It's seems like ever since Tim Russerts death, NBC news has begun to have a melt down and Keith Olberman is the one with the matches and gasoline. I used to like him but it's seems his ego has caught up with him once again. Just go ask the people at ESPN what the real Keith is really like.

MSNBC's ratings are actually way up. When Keith Olbermann took over his slot it used to do about 300,000 a night. Now it's over a million. Counter programming against Fox has taken MSNBC from an almost out of business network to an actual player in the ratings. Their numbers for the convention actually aren't that far behind Fox. The irony is that the ratings surge is being fueled by the right wing media making everything about MSNBC controversial.

I've been watching Fox and their coverage has actually been pretty good. There is plenty of air-time for dems and there isn't much mud-slinging or shouting or the like going on. Everyone treats one another with respect. Fox doesn't deserve to be in the same boat with the freak show going on at MSNBC. My feeling is the MSNBC felt it needed to "out-Fox" Fox in being partisan but it's gone to far with mad man Olbermman at the helm. Meanwhile, Fox, stung by all the criticism has actually become somewhat respectable.

You know what? I'm sick of hearing "the ratings are up" to justify this kind of childish behavior on-air (and off). I used to be an Olbermann fan too but his ego seems intent on destroying his show, MSNBC, and the careers of anyone who gets in his way. How much will be enough before someone sane steps in and puts him back in place? God I miss Tim Russert.

It's time for MSNBC to wrap it up–actually fold. No one watches, no one cares, the channel is a farce, it loses money, there's no real journalism there, there's no real investigating, its anchors are farces, it's one huge disgrace to journalism and broadcasting, and on and on–it's just terrible. If GE and NBC-Universal are really having financial difficulties, and from all accounts they are, then this would be the first property to jettison. Just have a channel that runs re-runs of old television sitcoms. We'd get more social insight from a re-run of "The Beverly Hillbillies" than from anything currently broadcast on MSNBC. And that's the truth.

Oh spare me. Olbermann and MSNBC aren't even close to catching up to the hysteria of Fox News. Fox invented this crummy game and now people are whining about Olbermann? Give me a break. At least the guy is intelligent… unlike blowhard O'Reilly.

With all of the catfights and verbal bitchslaps, MSNBC is looking more like VH1 every day. Next show to premiere on MSNBC, "30 Rock of Love" where the fembots of MSBNC Dayside via for the affections of a blowhard, big belied, bad haired pundit.

So now that MSNBC is close to crushing Fox in the ratings people are crying foul. There's a reason Fox is on the slide– people have finally figured out it is nothig more than Republican propaganda. Hey it's ok, I fell for it too… then I wised up. Faux news indeed.

Since the primary season has started MSNBC has devolved into this left-wing Matthews/Olbermann-fest. I actually used to encourage people to watch - now, I'm embarassed to say I EVER watched these morons at all! WTF happened? And it's not because Russert died - this shit was going down the drain WAY before that - in fact, he often contributed to the fuckfest going on over there.

Olbermann's individual ratings may be up, but the overall networks ratings are dismal at best. And now to put Maddow on right after Olbermann? Who's genius idea was that - so now we go from 7:00 - 10:00 to hear nothing but extreme left rantings.

That's fine MSNBC, but don't try and call it "journalism" - just rename the network the "Obama Team" and be done with it.

At least MSNBC sticks to teh facts when making their arguements. FOX is so full of lies that it is embarassing to even watch them. I don't care for either groups politics [too left and too right][ but I do care that the facts at least be reported. FOX makes things up and that people actually believe it shows the lack of intelligence of its viewers.

No.6 Mike - O'Reilly certainly has similar personality defects as Olbermann but at least its not advanced to the stage where he doesn't allow people with opposing points of view on his show. As a matter of fact, O'Reilly seems to seek them out. The Olbermman show is unbearably one-sided and not a person who has a daylights of difference with Keith is allowed to show his face. Seeing Keith's unhinged performance at the dem convention I think we now know why. Wait until the Republican convention I think his head is going to explode!

WTF is correct. It's one thing to tune into Olbermann when you know what to expect, but when I switched over to what I thought was Convention Coverage, I was honestly shocked to see a gaggle of so-called journalists fawning over BaROCK star.
The only way to gather balanced convention coverage from television is to flip between Fox and MSNBC. Between the two of them-one can piece together the puzzle.

Having an opinion isn't a bad thing. Call me when MSNBC anchors start blatantly making sh*t up the way Fox News does - other than Joe Scarborough's inane rantings, I'm just not seeing the problem.

I always tune into MSNBC if I want to watch tv news (which is rare). Anyone who defends Fox with a straight face is retarded. It's not the media's job to manufacture a "fair" fight between the parties and their candidates. When the last eight years have been an unmitigated disaster, it is not Rachel Maddow's job to try to put icing on it, making it sem not so bad, so that McCain has a fair shot in the election. When you tell it like it is, it's just not going to look good for Republicans. That's reality. As always, but especially over the last eight years, facts tend to have a "liberal bias."

I agree with MaryC, where's the problem? I like Olberman because he is right on the edge and sometimes he goes over, but not for long. I like Chris Matthews because he can't tolerate liars and calls them out, Dems or GOP. His interview with the lying PUMA was hilarious. Scarborough sometime ignores the facts and says things he feels and you can't do that around Matthews and Olberman or you will get called on it The time he went off on Schuster was uncalled for. Rachel Maddow is the smartest and best of them all and she is new at this pundit stuff.

Let's step back and look at the big picture here. I worked in television news as a photographer and producer for ten years and have personal insight into the mind of an on-air "talent", the technical name for talking heads.

I'll start by saying that I watch Olbermann's show nightly. I enjoyed watching him back in his ESPN days and have watched his MSNBC show for about two years. I'm intelligent enough to sift fact from commentary, and in my opinion this guy manages to clearly distinguish the two. By this I mean that he attributes quotes, runs sound in its entirety (soundbytes, too), political ads in their entirety, etc. But, when he gives his own take on a subject, he's more than willing to let you know he's doing so. It sounds like to me that he is taking shots just for trying to be clearly understood.

