MSNBC Ad Mocks FNC as Agenda-Driven, CNN as Old-Fogey Network

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I've been trying to avoid paying too much attention to the Anna Nicole Smith story, but got hooked watching MSNBC this morning as my fellow Bronx native, Judge Larry Seidlin, made a shambles of a hearing with his loose-lipped style. My attention was rewarded by spotting this amazing MSNBC promotional ad for itself. More than any of the genre I can remember, it takes pointed potshots at its cable news competitors, Fox News Channel and CNN.

As the voice over says "let's face it: there's a lot of choices out there," an attractive woman turns on her TV to what is clearly meant to be Fox News. One man complains about a ploy to discredit the administration, while another rants about how anyone could question the authority of the Commander-in-Chief. Voice-over: "you could pick someone who has an agenda."

The viewer then turns to "ZNN," where a Larry King look-a-like is talking about '60s sitcoms as an elderly gent in his bathrobe on the couch at home exults, "this is going to be great!" Voiceover: "you could pick somebody who's out of touch." ZNN -- zzz's -- we get it.Finally, the viewer flips to MSNBC. As images of Chris Matthews, Tucker Carlson and Keith Olbermann flash on the screen, the voice-over exclaims: "or you could pick someone who gives you the whole picture."

A Variety story provides this reponse from FNC: "When you've been an embarrassment to your parent company for 10 years, it certainly never hurts to take chances."

Note: Although the ad's apparently been on the air for a couple weeks it was the first time I'd seen it. Don't think anyone else at NB has written about it, but please let me know if I'm recycling an old story here.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[governsleastgovernsbest]

MSNBC-zings-competitors ping to Today show list.

[Andy from Beaverton]

They may be the fastest growing as a percentage (from 10 views to 12), but in overall numbers they are still in last place!

[Lexington Green]

MSNBC - Both of our viewers concur

[nutmeg]

A Variety story provides this reponse from FNC: "When you've been an embarrassment to your parent company for 10 years, it certainly never hurts to take chances."

LOL!

[nutmeg]

FoxFan ping!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my FoxFan list. *Warning: This can be a high-volume ping list at times.

[cripplecreek]

Frankly I'm getting pretty disgusted with the whole bunch of them. With the constant barrage of Anna Nicole, Brittney, and hiker rescue stories they've effectively put Jerry springer out of business.

Yesterday a Fox breaking news alert breathlessly informed us that HOWARD K STERN HAS LEFT HIS HOUSE!!!!!!!

[RightResponse]

How can you make a liberal even dumber?

Force feed them MSNBC 24/7.......

[Obadiah]

"As images of Chris Matthews...and Keith Olbermann flash on the screen, the voice-over exclaims: "or you could pick a network that is a barking mad, left-wing screeching barn owl."

[nuconvert]

MSNBC is trying to play to a small demographic.
That doesn't pay the bills.

[Armedanddangerous]

They are number one in the mental patient, coma patient and paranoid left wing conspiracy theorist demographic.

[tom paine 2]

They lost one of the two when that guy died on Long Island last year. They finally turned off his TV this week

[johnny7]

PMSNBC is in fairyland...

 

[RabidBartender]

Pssst...MSNBC....it didn't work for Air America. It won't work for you.

Any bets on what network the Sportscenter guy ends up on next after MSNBC drops their evening lineup?

[TomGuy]

I haven't even had the TV news channels on for background the last 2 days.

As soon as they start the daily Anna, I click the off button.

FoxNews has turned into FoxTabloidTrashTV.

Radio commentator said some local TV news was interviewing people about Anna news, and most respondents said they didn't even watch to it.

It will be interesting to see whether viewership numbers increase or decrease over the Anna coverage.

[jerod]

CNN of course... Isn't that where he started out?

BTW - Olbermann was an average sportscaster and is a completely pathetic, rude and more importantly utterly ignorant political commentator.

[outfield]

My guess is court TV after he finally flips out and moves from just verbally assaulting his coworkers, Fox News anchors and Administration officials to outright violence.

That promo is pathetic, to even imply that MSNBC doesn't have an agenda is the most entertaining piece of work they have done to date.

[Dante3]

Just wondering of Oberman is gay. The few times I have watched his show, he has every time been totally obsessed with Bill O'Reilly. Seemed more than just trying to hurt competition.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Wow - you got that right on Olbemann. Last night I watched the longest sustained burst of his show I have been able to tolerate to date. That was his interview of Michael Scheuer, former CIA employee who had been in charge of a group dedicated to Osama bin Laden. Presumably they were in charge of finding him, making sure he was killed or captured. The interview was a slow buildup along the lines of "Afghanistan is where we should be, Pakistan is not helping us find OBL, Iraq has been a massive distraction from finding OBL". After this series of essentially scripted softballs and Olbermann's editorializing, the interview winds up with Olbemann praising Scheuer and identifying him as the former CIA fellow in charge of OBL (again implicitly, finding, killing or capturing OBL). There was a slight pause after that during which you could almost see the realization forming in Olbermann's brow that if the bona fides of his guest were that he had been responsible for the pursuit of OBL, and the guest's comments during the interview were but brief affirmative pauses in Olbermann's lecture on the failure to find OBL (Bush's fault), that maybe we had just witnessed a lot of nothing from one who had not accomplished his primary task.

It compared with Greta Van Sustren asking a member of Anna Nicole Smith "What do you think of this media frenzy about he passing of Anna Nicole Smith?", apparently unaware of her own role in that media frenzy. Ugh.

Olbemann is really despicable.

[JerseyDvl]

The only reason any bills get paid at MSLSD is because of Microsoft and Bill Gates' deep pockets.
It is agenda driven and as long as they keep bashing and blaming America first, MS will continue to eat the losses and pick up the tab.
It is a business model that could only survive in a communist state. I assume Gates is getting in practice before Hillary makes it official.