MSNBC gruff bear president, Rick Kaplan, resigns. MSNBC was never the bridesmaid or the bride; it was the accordion player who kept trying new riffs but was still stuck with an accordion (I was an unpaid part of those of those experiments in the Connected blogging moment).
What would you do with MSNBC? I still think there’s an opportunity to be the anti-Fox; that would be the ballsy thing to do.
Or since MSNBC the web site, unlike the TV channel, regularly wins against its competitors, perhaps they should turn the channel into value-added promotion for online to assure that they win at the battle that really matters, the battle for the future and the internet. In that scenario, they’d run the best of online on the channel; they’d promote the never-ending and open talk-show that online could be; they’d anticipate the YouTube revolution coming next to news. That, too, would be ballsy.
What would you do?
I agree… If MSNBC is willing to embrace citizen journalism and develop a business model that encourages it rather than trying to hold it at bay for fear of becoming irrelevant they are going to have some of the most ground-breaking coverage of events ever seen on television, the internet, or any other medium.
Make MSNBC The Onion (as in the newspaper) of TV! Similar to Comedy Central’s Dog Bites Man, but rather a 24/7 always on version.
We already have the “anti-Fox”. It is known as ABCNews, CBS News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Ny Times, etc.
The news MSNBC, Anti-Fox cable. A great idea. Sort of like a video version of Air America. Probably will have the same outstanding success Air America has demonstrated as counter-programing to Rush and the rest of right-wing radio. Or maybe it could be a real live news news cable channel that covers meaningful stories instead of all-internet-preditors-all-the-time.
Jeff has a good point and a bad point…
Making MSNBC the anti-Fox News Channel is silly. Whatever propaganda Media Matters for America is putting out, the reality is that most large news organizations are sympathetic to the lib/dem point of view. There is no pent-up demand for a cable news network that is as liberal as Fox is conservative. If there were Rupert Murdoch would have created a liberal version of FNC.
How about putting the MS back in MSNBC?
Skip politics and focus on being the “WIRED” news network. Jeff is old enough to remember that as originally conceived (or at least promoted), MSNBC anticipated the connected, broadband world we now live in (at least in the US). Now that we actually live in that world why not go back to the original game plan and make MSNBC the most “wired” of the cable news shows.
They could start by streaming the show on the web 24/7. They ought to be able to figure out a way to compensate cable and satellite providers for offering their programming through the web.
On the web site the screen could take up a corner of the screen (with a button to expand to full screen) and the rest of the home page would be synchronized to the content in the newscast. Those scrolling tickers would be clickable on the web…as a newsstory aired the site could serve up links to related stories on the web including blog posts that link to the MSNBC.com version of the story. Every segment on every story could be packaged as a video podcast and displayed on a page with the MSNBC.com text version of the story. Those video podcasts could be distributed over segmented (“tagged”) RSS feeds. A real effort should be made to promote all of this by not only making the site blog-friendly but doing segments/interviews of the people making news or generating buzz in the blogosphere (note: not having noted bloggers as pundits as was tried).
The newscast on cable/satellite should move towards the Bloomerg News Channel format with lots of information wrapped around the box except when showing video/images that are of particular interest. There is little value to providing full screen video of Chris Matthews talking to John Murtha. Why not show an interview like that with lots of information about Murtha, his critics, a scrolling set of viewer comments…make the newscast more like pop-up videos on MTV. Maybe limit the viewer comments in some way to cut down on the clap-trap…registered “super-users”, a team of 1,000 selected bloggers, whatever…Just not any idiot with a modem. During time slots when MSNBC is running taped material like Headliners and Legends give web viewers the option to watch alternative programming – maybe have someone who has developed a following like Monica Novatny or the guy with the headphones on Tucker Carlson or even some of the analysts like Jack Jacobs do their own little mini-shows, interviews, etc. I’m sure they have lots of people working there who would be thilled to have their own “show” on MSNBC.com. Maybe these shows become something like a farm system for the MSNBC cable channel.
