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It stops about 7:42, I couldn’t get it to cut off. I don’t want to make light of age/and or memory problems, but damn if Peggy doesn’t need to see a doctor. Gregory’s attempt at sanity didn’t even faze her. BTW, the mantra in our house every time she comes on now is, “F*** Peggy Noonan.”
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The L.A. Times Calendar section has an article out today about Patricia Fili-Krushel, the new chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, which includes NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC. The piece concentrated mostly on the “Today” show, but at the end, there was this:
Fox News dominates the cable news landscape, but MSNBC’s move to veer to the left of the political spectrum has firmly entrenched it in second place ahead of CNN. The financial news channel CNBC remains very profitable despite increased competition from Bloomberg TV and Fox Business.
Still, there are other holes to be patched. “Rock Center,” the prime-time news magazine that Williams anchors, is struggling. “Meet the Press,” too, has fallen behind CBS’ “Face the Nation” and has lost more than 25% of its audience since 2008. NBC insiders downplay the decline at “Meet the Press,” arguing that the audiences for Sunday morning shows are so small that it has little bearing on the bottom line.
High on Fili-Krushel’s to-do list is building NBC’s digital presence, particularly mobile, as part of an effort to get younger viewers who typically steer clear of broadcast news. “I have 21- and 22-year-old kids,” she said. “They do not watch linear TV.”
Three noteworthy points:
1. MSNBC’s “move to veer to the left” pushed it ahead of CNN. That’s a big deal, especially in light of all that nonsense about this being a “center right” country, which has once again been thoroughly debunked. Are you listening, Comcast? How about giving Ari Melber, Joy Ann Reid, Lizz Winstead, Stephanie Miller– among others– a shot at their own shows? Call me crazy, but I’m willing to bet they’d up the ratings even more.
2. “Meet the Press” is losing its audience. Surprise! Gee, how could that be happening, especially with such a host who regularly avoids tough follow-up questions to Republicans, lets his guests get away with lying and/or refusing to answer questions directly, and hosts way more right-leaning guests than (moderate to conservative) Dems, and very few real liberals (scroll)?
3. Younger viewers “typically steer clear of broadcast news.” That’s a great point. How do we expect younger voters to make informed choices if they aren’t aware of what’s going on around them? I can vouch for this depressing phenomenon as I wrote back in 2009 in a post titled “Teen Idles” that I hope you’ll read:
Tabloid infotainment has replaced serious news, as I’ve mentioned in post after TPC post. As a result, the osmotic nature of how teens learn about their own world has been reduced to sound bites from the most inane, splashy, celebrity-driven stories.
So many lessons to be learned here, so little time.
See that high-capacity gun magazine that David Gregory was waving under Wayne LaPierre’s wingnutty nose on “Meet the Press”? He shouldn’t have done that because his possession of such a piece of equipment was illegal. But Gregory’s off the hook and will not be prosecuted, says D.C.’s attorney general, because he has no criminal record, so off to court he doesn’t go.
Whew! That was a nail-biter! Kidding.
The AG went on to say that “our recognition that the intent of the temporary possession and short display of the magazine was to promote the First Amendment purpose of informing an ongoing public debate about firearms policy in the United States.”
In other words, don’t be silly, this was a news show [sic], and Gregory’s a dufus a journalist so he gets a pass. This time.
Here are screen grabs and excerpts from the Attorney General’s rather unflattering letter:
“Having carefully reviewed all of the facts and circumstances of this matter, as it does in every case involving firearms-related offenses or any other potential violation of D.C. law within our criminal jurisdiction, OAG has determined to exercise its prosecutorial discretion to decline to bring criminal charges against Mr. Gregory, who has no criminal record, or any other NBC employee based on the events associated with the December 23,2012 broadcast. OAG has made this determination, despite the clarity of the violation of this important law, because under all of the circumstances here a prosecution would not promote public safety in the District of Columbia nor serve the best interests of the people of the District to whom this office owes its trust.”
“…Ignorance of the law or even confusion about it is no defense. We therefore did not rely in making our judgment on the feeble and unsatisfactory efforts that NBC made to determine whether or not it was lawful to possess, display and broadcast this large capacity magazine as a means of fostering the public policy debate. Although there appears to have been some misinformation provided initially, NBC was clearly and timely advised by an MPD employee that its plans to exhibit on the broadcast a high capacity-magazine would violate D.C. law, and there was no contrary advice from any federal official.”
“Repetition by NBC or any employee of any similar or other firearms violation will be prosecuted to the full extent supported by the facts and the law.
“I am confident that you will convey our deep concern and warning to your client.“
Two strikes and you’re out, David.
H/t: David Shuster, Special thanks to Thomas Soldan
This is just so f’ng childish and stupid. A bunch of RW sites started cawing the other day that for all that Gregory was attacking LaPierre, the mere fact that he had a magazine in D.C. made him more of a law breaker than Wayne, and where is the OUTRAGE!! So they went and ginned up a crime and actually got the D.C. police to investigate. Ugh.
Washington (CNN) – Washington Metropolitan Police Department is investigating whether NBC’s David Gregory violated D.C. gun laws when he displayed what he described as a 30 round magazine as part of an interview during Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”
“So here’s a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets. Now isn’t it possible that if we got rid of these, if we replaced them and said well, you can only have a magazine that carries five bullets or ten bullets, isn’t it just possible that we could reduce the carnage in a situation like Newtown?” show moderator Gregory asked Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association.
It’s not known whether the magazine Gregory had in his hand was authentic or a prop. D.C. police spokeswoman Gwen Crump told CNN the department is investigating the matter and would have no further comment at this time.
Hat Tip to Price Benowitz Criminal Defense
I loves me some Franken, but the underdog was always my pal. RIP Tom.
HUDSON, N.Y. — A comedian writer who with Al Franken helped develop some of the most popular skits in the early years of “Saturday Night Live” has died in New York. Tom Davis was 59.
His wife, Mimi Raleigh, says he died of throat and neck cancer Thursday at his home in the Hudson Valley, north of New York City. He was diagnosed in 2009.
Davis said in an interview with The Associated Press that year that in the offbeat comedic duo of “Franken & Davis” he was the quiet guy, overshadowed by his flashier partner.
Some of their most memorable work included the “Coneheads” skit with Dan Aykroyd and the “Nick the Lounge Singer” skit starring Bill Murray.
I will post the infuriating clip of conservative political consultant (and top media adviser to George W. Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign as well as Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign) Alex Castellanos interrupting and condescending to MSNBC’s not-conservative Rachel Maddow in my next post, but first, let’s cut in with David Gregory’s own infuriating and self-serving interruptions and teases.
He relentlessly promoted other NBC shows at the expense of a much more relevant– and important– segment on the differences between President Obama and Willard M. Romney on policy issues.
After a heated debate between Castellanos and Maddow, as well as Hillary Rosen and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), David Gregory actually had the chutzpah to say, “We’ll be back to the roundtable…” when what he really meant was “Screw that, here are two segments that NBC hopes will bring in more ratings.”
So instead of continuing the discussion with his guests, he prioritized mini-infomercials for future network shows and finally got “back to the roundtable” just long enough to thank them for what little time he gave them on air.
Mr. Laffy and I both screamed “WTF?!” at the Tee Vee machine in unison when we realized there would be no more discussion of information that matters to voters, but instead, we’d be force-fed this:
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Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Really, NBC? This is what Meet the Press has become?
The commercialization of the news is depressing enough, but to turn one of the mainstays of Sunday talk (or as I like to call it, Media Bias Sunday… scroll) into a diet of teases, infotainment, and promos for other network programs is insulting and downright appalling.
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