Monday, January 31, 2011
8 pm Just Isn't the Same Anymore
C O M M E N T — Since Keith Olbermann left MSNBC 2 weeks ago, my evenings just haven't been the same. For the past several years, every weekday night at 8 pm I'd turn to MSNBC to watch "Countdown." I watch MSNBC most of the day to tell you the truth, well once Joe Scarborough is off the air at 9am, anyway. I went to college with Phil Griffin, MSNBC's president, and though we probably didn't say more than two words to each other the entire four years, Vassar was small enough so that everyone knew everyone anyway, so perhaps I feel a bit connected to the network in that way. Well, then there's the fact I'm a flaming liberal, so far to the left I'm almost coming around the other side, lol. But for whatever reason, I'm feeling a bit lost at 8 pm Monday through Friday. Lawrence O'Donnell will probably grow on me, and of course, Rachel Maddow makes everything right at 9 pm, but for now, I'm just channel surfing and catching bits of this and bits of that from 8-9 pm. Hope you're on the air again as soon as you can be, Keith! : )
Casey and all, Mare has just posted on her blog the news of her Mom's passing. Thought you would like to know.
ReplyDeleteGN CASEY GN
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear about Mare's Mom....condolences to her family and her.
ReplyDeleteCasey, check out FoodTV and HGTV at 8:00. Some great shows on both networks, though I don't like FoodTV nearly as much as I used to. Love my Ina Garten though! Also, Selling New York in HGTV is good.
Thanks, Brian, I'll check them out.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Ina Garten too! I really love her attitude, her friends, her food. Does she know anyone that isn't a friend of Dorothy, lol?
I used to watch Keith in the middle of the night, and it was the only thing on worth watching. Now I just go to bed, even when I still can't sleep. Come back somewhere, Keith!
ReplyDelete(I already talked to Mare.)
Katie
Ina loves all friends of Dorothy and as far as I can determine they all love her! My partner uses her cookbooks as his go-to when he's at a loss -- we've never been disappointed. Alton Brown used to be on Food Network at 8:00 -- not sure if he is at present but he's pretty entertaining and informative. And a couple of nights a week, there's Property Virgins on HGTV -- I very much like the host -- Sandra Rinomato -- who always tells it like it is -- I'm frequently surprised at how stupid people can be yet still have enough money to actually buy themselves a house! It can get depressing!
ReplyDeletePaul, NYC
I don't have any of her cookbooks, but I watch her show very often and get really good tips from it. she's so upscale though, I have to laugh sometimes. She'll set up a 'very simple" table with certain dishes and napkins etc. Yes, it will be very simple looking and elegant, but I bet it costs $150 a place setting for her "simple" dishes and glasses and napkin rings, lol.
ReplyDeleteBrokaw speak out...
ReplyDelete"Listen, we're better off than (ABC and CBS) because we do have cable," Brokaw said. "Where it got sticky is when our commentators were anchoring political coverage. Those are, in some ways, incompatible roles. We worked our way through that."
So — as the senior statesman of NBC News, he has to expect the question — is MSNBC better off or worse without controversial commentator-anchor Olbermann, the channel's most controversial and most popular host right up until his abrupt final signoff Jan. 21?
"You're not going to get me to go there," Brokaw said.
Nonetheless, when prodded, he said he believes MSNBC will do just fine.
"All of our component parts — NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC — are much bigger than one player, and I include myself in that," Brokaw said. "If I went away tomorrow, NBC News would still be the dominant news division in America. There ain't none of us who is irreplaceable."
NBC News survived the loss of Russert, who presided over a "Meet the Press" he remade in his own image until his death in 2008 at age 58.
"David Gregory is doing a great job (as 'Press' host) and deserves a chance to develop his voice," said Brokaw, who will present a posthumous Lincoln Leadership Prize to Russert's widow, Vanity Fair's Maureen Orth, and son, NBC News' Luke Russert, at the Four Seasons Hotel.
My personal comment on Tom Brokaw - Always the company man, always.
You're right about Brokaw. I read that article last night and he's on damage control if you ask me. Of course he's right about NBC being the leader in news, that's my opinion anyway, I'd rather watch Brian Williams than the other networks when I watch "regular" TV.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with him about Meet the Press. It just has fallen off a cliff since Russert died. I rarely watch an entire MTP anymore, and I watched it religiously every Sunday with Russert, as did my mother in the '90s. I think Gregory has found his voice and it's just not a very good one. I don't think he asks the right questions or follow ups and his obvious right-wing leanings always show through. I guess he really can't do anything about his voice itself, but the pitch of it is just annoying and hard for me to listen to, no matter what the words are!
I've been impressed with Luke Russert. I think he has a big future in front of him. It's obvious that he grew up discussing major issues around the dining room table. He really seems to understand the issues and doesn't just read them off the teleprompter.
Yes, Casey I like Luke Russert as well I think he will have a great future. Tim Russert had a special quality about him, and I think Luke is like his Dad in many ways.
ReplyDelete