This is the big announcement: Ed Schultz will be hosting The Ed Show at 6:00pm starting Monday.
The program will replace 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., which will move to 5:00pm (opposite Glenn Beck) 3p-5p.
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I like Shuster a lot, but as a reporter. I don't think he is a great host. Plus, I hate the old-school, Crossfire debate format that 1600 Penn uses.
On the other hand, I don't really like Ed Schultz, but I think he has the kind of dynamic personality that cable news thrives on.
Shuster gets high marks for saying this about his previous employer:
"...there wasn’t a tradition or track record of honoring journalistic integrity. I found some reporters at Fox would cut corners or steal information from other sources or in some cases, just make things up. Management would either look the other way or just wouldn’t care to take a closer look."
And here he is calling O'Reilly a jerk and a buffoon:
Schultz will have a fairly good shot at the competition. Fox has Special Report with Bret Baier on at 6p. That is one of Fox's lowest rated shows. CNN has the final hour of Blitzer which Schultz should slam dunk. Here he is storming off of Fox & Friends:
Shuster, on the other hand, will be up against Beck [see correction below]. I'm not sure it's fair to put a reporter up against a maniac. Too much of the audience will prefer to watch the train wreck.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is what will become of Hardball. It appears that Shuster may just take the early slot and Matthews will do the live version at 7p. He has been beating Dobbs pretty consistently, but he's still hard to watch. That show needs a makeover and, perhaps, a co-host. Matthews himself isn't going anywhere as he just re-signed for four years.
Correction: Shuster will be on from 3p-5p, which leaves Matthews in place at 5p and 7p. Keith said that Shuster will be moving, not 1600 Penn. I wonder if he was just abbreviating or if Shuster will be anchoring a two hour news block (which I would prefer).
Update: It's confirmed that Shuster will anchor a two hour news block with Tamron Hall 3p-5p.
The Schedule:
3:00 - Shuster & Hall
5:00 - Hardball
6:00 - The Ed Show
7:00 - Hardball repeat (?)
8:00 - Countdown
9:00 - Maddow