I just enjoyed another 4 hours of what is quickly becoming my favorite time to watch television any time of the week. And once again it occurred to me, the drastic change that has occurred on MSNBC over the past 4 years is worth promoting and celebrating. It wasn't long ago, that Cable News across the board seemed to be one of the least diverse businesses in America. MSNBC has turned that idea on its head. And with the firing of Pat Buchanan, they have gone even farther in demonstrating their commitment to diversity.
Phil Griffin, head of programming at MSNBC, is not perfect and I can think of a lot of things to complain about. However, I think it is important for communities such as ours to recognize what a dramatic change he has made to the landscape. So I just want to say thank you to Phil Griffin and MSNBC for actually Leaning Forward. Actions speak louder than words.
I considered writing a big diary on diversity and how the change to the MSNBC line-up has affected the discourse on the channel, the long term implications, the business advantages, addressing missing niches in programming, counter-programming, an analysis of the full lineup across demographics, and more. But instead I thought I would simply embed an image of their current lineup and simply celebrate the change.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Thank You MSNBC for finally representing America!
P.S. I tried to find images of the FOX and CNN lineup, but they were all text. I wish I could have shown the difference. I also want to mention that I suspect a lot of this was due to the prolonged campaigns by groups such as Color of Change, so I want to recognize them for their contributions as well.
P.P.S The job isn't done. Let's see some Latino voices and youth represented in the line-up. There is a big block of time on weekends that seem to be open and mispresenting some of the missing groups in a negative fashion...hint...hint.