I don't know the man personally. Could be a son of a bitch for all I know. But what I see on air with him is intelligent conversation on the most important matters infused with natural humor and a bit of controlled rage at the mockery we call our national government.

Bravo, Keith. As for this MSNBC squabbling, as some of us used to say back in the news biz, "Fuckin' talent."

MSNBC, CNN, FOXNEWS are all entertainment channels bargaining for your attention. The quality of the news diminishes, and the messages get clouded by egos. For a fair and balanced coverage, we should all be watching C-SPAN and drawing our own conclusions. Don't let these buffoons think for you.

It's a common fallacy of the right that equal time must be given to all sides of every issue, giving them equal weight.

One only has to look at the disaster of the last 8 years to realize that Republicans are on the wrong side of every issue. From the war to global warming, taxes, the economy, health care, and on and on. So if a network seems to be leaning left, it really only means they are reporting the facts. That's why someone who is conservative sees Fox as fair and balanced. Even they can't avoid covering all the damage that their party has done, so people watching think that it must be because they are non-partisan.

I was watching the convention yesterday, and I was flipping between MSNBC and C-SPAN. Maybe I'm a political nerd, but I thought that was so awesome. If Keith or Chris were talking over someone I wanted to hear speak, I flipped to C-SPAN. If it got boring, I'd flip back.

As they say in the Guinness TV ads, "Brilliant!"

Keith has always been a blow hard, and that's part of his draw. He's not afraid to speak out on idiocy. Like Joe mouthing off and trying to shovel Republican talking points during the DNC.

I noticed the shows are becoming more Republican vs. Democrat with morning Joe featuring Tom Brokaw and Mike Murphy.

What Keith's show is also missing is the constant conflict of O'Reilly's show.

Fox news is just one negative story after the other, with republican activists like Brit Hume and disgruntled Democrats like Geraldine Ferraro.

But all US for profit news programs are heavily spun, if not by ideology then by the need to chase advertising. Brittany and Paris can easily knock world events off the front page. I love to hear overseas reporters actually questioning US politicians. Without the worry of losing advertising they're not afraid to chase the truth.

MSNBC shouldn't define itself as liberal. Fox doesn't define itself with anything but "fair and balanced." Which is total bulls**t. MSNBC has done a great job, slap fights and all. YOu don't think O'Reilly is a diva?
Phil should sit Keith down and tell him to cool it. It won't help but he can say he did it.
I think it's convention coverage, not daily life at MSNBC that is straining these people. It will pass.

There is a whole generation of corporate journalists who ware failing us. Fox news vs MSNBC is just minor details. Step back and look at the entire 24 hr cable media syndrome and you can see its flawed. Its all spin and little news.

The "real" journalists of the fifties and sixties kept their personal biases hidden. They were about reporting news, not producing entertainment.

Olbermann is bi-polar and is off his meds. He's trying to self destruct just like he did at ESPN. Griffin should fire him.

BFD…of course MSNBC is freaking out the RW noise machine. KO and RM negate a day's worth of right wing slant and spin on the issues and this administration. They can lose Pat Buchanon and Morning Joe; this viewer would be prefer to see David Schuster anchoring the morning show. If I want Republican prop, I can tune in to Fox or CNN.

Any coincidence that the #2 investor in NewsCorp (Fox News) is Kingdom Holdings of Saudi Arabia? Big investor in CNN, too. Think about that for a minute…

I never, ever take a report seriously when people are too chicken to put their names to what they (allegedly) are saying.

Opinions For The Dominions
Well I don't know about you, but I am growing weary of being talked at. How many pundits does it take to analyze our world on a daily basis? Too many as far as I'm concerned. And when words aren't enough..the latest in vogue analysis is body language. C'mon people get a grip! One of my daily tasks is to monitor the airwaves, and what noisy airwaves they are. The news network's recipe for so called "lively debate" is to assemble panels of former politicians, and trial lawyers to debate the latest. Talk about a segue.Who knew that lawyers, and politicos would transition into the entertainment industry spotlight. The glare is blinding , deflecting the viewing public from being heard. I guess its assumed that they speak for all of us by virtue of their configuration of both pro and con being represented. But it is important for us to remember that they DON'T.
These news organizations are corporate conglomerates successful in their strategy of "measured" interaction. "Send an email to tell us your thoughts and it might get on the air…text us at…., send your pitures to….but don't put yourselves in harms way". I thought that was what good journalists do. Oh, thats right.. the anchors sit pretty venturing out in the real world only when competing for ratings on major stories.
Boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred in our society today. Or maybe its that politics and the world of entertainment and news are all one and the same. Giving the term self-interest new meaning.

Ed, I hate to tell you, but you have a totalitarian mindset. Some are so certain in their beliefs with respect to every issue ("global warming, taxes, the economy, health care, and on and on") that to brook dissent is useless heresy.

The most intelligent, mature and truly democratically minded people, have convictions but are always questioning themselves and seeking out others to challenge those convictions. Many times in life I've found out something I was so certain of turned out not to be the case. And even then I'm not sure what is "right" or "true". If you watch Olbermman and think you are getting the "truth" then you are not such a person.

Rosie O'lbermann will flame out.

It looks like everyone agress: MSNBC sucks. Take it off the air, now.

Are people actually now saying FOX has better coverage?? Are you the same douche bags who listen to O'REILLY. Are you some poor intern thats hired to look at blogs to change the perception of your racist and right wing propoganda machin that is FOX? Wow, when someone starts doing the same tactics you guys relish in you cry foul. Give me a break, as for this source or sources, I bet their checks actually have Fox on it. Get a life!

Reality has a liberal bias… finally, we have a (however short-lived) network that has a reality bias!

