Dear MSNBC

[TNNurse]

I am not sure that Brian Williams and Chris Matthews were your best choices for you march broadcast. Surely you have younger people to do commentary. Are you saving them for a response later????

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Probably a contractual thing - Matthews and Williams are big names

and might have first dibs on major events.

[TNNurse]

3. Brian Williams has been off prime time for awhile.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. True, but he might have a contract clause for this kind of event.

[NCTraveler]

2. Dan Rather has a better connection with them.

[TNNurse]

4. I agree

[Beaverhausen]

6. Turn to C Span

[TNNurse]

7. I appreciate that, but the cameras on MSNBC are doing a better job

and Williams and Matthews have shut up for now.

[DURHAM D]

8. I switched to CNN.

Much much better coverage.

[leanforward]

9. Messers Williams and Matthews

are not too old to learn something today. I've been watching since 1000.

One thing, MSNBC did not cut away for 6 minutes and 20 seconds. They don't like dead air time, usually.

Messers Williams and Matthews kept quiet. I noticed Chris wiping his cheek?

They have not seen anything like this before. The crowd appears to be as big, if not bigger, than January 21, 2017 and January 20, 2018. My wife and I were at each one. Couldn't make this one.

[Hoyt]

10. They've done a decent job. Probably could have been better, but they are there when lots of other

media aren't. The speakers are pretty much saying what needs to be said.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. I thought Williams did a good job and Matthews was a little less noisy

and annoying than usual. The important thing is that they didn't talk over the speakers or the performers.

[Ilsa]

11. I listened to part of the program and thought

BW and CM did pretty well. I don't remember them being patronizing, but were praising the young adults and commenting how effective they will be.

[oberliner]

12. What is with the ageism?

[TNNurse]

14. I will give you an example. I am a breast cancer survivor.

I am 68. When someone asks me to speak to someone who is newly diagnosed, I am glad to do that. However, if they are decades younger than me, I also try to find someone in their age group for them. I was 62 when I was diagnosed and that is very different from being 25 or 30. It is a different life experience for them.

Also, I suspect that these students feel like many older people do not speak for them and have not worked in their best interest, and I agree with them. Nothing personal against Williams or Matthews.

[oberliner]

16. Understood

Although in this case, I would say that someone who has been alive for 60 years or so has a perspective on events like this that can be valuable - that perhaps a younger person might not have.

For instance, the first-hand experience of the antiwar movement during the Vietnam War.

[Nevernose]

15. Its an event put on by kids

Hosted by kids, inspired by what happened to kids, and the performers were those who appeared to kids. Gee, why ever would someone suggest using a younger host for this event other than ageism?

[oberliner]

17. Many of these kids have been interviewed on TV which is great

In terms of anchoring the coverage, I think someone who is older would be able to have a good perspective in terms of putting this event into context with respect to other major historical protest movements. Their insights could be really valuable - especially having lived through movements that younger people have only read about in books (or Wikipedia).