What is MSNBC for?
The day after the election I tuned in MSNBC and it was the same as it ever was, you'd think nothing had changed, it was the usual suspects railing against Trump and the Republicans. I switched stations and haven't been back since.
It's not a news organization. There are almost no reporters. You can't seem to tune in without them quoting the "New York Times" or the "Wall Street Journal." Even Rachel Maddow does this, and she's the most credible star they've got!
As for Lawrence O'Donnell... This guy has got a chip on his shoulder, no one on the other side can ever do anything right. He's a nitpicker. He refuses to see the forest for the trees.
Which is what the Democrats were forced to do after Election Day. But not MSNBC!
Everybody needs to pivot. Did you read today's "New York Times" article on Southwest Airlines?
"How Southwest Airlines Lost Its Groove"
Free link: t.ly/pqVhh
If you keep doing the same thing and expecting to win...you're going to lose. Maybe the hard core will stand by you, but how many hard core MSNBC fans are there, who want to spend time in this reality distortion field.
On MSNBC the Democrats are always right and the Republicans are on the verge of getting their comeuppance. But this never happens. MSNBC represents the elite that the country rebelled against. We're sick and tired of people telling us they know better. Just because you wear a suit and tie that does not make you right.
We can debate whether there's any future in cable news. Look at the demographics, only old people watch it, young 'uns are not coming on board. Eventually this audience is going to die, and then what? Maybe you treat MSNBC like Alden Capital treats newspapers. You cut and bleed it dry knowing it's time-stamped.
Otherwise MSNBC has to pivot. Has to reinvent itself.
Has to stop being a delusional left wing cheerleader.
On MSNBC the Democrats had it in the bag, Kamala Harris was a good candidate and everything was hunky dory, only it wasn't.
I'd love to see MSNBC do a deep dive into the Harris campaign and the candidate herself. Truly look at why she lost. Enough with the insanity that Harris ran a perfect campaign. How about more info on how Harris locked up the nomination right after Biden decided not to run. She got an early heads-up and called all her potential competitors and asked whether they were with her or against her. Can't MSNBC investigate the flaws of the Democrats instead of constantly pointing fingers at those on the right?
How about a Snopes show. You know, rumors, are they true or false? And apply it to both sides. An hour of that a day would be interesting. Google News does this, MSNBC can.
How about giving more airtime to the TikTokkers on the left. All we hear about is the political influencers on the right. But social media is filled with regular people in beards and overalls who are on the left. Give them some views.
MSNBC's only hope is to fill a niche that no one else has.
The facts. However they may fall.
CNN says it is doing this, but so far the message is mixed.
That's another show every night. The issues in play, what are the facts.
Tariffs, winners and losers. Car companies, electric car companies, Newsom saying he'll keep electric car incentives even if Trump eviscerates those on a federal level. This is information, we all want information. Enough with opinion, it turned out MSNBC's opinions were WRONG! Are they going to refuse to pivot, just like the DNC?
It should be that if you want to know what is going on, you tune in MSNBC for the facts. Which don't always come down on one side or the other. Make MSNBC authoritative alongside the "Times."
No arguing. No spin. No "Crossfire," no usual suspects with their insane distortion of the truth.
As for Rachel Maddow... She needs to do what she does best, which is historical context. For an entire hour. No interviews. Do a deep dive into what was and thread it up to today. And let the people decide for themselves, even though the facts might be self-evident.
Sure, it will take a while for the public to adjust. But like Adobe which went from sales to subscription, after a while word spreads and you come back stronger than ever before.
Maybe tie in with Bloomberg. Which got away from hard political news. Use their facts to delineate the truth.
And an honest business hour to combat CNBC's cheerleading.
That's what's wrong with MSNBC, the cheerleading. Like we're all supposed to believe when our team gets wiped out again and again and again.
Turns out all the money in airlines these days is in slicing and dicing the cabins and charging for upgraded amenities. The one size fits all paradigm of Southwest no longer works.
Don't tell me about Fox. Just because it works on the right doesn't mean it will work on the left. Fox's spin is that we're the downtrodden underdogs. Forget that we're delusional, we are fighting the forces of evil.
Democrats are not that dumb. How do they lay out the bread crumbs and lead the blue collar and other defectors back to them.
Not by isolating and doing the same damn thing, but by trying a different strategy.
What you want is the person on the factory floor contradicting a Fox viewer by saying they saw something different on the facts hour on MSNBC. Believe me, when you retort that some talking head on MSNBC said otherwise, it means nothing.
You win by being the other.
Being the left wing version of Fox is a losing strategy.
I'm disillusioned. I know dedicated MSNBC viewers who are disillusioned. What, is the channel waiting for Trump's faux pas to do the same damn thing expecting us to return like lemmings?
I'm not interested in that. I don't care about tit for tat. I want to play the long game, if anything. How do we turn this ship around? Hell, if this were the Titanic MSNBC would be so busy pointing out the failures of the captain that they'd refuse to get off the ship. Everybody would be running for the exits and on MSNBC they'd be lionizing their favorite captain and bringing out experts who support their position while the ship is listing.
Everybody but Rachel Maddow is expendable.
Don't worry about someone being on the left or the right, worry first and foremost about credibility. MSNBC needs umpires.
MSNBC should be a den of strategy...that's a club, I'm interested in joining. One hour about what we can do, with updates. More "Shark Tank" for political/societal change than sideline snickering.
Right now MSNBC is a joke and the only people who are unaware of this are those who work for the damn channel.
ENOUGH!
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