MS NOW (formerly MSNBC)

In an interview on MediaBistro.com's 'Media Beat,' MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer told TVNewser editor Kevin Allocca about the cable network's high standards in its audition process: "...it's got to be like the Marine Corps obstacle course in order to land this job." She later complained about "difficult" guests: "When someone comes on with an agenda and their agenda is to take you down."Allocca…

You have to hand it to Dylan Ratigan.The MSNBC bloviator melded immigration reform, the military industrial complex, and congressional gridlock into a scatter-brained diatribe at the top of his eponymous program on Thursday.In the wake of President Barack Obama's speech on immigration reform earlier in the day, Ratigan railed against "Arizona's latest anti-immigration law" and praised Obama for "…

On Thursday's The Dylan Ratigan Show, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan went after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and complained about the lack opposition to the conflicts: "Why isn't there an alarm that we've been perpetrating this war?...there aren't enough people in this country that honestly give a damn. No one really cares." His solution to the supposed apathy? A draft. [Audio available here]…

Chris Matthews, on Thursday's Hardball, invited on AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka to comment on Barack Obama's immigration policy speech, but the segment ended in typical fashion as the two blamed the Republicans for thwarting true reforms with Matthews accusing them of playing the race card as he boiled down their efforts as merely "pandering to angry white people." Matthews also went on to…

The big three nightly news broadcasts, NBC Nightly, CBS Evening and ABC World, lost a combined one million viewers in the second quarter of 2010, according to TVNewser.These numbers are comparable to the first quarter, which saw Evening News and World News get their lowest average viewers ever, while NBC's Winter Olympics coverage helped it get their highest average viewers since 2005. In the…

When it comes to Barack Obama, MSNBC is the network of thrills and chills . . . Chris Matthews famously felt a thrill going up his leg listening to an Obama speech. Now, MSNBC anchor Alex Witt has been similarly moved by Obamian oratory, declaring this morning "I got a few chills" listening to PBO's "very powerful" speech on immigration.Witt described her sensations to MSNBC DC bureau chief Mark…

How clueless can a guy who lives in Manhattan possibly be?  Discussing the Afghanistan war on Morning Joe, Donny Deutsch claimed "people weren't clear why we were there in the first place."Uh, Donny . . . Fortunately, the ever-affable Willie Geist was there to diplomatically offer Deutsch a brief history lesson.

Which is the bigger story: a few power companies out West have started a pilot program to promote solar panels, or . . . police announce they will investigate allegations of sexual assault against a Nobel prize winner and former Vice-President of the United States?  I'd guess most people would go with 'B.' But when it came time to highlight a story from the front page of today's Oregonian,…

ROTF, laughing my Demos off . . . Barack Obama is president.  Oil is gushing in the gulf.  America was eliminated from the World Cup.  Looking for a laugh break? Try this: MSNBC has described DEMOS as "non-partisan."  OK, I hadn't heard of them, either.  But their web site just happens to mention that Barack Obama is "a founding Board member."But that didn't stop Chris Hayes of the lefty Nation…

In covering Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings, CNN and MSNBC have repeatedly lauded the Supreme Court nominee for her "flashes of humor" and "disarming ease."In tune with the reverberations of the network morning shows' echo chamber, correspondents like CNN's Dana Bash and anchors like MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday praised Kagan for her ability to inject humor into otherwise "hollow and…

With the news that Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas is suing the polling group Research 2000 for providing "bunk" results that his Web site published, the question has to be asked: Will those figures in the media who've advanced Daily Kos poll results, like MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews, let their viewers know of the suspect data? Back on the February 2, 2010 edition of Hardball,…

Chris Matthews keeps painting the Elena Kagan confirmation hearing as a "culture war" between the Obama nominee and the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. As Newsbusters reported yesterday, Chris Matthews seemed to spin Monday's standoff between Sessions and Kagan as a battle between the senator's rural, unsophisticated Alabama roots and Kagan's Northeastern liberal academic…

Name-calling isn't just for 6-year-olds anymore. Keith Olbermann proved once again that Sarah Palin is the media's favorite conservative to hate, mock and condemn when he called Palin an "idiot" who endorses "stupidity instead of intelligence." Olbermann named "Sister Sarah" his "Worst Person in the World" on "Countdown" June 28 after Palin mistakenly said Ronald Reagan's alma mater was "…

While MSNBC host Chris Matthews has routinely cited the American Revolution-era Gadsden flag as evidence of the extremism of the tea party movement, at the end of Monday's Harball, he expressed his love for the banner while remembering West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd. [Audio available here]In his 'Let Me Finish' segment, Matthews shared his thoughts on Byrd and how he particularly admired how…