At least a week late to the idea that merging NBC News and MSNBC – both physically at 30 Rock, and mentally through branding and staffing decisions – David Bauder expounds on Brian Stelter's point that, uh, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Actually, "expounds" might be too strong a term (most of the Times points are repeated), but now, more talking points!

When Tim Russert declared Obama the Democratic nominee during MSNBC's coverage of the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, the words carried extra weight because the "Meet the Press" host is generally considered the top broadcast journalist in Washington.

It was no coincidence when Clinton ran a campaign ad in Oregon criticizing pundits "who talk about who's up and who's down" instead of about issues, pictures of Matthews, Olbermann and Russert flashed past. The only non-NBC journalist was ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who has his own complicated relationship with the Clintons. [...]

A clash between two cultures at NBC played out vividly on the air during a discussion between Matthews and anchor emeritus Tom Brokaw on MSNBC's New Hampshire primary coverage, he said. Matthews had called for an investigation of opinion polls when Clinton surprisingly beat Obama that night.

"You know what I think we're going to have to go back and do?" Brokaw said. "Wait for the voters to make their judgment."

The network has emphasized that MSNBC and NBC News are synonymous. The bond was tightened recently when MSNBC moved out of its New Jersey headquarters to Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Now Olbermann's "Countdown" and Brian Williams' "Nightly News" are produced under the same roof. NBC News personalities appear more frequently on MSNBC.

Olbermann's success has had a spillover effect on the network, said Eric Burns, an ex-NBC News correspondent and former host of "Fox News Watch" on Fox News Channel.

"He has made, just in terms of general image, MSNBC and by implication NBC (appear) much more liberal than it really is," Burns said. [AP]