Iran and the Death of MSNBC as a News Source

While the world was watching the conflict in Iran, MSNBC was showing you cop video and convicts. When they did bother to take a stab at it, they offered the usual political hacks arguing and vomiting talking points.

OK, they bill themselves as "The Place for Politics." They never said they were a source of news. But they disgraced themselves this weekend by ignoring the biggest story in the world.

And when I turned them on this morning, I compared the beet-faced Joe Scarborough and his meanness to the voice of a nineteen year-old Iranian woman live on CNN who had been beaten and was in the middle of a war.

All of a sudden MSNBC fell off the map. Even Fox was better. Even Fox.

CNN won hands-down. No competition. No attempt at competition from MSNBC. Yes, I'll watch Rachel Maddow tonight and skip through the endless anti-Republican snark. Many progressives are avoiding Keith Olbermann altogether because there is no news on his program, just endless coverage of what the Republican party is doing, clips of Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney like any of that was relevant to anyone in the real world.

Many folks have laughed at CNN's use of social media over the past few months. Indeed those who did and who also criticized Twitter for being trivial have egg on their faces today.

But none more than MSNBC.

UPDATE:
Hardball led with a subway accident in DC. LED with it and then went to political hacks arguing.

Comments

[ConservativeCarl]

This just goes to show you how out of touch MSNBC really is, other than Joe Scarborough they are worthless.

[tjntn]

The fact is Fox did a pretty good job of covering Iran but did their usual hatchet job when it came to commentary. It was actually amusing when Fox did a "man-on-the-street" interview with protesters somewhere in the US (I caught this in the middle) and tried to get one young Iranian man to bash Obama for not speaking out more for the protesters. The young man said that Obama was handling the situation well and no one should listen to McCain who says "bomb, bomb Iran" and then proclaims to be on the side of the Iranian people. This obviously was NOT what the program director wanted - shortly thereafter they went to an interview with Ann Coulter who can always be depended upon to spew mindless hate for Obama.

[ReedYoung]

What? They always do the prison-ind­ustrial-co­mplex propaganda show all weekend long. If you were expecting weekend coverage of Iran, from MSNBC, on a weekend, then I can only guess that you have never before watched MSNBC on a weekend. They leave the news to their broadcast property, regular NBC.

MSNBC would be a much stronger brand if their weekend prison coverage was less about the scary people in Supermax prisons, and more about the typical majority of the imprisoned population of the United States: non-violent users or distributors of non-alcoholic intoxicants intended to assist in the pursuit of happiness. Until they take that show off the air, or change its focus to represent the general truth of prisons and their victims, MSNBC is not worth even considering from midnight Friday until after Scarborough and Ratigan shut up the following Monday. Worthwhile programming about prisons would be much more difficult than their microphone and camera farce. It would require contextualizing their video footage with reputable studies and expert commentary. I don't expect it to happen, I'm just explaining that sub-standard MSNBC weekends are nothing new.

[Yurdelite]

Then you'd all be complaining they are beating a dead horse to death on Iran. Dam.ned if you do, dam.ned if you don't. MSNBC has always proclaimed to be the PLACE FOR POLITICS NOT a fake news source like CNN has become.

[bison1]

MSNBC needs to dish their weekend programming. It sucks! But then again they are out of touch because they are giving Dyan Ratigan a show!

[FreelanceMinion]

I don't have cable and don't watch any of the channels that much, but MSNBC has seemed even more than Fox like a place for News Commentary than news. Granted it wasn't batshit crazy news commentary like on Fox, but it still seemed less interested in the raw stuff than its competitors.

[LifeInProgress]

I think Countdown's coverage of unrest in Iran has been excellent, great guests and great questions - almost as good as reading The Dreyfuss Report. Rachel was good too but turned me off yesterday with what seemed like too much, I don't know how to put it, excitement from a safe far away place. That was the vibe I got she seemed at pains to stifle smiles at the end of interviews with exciting footage of protesters. She gets a pass though because she had good guests too although surprisingly overall seeming like a repeat of countdown, which she only seemed like at the beginning before Keith went all Rush L crazy (of course he has refrained since the Iran unrest) [ and someone needs to tell KO not to take things so personally, you could make yourself sick doing that). Only Saturday's coverage from CNN was decent - although there was one young Iranian girl who was just too annoying and silly by half. I haven't watched not prime time MSNBC, only been reading articles, blogs and watching BBC, although if I could I would watch Al Jazeera - cause they're the BEST!