MSNBC personalities are much more transparent in their commentating, as opposed to reporting, than Fox News is, and Fox is far more "bent" in terms of its gatekeeping and conservative slant than MSNBC is. But…Olbermann's problem is that his commentating is over-the-top, ego-driven hyperbole that will never ever be persuasive - he is totally preaching to his choir, so if his goal or his job is to persuade, he fails miserably. He is a Rush Limbaugh from the left, turning people who already agree with his position into unthinking, knee-jerk robots. He's starting to think he IS the news, and like O'Reilly, actually believes that anyone who disagrees with him or disses him is dishonest - The O'Reilly's "No Spin Zone" has come to mean that anyone who disagrees with O'Reilly's spin on the facts is spinning the facts. Olbermann, in his own way, is doing the same thing. Take him out of MSNBC and what's left standing are people like Matthews, Scarbrough and Maddow, all of whom are partisan but transparent and in my view well inside the zone of tolerable. Olbermann has reasonably good presence, but his ever inflating ego is going to do him in, and may explode NBC News.

I love MSNBC… and I've put my money where my mouth is, by recently upgrading my Dish Network package so that I can watch it every day instead of catching snippets on Youtube and blogs… yeah money is tight… but Olberman and Matthews??? Priceless.

MSNBC is struggling but Olbermann is not. Clearly Morning Joe is a partisan hack being kept around to appease the right.
Matthews is jealous of Keith that is also quite apparent.
Maddow has a new show because she and Keith have proven that we want to hear the news without the Right bent.

I love MSNBC… and I've put my money where my mouth is, by recently upgrading my Dish Network package so that I can watch it every day instead of catching snippets on Youtube and blogs… yeah money is tight… but Olbermann, Matthews and Maddow??? Priceless.

I just love seeing Keith putting Chris on the right path of reporting. As for Connie Chung–she's washed-up. As for Fox being better the zombie's with no brains are happy to sit fixated watching non-news. Fox: good coverage, give me an exit from the idiot Fox New lover's.

MSNBC without Keith Olbermann would be dead. There is a very real market out there ready to jump on any network that counters Fox News in the real sense of the word. Keith Olbermann is a gold mine precisely because there is a growing demand for a change in how news is presented. The old guard is a dyeing out. The Young (below 45 years old) want out of the old formula of manipulation.

Keith is definetely feeling his own self importance. And the coverage they are providing is terrible. They are too busy talking to actually let people hear what is going on. As Nora O and Rachel M whined there was not enough criticism of McCain Kerry and Tammy Duckworth were taking on stage taking him apart. Anne C's interview with Pelousi was embarrassing, as was asking President Carter is he talked to Pres. Clinton about his speech. They are too busy trying to create a story than reporting the story that is directly in front of them. I switched to CSpan so I could actually watch the convention!

Keith Olbermann used to take the high road when dealing with corrupt hypocrites and greedy corporate syncophants such as Faux News. For whatever reason Keith seems to have abandoned the high-minded approach, and I can't say as I blame him, since I share his ideology and his increasing intolerance for the opposition point of view. After all, this country, and the world in general, has rarely been in such au unbelievably terrible state, and the need to reverse the present course can easily be seen as a war for the future.

Keith, however, still delivers the news and his opinions with style and wit, and, as a former high school teacher, I have seen waves of stupid students grow into hordes of anti-intellectual adults. I would love to give a pop quiz to the audience at large after, say, one of Keith's Special Comments, and I have absolutely no doubt that 80% of the posters here complaining about MSNBC would fail the test miserably. A quote from Oliver Cromwell? Oliver Cromwell? Oh yeah, he was on the Supreme Court, right?

And that's where the vitriol comes from, as well as the allegiance to the knuckleheads at Faux News. They don't ask you to think about what they're saying — their "reporting" is about as thought-provoking as the instructions of a Marine drill sergeant. They don't make you feel bad about your own ignorance. They merely ask for blind obedience, and any idiot can deliver that.

I'm completely amazed at the outrage so many
are finding with Keith Olbermann — so he's a
little 'out there', and isnt afraid to say what
he thinks. Its refreshing, and partisanship in
these days is sorrily needed.
If you dont like it, you can always switch back
to those fountains of objectivity, O'reilly,
Hannity and of course that true true patriot of
american values Limbaugh.

What's the problem. You ever watch Hannity and Colmes. Did anyone watch Crossfire.

CNN will never call a Republican on there lies and Fox is the GOP.

It's time to start calling a spade a spade.

I have no problem with someone calling out Scarborough when he starts to spit out the GOP talking points.

Otherwise idiots will continue to believe Obama is an elitist.

What the hell do you think being a Republican means. It defines there party.

A bunch of people who were born on third base who spend there entire life thinking they hit a triple. See Bush.

Now they are talking about the columns Obama will speak in front of.

They want you to talk about those things instead of a 5 year illegal war or how many people are losing there jobs and homes.

If the press really did there job the GOP could not exist in this country.

No one who makes under $500,000 a year would ever vote for them.

The new Comedy Station - msnbc - what a pack of no-talent jerks, especially Shuster and Olberman. The only one at all worthy of news is Pat Buchanan, Mr. Conservative, I love the irony! It's sad to say I switched to Fox, but during this convention, they have been fair and balanced while msnbc is a freakshow.

I find it difficult to take you seriously when you write, "we've spoke" in the second paragraph. I suppose even third-graders can be media critics too.

This all reads like 5th graders talking about 8th graders. STOP watching TV.

Keith, Chris, Rachel, David G, David S and Dan - You are doing a pretty good reporting. All this foul talk is a Republican voice. We are happy with you and keep doing what your are doing.

Get that A$$hole Joe and Buchanan out of the line up. They stink!!

I'd like to remind everyone they've got other options for convention coverage: CSPAN and PBS notably. Any time I get tired of watching huge overinflated egos shout at each other, endlessly pick over poll numbers, and basically do their best to drone on endlessly to fill air time - on ALL THREE of the cables networks - I switch it to PBS. They usually have a panel of historians calmly reflecting on the greater context of the events or perhaps they have an interview with someone like Jimmy Carter or Madeline Albright. And unlike the cable networks - they actually let us see some of speeches which aren't considered "headliners" - notably last night John Kerry - who gave perhaps the best speech of his career. The cable networks didn't even mention it as far as I can tell. I expect that PBS's coverage of the republican convention will be just as high quality.

