MSNBC Chief Phil Griffin: Our Network Is ‘Not The Place’ For Breaking News

[warrior1]

Kiss of death. Stupid, stupid man.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/msnbc-chief-phil-griffin-our-network-is-not-the-place-for-breaking-news/

Over the last several months, it has become pretty clear that when it comes to ratings, MSNBC struggles during breaking news events, while CNN and Fox both receive boosts. In an interview with the New York Times this morning, MSNBC chief Phil Griffin essentially conceded the “breaking news” mantle to the other networks, telling viewers that his network is not focused on that sort of coverage.

In what seems like a stunning admission, Griffin said: “We’re not the place for that,” he said of breaking news. “Our brand is not that.”

Instead, he explained, MSNBC’s bread and butter is progressive political talk and analysis. While this may be true, the stable of NBC News correspondents who work so hard to break news on MSNBC, and often do it very well, can’t be happy that Griffin appears to be diminishing or even throwing in the towel on their important work and coverage.

When asked about this as a long term strategy Griffin noted that Fox had its lowest quarter in a decade and CNN’s not yet out of the ratings gutter entirely. “Let’s not be so myopic as to think the whole world has changed,” he said.

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[Duckhunter935]

1. I thought it

was prison coverage

[msanthrope]

2. Yeah--why should they do actual news when prison porn gnerates enough revenue? nt

[NightWatcher]

3. Explain Morning Joe.

Progressive analysis???

[malaise]

16. +1,000 n/t

[TexasTowelie]

4. Doh!

[lpbk2713]

5. The Prison Network

... and proud of it.



BWAHAHAHA

[ZX86]

6. It's always mystified me

Why MSNBC with all the resources of of NBC News available they don't program 24 hour cable news? They are not like CNN and Fox who had to start from scratch. The infrastructure is already there.

[Jamaal510]

18. The same reason why

they don't air re-runs on Friday nights or on weekends--because they're cheapskates.

[Auggie]

7. I don't understand why ... can't they just tap into the resources of NBC news?

Seems like a no-brainer.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. Real reporters doing actual news at NBC should just fax it to MSNBC so they can pretend

they something to do with reporting news? Why would they do that? To call other people's work 'resources' to be taken and used in some non Union shop by chatter mongers who take millions to break nothing but wind?
Millions of people watch NBC News each night. Less than one million watch MSNBC.

[Auggie]

10. No, no, no ...

can't they pick up the feed and do a simultaneous broadcast? They are sister companies. Unless there's a union problem, as you suggest, or some kind of contractual agreement with on-air talent.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Because they are keeping the divisions separated

It essentially is a two network system...

[Auggie]

13. Apparently

Seems to be self-defeating

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Yes and no

(And I agree by the way)

Msnbc is quite partisan. So Griffith wants to avoid that smear on the News division. That's the thinking at play here

[KharmaTrain]

8. Protecting The Over-The-Air Network...

The big money at Comcast/NBC isn't on the cable news but on the overall NBC network and the local stations. They make the big money while MSNBC brings in pocket change. When there's a big news story, they want you to watch the local NBC affiliate...all MSNBC can and should do is shadow that coverage.

Griffin is right about the network's focus being on politics and it's been woefully evident when it comes to covering events like weather disasters. Chris Hayes kept trying to tie global warming into every report and had "experts" in the studio talking amongst themselves rather than just letting the local NBC affiliates coverage roll.

I wasn't impressed with Chicken Noodle Nuze's coverage when I flipped over...they, too are enamored with their "personalities"...Wolfie or whomever the "anchor" was constantly breaking in on the local reporting. I ended up going directly to the affiliate website to get some substantial reporting...

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. MSNBC may be "The Place for Politics", but there's little else. Politics, while interesting, can be

boring, once an election cycle is over. I gave up, and only tune in occasionally to LO, but I always tune in for Melissa on weekends, because she covers issues outside of politics. I love her having on people who can speak to the crisis in Syria, without feeling like they're trying to talk us into war. Endless audio & video clips of Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and the Fox Snooze shitheads doesn't interest me. If I wanted to know what they were saying, I could easily flip over and hear it for myself. At this point, MSNBC needs to be more than just the opposite of Fox News. There's a whole big world outside the DC bubble, they should try covering it.

I'm listening to much more NPR, and watching a lot more BBC for news and analysis.

[Ruby the Liberal]

15. So the formula is to be "progressive" while keeping Morning Schmuck and SE Cupp on payroll

and blowing off Breaking News as "not our thing"?

Sounds like a winner to me.

[Jamaal510]

20. It baffles me that people still call MSNBC "liberal" with a straight face,

even though Morning Joe Blow and Sarah Elizabeth Cupp are co-hosts, and even though their network has plenty of Republican contributors daily. It's not like you see FOX going out their way to give the Left a voice, and even when they have Democrats on, the hosts constantly talk over them and cut the segments short. A person would have to be a nut to believe that MSNBC is as far left as FOX is far right.

[Bohunk68]

17. Not watching MSNBC as much as I used to.

Got tired of the same program content over and over and over again. What with Joe Scum and Tweety, the Mandibular Masturbater, fucking YUCK. Now watching much more CurrentTV and LinkTV. And, even Current is getting to repeat itself from program to program. And, of course, the prison porn. Enough already! I do watch Martin Bashir, though.

[Mr. David]

19. I'll be glad when Phil Griffin is stripped down and his ass shown to the door.

And blackballed from the media industry except Faux.

[gulliver]

21. Fox News would say that if it were honest.

The Fox News "straight-faced parody" of news is what makes it authentically evil and dishonest. The news pretense of Fox News takes what would merely be stupid, evil opinion and converts it to contemptible lying. I respect Phil Griffin for saying what he said.