MSNBC Progressive Purging Lawrence O'Donnell?

LATELY I'VE BEEN TELLING YOU ABOUT HOW MSNBC HAS BEEN
BASICALLY REPLACING ALL OF THEIR PROGRESSIVE HOSTS.
I GAVE YOU A
LONG LIST YESTERDAY, OVER A DOZEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN
EITHER REMOVED FROM AIR, FIRED, OR MOVED TO LOWER TIMESLOTS,
TAKEN OFF OF PRIME TIME OR OFF OF THEIR DAILY SHOW AND PUT ON
THE WEEKENDS.
JUST AS WE WERE REPORTING ON THAT AND AT THE
SAME TIME HIRING HOSTS OF NEW CONSERVATIVE AND MORE MAINSTREAM
ESTABLISHMENT REPORTERS AND ANCHORS, INCLUDING GEORGE WILL
LAST WEEK, WE NOW FIND OUT THIS WEEK THAT ONE OF THEIR MOST
HIGHLY RATED HOSTS, LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, MIGHT BE ON THE
CHOPPING BLOCK.
THIS IS AN AMAZING STORY AND IT TELLS YOU
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CORPORATE MEDIA.
IT'S NOT JUST
MSNBC.
LET'S TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT.
THE HUFFINGTON POST BREAKS
THE STORY, THEY SAY --
>>I WORKED BRIEFLY IN CABLE NEWS AND I KNOW A TON OF FOLKS IN
CABLE NEWS, HUFFINGTON POST ALSO TALKS ABOUT IT -- IF THEY
HAVEN'T REACHED OUT TO YOU WITH ONLY FOUR WEEKS LEFT IN YOUR
CONTRACT, NORMALLY THAT MEANS YOU ARE DONE.
IF THEY DON'T WANT
TO LOSE YOU TO ANOTHER NETWORK AND THEY LIKE YOU THEY WILL
REACH OUT REALLY QUICK.
SIX MONTHS BEFORE YOUR CONTRACT
ENDS, EVEN EARLIER THAN THAT.
THE FACT THAT THEY HAVEN'T
REACHED OUT YET IS A VERY BAD SIGN FOR LAWRENCE O'DONNELL
STAYING AT MSNBC.
THERE IS A LOT OF NEW-MEDIA FOCUS ON HIM AND
HOPEFULLY THAT WILL MAKE THEM REEVALUATE THEIR DECISION.
BUT
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THAT --
>>WHO WOULD POSSIBLY FIRE THEIR SECOND HIGHEST RATED HOST?
THAT'S CRAZY.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEN THIS PURGE BEGAN BACK IN
2011 IT STARTED WITH KEITH OLBERMANN, HE WAS THERE HIGHEST
RATED HOST.
THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT PURGES THAT HAPPENED
AT MSNBC.
ONE WAS THE BEGINNING OF GETTING RID OF SOME
PROGRESSIVE HOSTS, SOME BECAUSE THEY ROCKED THE BOAT AND
CHALLENGED THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAYBE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AND
SOME PERSONAL ISSUES, ETC.
THE SECOND WAVE IS UNDER ANDY LACK,
BROUGHT IN RECENTLY TO CLEAN HOUSE AND GET RID OF ALL THE
PROGRESSIVES, AND MAKE SURE MSNBC DOES AS ITS CORPORATE
PARENT TELLS IT TO DO.
DON'T ROCK THE BOAT, SUPPORT THE
STATUS QUO, AND PERHAPS SUPPORT THIS RIGHT-WING PRESIDENT.
AFTER
OLBERMANN OF COURSE I LEFT AND MARTIN BASHIER AND DYLAN RATIGAN
AND ED SCHULTZ AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.
IN THIS CASE,
LAWRENCE HIMSELF TWEETS OUT -- AND NORMALLY IF YOU ARE UNDER
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS YOU DON'T WANT TO PROVOKE PEOPLE PUBLICLY,
SO THIS TWEET ALSO MEANS THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL -- BUT LISTEN
TO WHAT HE SAID.
