Oh MSNBC, you’ve made a huge mistakeby digby
This is getting ridiculous. On the heels of firing Sam Seder for satire and then hiring him back, we find out that MSNBC fired Joan Walsh as well.They say they are happy to have her back to work for free but they won’t be paying her anymore. Apparently, they need to make room for more right wing hacks.
I like the Never-Trump apostates like Nicole Wallace and Steve Schmidt. As Republicans they are very good at harsh criticism and they are turning it on their own party and the president for a change. It’s good to know that while Republicans may have wrong ideas about policy they aren’t all batshit crazy and falling into line behind Donald Trump. And it’s fine to feature GOP officials on TV to give the party line. They are part of the government and the media has a responsibility to allow them to give their side of the story. But hacks like Hugh Hewitt? What value does he add? Why would they give him his own show and have him on constantly but fire a progressive voice with a big following, especially among women, like Walsh?
Walsh has been a strong mentor to women journalists for years, including yours truly. And for progressive women in the MSNBC audience seeing a sharp, mature, female political analyst with Joan’s wit on TV is a rare treat and we follow her specifically for the down-to-earth wisdom and strength she projects. We are a big part of their audience and we buy things. We buy a lot of things. Why the disrespect?
Well, Joan is not a creature of the beltway. She spent most of her career on the west coat and now lives in New York. Her political analysis is different as a result. She’s much more in touch with those of us who didn’t come up in that rarefied world of political journalism but observed it from the same outside perspective from which the rest of the country sees it. One cannot help but suspect that’s not something the suits find to be valuable.
This is a mistake.
As Nicole Belle at C&L put it:
This is a HUGE miscalculation on MSNBC’s part, ignoring the zeitgeist outside the Beltway–the plummeting approval rates of Trump; the distrust of the Republican majority; the growing number of women in the Resistance movement now running for offices; the empowerment of women in workplaces and the public square.
MSNBC’s most unapologetically liberal hosts, Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid, enjoy high ratings. Lawrence O’Donnell and contributor Sam Seder were recently saved by viral campaigns.
And yet, despite that evidence that liberal audiences are watching and are invested in who appears on air, MSNBC’s Andy Lack decides to let go a solid, feminist, liberal and fact-based voice like Joan Walsh and keep Trump fluffer Hugh Hewitt?
No, I say.
Please contact MSNBC in whichever manner suits you:
Snail mail: MSNBC, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10112 Attn: Andrew Lack
Comment line: (212) 664-4444
Twitter: @MSNBC (tag @joanwalsh as well, use hashtag #WTFMSNBC or #KeepJoanWalsh.) Digital director: @Farrashley
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msnbc/
Don’t let them change the framing of the political debate by removing liberal voices one by one. Stand up against the Foxification of MSNBC. Sign the petition.
Weigh in people. We are living in a time when honest voices in our media are not just helpful for our political cause, they are vital and necessary to preserve our democracy. This is one way we can help.
As always I’m immensely grateful for all of you who drop by to read this creaky old blog. It’s what keeps me going. Together we will get through this.
Happy Hollandaise everyone! Keep the faith.
cheers — digby
