely precipitating factor in Countdown's cancellation.
The following month, Olbermann announced he had joined a soon-to-be-relaunched Current TV as its new primetime host and news director. He also started a blog called FOKNewsChannel.com, a commentary site parodying Fox News, which included written commentaries and articles based on former Countdown segments.
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