HE SAID --
>>IF YOUR SHOW COMES IN NUMBER TWO -- I KNOW IT'S NOT OVER A
QUARTER OR OVER A MONTH, BUT ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT -- AND YOU ARE
BEATING SEAN HANNITY AND YOU COME IN AT NUMBER TWO IN ALL OF
CABLE, ALL OF CABLE, AIN'T NOBODY TALKING ABOUT FIRING YOU
UNLESS THEY HAVE A CLEAR AGENDA.
THEY ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE
RATINGS AND EVEN REVENUE FOR THEIR NETWORK FOR A LARGER
AGENDA.
THERE IS NO OTHER EXPLANATION.
I'LL GIVE YOU SOME
OF THE POSSIBILITIES HERE IN THEIR OFFICIAL STATEMENTS, YOU
CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF HERE.
AND LIKE I SAID, WHEN OLBERMANN WAS
LET GO -- COME TO THINK OF IT THERE HAVE BEEN THREE PURGES AT
MSNBC, THERE WAS THE ORIGINAL PURGE BACK WHEN IT WASN'T
PERTAINING TO BE CONSERVATIVE, PHIL DONAHUE WAS THEIR NUMBER
ONE RATED SHOW RIGHT BEFORE THE IRAQ WAR, THEY GOT RID OF HIM,
JESSE VENTURA -- I HAD THE HIGHEST RATINGS THEY EVER HAD AT
6 O'CLOCK, THEY TRIED TO MOVE ME TO THE WEEKENDS BECAUSE AS YOU
GUYS MIGHT KNOW IF YOU FOLLOW THE YOUNG TURKS, AS I EXPLAINED
AT THE TIME, THEY SAID THEY WERE INSIDERS AND I HAD TO START
ACTING LIKE IT, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE, I COULDN'T BELIEVE
WHAT I HEARD -- THAT HAPPENED TO ME AND I KNOW IT FOR A FACT, WE
SAW THE INTERNAL MEMOS OF THEM TALKING ABOUT PHIL DONAHUE IN
THE FIRST PURGE SAYING WHEN ALL THE OTHER NETWORKS ARE WAVING
THE FLAG IN TIME OF WAR WE CAN'T HAVE DONAHUE QUESTIONING THE
WAR.
IN THIS THIRD PURGE THAT'S LED BY ANDY CORPORATE HACK, I
MEAN LACK, AT THE BEHEST OF COMCAST,
HUFFINGTON POST EXPLAINS --
>>THAT LAST POSSIBILITY COULD BE A SMALL PART OF THE EQUATION,
I WAS IN A SITUATION AT A DIFFERENT MEDIA ORGANIZATION
WHERE WE WERE ASKED TO MOVE TIMESLOTS, WE DIDN'T, AND
MANAGEMENT HELD IT AGAINST US.
THAT HAPPENS.
BUT IF YOU LOVE
THE PROGRAM AND THE PROGRAM IS GOING GREAT AND IT HAS GREAT
RATINGS AND BRINGS A GREAT REVENUE, THAT'S A SMALL, SMALL
ISSUE, NOT SOMETHING YOU DON'T CONTINUE SOMEBODY'S CONTRACT
OVER, THAT YOU BASICALLY REMOVE HIM FROM AIR OVER.
NO WAY. AND
PART OF THE REASON THEY WANT TO MOVE HIM FROM 10 TO 6 IS THEY
WANT TO MOVE THEM TO A LOWER TIMESLOTS, AND HIS CONTRACT SAYS
HE CAN STAY IN PRIME TIME.
HE SAID NO BECAUSE IT'S WITHIN HIS
RIGHTS.
THAT THE TINY ISSUE, THE LARGER ISSUE IS THAT ANDY LACK
IS REMOVING ALL THE LIBERALS FROM MSNBC.