It seems like all the comments are they same in here. people are saying that Fox is this or MSNBC is that. They are both the same thing, two sides of the same coin. I tried watching a little of the convention coverage on Monday night but I couldn't take it. It's all about the pundits. They don't even cover all the speeches and the talk through the ones that they do show. If you really want to see good convention coverage tune onto PBS (wttw channel 11 in Chicago) and watch. I turned it on half way through Monday nights coverage I have been watching PBS ever since what a difference.

Sorry "smithy mcsmith" we must of posted at the sametime because I didnt see you comment when i was posting mine. PBS is for Adults

Big surprise, the Fox worshipers long for the days of Russert, the place Dick Cheney would go so he could control the message.

The fighting will be good for MSNBC in the long run. It helps clear the air, and in today's entertainment environment, the edginess will pay off.

Turn the damn channel if you don't like it.

I agree with JoJo … that Olbermann "delivers the news and his opinions with style and wit". He is one of the few commentators who cares enough, and is smart enough to get the facts right. He isn't afraid to report on the failings of our government… even events that no other network will touch.

We need Olbermann and Maddow to balance out the atrocious Faux News (as someone said above, nothing but a Republican propaganda channel) and the conservative-leaning CNN.

It is too bad that we don't have access to unbiased news coverage, but we don't. So I'm all for Olbermann and Maddow, two of the few interesting commentators on TV.

If any of you believe that MSNBC is going to get rid of Keith, you are off your meds.

This guy is polarizing, yes. But that's what sells news. O'Reilly and Hannity are fumbling boobs. But they are polarizing too, so their jobs are safe.

The truth is that most of this country is a bit left of center. And they find it refreshing to finally hear an unabashed advocate of the left - Keith - say all the things they've always wanted to hear from a news organization.

With all the right wing talk shows, both on TV and on radio, it's refreshing to get a breath of fresh air - even if sometimes it does go to KO's head.

This gibberish is a political strategy pushed by FOX - pretty clever - but your busted!

Olbermann - does not sit for thje usual right wing diatribe and this is god - bacuase thjere is a huge audience out there that has had it! and actually agrees with Olbermann's insensitivities. If you don't then change the channel back to FOX where you belong because it's mostly about ideology. I watch it and think it's A-OK - I donm't want to see 24/7 commentary from Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and there's a lot of us (who buy products from their advertisers) who are fine with that - GET IT.

Also I will not sign up to post this - so get over that to!

MSNBC has hired hosts with diversity in political bent. Hence you get tortured dynamics that are interesting to watch. I'd rather see the pundits challenging each other a bit rather than buttering up each others backsides like they do at FauX…

Lately, I've been having a hard time watching Olbermann. I'm liberal, but hs constant personal attacks on Bill O'Reilly makes him seem just a liberal twin to Billo. I hope Keith has time to reflect on why people first started tuning into his show and makes a course correction.

As for the convention coverage, MSNBC has been the worse. I've been watching either C-SPAN or CNN. I hate it when the networks don't give respect to the speakers and just keep talking and talking with no real substance.

Sasha, what in the heck are you talking about with regard to O'Reilly" offering and even seeking out differing points of view? He never allows anyone with a differeing point of view to talk — he talks over them, frames whatever they say in very dishonest ways, and often even kicks them off of his set. Heck, this is the man who sends his FOX News hit squad out to get anyone he disagrees with. No, there isn't a darn thing balanced about Keith Olbermann's show, but then he doesn't present himself as "fair & balanced" like all of the blowhards at FOX. Geez, grow-up.

View from a swing-voting Independent: Sean Hannity and Keith Olbermann are flip sides of the same coin. Neither is capable of changing my mind, and lets face it, my vote counts more than yours as it is well known that swing voting Independents decide elections.

Fox and MSNBC are two sides of the same coin and its all boiled down to info-tainment suited to whatever political party you favor. KO and CM are bitchy egomaniac divas who seem who seem to think their own personal opinions actually dictate what people in real life think. Ditto BillO of course. Its scary to think about how a handful of news personalities and producers/network executives try to shape the future of our country from their own personal views.

Olbermann is a disaster as a Convention host.

Would be like FNC letting Bill-O anchor the conventions.

Olbermann is an absolute disgrace. Other htan his pompous ass, MSNBC has some good political talent.

it's a shame it can be featured.

Anybody going to talk about how unprofessional Joe Scarborough is. I heard him attack Shuster the other day ON AIR. When Shuster disagreed with him Scarborough attacked him saying that Shuster had overslept and missed the show 3 times. I've never seen anything that unprofessional on TV before. Scarborough is a horses behind. I also saw him attack Maddow in an equally unprofessional way.

You know what I call all of this?

Great TV.

I'm long past taking the opinions of any of these people seriously, and Tim "Deity" Russert lost all the respect I once had for him by doing a dozen or so MTP's without mentioning he was up to his neck in the investigation of the Plame affair.

It's a new world, folks, only not so much. When was the word "infotainment" coined?

The rich and Corporate are different from you and me.

No. 18 Ed says:
It's a common fallacy of the right that equal time must be given to all sides of every issue, giving them equal weight.

That's an intersting take given that the only party to ever push the Fairness Doctrine has been the Democrats.

To all MSM and/or drive-by media: Define journalism? Thank-you.

No. 31 Willie Horton says:
Reality has a liberal bias… finally, we have a (however short-lived) network that has a reality bias!

:I think it was Thatcher who once said that 'the facts of life are conservative'. Reality is nothing close to the eutopia that liberals would have you believe would exist if only they could get power.

Keith Olbermann is the bomb!

KO is mentally deranged.

Please anyone with a very small and very dull child can deal with Obermann. His attention span is very very short and ussually mean and nasty. I would like someday to return to the newscast where they had intelligent adult running the show I can even tolerate the overwhelming bias of MSNBC in trading for some maturity.