I have loads of other ideas along these lines but to put it simply, if I were running MSNBC I’d be looking at how best to leverage my online strength to become a meaningful media outlet – that would mean sublimating the cable channel to MSNBC.com and making the shows more blog-like (in other words, more like Countdown with Keith Olbermann which mixes and matches repurposed newsreports, youtube-type videos, commentary and stories generating buzz on the blogs.)
“COUNTDOWN,” with Keith Olbermann, is only reason to watch tv at all; everything else I can get online (even the BBC is available on broadband for 40 UDS/yr!).
The new connected blog thing with Alison Stewart looks good – but I am working when she is on.
May be they could make THAT one repeat on the Internet!
How about starting by getting rid of all the crap that they already run on MSNBC. All the damn repeats of the Headliners or whatever it is called…all the damn Dateline repeats…all the damn republiscumlite hosts like Tucker, Rita , Scarborough.
Hell we’d all be better off if they just ran static….might even draw a bigger crowd than Jerkoff Chris Mattews.
Unfortunately MSNBC has two giant albatrosses which will prevent it from doing anything truly “ballsy”:
1. MS
2. NBC
Microsoft (rightly) wants nothing to do with the content industry, hence their sale of Slate. And the fact that it’s an NBC property means that it can’t get too edgy, or liberal or bloggy without doing what NBC would surely consider diluting or corrupting their precious brand identity. (that’s all hogwash, of course, but that’s how GE/NBC would view it)
IMO, the network needs to get sold to someone who doesn’t have the baggage of those two behemoths and the vision to do something new with it.
But I definitely agree that as the 3rd player in the industry they have the opportunity to do something big. I just don’t think it’s possible with the current corporate parents and lineage.
Hey, Jeff, please don’t dis the accordion… it’s far cooler than those electric guitars all the plebes play….
jd
If I were programming MSNBC, I would put Tucker Carlson’s show during the midday as it has a game show/VIEW kind of vibe and he appears to be a “let me be responsible for my own life-don’t mess with me, government” kind of vibe.
I would start the night time programming at 6 PM with the Abrams Report. Previous to that–just put the news on. They can have different programs ala THE MOST, which should be on at 4 or 5 PM, because that is a very youthful show. It has song hits, favorite downloads; at 3 PM that will miss its potential audience with the kids.
Rita Cosby should be more of a celebrity journalist. She really comes alive when she’s interviewing wrestlers, rock stars and other pop culture icons. I really do feel bored when she’s focusing on hot news items for SO LONG during her show.
Hardball is fine, Chris Matthews has a memorable personality and actual standards of not shutting down an interview subject, demanding a “yes” or “no” answer. You forget about Sean Hannity’s horrible interview technique when you watch Chris Matthews. Matthews is more concerned with developing an understanding for an issue.
Give CRAIG CRAWFORD a show–he does guest appearances on Imus’ and Chris’ show, and covers what’s happening in Congress for the CONGRESSIONAL QUARTERLY. He’s got an endearing voice and is really rationale.
I love Joe Scarborough, as well. He covers America as though he’s from the Heartland, and appears to be the most objective conservative in the mainstream media.
I’d like to see Rachel Maddow from Tucker’s show have a homespun show about liberal philosophy, and where the qualities can help people go out of their way to help others.
Olbermann’s show is fantastic, Although his “Ted Baxter” imitation is funny and geared to reflect Bill O’Reilly, it’s just wrong to give the Fox News person that kind of attention because you’re publicizing a competing network. And Bill O’Reilly seems to have some of the same emotional problems of cutting people short and twisting what they’re saying–they’re not interested in news or entertainment.
It’s pretty scary that people actually think Olbermann is funny. That guy has some of the worst delivery and material I’ve ever seen. He reminds me of when black comedians spoof the stiff, unfunny corny white guy that thinks he’s hip, except Olbermann is doing it totally unironically.
Trust me, if he was as funny as his delusional fans think, he’d have more ratings. I think the problem is that his fans are so in lockstep with his political views that it’s clouded their judgment to the point where they think he’s actually a good entertainer.