If the first hour of the Democratic National Convention was any guide, get ready for the watchdogs at MSNBC and CNN to turn into propagandist lapdogs. On Monday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, the DNC began. In the first hour, MSNBC aired 58 minutes and 55 seconds of unfiltered Democratic propaganda, with almost no commentary from journalists. This included no less than three music videos in the 9 p.m. Eastern hour. Have we time warped back to MTV in the 1990s?
There were just two interruptions, both from Rachel Maddow. At 9:31, she broke in for 32 seconds: “We're just going to dip in here just for a second to give you a little post in terms of what's happening. That musical interlude from Leon Bridges.” At 9:43, she favorably critiqued the propaganda: “I'm just going to drop in here for a quick second. Programming at the Democratic National Convention continues. I think we're finally all sort of settling into the rhythm here.”
Later, Maddow came back for another 33 seconds: “Our next big, just to give you a signpost, our next big speech, I think will be the longest speech we've had thus far will be from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who's going to talk about COVID among other things. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is also on deck. Just to give you a little sign post there. Let's get back into it.”
CNN did slightly better. The network aired 55 minutes and two seconds of unfiltered DNC propaganda in the 9 PM hour. But of the four minutes and 58 seconds of non-Democrat-created content, three minutes and 55 seconds were commercials. CNN dutifully played the music videos as well, including a song by Bruce Springsteen.
Wolf Blitzer’s break-in included a preview of upcoming DNC material: “There's more to come from headline speakers tonight. Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders. The former First Lady expected to cap the night by directly taking on President Trump as she never has before. We'll be right back”
When Donald Trump kicked off his campaign on June 20th with a speech in Tulsa, Oklahoma, CNN and MSNBC censored 97 percent of it. What will they do in the first hour of the Republican National Convention next Monday?
MSNBC went the whole hour without commercials, but the CNN propaganda hour was sponsored by Kia and Disney. Click on the links to let them know how you feel.
Here’s the MSNBC interruptions:
MSNBC coverage of the Democratic National Convention
8/17/2020
9:31 PM ETRACHEL MADDOW: We're just going to dip in here just for a second to give you a little post in terms of what's happening. That musical interlude from Leon Bridges. Now, we’re expected there's going to be a conversation which is an interesting approach. Joe Biden having a racial justice conversation with a number of different people and then very shortly thereafter we're expecting remarks from Jim Clyburn, who you will remember had the crucial endorsement of Joe Biden just ahead of the South Carolina primary, which absolutely turned his campaign around. Just a little sign post about what's coming up here. Let's get back to it.
9:43 PM ET
33 secondsMADDOW: I'm just going to drop in here for a quick second. Programming at the Democratic National Convention continues. I think we're finally all sort of settling into the rhythm here. But the live pieces, for example Jim Clyburn's speech live. There are some little foibles and technical difficulties in the live stuff. Then interspersed with taped pieces, including some music. Our next big, just to give you a signpost, our next big speech, I think will be the longest speech we've had thus far will be from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who's going to talk about COVID among other things. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is also on deck. Just to give you a little sign post there. Let's get back into it.