I like the guy way up the thread who says he only watches MSNBC, but goes on to trash FOX. How would he know?

For the left, the concept of FOX as bogeyman is an incontrovertible fact. No matter how horrible MSNBC is, it can't possibly be as bad as FOX, yada yada.

If you want to see the world more clearly, break out of your cocoons, people. This goes equally for FOX and MSNBC fans.

overall, the cable news coverage of the convention has been abysmal for all three major outlets. the bar is really low. pbs has had the best coverage by far, with dynamite interviews and very little talking over speeches they deem unimportant. they're actually bringing us into the convention instead of showcasing their paid talking heads. plus, their hd feed is pretty good. msnbc has by far been the most unprofessional of the three outlets. their public infighting has damaged their already fragile brand. they've made terrible programming decisions lately, including having david gregory host a show and canning dan abrams' show, which was by far their most bipartisan and enlightening. fox has been atrocious as well. after every speech, they have some far right wing pundit trying to throw salt on everything from michelle obama's wardrobe and sincerity to "hillary should've been picked" and having "noun, verb, 9/11" rudy and mc rove analyze anything democratic is a joke in and of itself.

See, Keith Olbermann isn't bad when he just has his show. He is an obvious liberal with a liberal agenda. He doesn't try to hide it nor should he. Same with all the rest of the MSNBC crew.

They are the answer to Fox News, while CNN lingers in the middle.

The problem is you can't have him running (or appear to be) a news network, because then the network gets labeled as having a liberal agenda.

They need someone to run the network who is indifferent to politics or even to a party.

There is obviously drama at MSNBC but to say its not balanced as opposed to Fox and CNN is ridiculous. The shear weight of extreme right wing and plain right wing pundits at those 2 channels could compromise the floor of the Denver CNN Grill. CNN should be ashamed of Lou Dobbs, race-baiting and conpiracy theorizing his way to the insane asylum with his verb, noun, mexican, storylines and Fox has no right to claim itself as a news source.

BTW, Rachel Maddow is an incredible choice, one of the only ones I could listen to on Air America, and however liberal, an interesting and serious pundit.

You know, I really don't see how people are pointing the finger at Keith about this. He's been acting the most professional out of all of them lately.

Wahhh wahhh. How long has Fox News been pushing its hard-right shtick, and no media critic could be bothered to call it out? To the point where the documentary "Outfoxed" had to be made? Now MSNBC has one popular newsman who doesn't kowtow to conservatives and the whole world of journalism is ending.

And you have got to be kidding me that Fox is doing a good job covering the Dem convention. From Media Matters:

Fox News aired two minutes of Democratic keynote address, discussed Ayers instead

Summary: On August 26, Fox News aired just over two minutes of former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner's keynote address to the convention. After returning from a commercial, Alan Colmes stated, "In other election news, an independent group supporting John McCain released an ad last week attacking [Sen.] Barack Obama's ties to former Weather Underground leader Bill Ayers," and aired an ad from the Obama campaign responding to the independent ad. Colmes and Sean Hannity then interviewed Rudy Giuliani.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200808270006

It's a common fallacy of the right that equal time must be given to all sides of every issue, giving them equal weight.

Oh, so it's the RIGHT who keep pushing for the Fairness Doctrine?

I used to really look forward to watching MSNBC every afternoon and evening. I was a huge fan. Now, I can't stand it. I don't think the point of the article was to compare it to FOX news, which is, of course, a joke. MSNBC's coverage is now so gagable that I have switched to watching convention coverage on PBS and the BBC, who cover it as "news", not as an opportunity for the hosts to feed their egos. That said, I like Rachel Maddow, but she's always on with the rest of them, so I'm changing channels. (I think this happened because the coverage is so long and they all feel the need to "fill" air time. True colors are revealed.) Also, I miss Tucker Carlson.

Read the first paragraph of your article and stopped.

No one who refers to Drudge can possibly be considered serious.

If Olbermann just came out before every show and said, "I'm Keith Olbermann. A liberal talk show host and these are my opinions on today's biggest stories." Then no one would be shocked when this lunkhead opens his wordhole and spouts off crazy liberal philosophies. Just be open. Why hide your political leanings? You are not a newsman, merely a commentator. Be open!

Let's be honest, MSNBC is happy to limit it's audience to Moveon.org members and Daily Kos posters. They know that is the case, their sponsors know that is the case, and the price of their ad spots (cheap) reflects this.

It doesn't matter anyway; GE is dumping NBC/MSNBC and a new owner will change everything anyway.

All I know is that we have 24 hour news coverage that can't seem to report on McCain's repeated inability to distinguish a Shia from a Sunni, lack of knowledge re: middle eastern borders, tons of evidence regarding anger management issues etc……. Not even the fact that he doesn't know how many houses he has really got legs as a news story. But Edwards affair, that is big news!! Whatever's controlling the networks, including msnbc, it certainly isn't the democrats.

rhonda: SURPRISE! McCain doesn't OWN any houses. They are owned by his wife, his wife's families, his wife's trusts for elderly family members to live in, and investment properties. That is why he said an aide would check it out; I would guess McCain doesn't know if his wife's will leaves him any beneficial ownership or not. Of course this was never an issue with John Kerry in 2004 was it…..???

we've spoke????? since when is that the past participle of: to speak.
speak - spoke - have spokeN
Thank you. It's much easier to take things seriously when you write in standard English.

They are angry at Rachel Maddow because she has avoided embroiling herself in a puerile catfight? Totally understandable.

If they want to put the fire out just get rid of olbermann, matthews and scarborough…let somebody else deal with them. they'd probably see their ratings skyrocket.

It is a sad state of affairs when criticizing a president who craps on the constitution, governs like an authoritarian, loots the coffers for his rich corporate buddies and drives the country into the ground at every opportunity makes you an ultra-far-left-liberal. It seems more like the behaviour of a patriot. It doesn't matter if you are left, right or center, the faults of these crooks and imbeciles should be apparent to one and all.

