Noooooooooooo!!!
Say it ain't so! Where oh where will your humble correspondent get his Brony updates? The sad day has finally arrived. MSNBC, as has been completely expected, has dumped both Ronan Farrow and Joy Reid. What kind of cruel world is this that a TV show can be cancelled merely due to horrible ratings? Dylan Byers at Politico delivers the sad funeral oration:
In a bid to stem cataclysmic ratings declines and waning relevance, MSNBC has cancelled the daytime shows "Ronan Farrow Daily" and "The Reid Report."
Got that? Not merely horrible but "cataclysmic ratings declines." It sounds positively apocalyptic. At least the Cronkite award winner and Ms Reid are going out in a grand manner. However what is amusing is the "gentle" way MSNBC is firing them; by pretending they are merely being transferred to other on-air assignments:
Ronan Farrow will launch a new series of primetime specials, featuring in-depth interviews, and will continue to be a special correspondent across programming. He will also continue his partnership with the NBC News Investigative Unit.
Joy Ann Reid, the host of Reid Report, will become MSNBC’s national correspondent across platforms, a regular contributor for MSNBC’s primetime shows, and the first dedicated reporter for NowThisNews, an MSNBC online partner.
In-depth interviews and working with the investigative unit for Ronan? Like what? Doing an in-depth investigation of Brony mistreatment? As for Reid, she is going to be a correspondent across "platforms?" What does that mean? Interviewing workers on oil platforms? Reporting while wearing platform shoes? This pretty much sounds like MSNBC purgatory for both of them just to soften the blow before finally going out the exit door permanently.
So, Dylan, just how cataclysmic have the MSNBC ratings been?
Earlier this month, MSNBC registered its lowest full-day rating in nearly a decade, drawing an average of 55,000 viewers in the all-important 25- to 54-year-old demo. In January, MSNBC's daytime ratings for January were down 20 percent in total and 37 percent in the demo when compared to the previous year. In prime time, total viewership was down 23 percent, while the demo dropped by 39 percent.
Therefore less than a football stadium full of viewers and going down. At least there is one happy note in the story:
In their place, MSNBC will bring in Thomas Roberts to anchor a new daily two-hour block of news programming from 1-3 pm, a network spokesperson told the On Media blog. Roberts will stop anchoring Way Too Early, the 5:30-a.m. show that precedes Morning Joe.
Great news for Thomas Roberts. He no longer has to wake up Way Too Early. Now he can party late into the night and do shot glasses before his show is ultimately cancelled too.
The big question is if there is some sort of game plan to pull the MSNBC ratings out of the toilet?
MSNBC President Phil Griffin says he has been "experimenting" with new ways to regain momentum, spawning widespread speculation that he planned to make significant changes to the lineup.
Hey, Phil. Ponder this. Since there is no way you would ever consider leaning back from your failed liberal echo chamber lineup, how about "Chopper Whoppers With Brian Williams" as a show concept? His first program should feature the Seal Team Six crew that Brian flew into Baghdad with so he can regale them about the time his chopper got hit by an RPG. I absolutely guarantee huge ratings.
Exit Question: How does Phil Griffin manage to fail so badly yet still retain his job? Perhaps he should conduct a seminar on the Secrets of Successful Failure.