[InspiredByTruth]

So again, how is MSNBC dead? They didn't do enough follow up on Iran to your liking? This write up doesn't explain much other than your dislike of their reporting on the rethug leadership.

[FredBrighton]

Not dead, but dead as a news source. That is to say it is now firmly in the infotainment crowd, like Fox news and the various talk radio shows. But then maybe they misunderstood the expression. "No news is good news"? I've been saying this around the house for months, nice to know I'm not being too cynical. There is almost no place on television for good news reporting. Actually my local station is more accurate and complete for national news than MSNBC.

[W i l l]

Indeed...MSNBC dropped the ball foregoing the events in Iran in favor of their OCD regarding life in prison.

However, covering domestic current events such as the Metro derailment (Mathews is based in DC, that as a lead story is perfectly expected and acceptable)...that I have no problem with. While Iran is a captivating saga...it's not as if the rest of the world has up and come to a halt.

[theloudtalker]

CNN was second to cover this story. Fox News was there from the beginning.Like Obama, CNN was late to the game after taking a continued ratings AND credibility beating over the topic.

[joeyfoto]

If you get so much great news from FOX News, why don't you know ANYTHING about Iran? If you knew anything at all, you would know that the manner that President Obama has tempered his response to this world-crisis is - in the words of Hamid Debashi, Professor of Iranian Studies at Columbia University, 'absolutely pitch perfect. Professor Debashi went on to state that President Obama elegantly calibrated his response as events unfolded. In the same presentation he called congress's "Resolution 506," "the kiss of death," while he noted the Ahmadinejad loyalists would certainly attack even the measured response of President Obama in their attempt to discredit the protestors, however because his presidential position was so appropriately stated those puerile attempts would almost certainly fail. The silly saber rattling of these rogue Republicans has in fact endangered the very movement whose legitimate democratic aspirations we support.

[Cyclops0823]

I agreewith you FOX was the first to jump on this story, but according to everyone on this site...FOX is fake so there is really nothing happening in IRAN, FOX made it all up to get ratings and now everyone is just jumping on the bandwagon...except MSNBC who wants to show prison life...whhat bunch of losers!

As far as the professor...you do know he is Lberal and he wouyld never say anything out of step with the Savior...Cmon now!

[Menemshasunset]

I agree about MSNBC except for Joe Scarborough- He's the only reporter on the network that at least tries to be more than a fan club for Team Obama- (although you can tell some of the Huffpo/Obamaniks get upset if he dares criticize HIM) Scarborough asks tough questions and actually agrees or disagrees based on facts not on the politics. Both Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz are ex-sportscasters who were fired (Schultz more than once) - They go where the money and the job is- Schultz was a Republican and decided there was more money when the Dems started on the upswing- Basically hookers- whoever pays the highest price- Very little difference in their rantings from Rush- Different party- same lies and exaggerations-

[Yurdelite]

Bull crap.

[Exit]

MSNBC may be bad but Fox better? Seriously?

[iluvusa]

We are dealing in facts here not blind faith to your distorted worldview. Offer up some or get our of the way.

[lokipuck]

Please take your own advice.

[Christober]

Really? then perhaps you could offer some viable evidence that FOX isn't a biased news source.

[gino618]

I think MSNBC is a joke - but your statement about Matthews leading with the DC accident is out of line. That is a lead-off story no matter how you spin it. A fatal derailment of a commuter train in the Nation's Capital? Of course that's a headline story.

[mumblinbuffalo]

Just wanted to clarify a few of the comments: So any alleged news source that is critical of the President, is not a news source?

[jakiew]

alleged is right. faux hates obama because he isn't a rethug. faux is run by big corp.'s who can't get their crooked agenda's passed unless rethugs are in power. so it's attack , attack. every move he makes, is soo wrong. that's why they have no credibility.

[FredBrighton]

Get a stop watch and keep track of how much of the broadcast is news and how much is people talking over one another, talking about one another, and reading headlines from other news sources. Very little news goes out and that much is sadly distorted. Opinions are not news. Opinions about opinions is not news.

[SamEllison]

CNN took a week and keeps repeating video without date and time stamps.
Nico Pitney was all over it from Saturday the 13th. Outstanding!