A Tale of Two News Sources

When it comes to the popular television news media, there really are only two sources. Fox News and virtually everyone else. Don't get me wrong, MSNBC and CNN have different personalities and they each have shows that are entertaining and informative in their own right. However, when it comes to ideological slant, CNN and MSNBC are largely Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. The only difference is that MSNBC tends to be more liberal than CNN, but they are both remarkably similar.

Usually I watch Fox News and Fox Business as my primary TV information source. As I do that, I wonder how anyone could vote for the Obama and Biden ticket. It isn't that these networks simply rant against liberal politicians, but they tend to methodically review both sides and allow viewers to come to their own conclusion. Further, there is no glorification of individuals or philosophies, but typically a balancing act between various ideologies. It is true, most of the hosts have backgrounds that indicate they lean to the right, but certainly not all of them. Furthermore, when there is a larger panel of more than two or three, the voices tend to lean to the right. However, generally speaking, they seem to strive towards their motto of "fair and balanced."


There are shows I enjoy on CNN. I, of course, like Glenn Beck (who is certainly more libertarian than conservative), News to Us (which is an excellent showcase of the convergence of media), and several other programs that make up my normal news intake. However, the network's hard news shows virtually always have a liberal bent. They simply interpret news from a liberal worldview as if they were the facts. Recently my friend Jessica Colon (Young Republicans) was on the Larry King Show to talk about the McCain campaign versus Obama. The panel had her -- the sole Republican -- on with five Democrats (not including King). I have never seen that on Fox and it did not reflect well on CNN.


Things may be even worse at MSNBC. Although I love its documentaries and the network does have a token conservative, Tucker Carlson (he seems to have a shrinking role at the network). The only other member of the news team who leaned to the Right was Joe Scarborough. The former Republican Congressman use to be one of the only prominent conservative voices on the network, but he has moved slowly to the left in the minds of many since he has begun his Morning Joe program. The situation at the network has gotten so bad that Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman, both very passionate and obviously liberal in perspective, are no longer to anchor political programming because they have gotten carried away in the past sitting in such chairs. What is funny about that is these two have been replaced by David Gregory, who has been President Bush's strongest media nemesis. At least MSNBC has a sense of humor.

So what is the moral of this tale? Friends of Fox, beware, because if you think your side is going to win in November you need to be checking out the views of other networks. Ditto to viewers of MSNBC and CNN. There is a huge audience that is getting a different perspective on the candidates from your preferred news sources. In the end, I am not surprised by the wild differences in attitudes between those who have opinions based on a specific network. In fact, I am surprised there isn't more disparity of opinion.



Kevin Price accurately predicted that Joe Biden would be the VP candidate of Obama three days before the announcement. He predicted a woman would be McCain's VP days before as well. Get his commentaries in your email box by contacting Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

The Race at "Meet the Press"

The memorial service for the great broadcast journalist was held today, but people are already beginning to speculate who will replace Tim Russert on NBC's Meet the Press. This process isn't driven by a lack of respect for Russert, but because of the fact that this is one of the highest rated news programs in the country and filling that seat is very important.

Reflections from MediaBistro:

The New York Times' Bill Carter and Jacques Steinberg raise a few of the expected names for potential Meet the Press anchor. "From inside NBC, the potential candidates include the evening news anchor, Brian Williams, who would be doing double duty (as [Bob] Schieffer did for a time at CBS), correspondents David Gregory and Andrea Mitchell and MSNBC hosts like Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough and Keith Olbermann," they write. "Several of those names are already lightning rods for critics, however" (emphasis added).

Allow this critic to be among the first to say "amen." Here is my assessment of these candidates:

* Brian Williams. Williams is sharp, smart, and articulate, but many blame him for the leftward reputation that has come to NBC. Furthermore, his current job is full time plus and so is the position at Meet the Press (especially if it continues to include the Washington Bureau Chief post).

* David Gregory. Gregory always seems to have an agenda. His style reminds me of Sam Donaldson. Tough? Yes, but quite selectively and he seems to be more vindictive towards some than others. That was what made Russert so great, he was an equal opportunity attacker.

* Andrea Mitchell. Generally speaking, I like Mitchell. However, the Meet the Press demographic is almost identical to those who view the evening news. The experiment of placing a female in the anchor chair at CBS with Katie Couric will have everyone moving with extreme caution at NBC.

* Chris Matthews. Matthews is very smart, but clearly very liberal. He wears his convictions on his sleeve. He loves certain guests and shows disdain towards others. He is very well versed on political and national affairs, but he doesn't seem to be the kind of personality that should be in the Meet the Press chair.

