is now kind of over. As I was watching the end of Keith's show last night, something I do as regularly as about anything else, I was as stunned as everybody else when he said this would be his last show.
Stunned cause, well even if management had a lot of issues with him, he is their number one rated show. Most networks that are not MNSBC just don't do that (see Phil Donahue). I mean I hear Charlie Sheen of Two and a Half Men fame is spending $40,000 a weekend on hookers and they won't fire him, because well he has a very highly rated show. Ratings equal increased ad dollars and that is all networks care about.
Also stunned cause it just came out of the blue. I follow media almost as closely as I follow politics and stuff like this never stays a secret for long. A site like MediaBistrowould usually have the scope before Keith even got on the air.
But this Diary is more about why MSNBC is dead to me.
Three things to know about me. I am a creature of habit. I am a political junkie. I work out of my house.
For about ten years I've had on MSNBC for around 8-12 hours a day. I just listen to it more then watch it until Keith and Rachel come on. Kind of my form of radio. I have to believe they'd like a lot more people like me as viewers.
Now do I like MSNBC? Well not so much. But I am a creature of habit and it is just something I started doing. Sure I love Keith and Rachel. And Ed, well at least he has a lot of pro-Union or Union leaders on his show.
The rest of the daily lineup, well I could take them or leave them. They often, mainly with some of their guests and the hosts lack of basic facts, make me want to throw something at my television. But I like getting the news throughout the day. I like to hear the President speak live. I like Gibbs press conferences. And to a large extent MSNBC fills that role.
My two local NPR stations are in so much financial trouble they don't even carry a number of the "popular" shows anymore and go to local coverage that has the quality of me broadcasting out of my basement. I have no other radio options to speak of.
I get all the C-SPAN channels, but as much of a political geek as I am, well that is still too much for me to listen to for 10+ hours a day unless it is a floor debate or a hearing I am really interested in. I also know I could set up a schedule to stream content online from shows like Tom Hartman, but just too much effort.
Before I started listening to MSNBC all day I used to listen to KMOX out of St. Louis. But about ten years ago, their famed program director of like 40 years passed away and the station went from news/sports to Rush and his ilk. You couldn't pay me to tune up KMOX on my radio dial.
So MSNBC gets me as a viewer if for no other reason then by default.
I don't think any of us yet know why Keith is done at MSNBC. It could be any number of things, including him just not wanting to do the show anymore. But that they either choose to fire him or not work with him to keep him makes MSNBC a channel I just won't watch anymore.
Sure Keith often said, from a political point-of-view what I was thinking. And of course his special comments where in fact "special." We all loved those things.
But I think it is often overlooked he had a wonderful sense of humor. He often used a word I'd have to look up the meaning of. He didn't talk down to me. He'd quote classical literature in this stories. He'd read James Thurber for an extended period of time each Friday. Heck Derrick Pitts of the The Franklin Institute was a fairly regular guest talking about space and the universe. Or put another way, I felt smarter just for having spent an hour with him each day.
One of the only other shows I can think of that makes me feel this way is CBS Sunday Morning. A show that focuses on things like the opera, books, classical music, and food. Well the arts. Maybe I am a "liberal elite" but I like that kind of stuff and it is close to impossible to find on television these days.
Even harder now Keith is gone .....
So MSNBC you just got taken off my favorite list. I'll still watch Rachel, but via iTunes where there are no ads and you make no money from me. Maybe us "hippie liberal elites" only make up like 18% of the population. But when Keith is getting 1.8M to 2.3M viewers a night in a nation with 300M folks, well I am betting it is us that watched and supported his show.
Oh one other point MSNBC executives. I assume you are familiar with the industry term "lead-in." Although Rachel's show is amazing, don't think for a second her solid ratings don't own a lot to the powerful audience Keith "leads-in" with each night. Watch her ratings fall as well.
Goodbye MSNBC.