Olbermann,Shuster & Matthews are pussies! Mika B. is Eva Braun on quaaludes! They tacked to the far left to try to make a buck. They can't compete straight up. How does the board of GE justify this network to its shareholders? They don't give a shit. Do me a favor…don't say with a straight face MSNBC is competitive in the ratings or objective. You just look like the conspiricy theory blogging idiot that you are.

Linus Bern is a moron-hack.

All of them, MSNBC, Fox News, and others are full of crap. There is no real objective news any more. I feel the same way I used to feel in the Soviet Union, when news anchors lie to your face and tell you what their bosses make them tell you, because they think you are sheep.

I enjoy Keith and Chris, they are entertaining. If you are upset, watch the other networks. When Keith makes a comment, he states it is his opinion, and actually will make corrections and retractions when he is wrong- I have never seen that on the "terrorist fist bump" network. I have never heard Keith say it is ok for terrorists to blow up San Francisco or Madison WI because gays live there, like O'Reilly has. I've never heard Chris ask a three paragraph leading question that always includes 6 or 7 false accuasations like Hannity. It is refreshing to hear someone speak on the liberal side who appears to be intelligent and articulate, like Maddow, instead of a blowhard college dropout drug abusing conservative like Rush! Hey-this is why there is more than one flavor at Baskin-Robins.

Oh Snoop-Diggity-DANG-Dawg I must concede the argument to you. You rhetoric is so persuasive, your argument unassailable. I am humbled by your superior intellect. I now see that Bush and Cheney are the greatest ever, they have put to shame that old fraud Lincoln.

Keith is the best. We're only hearing about MSNBC because they are having an impact.

The facts:

Keith Olbermann is an @ss wipe. So is Hannity. They are the same 'over the top' look at me gas bags… both are unwatchable. the people who like them are the folks don't want to think — just be told. both are losers

MSNBC is left. FOX is right.

Watch CSPAN or even CNN and learn something.

It is amazing that Olber(not even close to a)man spends so much of his time criticizing O'Reilly, Limbaugh and Hannity when without them he would have nothing to say…he's so childlike and he can't stand being coming in 4th with these guys in looks and intelligence let alone in money and ratings!!!

I say, just give me a chance to hear the speeches and make my own judgment, to be inspired or challenged, Why do the paid commentators think they are so much smarter than I am - basically, most of them spin, shout, fabricate, repeat, interrupt and shut out any attempt at constructive or enlightening comments. So shut up and listen, take turns, play fair; otherwise, go home, donate your salaries to do some good in the world.

Keith Olbermann was hated at ESPN (I know, I was there) for being a complete narcissist. The people who like Keith are the left wing, Bush was in on 911 crowd. They clean a little up when supporting him on blogs. but we know who they are…

Look, Fox is not much better but to see the worship for Olberman is hilarious. MSNBC's coverage of the DNC is a train wreck. Don't beleive me, check out the ratings.

As it turns out, media reports have shown that despite the presence of clearly left leaning commentators, MSNBC's coverage has been the most balanced of all the channels.

QT

Olberdouche is an idiot and so is anyone who takes anything he says seriously. MSNBC is a joke and it's majority of watchers are mindless sheeple who drink the kool-aid from the liberal branch of the democrat party.

some of you are letting your politics to get in the way of the big picture here. Put that aside. Realize that making MSNBC the liberal version of Fox is not the answer to making television better. It's contributing to making it worse. Neither should be allowed to do what they do. Beyond that it's really apparent that Olbermann is running the network and not very well at that. They are openly feuding on air, snapping at one another and generally being asses to each other. That's not professional and it's something I've never seen anywhere else but on MSNBC this week. That kind of asshole behavior should disturb all of you no matter what kind of political beliefs you have. Or put another way if Scarborough had snapped at Olbermann would it have been okay? If Matthews had cut off Keith would that be okay? You're okay with this because you can't stand either Scarborough or Matthews but the thing is that none of them should be acting this way.

Keith O is awesome. He speaks the truth people. Bush and his henchmen blew up tower 7 and they knew abut 911. Bush lied and people died.
Power to the peeps!

Frank says:
Olberdouche is an idiot and so is anyone who takes anything he says seriously. MSNBC is a joke and it's majority of watchers are mindless sheeple who drink the kool-aid from the liberal branch of the democrat party.
AS OPPOSED TO THE KOOL AID YOU'VE BEEN MAINLINING FOR HOW MANY YEARS NOW, SUNSHINE? WAKE UP AND GET SOBER JACKASS!

Posted: Aug 28, 2008 at 4:03 pm

So Olbermann and Matthews had a whittle spat..who cares?? When you're together with you spouse for one week straight non stop you want to bash each other's head in. I can't blame them for getting on each other's nerves..who wouldn't? I LOVE Keith and Matthews too. Keith keeps me from wanting to blow my brains out. There are so few formats for progressives. Thank God for Keith. I ALWAYS watch!!

CFA -
Agree and well said. MSNBC is just like FOX. It's ok when it connects with your politics. Complete hypocrisy! But you have to admit, watching MSNBC is like a car accident. You hate to look but you can't keep from watching.

Keith rocks! You people wish you were as smart as him. I love him. He has the guts and smarts that the mainstream media does not have. He was the first to prove Iraq was an inside job.

Vote!

Who is pushing this "MSNBC" is blowing up crap? No, they are not blowing up. The fact that this is an issue, is just a reason to "tune in" and see the drama…Keith is just fine at what he does. Bill O is fine at what he does. Neither of them are really jounalists, so to expect that level of *cough* credibility is unrealistic. It's a game of viewers. People will tune in tonight, the BIG night to see not only the speech, but the drama unfold….Funny huh? Blowing up…Yeah…

To paraphrase an old comparison used back in the days when every net but FNC was in the tank for the Clintons:

ABC = All-Barack Channel
CBS = Championing Barack Service
NBC = National Barack Channel
MSNBC = Must Support No Barack Criticism
CNN = Covering Nothing Non-Barack

FNC = Fair News Coverage

But, as all of them could say, "We report. You decide." Maybe that's why MSNBC's at the bottom of the convention coverage ratings: They're "reporting", and viewers are "deciding" that they'd rather look for news coverage elsewhere.

