MSNBC Puts on Canned "Doc Bloc" as Mumbai Burns
I was just looking for a few minutes at MSNBC. You know what they were reporting? Nothing, really. From 6-8PM, and who knows how much longer today, MSNBC had on its canned "Caught on Camera," with footage of events that happened years ago.
Over on CNN, Wolf Blizter in the Situation Room was doing a superb job of reporting on the Mumbai Massacre, with interviews of survivors, discussion of what this means for world security with former Secretary of Defense William Cohen and other terrorism experts, and detailed information on the heart-rending story of Brooklyn Rabbi Gabriel Holzberg and his wife, murdered along with three other Jewish people at the Chabad Lubavitch. His two-year old had escaped with their brave housekeeper. Canadian Jonathan Ehrlich, who managed to escape from another one of the terrorist targets, one of the attacked hotels, also gave a poignant interview on CNN.
Fox News did an ok job of reporting, as well, on the still ongoing September 11th for India - though I did spot a re-run of O'Reilly on Fox tonight.
But what can MSNBC have been thinking? They have wasted our time, and driven away viewers interested in real news, for years with their "doc-blocs". They had the good sense in the recently concluded coverage of the 2008 Presidential campaign to greatly expand their political coverage. But who at programming was asleep at the switch at MSNBC today?
MSNBC will never maintain a leading position as a cable news source, or even be taken seriously, if they put "Caught on Camera" or any doc-bloc programming ahead of covering ongoing world catastrophes.
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Comments
CNN is fine, but I just can't take Wolf's voice anymore. I am sure he is a nice man, but there is something about his intonations that strikes my middle ear, or something.
At any rate, you are correct, and I have been checking in with CNN for updates on this massacre for two days.
I do not mean to be glib or rather too glib , but I cannot watch Fox anymore. With the availability of CNN, I am not going to take the chance that the crisis in India will be reported as the fault of Obama, or the Dems, or a failure in our war on terror....
maybe they just want to maximize their in/out cash ratio?
maybe they don't give a damn about your opinion?
maybe they think they know best how to run a cable service.
they might be wrong of course, maybe their best business plan would be to hire you as programing manager. but i doubt it.
The first and second generations of the MSNBC site were stellar broadband services that seamlessly blended video, high-quality photos and real journalism. After the dot-com meltdown the ambitious MSNBC site was largely supplanted by MSN's news service which emphasized text over multi-media.
The TV network struggled to find its voice and the right way to integrate the web content, and quickly ditched that approach in favor of more traditional talking heads shows interrupted by repackaged NBC news feeds and programs.
The MSNBC of today, both the online and on-air versions, are far removed from the original concepts, and are simply reflecting the harsh realities of the news business. Disappointing to be sure.
On the other hand, I think MSNBC did a terrific job during the election and I have become hooked on their personalities and tired of the CNN bunch early on.
MSNBC running those prison docs is at least slightly better than all the Paid Programming which is cluttering up even previously legitimate outlets. No wonder people are flocking to the internet to watch TV -- if you tune to many stations anytime other than prime time and early and late fringe, you will run into infomercials. Sad decline in programming practices!
CNN's international coverage is better, at this point, than CBS's or ABC's, as well. If I had one recommendation for CNN, it would be put on live CNN International instead of anything other than a live US broadcast (or maybe just have one cycle of reruns in the early morning).
I won't watch CNN as protest against kicking out Aaron Brown for the white haired boy. As for Fox: why?? It does me no good to have my blood pressure that high.
Rachel is the best since Molly Ivins, and Keith is always stabilizing.
CNN had the Mumbai story 24 hours a day, nonstop. It became tedious after the first two hours. Fox at least had news, but it is difficult listening to their bull for more than five minutes. And I was absolutely appalled to hear Dennis Miller make blatantly racist comments when talking about Gov. Richardson.
Please, MSNBC, bring back the real news. And don't do this to us again on Christmas.
...not that that excuses MSNBC from not putting a few people in front of the camera broadcasting pool footage in-between the dumbass repeats, and maybe digging up a "India expert" or two who wasn't wasted on a huge honking turkey dinner to discuss what it all means.... nor does it excuse a few of their hotrods not hieing themselves to 30 Rock to do a "Special Edition" of their shows to talk about this. For a young journalist on her/his way up, or someone with a low-rated show staring at cancellation, this was the time to step forward....
Best line: "Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter that MSNBC embraced ideological propaganda instead of news and information when it handed over the keys to prime time to Olbermann and Maddow. If the terrorist attacks in India don’t warrant coverage on MSNBC in prime time, than nothing short of another 9/11 is likely to stop Olbermann and Maddow from their partisan game playing at what used to a respected anchor desk."
Now, having said that, MSNBC needs to cut down on the lock-down schlock and schedule real docs in the Doc Bloc. That, and stay with breaking news regardless of the calendar.
Awesome shout out to the B-more Sun. I still read it online even though I no longer live in B-more.
But this outrage about Mumbai coverage, it was all over CNN and the BBC. Plus there was all kinds of live feeds online. If cable news is your only news, you got a problem people.
Death toll not even in the ball park.
Did not destroy a globally recognized symbol of Indian power like WTC was of American power.
Not a suicide attack and was less dramatic.
This kind of thing happens every once in a while in India, 9/11 type attack unique so far.
Tragedy yes, but not like 9/11. It is apples and oranges. I know I am overreacting but people always cheapen meaning by comparing unique events. Like comparing every genocide to the Holocaust. It doesn't work.
Stop calling the Mumbai attacks the Indian 9/11, its just stupid.