Kaplan Out at MSNBC

[quaoar]

http://broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6341924.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP

As expected, MSNBC President Rick Kaplan is exiting the beleaguered NBC-owned cable news network after a two-and-a-half year tenure where MSNBC made some small gains but failed to move ahead of second-placed CNN in the cable news race.

In a note to staffers, Kaplan lauded the network's recent gains, particularly for Hardball and Countdown, saying prime ratings are up 25%. However, recent ratings show MSNBC is still a distant third. According to May Nielsen ratings, MSNBC's prime time audience is still half of CNN's, with an average 322,000 viewers in prime to CNN's 688,000. Top-rated cable news net Fox News averaged 1.3 million viewers.

NBC News President Steve Capus, who oversees the network, said in an e-mail to staff that MSNBC department heads would manage their divisions for a brief period until Kaplan's replacement is named. One possible name under consideration is said to be NBC News executive Phil Griffin, a former MSNBC exec.

In December, NBC and Microsoft Corp, co-owners since MSNBC launched in 1995, moved to dissolve the partnership. NBC now owns a majority stake in MSNBC and plans to buy-out full ownership. The two companies continue to be 50-50 partners on MSNBC's Website, msnbc.com.

[samsingh]

1. is this good or bad for us?

[quaoar]

3. Depends on who replaces him

Although it can't be too bad to get rid of the guy who brings us Tweety, Tucker, Rita and Scarborough.

[samsingh]

6. going left will improve their ratings

does MSGOP have the courage to go back to being MSNBC? Odds are against it i would think.

[RDANGELO]

2. One suggestion!

Go left.

[Berry Cool]

4. If Griffin comes back, it could be good.

At least he came up with the Countdown concept and would continue to be a champion of Keith Olbermann, from what I can see.

Whether or not he'll have the vision to shake things up that need shaking, or make an effort to turn MSNBC into an alternative news outlet for those sick of the "everybody should be trying to out-Faux Faux News" variety, I do not know.

[Miss Chybil]

5. Better suggestion...

Go factual.

On edit: Not saying they aren't already, but the appearance of a political bias renders the news impotent.

[wellst0nev0ter]

7. Here's A Suggestion: DON'T Cancel Programs Because Of Eye-Rack

But this enthusiasm for a "wide range of strong, opinionated voices" rings hollow in the wake of MSNBC's firing of host Phil Donahue. (FAIR's founder, Jeff Cohen, worked as a senior producer for Donahue.) His show was cancelled despite having the best ratings on the network; this occurred, according to published reports, after a study commissioned by NBC described Donahue as "a tired, left-wing liberal out of touch with the current marketplace" who would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war" (All Your TV, 2/25/03). "He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration's motives," the report noted, warning that the Donahue show could be "a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity."

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1631

[krkaufman]

9. Thanks for the link/info.

Wouldn't it be a joy if CNN or MSNBC went for market share by staking a claim to the opposite end of the spectrum from Fox?

[medeak]

8. Is this the guy who harrassed Olberman?

for talking about chewing tabacco and close call with cancer?