MSNBC Runs Documentary While CNN, Fox News Cover Mumbai Crisis

On Thanksgiving Day, the fine TV critic of the Baltimore Sun, David Zurawik, and I quarreled politely over whether MSNBC was adequately covering the Mumbai terror situation on Wednesday.

Well, that was before a violent attack turned into a three-day ordeal. Unfortunately, by the time the killing in Mumbai was over, one network had decided to save some money and send everybody home for the Thanksgiving weekend, and I was feeling like an idiot for defending MSNBC. Take a look:

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[slinkymom]

On Wednesday night we arrived at my in-laws and turned on the TV to see what was happening. My in-laws only have FOX and CNN Headline news, so I turned on CNN and they were covering it but when I switched to FOX to see what they were showing, O'Reilly was on. They kept his entire show on (he didn't cover the attack) and when his show was over, then they covered the attack.

[goflo]

Honestly, I'd seen enough of the terrorist attacks. I can only take so much camera shots of the blood splattered everywhere and the quasy emotional rants of the anchors.

[noseysniper]

PBS> all of the big 3

[ProgressDon]

A CREEPY OBSESSION WITH PRISON LIFE.....NO MORE 'LOCK UP' SHOWS.....

It's time for us to let the forces of 'viewer choice' shape the future of MSNBC. Lately, the network has been embarassing......first Joe Scarborough throws tantrums every morning like an emotionally abused kid while Mika just watches and smiles and says "coming up .......".....This is soooooo boring.
Then David Gregory is now being selected to head the Meet the Press......he has the personality standing water; emotionless and stale. Gregory was the chief author of Obama's difficulty with the 'white middle class vote' during the democratic primaries. Obama never had a difficulty there, it was a media myth.
The only three i watch are Olbermann, Matthews and Maddow because at least they're saying somwthing. Such a shame!!!

[BarackDaVote]

MSNBC needs HELP....... They remind me of my local news station. (not good at all)

I only watch Countdown and Rachel then I immediately turn the channel off of MSNBC.

[my2cents1972]

the world know our news yet we are isolated, getting bias opinions from PUNDITS. i like to watch BBC FOR REAL NEWCASTING. CNN for election night though, lol

[1201SLD]

Haven't we learned to ignore, for a few days at least, all media reports which do not require our own personal emergency action? It takes a while to filter through the misinformation, the assumptions, the speculation, the jumping to conclusions. and all the obfuscation they lead to. The media have time and space to fill. Lack of facts does not deter them; they do blather on with the help of scavenged "experts" as uninformed as the anchors and columnists, and that's before bias enters the picture. We must be just as skeptical of the real-time media reports as of financial institutions and politicians; we must think for ourselves.

[clsmithj]

with all the mistakes MSNBC has done, I can no longer defend them.

The only people on that network worth saving is Matthews, Olbermann, and Maddow

[Pegi]

TOTALLY AGREE!!! they are always asleep at the switch when big things like this happen.

[Amalek]

I don't know about that.

I think MSNBC is more of a commentary channel - like Fox News, not a real news organization like CNN. So while Fox and MSNBC might cover breaking events, I usually turn to CNN as the network of record. But if there is not urgent news, MSNBC is more interesting ( and so is an occasional dose of hate from Fox if I am in a particularly bad mood).

[me again]

After the CNN coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith, who can take them seriously? The Mumbai coverage was over-the-top and while tragic, was not the only news story in the World; CNN showed nothing else for the entire week. If MSNBC did not show Mumbai 24-7, so what. Frankly, it was nice to be able to turn away from the tragedy and see some other news.

[YouDisgustMe]

i must say....i love msnbc, but i was embarrassed by their lack of coverage...their weekend programming generally su cks

[NotMcCain]

CNN has news bureaus all over the world but you'd never know it from their daily coverage.

Then when something like this happens, they sensationalize and hype it 24/7.

I would have defended MSNBC, too, but t hey definitely misplayed this one. They should have brought back Shuster or KO for periodic updates (and changed the rerun theme from "Lock up").

Embarrassing.

[Girl28]

The continuous coverage on CNN was overkill. I would check in every few hours or so to see if any new information was being reported. Guess what? There was none. I do care to know what's going on in the world. However, if you have no facts I, in turn, have no desire to sit around listening to a bunch of talking heads speculating themselves into a frenzy. On the other hand MSNBC was a little ridiculous with the Lock up serious all dang weekend. Jeesh....did you have to give every single person on your payroll 4 days off? Uhm did you forget that you are a 24hr news station?

[shelsay]

they aren't 24 hr news...that's why they have those random specials "lockup" "catch a predator" etc. etc. etc.

[truthglow]

And while CNN SENSATIONALIZED the tragedy, and MSNBC avoided it, I watched PBS!

[trendier]

That's the reason why they are always the last in the ratings. They have really lazy programming and some commentator have the nerve to critcized some of the CNN Specials. MSNBC has no real reporting even KO fills 1/2 an hour of his program with really silly things. Don't get me wrong I watch MSNBC because in my opinion they talk more about politics.

[H2SO4]

At least half of MSNBC's schizophrenic schedule is made up of this sorry programming filler. Making a buck off of victims and perpetrators of horrific crimes ranks them right up there with cigarette commercials and the Marquis Chimps as a class act.