nbc

Interesting Pt 2.

Another just now moment from Morning Joe. Erin Burnett was on doing her morning economic talk. She then turned to the news that Comcast is looking to buy NBC Universal, something that NBC Universal is strongly denying. Right in the middle of the talk Morning Joe went straight to commercial. When they came back they didn’t even mention the weird break.

It could have been a programming error, but those are generally followed by an explanation. Instead it appears the the higher ups at MSNBC don’t want this news being reported.

Democrats Still Have Stronger Support From The Public

The new NBC poll has a little bit of good news for the Democrats. When asked how they approve the Democrats in Congress, here is how they respond:

They get a net positive of 42, as compared to the Republicans, who have a net positive of only 28:

But when it comes to Afghanistan, the President is looking at growing public opposition:

So if the Democrats show strong opposition to President Obama on Afghanistan then that could turn out to help them next fall. So expect to see a rather public fight when it comes to Afghanistan in the coming weeks.

Epic Palin Fail

That big protest we heard about last night – the one that would force NBC to fire Letterman by show of the will of the people? Well we now have a new definition of fail:

A protest rally against David Letterman over a failed joke about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her daughter attracted more members of the media than protesters Tuesday afternoon.

A crowd of 15 protesters upset with the late night comic held signs and occasionally shouted as they stood across the street from Letterman's studio.

(emphasis added)

Wow I bet NBC is just shaking in their shoes over that mob! Maybe we should line up a protest in support of Dave and to denounce that ridiculous statement that Palin released when she “accepted” Dave’s apology. The one that was written like a stump speech. Sorry but Palin made it obvious yesterday that this whole thing wasn’t about outrage, it was about politics.

And that is worse than any botched joke.

Its kind of ironic that this is going on at the same time the whole Cheney/Panetta thing is happening. I think the same analogy could now be applied to the Palins. They would let something horrible happen to one of their kids if it would work for the benefit of Sarah’s political future. Sarah Palin proved that yesterday. She didn’t care about what Letterman said, just that she would get some face time of the teevee. And these people protesting. Well we can only consider them as her enablers.

Blame The Comedian

Richard Cohen has decided it’s time to defend Jim Cramer:

What Jon Stewart needs is Jon Stewart. He could use a droll comedian to temper his ferocity and correct him when he's wrong, as he was about the financial media, particularly CNBC and its excitable analyst Jim Cramer. They didn't cover up the story of financial shenanigans. They didn't even know it existed.

Oh well that makes it all better then. No wonder why CNBC, along with NBC and MSNBC spent the entire day last Friday setting the record straight and talking about how wrong Stewart was.

Whaaaaat? That never happened?

Well then why in the hell did the NBC networks just ignore what happened on the Daily Show? Perhaps the answer is simple – Stewart was right!

And when you read people like Cohen, you also get a real sense of why the Washington Post is suffering serious financial hardships right now.

The Foundation Of The Conservative Platform – A Public Loser

The Conservative/Rush Limbaugh movement basis their foundation upon smaller government. Well according to a new NBC/WSJ poll, that isn’t the view of a majority of the public (link – pdf):

Also this poll has Obama’s approval continuing to rise. Enjoying that rise with Obama is Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party. Not enjoying it – John Boehner, Mitch McConnell and the Republican Party. All the noise and complaining sure has paid of for the right – hasn’t it?

No Wonder Why Obama Chose An Arab Station For His First Interview

Because the American networks fuck it up. Right when Obama was talking about the stimulus and House Republicans with Matt Lauer, NBC loses audio. Great work there guys!

Veggie Love

PETA submitted an AD to be aired during the Super Bowl, which NBC rejected. Here is the ad in question:

'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Actually I love this ad. I think it sells great, and it’s nothing more than we would see in any other ad. But it turns out there might be a reason for it being banned, and not one you would think:

{[}]lt;p>Last year, they submitted zombie Colonel Sanders spots to FOX for rejection.This time, the animal rights organization says they sent this "Veggie Love" spot to NBC for approval to run during Sunday's Super Bowl. This is of course complete cow manure. PETA submitted this spot for one reason—the disapproval publicity NBC's rejection is generating (this post included). No, they'd sooner go on a fox hunt riding bulls with their bodies smeared in rabbit blood then waste $3 million on 30 seconds of TV ad time. But publicity costs nothing.

Free PR. Looks like PETA one-upped NBC on this one.

Tweety Exodus?

Chris_Matthews_Tweety The Politico:

Chris Matthews is dead serious about running for the Senate in Pennsylvania - and shopping for a house in the state and privately discussing quitting MSNBC as proof of his intense interest, according to NBC colleagues, political operatives and friends.

Even so, some NBC insiders think it’s all simply a negotiating ploy to jack up his contract.

The garrulous host of the show "Hardball with Chris Matthews" has already picked out a home in Philadelphia to establish residency in the state, according to a Democratic operative in discussions with him about a potential candidacy. Over Thanksgiving weekend, at his vacation house in Nantucket, Matthews’ family gave him their full backing.

If he does end up leaving MSNBC, then it will be interesting to see who MSNBC finds to replace him. Of course it won’t be someone new. MSNBC is a strong believer in recycling – especially when it comes to talent.