THEY CAN'T GET
RACHEL YET, SHE'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONTRACT, BUT IF YOU TAKE
AWAY EVERY OTHER PROGRESSIVE AND ALL YOU HAVE IS RACHEL MADDOW
AND CHRIS HAYES, TICK TOCK.
THAT IS CALLED CULLING THE HERD.
I
LIKE LAWRENCE, I KNOW HIM A LITTLE PERSONALLY, AND WE NEED
HIS VOICE ON THE AIR WHEN WE NEED EVERYONE CHALLENGING DONALD
TRUMP -- AND DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY -- BUT HE'S NOT THE
WORLD'S MOST RADICAL PROGRESSIVE.
I'M SURE HE WOULD
PROBABLY TAKE THAT AS A COMPLIMENT.
HE'S, YOU KNOW,
MAINSTREAM LEFT.
GOOD, SOLID, TRUMP IS A BAD GUY, POINTS THAT
OUT, FIGHTS FOR A LOT OF PROGRESSIVE VALUES -- MY POINT
IS HE'S NOT SOME SORT OF FIRE BREATHER WHERE YOU GO, THAT'S
TOO MUCH.
NO, THEY ARE GETTING RID OF ALL OF THE LIBERALS, ALL
OF THE PROGRESSIVES.
BUT A SENIOR NBC NEWS EXECUTIVE TELLS
THE IN POST, NOT THE CASE.
HE SAYS ABOUT LACK --
>>YEAH, THAT'S WHY HE HAS NEVER, EVER TALKED TO LAWRENCE
O'DONNELL SINCE HE CAME BACK IN 2015.
ISN'T THAT AMAZING?
YOU
CAN PUT OUT ANY STATEMENTS YOU WANT, AND BY THE WAY, PROVE US
WRONG, KEEP HIM ON.
OFFER HIM A NEW CONTRACT.
THE PROOF WILL BE
IN THE PUDDING ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, IF YOU DON'T RENEW HIS
CONTRACT YOU CAN PUT OUT ALL THE PRETTY LITTLE STATEMENTS YOU
LIKE, WE KNOW WHICH DIRECTION YOU ARE GOING.
BACK TO THE
HUFFINGTON POST --
>>[LAUGHTER] YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?
YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY BELIEVE
THAT.
I REPLACED ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DID INTERESTING SHOWS FILLED
WITH PERSPECTIVE THAT WERE GETTING FAIRLY HIGH RATINGS, AND
DURING THE TRUMP RISE THEY WERE GETTING EVEN HIGHER RATINGS, I
REPLACED THEM WITH MILQUETOASTS WHO DID EVEN HIGHER RATINGS
BECAUSE ALL CABLE NEWS IS LIFTED BY DONALD TRUMP, I'M A GENIUS.
WHEN YOU BRING IN A MILQUETOAST AND HE HAS NO OPINION AT ALL AND
HE JUST READS WHAT PRODUCERS WROTE FOR HIM THAT IS CONSIDERED
SAFE BY THE CORPORATE PARENTS, PEOPLE LOVE THAT.
THAT IS WHY
RATINGS ARE UP.
HEY, WHATEVER GETS YOU THROUGH THE NIGHT.
IT'S
NOT JUST THAT THEY ARE CLEANING HOUSE OF PROGRESSIVES, THERE
MIGHT BE ANOTHER REASON WHY LAWRENCE O'DONNELL IN PARTICULAR
IS IN TROUBLE --
>>OH.
OKAY, LET'S FIND OUT MORE --
>>BY THE WAY, LAWRENCE AND I DID THE SAME THING AT ABOUT THE
SAME TIME, BUT THE PRESIDENT ONLY WATCHES CABLE NEWS.
AND
THAT'S WHY IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE VOICES LIKE LAWRENCE'S ON
CABLE NEWS.