I will take MSNBC and their team of infighting any night over CNN's crackhead team of:
Anderson closet queen Cooper
Larry am I showing any symptoms of dementia yet King
Glenn bipolar Beck
and
Wolf if you you saw what was under this beard you would know why I wear it Blitzer

Olberman is crazy and shouldn't be able to place anyone anywhere. MSNBC and FOX are both terrible and CNN is the Clinton News Network so there are pretty slim pickens on cable news. Matthews is much better then Olberman.

#96 CFA and #100 James

Absolutely, 100% dead on! Truer words were never spoken…..hence the reason you don't work for MSNBC!

Audiences have responded positively to shifts at the network, making MSNBC the fastest-growing cable news network in 2008 and the top-rated one among viewers between 18 and 34 years old, the most desirable to advertisers. The network drew 2.15 million viewers on its first night of convention coverage, 88% more than tuned in for the first night of the 2004 Democratic convention, according to Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC also beat Fox News among younger viewers that night.

Maybe the reason the ratings dropped during the campaign was because of all the screaming people and outside noise. It was terribly annoying and I switched to CSPAN.

Watching Keith Olberman work himself into a frothing at the mouth rage is one of the highlights of my day. While I disagree with about 95% of what he says, he is absolutely hilarious to watch.

I find it even more humerous that people get their "news" from a man who has a segment called "worst person in the world" and does nazi salutes while holding an O'Reily mask. The man's obsession with O'Reily is really weird.

I have ignored all networks and have watched CSPAN. No talk, no commercials and you get all the action.

Keith Olberman on steroids and drugs still wouldn't be near the ball park of the idiot bags like Sean Hannity, Bill O'Really, Rush Gasbag, or Michael Savage. PLEASE.

At least MSNBC features far more conservatives than Fox features liberals, what with their living straw man Alan Colmes. Scarborough has the morning show. Pat Buchanan is on all the time. Individual shows have ideologies, but not the overall network.

All the station needs is someone with big enough balls to keep the egos in check.

Let's see, Huntley/Brinkley leads to John Chancellor who leads to Tom Brokaw who leads to…Keith Olbermann?!
Can someone please dig up Murrow to put an end to this MSNBC mess.
BTW, what's with Chris Matthew's hair? Is that really lime-green tint or is my HDTV in need of repair?

Rosie jacked up ratings but canned anyway.
Dobermann is Rosie without the class.
Bye bye Dobermann.

Olbermann is the only person on the air who has the passion and courage for sticking it to the Neo-Con fundamentalists. I don't care how he votes, I want this President and all is henchmen arrested for TREASON!

GO Olbermann!!!! DON'T GIVE UP!! AND DON'T EVER BACK DOWN!!!!

If you watch FOX news, you'll notice that when they cover a speech delivered by a Democrat, they run a message in the scroll beneath ridiculing him/her.

I like Keith O. BUT he is a commentator, not an objective observer. He is just as unlikely to run a commentary critical of Sen. Obama as he is to run a commentary complementary of Sen. McCain. Keith is smart, quick-witted, but partisan. Does he ever have anyone on his program who disagrees with him?

the right wing has nothing to do with this story. its Chris Matthews vs. Douchey Oberfag, Tom Brokaw vs Douchey O, MSNBC staffers vs. Douchey O, and the whole world against that fugly fat dyke with the new show.

To avoid all the hoop-la, I watch C-
span. There's no interruptions. It's really nice, there's know yelling and screaming pundits. Plus the cable stations block out some of the best parts of the Convention. C-Span and even PBS is showing it.

Their ratings boost is in no way being fueled by the right wing media.

It's the Democratic National Convention! Hello!

It is expected that the left wing of the cable news race would attract large numbers for the DNC.

The truly funny thing is that Fox News still has high numbers (considering their right wing bias).

Remember, you can be liberal, but you have to be entertaining and fun to watch.

Olbermann is painful to the eyes and ears.

Hello??? Anyone who thinks MSNBC and FNC are reporting news is just kidding themselves.

They are ENTERTAINMENT!!!

Olberman was a hack doing a local LA sportscast, then a hack at ESPN. Nothing has changed. O'Reilly, Hannity, et. al. only invite their opponents on so they can talk over them and yell at them. And apparently most of the commenters here just drink in the 'fairness' of their favorite and wail about the bias of the other side.

Every source of 'news' out there is just someone reporting their spin or their boss's spin. The only way to wade through it all is to find reliable sources and keep testing them. MSNBC and FNC are not reliable sources, they are entertainment.

You guys watch WAY too much TV.

I, for one, have ONLY been watching the coverage on MSNBC (except for brief stints on C-SPAN). CNN thoroughly disgusts me these days, and I prefer the colorful, if not sometimes aggressive, discourse among the MSNBC pundits. What is missed about Murphy is that he delighted in suggesting (over and over) that he believe Hillary & Bill would ultimately vote for McCain behind the curtain — and both Chris and Keith jumped on him because he didn't provide ANY source or explanation — only a "feeling". Well, FEELINGS are not journalism! Both Pat Buchanan and Mike Murphy (any Republican strategists on any other show) are reciting Republican talking points when it comes to critiquing the Dem Convention. It's their duty, so it seems, to find something wrong with the convention, or play down the various speeches, or attack the Greek columns, etc. etc. I will hold my judgment until I see how the Democratic strategists (and, yes, that's DemocratIC and not Democrat) handle the GOP convention next week. This is all part of the political game — the opposition is there to "illuminate" — but what they are really there to do is as much damage as possible to the other side.

Despite the few exceptions such as Olbermann, the MSM is still the main stream media, and will continue shilling for the administration in order to get 'access'.

