Reply #22: 5 Myths About Cenk Leaving MSNBC

[ihavenobias]

Myth 1 - Cenk was replaced because Sharpton got better ratings for two weeks while Cenk was on vacation.

Cenk was told he wouldn't be getting the show BEFORE Sharpton filled in for him. This was at the end of June. That in and of itself makes Sharpton's ratings totally irrelevant to this story. In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x7o0sNrulg&feature=channel_video_title|his announcement> on TYT Cenk correctly points out that once he (to an extent) started doing the show his way the ratings went up AND that in the 3 months that make up Q2 of 2011 he beat CNN and improved on Schultz'z ratings from last year (he praises Schultz in that clip btw).

Myth 2 - Cenk claims the Obama White House came down on MSNBC.

Cenk never got more specific than what MSNBC president Phil Griffin told him. People in Washington may or may not include someone at the White House, and Cenk made a point to NOT say it was the White House.

Myth 3 - Cenk was demoted, then fired when he didn't accept the demotion.

Cenk was offered a weekend show/contributor role for double the money. Can you think of any other jobs in which you get less responsibility and exposure and a gigantic raise? Also, the NY Times reported that he was well liked at MSNBC but more importantly here's a direct quote from an http://www.huffingtonpost.com/democracy-now/cenk-uygur-leaves-msnbc_b_906708.html|MSNBC spokesman>:

...we were working on a new contract, to develop him into an even bigger television talent.

Myth 4 - MSNBC wouldn't let go of Cenk for his harsh criticism of politicians and then go on to hire a firebreathing bull like Sharpton.

In a recent 60 Minutes interview http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/25/cenk-uygur-al-sharpton-is_n_908385.html|Sharpton vowed not to criticize president Obama>. Leave it to HuffPo to make the headline more inflammatory but there it is.

Myth 5 - Cenk is unemployed/he hosts some obscure web show.

Glossing over the fact that Cenk has been interviewing Senators (Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, Harry Reid, etc.), Congressman (long list), former presidents (Jimmy Carter), Fed chairmen (Alan Greenspan), talk show hosts (Rachel Maddow, Lou Dobbs, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, etc.), filmmakers (Michael Moore, Robert Greenwald), journalists/reporters (Matt Taibbi and people from the NY Times, WaPo, HuffPo and everything in between) there's this:

http://news.tubefilter.tv/2011/07/15/the-young-turks-breaks-500-million-views-1-million-in-revenue/|The Young Turks Breaks 500 Million Views, $1 Million in Revenue>