A LOT OF YOU WATCH ONLINE CONTENT, THAT'S WHY
YOU'RE WATCHING THIS, BUT FOR THE FOLKS WHO ARE IN A DIFFERENT
DEMOGRAPHIC, THEY ONLY WATCH CABLE NEWS.
THEY DON'T KNOW HOW
TO TURN ON THEIR COMPUTERS.
AND THEY VOTE TOO, AND IT'S
IMPORTANT TO HAVE PEOPLE LIKE LAWRENCE ON THE AIR TALKING TO
THEM.
AND HE MADE A GOOD POINT WHICH I THINK TO ANYONE WHO EVER
RESEARCHED DONALD TRUMP IS OBVIOUS -- HE HAS NOWHERE NEAR
$10 BILLION.
I DON'T THINK HE'S A BILLIONAIRE.
SO WHEN LAWRENCE
POINTED OUT HE IS AS RICH AS HE SAYS, TRUMP WAS FURIOUS.
WHY
WOULD MSNBC CARE ABOUT THAT?
THEY SAID FOUR YEARS THEY WERE
PROGRESSIVE.
THEY LEAN FORWARD.
THEY DON'T GO ALL THE WAY
FORWARD, DON'T GET CARRIED AWAY -- SO, IF YOUR PARENT
CORPORATION WOULD LIKE TO GET MERGERS APPROVED BY THIS
GOVERNMENT WITH BILLIONS UPON BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON THE LINE,
THEN YOU MIGHT CARE WHAT DONALD TRUMP THINKS IF YOU ARE COMCAST.
IF YOU WANT TO GET RID OF NET NEUTRALITY AND KILL FREEDOM ON
THE INTERNET, BUT PROVIDE THOSE INTERNET PROVIDERS WITH BILLIONS
OF DOLLARS IN PROFITS, THEN YOU WOULDN'T REALLY WANT
PROGRESSIVES ON AIR, WOULD YOU?
AND YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO ANGER
THE PRESIDENT, WOULD YOU?
THOSE ARE IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT
DECISIONS THAT HAVE TREMENDOUS IMPACT ON COMCAST'S BOTTOM LINE.
BY THE WAY, IF YOU ARE A COMCAST SHAREHOLDER, DO THEY DISCUSS
THIS WITH YOU?
TODAY SAY WE ARE GOING TO SACRIFICE MSNBC, TAKE
PROVEN SHOWS WITH PROVEN RATINGS AND PROVEN REVENUE OFF THE AIR,
SO WE CAN GET ALL THE OTHER DEALS APPROVED?
DID THEY HAVE
THAT CONVERSATION WITH YOU GUYS?
DID YOU SHAREHOLDERS APPROVE
THAT?
IT'S AN OPEN AND INTERESTING QUESTION.
BACK TO
OUR FRIEND, A SENIOR NBC NEWS EXECUTIVE, WHO SAYS ABOUT LACK,
MORE AMUSING QUOTES --
>>[LAUGHTER] WHEN IS
THE LAST TIME YOU SAW NBC NEWS HOLD
ANYONE ACCOUNTABLE?
LIKE, BREAKING NEWS, THE PENTAGON IS
FULL OF LIARS?
NOT TO SAY THE PENTAGON LIES ALL THE TIME, OF
COURSE NOT, BUT YOU GUYS HAVE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, DID YOU
EVER CHALLENGE THE PENTAGON ON ALL THE CIVILIAN DEATHS WHEN
THEY SAY THEY AREN'T CIVILIANS, LATER IT TURNS OUT THEY ARE --
DID YOU DO A FOLLOW-UP STORY?
HAVE YOU TAKEN ALL YOUR GREAT
REPORTERS HOLDING POWER TO ACCOUNT AND UNLEASHED THEM ON
TRUMP OR OBAMA OR ANYONE?
WHEN I WAS THERE, THEY DIDN'T LIKE ME
GOING AFTER OBAMA.