Gregory Will Host MTP

David-Gregry-Asks-The-Tough Not big shock here:

David Gregory will take the reins as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," the Huffington Post has learned. Gregory has been a leading contender for the permanent spot since Tom Brokaw stepped in as interim moderator following Tim Russert's death in June.

In recent weeks, a short list including Gregory, Andrea Michell, Gwen Ifill, and Chuck Todd had been considered the top candidates for the position, while Katie Couric and Ted Koppel were viewed as dark horses.

I actually predicted this back in October. I’m not that thrilled with this pick, especially after seeing Gwen Ifill’s name on the list. Is it too soon to break the white guy monopoly on the Sunday morning talk shows? Even if they wanted to keep the white guy club going, how about someone like John Harwood? He’s smart and seems really center on the issues.

BREAKING: Holder As Attorney General? (Updated)

(updated and bumped)

Newsweek is reporting that D.C. power attorney Eric Holder is being tapped for Attorney General.

(Update 1)

NBC news is now reporting that Holder has accepted the position. Once confirmation comes out from the transition team, I will put him in the Cabinet 44 section.

(Update 2)

Via The Washington Independent, here is Holder on the detainees:

“We owe the American people a reckoning. It is our responsibility as citizens to preserve and protect our constitution… Let me be clear: I firmly believe that there is evil in the world, and that we still face grave dangers to our security. But our ability to lead the world in combatting these dangers depends not only on the strength of our military leadership but our moral leadership as well. … To recapture it, we can no longer allow ourselves to be ruled by fear. We must evaluate our policies and our practices in the harsh light of day and steel ourselves to face the world’s dangers in accord with the rule of law.”

Now that's a view I like!

Obama By 14%

PEW's latest poll has Obama leading 53%-39%. The new NBC/WSJ poll is supposed to be released tonight and according to Matthews it is really good for Obama also.

BREAKING: NBC Reports Palin Is McCain's Pick

NBC just did a breaking news cut in to report they have learned that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be McCain's VP pick. It looks very probable as there are reports that she flew into Hook Field last night:

A Gulfstream IV jet owned by a firm in Kirkland, Wash., landed at Hook Field Municipal Airport late Thursday night is believed to have had Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on board as a passenger.

National media outlets have identified the first-term Alaska governor, the first woman elected to the position, as a possible vice presidential candidate for Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.

Chuck Todd has just referred to this pick as a big gamble. I would have to agree. McCain has gone with someone really not known and the debate between her and Biden will be interesting.

Something else important on this is the experience issue. Palin would be a heartbeat away from becoming Commander in Chief. Her political career is very short, so that puts a damper on the experience argument against Obama.

UPDATE:

All news outlets are now confirming it.

Jake Tapper Asks The Important Questions

Jake Tapper has posted a great blog entry bringing up some key points about the McCain campaign's response to McCain not being in the "cone of silence":

1) The McCain campaign's vitriol against NBC's Andrea Mitchell is odder still when you consider that the McCain campaign's blogger Michael Goldfarb was quoting her very same reporting approvingly as evidence that the Obama campaign was a bunch of whiners.

2) The McCain campaign's responses so far are entirely focused on McCain's geography and whether or not he himself could hear and see Obama being questioned.

McCain's campaign is also refusing to say whether or not he heard any of Obama's segment.

Why The Outrage?

McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, has sent a very nasty letter to NBC about the claims that McCain may have heard the questions. Sully has the fully letter. So why is the McCain campaign taking such a defensive approach to this? A general reaction to something like this would be "we won't answer such false claims", or something of the sort. By the forceful defense the McCain campaign is launching, it seems like they are trying to hide something, especially considering the fact there is a silence on this from the Obama campaign.

So is McCain trying to hide something? I think this question needs to be pursued.

Also an emailer just wrote:

You fucking LIEbrals are so stupid. I guess John McCain had a large cable running to his limo so he could watch CNN. Give it a break. Your story is week. [sic]

So we are stupid? Perhaps this emailer needs to catch up on technology. I listened to part of the forum in my car, and there wasn't a long black cable running to it. It's called satellite and on Sirius satellite radio, you can listen to CNN on channel 132.

(On a personal note - I usually don't bother with these emailers, but this total ignorance had to be shared.)

Corporate Execs Pushed Pro-War Agenda

The big F.U. that corporate media execs gave to the American people and, more importantly, U.S. soldiers. Jessica Yellin told Anderson Cooper last night the following:

Yellin: I think the press corps dropped the ball in the beginning when the lead up to war began, uh the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war that was presented in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the President’s high approval ratings and my own experience at the White House was that the higher the President’s approval ratings, the more pressure I had from news executives, and I was not at this network at the time, but the more pressure I had from these executives to put on positive stories about the President. I think over time….

The video is available at Crooks and Liars.

As Glenn Greenwald puts it:

Yellin's admission is but the latest in a growing mountain of evidence demonstrating that corporate executives forced their news reporters to propagandize in favor of the Bush administration and the war, and censored stories that were critical of the Government. Katie Couric yesterday said that threats from the White House and accusations of being unpatriotic coerced the media into suppressing its questioning of the war. But last September, Couric revealed even more specifically the type of pressure that was put on her by NBC executives to refrain from criticizing the administration, after she conducted a "tough interview" with Condoleezza Rice: