MSNBC President Says Fox News Isn't Always 'Based in Fact,' While He Claims 'We're Not a Frat House'
MSNBC president Phil Griffin gave an interview to Jeff Bercovici of Forbes, and said all the usual things about how MSNBC is less ideological than Fox News and Fox is a success despite not always being based in fact. But Griffin claimed no one ever knew what Tim Russert’s politics were and insisted that MSNBC is defined as "very smart progressive politics and information."
The boss of “very smart” MSNBC is not going to tolerate crude terms for the president (well, this president) on its airwaves, because “We’re not a frat house.” At MSNBC, Griffin claimed, "name-calling and just getting overheated in a way that's not constructive is not welcome." See NewsBusters for daily evidence of how much Griffin is "based in fact." Here's the exchange:
BERCOVICI: How do you know that something like calling the President a dick is across the line when standards on TV and across journalism are changing so rapidly? You wouldn’t bat an eye if you read that sort of thing on a blog.
GRIFFIN: It’s across the line. We’re just not going to have that kind of name-calling on our air. We’re not a frat house. We’re a place where you have the smartest conversation about politics and what’s going on in the world, and I want to be respected for that. And I do want people who don’t necessarily agree to feel comfortable watching. Name calling and just getting overheated in a way that’s not constructive is not welcome.
All our people are passionate and I want their passion to come through, but I don’t want them making the news. I want their ideas to be the news.
Earth to Phil: suspending Mark Halperin indefinitely into cable-news Siberia is what made news, not the original comment, which could have been just a blogosphere moment. Griffin prefaced that by boasting "One of the great things we’ve done here is 99 percent of the time we bring on people who are really smart, who know their stuff and they want to talk ideas."
This is the Fox News part of the interview:
BERCOVICI: What part has Fox News played in your strategic thinking? Are they a model for you, or a bete noire, or a cautionary tale?
GRIFFIN: I think what they’ve done has been pretty incredible over the last 15 years. They saw an opening and grabbed it, the whole area of conservatives who felt disenfranchised, and they own it. I don’t agree with how they approach news, because I don’t always think they base it in fact, but I respect how they went out and got this huge audience. I think I’ve looked at them and recognized that you’ve got to find your space. I don’t think there’s equivalency between Fox and MSNBC, although I do think a lot of people are glad there is an MSNBC to take on the big, bad Fox. I don’t think we’re nearly as based in ideology the way they are, but we definitely have tried to find a space the way they found their space.
The Russert thing came up when Bercovici asked if CNN's "centrist" pose was just outdated:
BERCOVICI: What does that mean for CNN? They’re general interest. Is it too late for them? Has the music stopped with all the chairs taken?
GRIFFIN: Not at all. They can figure it out. You can own that space, and you can be the most successful channel. But you’ve got to be smart, you’ve gotta evolve. You’ve got to have a passionate following. Listen, one of the most successful people I worked with was a man who, you didn’t know his politics but he had as passionate a following as anyone I know, and that was Tim Russert. And it was the qualities that he had that will make a journalist popular. Nobody was more passionate about politics than Tim, and that’s what came across. You had to watch him.
Griffin claimed MSNBC is somehow a ratings success (if you overlook, well, the cable-news leader), that they've somehow "taken off."
BERCOVICI: If you were to boil down what you’ve learned in the course of making MSNBC into a success story into a business school case study, what would the lesson be?
GRIFFIN: Know your audience. Look, the world changed with the computer. All of a sudden there are thousands of information places where you can get very specific news, information, headlines. And because people can get news when they want it on the web, on smartphones, wherever, there wasn’t a need for a broad-based, general headline news service. So you have to have an audience. Ours we defined as people who are interested in politics, and in our prime time we pretty much go progressive politics.
Just in prime time? Once again, Griffin "isn't always based in fact."
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Comments
Ah yes Phil Griffin.
Submitted by wedapeople on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 7:38am.
"At MSNBC, Griffin claimed, "name-calling and just getting overheated in a way that's not constructive is not welcome."
This from a guy who hired Well fed Ed, Oberloon, Jesse Ventura, Michael Savage... As his other notable hire at MSNBC, Mark Halprin would say, what "A Dick!"
Reading Griffin's description of MSNBC's professional . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 8:10am.
. . . integrity is like listening to Casey Anthony's defense team describe her as a good mother.
As for fact-based reporting, it was only a week or so ago the Special Ed Schultz excitedly declared to the world that Murdoch's News Corp not only paid no Federal income tax, but actually got a $4 billion refund.
The next night, after News Corp called MSNBC, Wrong Way Ed corrected his story -- it turned out that News Corp paid $4 billion in Federal income tax.
Well, I guess the fact eventually came out.
Along with Tim Russert.....
Submitted by adamsmith on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 7:55am.
I always loved that the same could be said about Olbermann,Maddow,Matthews,Schultz,O'Donnell,Cenk Uygar,and Andrea Mitchell. You could never read their bias either as they are so ethical. "Bump".....Damn, just fell out of bed and woke up from that twisted nightmarish fantasy.
I love when they say Fox News isn't a real news station. Like MSNBC is anything other than Communist Party USA's official propaganda channel? I don't like saying all those call letters, and just call it ObamaVision.
BREAKING NEWS!!
Submitted by cobokat on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 7:55am.
7/18/11-Squawk Box CNBC 7:50am...Howard Dean just said Fox News was being investigated!! What??!!! The Liberal Media is DYING to take Fox News down. The hosts of the show said they hadn't heard this and someone piped in "we can only hope".
I think Griffin deserves an
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 8:15am.
I think Griffin deserves an Oscar for spouting this B as in B, S as in S with a straight face.
The MSNBC Crew is having a wet dream
Submitted by syvyn11 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 8:22am.
Thinking that Bill-o, Hannity, Beck, et al, are duckmarched out of the FNC in handcuffs.
They can dream of it all they want, it's not going to happen.
Septic Cable "News"
Submitted by ledurchi on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 8:46am.
Tim Russert's politics were only indiscernible by the obtuse – which is exactly the target audience for MSNBC. What Russet did have, that the rest of the MSNBC/NBC world lacked, was the ability to be embarrassed. MSNBC is chock full of “talent” that proudly defecates the most outlandish political ideology without a hint of the shame that common morals would enjoin. Phil Griffin’s honest opinion is thus because he is cut from the same cloth.
MSNBC – Putrescent Commentary For The Chronically Unabashed.
What does
Submitted by bkeyser on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 8:49am.
"based in fact" mean, exactly? If I were to say that Obama is the most incompetent President to ever reside at 1600 Penn Ave, that is based on the fact that Obama resides at that address, correct? So having an opinion, based in fact, is now hard news? Or fair reporting? I'd say by that standard, everyone from the National Enquirer to Mad Magazine is at least as competent as MSNBC.
Along with Griffin's Oscar,
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 8:56am.
Bercovici gets an honorable mention for his deadpan comment about Griffin having made MSNBC a "business school case study" of a success.
I do not think it means what you think it means. -Inigo Montoya
Another undocumented journalist
Submitted by MoYo on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:07am.
How can the president of any news organization have absolutely no educational foundation in professional journalism? Ah, well, when it's not a real news organization it doesn't matter. Recycling Democrat talking points doesn't make it reporting.
It's pretty obvious from the degenerate state of the profession that a little education would go a long way. How else do you lean what makes a real professional is his ability to see his own biases and still be as objective as possible? Sadly, even the few working professionals with journalism degrees are not immune to corruption in the newsroom. Then again, there are those who could care less.
Journalism schools are
Submitted by mattm on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 12:42pm.
Journalism schools are designed to produce left-wing propagandists.
If I were in charge of a news organization, anyone with a journalism degree would be way down on my list of potential employees.
How does FOX News report with a conservative bias?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:11am.
What lies has FOX reported? How does FOX bias the news to the conservative side?
Examples please. Hear this all the time but no examples are ever given.
It is clear on FOX what are straight news shows and which are "opinion" shows. There are far more liberals on FOX debating conservatives then vice-versa on MSNBC.
Examples, please.
You're asking them to give up the Game?
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 12:20pm.
You hear it all the time -- "Fox lies!" The Left even shows up at Tea Party events shouting it out and written on signs.
But when some of them are asked to give and example, they don't (or more likely can't). I even saw one man confronted before a Fox camera man and his reply was, "There are so many examples, I can't name them all." Asked to provide but one, he responded, "You're just trying to change the subject to cover the fact that Fox lies."
Yea, I want facts
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 2:04pm.
Maybe the left needs their own "NewsBusters", call it LeftBusters, but the problem would be finding factual articles to write about like "NewsBusters" does. Nobody on the right needs to lie.
Griffins OWN WORDS!!...
Submitted by USMC8411 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:16am.
Quote: But Griffin claimed no one ever knew what Tim Russert’s politics were and insisted that MSNBC is defined as "very smart ***progressive politics*** and information."
What exactly does he mean by "progressive politics"? He means, as he said it a couple of times in the interview, that they "inform" from the liberal agenda to the liberal audience they cater to. Talking points passed down from the WH.
So that means they will omit information that they cannot spin in order to protect their "progressive politician" by any means.
Where was this thought process when his frat house pledges were attacking Bush with crude terms? Didn't he ever watch the spittler foam at the mouth?
Are they not reporting on Bahmann, Palin, Santorum, et al using frat house stories?
And why the one example of Tim Russert lately? Is there no other frat pledge that hides their liberal bias? Gregory? How's he get that job anyway? He dishonors Russert's memory, most recently with the Gingrich fiasco where he couldn't help himself.
BREAKING NEWS to Griffin: FOX viewers are passionate about the country and how the news is REPORTED, not editorialized.
The days of Cronkite telling the mind numbed masses what happened, (from his view), and then what to think about it are long over. The monopoly is gone.
I watched Russert
Submitted by UpNorth on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 10:50am.
occasionally, back then. He may not have drooled over a dem the way Chrissy does, or howled at the moon like Special Ed or Olberdork, but there was NO doubt that he was a democrat. That said, he did better than all of the bench warmers currently playing out the string at MESSNBC.
Russert was a Democrat
Submitted by Galvanic on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 1:03pm.
To his credit, he could be tough on Dems with dodgey answers. But he was a Democrat from a blue-collar, union family in Buffalo, NY.
No, they're not a "frat house."
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:20am.
They are a middle school clique aspiring to be a frat house.
Welcome to Peter Griffin's
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:35am.
Welcome to Peter Griffin's fantasyland on this week's episode of Family Guy on Fox.
Huh....not PETER Griffin...Phil Griffin?...who?...President of MSNBC...oh, the comedy network!...no?...they're a NEWS channel?...didn't look like one the last time I checked.
Okay, then...welcome to PHIL Griffin's fantasyland on this week's episode of...uh....er...mmm...on MSNBC.
MSNBC is "Animal House"
Submitted by jkwtrading on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:37am.
MSNBC is "Animal House" without the humor.
Also without..............
Submitted by OldJarhead77 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 12:10pm.
acting ability........ pretty girls.................... or a POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really?
Submitted by ParalegalGoddess on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:37am.
"name-calling and just getting overheated in a way that's not constructive is not welcome."
But if you're doing that to a Republican -then its a-okay. Seriously, what color is the sky on this guy's planet?
Mu Sigma Nu
Submitted by Free Stinker on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:38am.
How bad are things at MSNBC? So bad that someone felt the need to say "We’re not a frat house." in defense of Mu Sigma Nu.
/// Sarah Palin Fan since July 11, 2007 /// خال
He must watch another network...........
Submitted by Tomorama on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:41am.
"I don’t think we’re nearly as based in ideology the way they are" meaning Fox news.
This nitwit DOES not then get to talk about Tim Russert who was a great host and news guy, unlike his prissy Reagan jr like son who wouldn't know down the middle if it kicked his pansy a&&.
Does this guy watch his own network, EVERY SHOW 24 hours a day, from the left, for the left and by the left with a MINOR sprinkling of Conservatives.
Kind of what a lying, gutless pink lady drinking wuss would call "very smart progressive politics and information"?
Progressive politics, is that the new "down the middle"?
Russert
Submitted by iveseenitall on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 9:56am.
I always knew what Tim Russert's politics were. So did millions of Americans who paid attention to it. This guy Griffin is a first class LIAR. But he's a modern "liberal" -- so what's new.
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal" (progressive)
So true.
Submitted by Red Jeep on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 10:25am.
The show should have been titled "Meet Tim," or "Sundays with Tim."
I would like to see the original "Meet the Press" format return although not necessarily on NBC. On the original "Meet The Press" politicians were asked questions by 3 or 4 members of the Press. Somehow that morphed into the "Meet Tim" show.
I'd like to see a show where 2 liberal and 2 conservative journalist take equal turns "grilling" a politician. Hey, FOX, a new concept for your 5 PM time slot.
remember Election Night 2010?
Submitted by mom_rox on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 10:10am.
MSNBC's coverage was completely frat house humor. The frat party leader may be gone, but the rest are still there.
Griffin is the Ring Master of the Clowns @ MessNBC
Submitted by gruyere cheese on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 11:13am.
...need I say more?
In a very run-down circus
Submitted by Beukeboom on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 11:15am.
In a very run-down circus filled with sideshow freaks.
Wait a minute now!
Submitted by Bill Brasky on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 11:50am.
Griffin says "we’re a place where you have the smartest conversation about politics and what’s going on in the world." How is that possible when you used to have Keith Olbermann on your network? You continue to have people like Ed Schultz, Larry O'Donnell, and Rachel Maddow on your network? None of these people conduct political conversation anywhere near what most of us would consider "smart". More like delusional, ill informed, and sometimes just plain hysterical.
Griffin is right. MSNBC isn't a frat house
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 1:30pm.
Its a nut house.
-Dave
Vote for the American in November
Low ratings
Submitted by Model850 on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 3:04pm.
No wonder MSNBC's ratings are so low. Even the president of the network doesn't watch.
How else to explain his apparent complete lack of knowledge about what is being broadcast? This man is in serious need of being whacked with a clue stick.
Griffin: "...I want to be respected..."
Submitted by drsamherman on Mon, 07/18/2011 - 6:19pm.
Respect is earned, Griffin. Just admit your operation's left wing bias and move forward off the ratings cliff into obscurity. At the rate you are getting rid of unproductive talking heads, you should run out of news staff by about September.
It is difficult for anyone to respect a hypocrite like Griffin, but even more so considering how intellectually challenged he is.