* Joe Scarborough. Scarborough's roots are Conservative, but in recent years he has worked very hard to simply be fair with everyone. Furthermore, like Russert, he has roots in politics that have led him to the media. As a Conservative, I would certainly favor Scarborough over the others being mentioned, but his ideological roots are too far too Conservative to make MSNBC comfortable, in my opinion.

* Keith Olbermann. I think Jon Stewart of the Daily Show would be better, in my opinion. He's funny without being angry. I am actually shocked that his name was even dropped in consideration. I hope is is pure speculation and not serious discussion.

Rumor has it, the race seems to have already narrowed to Gregory, Scarborough, and Matthews. I believe Scarborough was put in that group to avoid the characterization that MSNBC was only interested in Liberals. Furthermore, the rumor mill has seemed to eliminate Gregory and the buzz is surrounding Matthews, who is certainly the most political animal on the MSNBC scene.

The one name that was not mentioned in the process, and the one that I think would have been the strongest, was Tom Brokaw in an interim position. Brokaw is serious and knows his trade, regardless of how uncomfortable I might be with his ideology, he was cautious in how it demonstrated it. Furthermore, he enjoyed the highest ratings of any of the big three anchors. His emphasis on "the Greatest Generation" (those who sacrificed during WW II) has placated the concerns of many and he will appeal to the dominant, older viewer, audience.

The great thing about Brokaw, oddly, is that he seems past the desire to do such long term, which will lead to the opportunity to have many others sit in the chair and audition for the post while everyone knows it is in good hands. It will be interesting to see what NBC finally does to fill this massive void.

According to recent surveys on marketing, most advertising attracts sellers (others who want you to buy more ads) and not buyers. Do you want to know why? Email info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing audio" in the subject line and we will get it to you.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

How Liberal is MSNBC?

MSNBC is largely considered "liberal", even "flaming liberal" in the eyes of those who describe themselves as conservative. I've noticed this for a long time and it has even showed up in its sister network's (NBC) approach to the news. However, I didn't think it reached the point that other media that is often described as liberal in their own right, would start to take notice. But MediaBistro.com has noted just such a phenomenon.

"Add the Washington Post and Time Magazine to the list of organizations recently questioning the leftward shift by MSNBC. That list also includes the New York Times, the Associated Press...oh, and the White House."

We all know the White House has been unhappy, since President Bush is the network's primary target each day. But the New York Times? The Washington Post? Time Magazine? Who would have guessed. The article continues:

Time magazine's James Poniewozik takes on Keith Olbermann following the anchor's Special Comment on Friday. "Olbermann is edging ever-closer to self-parody, or, worse, predictability," he writes. "He sounds like just another of the cable gasbags he used to be a corrective to."

Continuing: An MSNBC insider gave TVNewser another take. "MSNBC has doubled down on Keith Olbermann, but they give up a lot in doing that," our insider said. "They didn't set out to be left wing, they didn't want to be left wing. But Keith Olbermann let the freak flag fly and did huge numbers as a result. I believe there's a revolt coming."

Than there is the Washington Post: Howard Kurtz writes about what "top NBC journalists," are saying about the network.

"NBC and its cable outlet have become more integrated since MSNBC moved to the 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York last fall, a trend accelerated by the sharing of journalistic talent during the campaign," writes Kurtz. "Some top NBC journalists say privately they are troubled by the overlapping identities."

He writes of their primary night coverage, "anchored by (Chris) Matthews, a one time Democratic operative, and Olbermann, the 'Countdown' host who recently finished one anti-Bush commentary by instructing the president to 'shut the hell up.'"

Kurtz quotes people from Ed Gillespie of the GOP to Democrat Terry McAuliffe who charge MSNBC with pro-Obama bias. NBC SVP Phil Griffin disagrees. "To call us an arm of the DNC is a joke," he says. "We have people with multiple points of view. Everyone is getting a little thin-skinned. We argue and debate every topic."

This writer contends that those arguments are being done by journalists who are defending positions against the Matthews and Olbermanns out there with views that they don't actually maintain. That is a tough task to say the least. MSNBC is quickly becoming one of the most liberal networks on television and it is over flowing into the editorial views of NBC. That is costing that network's anchor (Brian Williams) in ratings. I agree with Time Magazine, if Olbermann keeps this up, we will be turning to the Daily Show for serious content.

According to recent surveys on marketing, most advertising attracts sellers (others who want you to buy more ads) and not buyers. Do you want to know why? Email info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing audio" in the subject line and we will get it to you.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.