Over the past 10 years or so, I have been a devoted follower of MSNBC. That might not sound so different than many plugged-in Americans, but I am not your average American. I am not American at all, nor do I reside in the USA. I am Canadian.
The point of mentioning my citizenship is only to point out that; in order to watch MSNBC, I have to make an extra effort. The Cable News networks are not part of the most common packages in our Cable/Satellite and as other Canadians on Daily Kos can attest, we have to pay a little more to get these stations (and our cable bills are pretty high without all the extras).
I care about what happens in the USA because there is both a direct and indirect impact on our country’s economy, our environment, our dollar value and other things. I care what happens south of the border, so I like to keep tabs on the election process and the things that happen there. I also like to empathise for the American people that are often undermined by their Federal and local governments.
Why and I walking away from MSNBC? I am appalled by what they have turned into.
During this election cycle, I have been thoroughly disgusted by the “tabloid” style behaviour of most every single show host, including Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow. They have sunk in their reporting and their shows have become watered down.
Yesterday I was watching MTP Daily, where Kristen Welker was talking to Jennifer Granholm, who is a Clinton surrogate. on.msnbc.com/....
Kristen was asking Jennifer about the Clinton camp’s comments around a Politico article from yesterday, that was a complete lie and when Jennifer said as much and asked why Trump gets a pass on the racist comments he has made, Kristen responded that “THIS is the subject we brought you on to discuss”, ignoring that the article will/should be removed. When Granholm snipes back about why Kristen is discussing something that is a lie, her reply was that the story is “still in the headlines”.
Seriously? This is the problem with MSNBC. I gave up on CNN a long time ago and we all know what to think of Fox, but this new tack that MSNBC is on is getting ridiculous.
I go back to an article that Greg Dworkin generated on storify referencing the tweets of Matthew Chapman:
This is what MSNBC has become. When Rachel Maddow interviewed Kellyanne Conway; Trumps Campaign Manager, I was truly disappointed with her slow pitch, low pressure style. We wouldn’t want to offend!! Add to this the amount of time off she takes off and passes her notes on to Mr. Spock (Steve Kornacki), who is a nice guy, but is not a substitute for her show.
Down the line of primary season, the usual pundits spent way too much time tweeting hypothetical questions, playing the devil’s advocate and Hillary was always on the receiving end. The amount of free passes given to Donald Trump on every network has been appalling. I don’t know if Americans can access The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) from there, but THAT is the way to cover this election. CBC make no qualms pointing out the misgivings of Trump and discuss Hillary’s issues, but recognising that Trump is Trump and Hillary is NOT the other side of that coin. Trump is a threat to Americans. Trump is a threat to the world. Hillary should not be painted as a mirror image of Trump on the Democratic side.
Hillary Clinton is not perfect, but no candidate is, but the amount of criticism doled out about Clinton is not deserved. Clinton has an email “scandal” to contend with, and even that “scandal” doesn’t show any wrongdoing. Trump has a phonebook of issues including:
- Attacks on Mexicans
- Attacks on Muslims
- Attacking The Handicapped
- Hiding his Tax Returns
- 5 Bankruptcies
- Cheating his contractors out of their payments
- Hiring Illegal immigrants for projects and not paying them
- Banning Media outlets from his events for being critical
- Calling Media “dishonest” and “terrible people”
- Inciting violence at his rallies
- Hiring known racists to run his campaign
- submitting a ridiculous letter from his doctor while challenging Hillary’s health.
- Retweeting tweets from known white supremacist
- so many more issues…
When there is so much on one side of the ledger and the media try to portray it to exist on both sides, that is not an accurate presentation of the details.
This is something I fully expected to see on Fox News, because they don’t apologize for their agenda. It’s been that way for years.
This is something I am not surprised to see from CNN, because that network is clearly the blind leading the blind. The entire CNN team appear to be aloof.
But MSNBC. That’s different. They have just changed the way they do their jobs.
I expected Joe Scarborough to continue to be himself. He is a true Republican, even if he hates Trump.
Chuck Todd is terrible. Chris Matthews just appears confused. Andrea Mitchel has the audacity to ask Hillary Clinton “why people don't like her”. Gimme a break!
Rachel, has been decent, but a shell of her former self and I get the impression that it is being directed from on high to tone it down, which is sad if it’s true.
The only “real” personality on MSNBC is Lawrence O’Donnell. I get from him that he cannot do a show that isn’t him. He doesn’t bend a knee. But it’s not enough to keep me paying for the rest of the 3 ring circus. I have written how I wish Keith Olbermann was back because he isn’t capable of being muted. He speaks his mind, but with this modus operandi at MSNBC, I doubt he fits the mold.
I suppose I will have to rely on #KITM and the voices of @KagroX (David Walman), @DemFromCT (Greg Dworkin), @Armandokos and the team to get a real idea of what is happening in US politics.
Buh bye MSNBC.