For honest, unbiased, informative speak-truth-to-power news, listen to Amy Goodman at http://www.democracynow.org/

If you don't like msnbc, don't watch. Go watch your beloved fox or boring cnn. I love msnbc and keith, chris, rachel and ofcourse chucky T. I am so happy Keith puts scarborough in his place. Also don't like david gregory so I wish they would get rid of him. And Pat B is just comic relief. Eugene R and Michelle are annoying also. Nora's good.

Keith Olbermann is doing MSNBC a favor by trying to get rid of Joe Scarborough. The man's an idiot!

I wouldn't get too comfortable with the current line-up on MSNBC Farah….

I think if you read the tea leaves, Olbermann will be axed, but not until the election is over.

Tim,

Did Olbermann do MSNBC a favor by having Dan Abram's fired from his 9PM gig?

The only favor Olbermann ever grants is the one to himself.

(I used to watch MSNBC all the time)

I like Pat Buchanan….so there ya go.

Why am I reading this right-wing blog. Keith doesn't give mis-information like FOX. Oh yeah The US is about to end it's time of right-wing misery. Obama, Olbermann,Liberals……are time has come.

Lets face it, it doesn't matter which channel you watch, if the TV is your main source of news your IQ has dropped 15 points.

Too much of Countdown is Keith interviewing another journalist. And usually they just parrot whatever they've heard at a cocktail party or from the administration. Very little ORIGINAL reporting.

But really watching MSNBC is academic for me - my cable provider moved it to a premium channel.

The political journalists need to report the facts and leave the commentary to the pundits who can express their personal opinions. When the lines get crossed is when you have serious political journalists like David Gregory having his own opinion driven show or Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams being a panelist or giving their take on other opinion formatted shows. Are they there as a reporter or a commentator?? It's confusing and Americans deserve better. Hannity, O'Reilly, and others may be windbags, but they never represented to be anything, but what they are. Olbermann and Matthews have no business covering the DNC given their day jobs. Leave it to the network anchor (if he's not on any of his colleagues' shows that is). BTW, I'm a democrat who just wants my news UNFILTERED to decide my candidate.

Olbermann is great and Matthews is a sad spectacle of jealous rage. Chris needs to grow up.

I have been really surprised by the insane things that come out of the mouths of the MSNBC pundits mostly CM and KO, but I also can't believe things I hear at FOX from the likes of SH and BO so overall I would recommend that everybody READ the papers daily!
TWSJ and NYT are great for good solid articles and they balance each other politically so it gives you the FULL story, then YOU can make up your own mind.

Excellent point Lisa ! I agree !

I actually think Keith and Chris can have thir freedom to make their show anything they want, but who at NBC/MSNBC can we count on for fair and objective reporting from the floor?? And as much as I like Gregory's show, is going to stop grilling the sitting president if Obama is voted in? We, as Americans, need to make sure that doesn't happen. It's dangerous to have the press have that much control over the information we get. Separate the job duties and give us the FACTS of the people we vote into office. Ask them the tough questions, make them squirm, but dig and dont' be charmed. They're losing their edge and respectability.

"It's dangerous to have the press have that much control over the information we get. Separate the job duties and give us the FACTS of the people we vote into office"

I was about to lambast you, but I'll be nice:

It is NOT, I repeat, NOT the media's job to 'give you the FACTS' of the people we vote in office. STOP looking for the easy way out…do your job as a citizen and look up the facts for YOURSELF. THIS is why they have too much power 'over the facts'…because they only report part of the facts, of course they have an inordinate amount of control over THOSE facts.

But YOU are at fault for not seeking out the facts for yourself.

If you got the facts, you wouldn't be looking for the MEDIA to make candidates squirm and fully 80% of the 'tough questions' you'd want asked…would already be answered in your head.

When is America going to wake up?

Its your job, you are the executive in charge. If Barack is not the right man when he gets in the White House, its YOUR(meaning America)fault.
If McCain gets in the White House in any other fashion than being a backdoor servant, its your fault, America.

I however, will cast my vote for Obama, because I'd rather HE be discovered as a fraud, than McCain be given a chance to destroy this country…

Thank you, ignorant voting public, for eliminating the best candidate…as though this were a reality show, and not reality.

Tailwind, I appreciate you holding back. Of course I research the facts on my own, but I appreciate the rebuke nonetheless. For those less inclined to do so or not have access to the information, I am assuming the general public may tune in to the nightly news after dinner or watch a little coverage of the convention. Not everyone has the time to sit in front of a computer or research issues that concern us like I can or you can.

I believe network news owes America, even the "ignorant voting public" you speak of and the very people Obama is having a hard time connecting with, integrity and respect in their broadcasting. The reality is it was the "ignorant voting public" who took Dan Rather to task over Bush's military service, but that's a whole other post for another day….

This station was dying. the only show with good ratings was Imus and they caved in and let him go despite Fox gets away with offending many segments of the population. Oberman was gaining viewership at the same time and his viewership has steadily gone up since. Why ? Because people like me love hearing the right get bashed. We have heard the left being bashed on the radio for years and on television from Fox for years. Balanced News does not exist. all news is biased fox and msnbc is just more extreme.

It would be great to see everyone at MSNBC: Olbermann, Matthews and Scarborough - SET ON FIRE AND BURNING WHILE THEY SCREAM!!!!!

MSNBC is what comes of viewpoint journalism.

I guess that's what you get more reporting and less talking heads and pointless discussions.

Did anyone notice what newspaper was reporting this the Wall Street Journal. And who owns the wall street journal now news corp. and what cable news station does news corp own ding ding fox noise.

which makes me think that this is much ado about nothing

didnt the tabloid news corp owns either the daily news or post one of those rags make up something similar when russert died that olbermann and mathews were fighting for the meet the press show

Obama, an empty suit and a socialist

Let's cut through all the bullpoop, and get down to the serious issues.

Where is Amy Carter in all this?

You know…Keith Olbermann would get a lot more accomplished with his agenda if he would stop the constant O'Reilly