Oh brother.
I watched this unfold and I believe my account is an accurate one.
Look. It was entirely unprofessional for him to walk out in the middle of a set like that. Period. He left in a hissy fit like a poor little whiney baby.
What, did Steve Malzberg upset his delicate sensibilities??
The reality is, people get interrupted and talked over all the time...especially on tv and in that kind of arena regardless of the channel. Is he so thin skinned that he can’t handle a little rumble?
If you were invited to appear on such a program to advance your program/position, would you want to be able to speak directly to the host/audience without interruption?
Or, would you like to have to constantly raise your voice, hoping to be heard over your adversary and the host, knowing that little or nothing is being understood by the audience.
I submit the latter scenario would leave you wondering why you wasted your time.
My point is that it is the responsibility of the host/producer to see that invited guests are treated with respect, regardless of their opinion of the guest and his/her position.
Any less is unprofessional, and disrespects me, the viewer/customer of the program.
If the management of a network will not require respect from it's employees toward guests and viewers, it's certainly ok for a guest/viewer to withdraw their support.
I have walked out of commercial enterprises numerous times after becoming irritated with staff, why expect lower standards from TV?