MSNBC is revamping its entire afternoon lineup, taking The Cycle, Alex Wagner, Ed Schultz off the air. Chris Hayes is also on an extremely hot seat, possibly opening up an Olbermann return, but Olbermann is in talks with HBO to host a sports program similar to his last ESPN gig.
Unfortunately, they are planning to put Chuckles in at 5 PM and Brian Williams (LOL) at 3 PM for a two-hour block.
A well-placed source tells me MSNBC will announce today major changes to its afternoon lineup…arguably the most significant revamp the network has made at one time in its 19-year history.
Out: The Cycle at 3:00 PM. Now with Alex Wagner at 4:00 PM. The Ed Show with Ed Schultz at 5:00 PM (all times eastern).
In: Chuck Todd at 5:00 PM. Similar to Jake Tapper at CNN doing both weekday afternoons (hosting The Lead) and anchoring Sunday morning’s State of the Union, Todd will also continue to work weekends as moderator of Sunday’s Meet the Press. Todd’s MSNBC show will likely take on its old name The Daily Rundown, but that is not a guarantee.
More interesting: Andrea Mitchell will keep her program at noon (Andrea Mitchell Reports). Thomas Roberts will continue to anchor his midday news program from 1:00-3:00 PM. The programs being cancelled at 3:00 PM (The Cycle) and 4:00 PM (Now with Alex Wagner) will be replaced by a straight news program (similar to Roberts’ two-hour newscast preceding it). Whether that 3:00-5:00 PM slot goes to Brian Williams is not known at this time, but it would certainly make the most sense to put Williams directly up against Fox’s Shepard Smith (Shepard Smith Reporting) and CNN’s Brooke Baldwin (CNN Newsroom) for the first hour in a similar format.
http://www.mediaite.com/...
Unfortunately MSNBC is in freefall and their news division is in the worst shape it has ever been. They are probably OK with Lester Holt in the Nightly News anchor desk because he's kept most of Brian Williams' ratings without any of the baggage and has room to grow against Scott Pelley and David Muir, who are not exactly Walter Cronkite and Peter Jennings in terms of competition. But everything else is a complete disaster. Chuck Todd has almost zero credibility or gravitas at MTP; Williams is permanently tainted; and there is little talent in the wings. They also sacked Joy Reid from her afternoon show a little while back, which was a mistake because Joy's more in tune to the feelings on the ground than Wagner, Ed Schultz or the hosts of The Cycle.
MSNBC made a mistake to try to go left of President Obama and try to attract the Sanders/Warren wing with Wagner, Schultz and Hayes, because the crowd that likes Warren and Sanders is generally distrustful of the MSM anyway and pay attention to shows like Democracy Now! which are far further off the beaten path. Their move back to harder news is good on paper but they do not have the personnel to pull it off because Todd is too GOP-friendly and Williams is discredited. It is stunning to see the network of Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, John Chancellor and Tom Brokaw almost devoid of on-air talent.
If I were running NBC, I would do the following:
Move Bob Costas out of the sports division and into the Meet the Press chair:
Costas is the only journalist remaining at NBC with any gravitas, and he's in the sports division. He's relatively liberal and is still widely respected despite taking flak from conservatives on his gun control and Washington football team commentary. His interview with Jerry Sandusky after the Penn State scandal broke is one of the best interviews I've seen in ages; he handled it perfectly. Costas will challenge his interviewees with probing questions and dissect GOP guests if they make inconsistent statements. NBC Sports will be OK because they've got lots of talent waiting for a chance to take a main role (Liam McHugh, Rebecca Lowe, etc.)
Bring Olbermann back to his old 8 PM spot on MSNBC, with conditions.
Keith Olbermann was extremely effective and pulled strong ratings because his best and most righteous rants were against the Bush administration. Olbermann returns with one condition; he is a partisan attack dog who does NOT attack Democrats. Channel all his anger at the Republicans and we've got the same Olbermann who people appreciate.
Prepare Thomas Roberts for the NBC Nightly News desk or the Meet the Press chair.
Roberts is the one young, talented news person at NBC because he can both go partisan if he needs to while keeping his hard news personality. This is actually the one move NBC got right. Instead of placing him at 1-3 PM, give Roberts a 4-6 PM slot against Tapper and I think he'll move MSNBC to 2nd in that hour.
Bring Martin Bashir back to 6 PM and return Joy Reid to either her original spot at 2 or 3 PM.
Bashir is still a strong investigative newsman who was forced to resign over a comment he made about Sarah Palin's family. He's paid his penance and deserves to return. Give Bashir the responsibility to attack both parties because he's logical and creditable. Joy Reid is talented but never had a chance with the terrible shows flanking her (Ronan Farrow and The Cycle). See whether Reid has the right stuff to eventually move into primetime.