MS NOW

MSNBC is a 24-hour cable news channel. It is the lowest rated of the three major cable news channels.

The channel was started in 1996 as a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC. On December 23, 2005, ending a partnership that soured long before, Microsoft and NBC announced that they would dissolve their joint ownership of the cable news channel, with NBC taking control. NBC completed a deal to assume majority control of the channel, with an 82 percent stake.

Shock jock Don Imus's radio show Imus in the Morning was simulcast on MSNBC for over ten years. During this time, the program become well-known for displaying offensive commentary. However, MSNBC continued to support the show. In April of 2007, the network sparked outrage when during a broadcast of Imus in the Morning, Don Imus and another MSNBC staff member made offensive remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. The remarks were considered to be both racist and sexist. Initially, MSNBC refused to cancel the show. After sponsors started withdrawing their advertisements from the show, MSNBC canceled the simulcast of Imus in the Morning.

MSNBC has been criticizes regarding the channel's liberal slant. The media watchdog group the Media Research Center has cited MSNBC shows by Keith Olbermann, Dan Abrams and Chris Matthews in it criticism of the network's bias reporting.

The left-wing advocacy group Media Matters for America has criticizes the MSNBC's commitment to promoting a left-wing agenda since the channel has had shows hosted by left-libertarian Tucker Carlson and former moderate Republican Congressman Joe Scarbourough. Ironically, on August 16, 2007 Scarborough revealed an incident in which people in the MSNBC newsroom ceaselessly booed President Bush during a State of the Union address.

In the past, MSNBC shows have featured Mitch Albom, Ann Coulter, Phil Donahue, Bill Moyers, Maury Povich, and Michael Savage, among others. That varied programming was gradually reduced as NBC veered more leftist in its point-of-view.

In 2003, in an effort to appear more patriotic, MSNBC fired talk-show host Phil Donahue. An internal memo read, in part, "Donahue represents a difficult public face for NBC in a time of war. At the same time, our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity."

On November 5, 2007, the New York Times reported that the cable news channel was in serious discussions with Rosie O'Donnell to have a prime-time show on the network. Under one scenario, O'Donnell would be given the 9 p.m. slot where she would compete with Larry King Live on CNN and Hannity & Colmes on the Fox News Channel. Her show would replace Live with Dan Abrams, a low-rated program that only recently replaced Scarborough Country. The deal later fell through as O'Donnell leaked information about the agreement without MSNBC's permission.

Later in November of 2007, the president of MSNBC, Phil Griffin, flat out admitted that the network has a left-wing liberal bias. In a New York Times article, he said that "it happened naturally" and that "there is a Go for it" mentality when it comes to pushing the liberal agenda among the MSNBC staff.

Continuing its offensive against the Bush administration and its reposition as a left-wing "news" outlet, in December of 2007, the network ran a series titled Bush League Justice with the explicit purpose of attacking the U.S. Justice Department under the presidency of George W. Bush.

External links

• Official Site
• Photos of the MSNBC studio
• MSNBC President Admits: Lineup Tilts Leftward
• Cable Channel Nods to Ratings and Leans Left