ANYONE WHO IS IN POWER, YOU HAVE TO APPEASE
THEM IF YOU OWN A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR CORPORATION
WITH LOTS OF BUSINESS IN FRONT OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
AND
IF YOU DON'T, YOU'VE GOT TO GO.
MEANWHILE, HE BROUGHT IN ALL
THESE THAT CONNECT CONSERVATIVES TO GIVE INFORMED ANALYSIS.
PROGRESSIVES WHO USED TO WATCH MSNBC, DON'T YOU WANT INFORMED
ANALYSIS FROM DEEPLY CONSERVATIVE RIGHT-WINGERS?
THEY
ARE A TREASURE TROVE OF FACTS AND REASON AND LOGIC.
AND WHAT
ARE THEY THINKING OF REPLACING THE LAST WORD WITH?
THE
HUFFINGTON POST ONCE AGAIN --
>>BRIAN WILLIAMS, IN MY EXPERIENCE, IS A GOOD GUY, A
FUNNY, SMART GUY, BUT ON AIR WHAT HE DOES IS MILQUETOAST.
THAT'S HIS WHOLE POINT.
I DON'T CHALLENGE ANYONE, I DON'T ROCK
THE BOAT, I READ FROM THE PROMPTER.
AND THE PROMPTER IS
SUPER SAFE.
SO STEADY AS WE GO.
IF IT IS YOUR BOAT, YOU DON'T
WANT ANYONE ROCKING IT.
IT IS COMCAST'S BOAT, SO IF YOU ARE
ROCKING IT A LITTLE BIT YOU'VE GOT TO GO.
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY
WILL HEAD IN A STATUS QUO, PRO-ESTABLISHMENT, PROGRAM
DIRECTION.
IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY THE GOOD RATINGS YOU
HAVE FOR HOLDING TRUMP ACCOUNTABLE EVEN THIS MUCH FOR A
TINY PORTION OF YOUR PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE, KISS THOSE RATINGS
GOODBYE.
DOES ANY PROGRESSIVE ACTUALLY THINK MSNBC IS A
PROGRESSIVE CHANNEL ANYMORE?
I SHOULD CELEBRATE THIS BECAUSE
THEY ARE HANDING THEIR AUDIENCE TO US, BUT AS A PERSON WHO CARES
ABOUT THIS COUNTRY, I WANT AS MANY VOICES ON OUR SIDE TO BE
ALL OVER MEDIA, TV, ONLINE -- DOES RADIO STILL EXIST?
YES IT
DOES, WE ARE ON SIRIUS XM RIGHT NOW -- ALL THOSE VOICES IN ALL
THOSE PLACES, BUT UNFORTUNATELY IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE WHERE
COMCAST IS HEADED.
MAYBE WE ARE WRONG, LET'S ASK YOU GUYS, WE
HAVE A POLL, WE ARE ASKING YOU, WHAT DO YOU THINK?
DO YOU THINK
MSNBC IS PROGRESSIVE?
A SIMPLE QUESTION.
RIGHT NOW I THINK THE
POLLING HAS IT AT 93 TO 7.
OH, NOW THE YES VOTES ARE CLOSING
IN, 90% TO 10%.
BUT WITH ALL THE JOE SCARBOROUGH IN THE MORNING
FOR 18 HOURS AND THE INCREDIBLY DANDER NEWS ACTORS THEY HAVE ON,
IF YOU THINK THAT'S A PROGRESSIVE PLACE TO WATCH, HAVE
AT IT, HOSS.
MSNBC, MY LAST WORD -- CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO
PROVE ME WRONG.
AND THEN YOU CAN SAY THESE GUYS ONLINE, THEY
DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT, IT'S NOT TRUE.
WE PAID
LAWRENCE O'DONNELL EVEN MORE MONEY.
I BET YOU WON'T.

MSNBC Progressive Purging Lawrence O'Donnell?

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