Broadcasting & Cable: NBC News should spin off MSNBC

[One Sweet World]

Ben Grossman at Broadcasting & Cable has very intriguing and smart article today. He recommends that NBC News should spin off MSNBC into its own cable entity that is independent of the NBC-Universal umbrella that would be free to espouse its own political agenda. I'll let him tell it:

NBC News and MSNBC are like great beer and fine whiskey. They're each satisfying on their own, but when mixed, expect trouble.

So after watching all the drama recently, I have one solution that would allow both brands to continue as independent success stories: separate them. NBC should pull MSNBC out from under the NBC News umbrella altogether. Put it in the cable group alongside USA and Bravo and all its other money-printing brands that are carrying the NBCU portfolio. Just have NBC News program certain shows or dayparts on MSNBC, as it does on the NBC broadcast network.

That's just a snippet, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing.

I think Grossman has a great point: MSNBC is clearly a Dem channel, which I think is bad for NBC News. Count me in as a progressive, but also count me in as someone who respects journalistic integrity. I have no problem with MSNBC espousing a left-of-center view (in fact I prefer it), but I think it really damages NBC's reputation.

[firedupdem]

1. I see MSNBC headed in the way of FUX tv. The only two shows

left are Maddow and Olbermann. Matthews is hard for me to figure out. Seems as if the rest is a toss up.

[FSogol]

2. Maybe NBC News should stop treating right wing talking points as news

and go back to unbiased reporting. The problem with them isn't their political commentary, the problem is the journalists stopped doing their jobs.