The epic ratings slide for the so-called cable "news" station MSNBC continued in August.
In fact, new numbers show that some of the network's programs lost up to almost half of their viewers since last August.
The Cycle
By Andrew Lautz | July 30, 2013 | 3:44 PM EDT
MSNBC’s Disrupt only seems capable of “disrupting” conservative voices, even absent host and former DNCer Karen Finney. Guest hosting for Finney, Ari Melber teamed up with NBC Latino contributor Raul Reyes to try and shut down former Republican strategist Robert Traynham on immigration reform, insisting that Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) reprehensible comments on undocumented immigrants represent the GOP’s position on reform.
King is under fire for claiming that young, undocumented immigrants have “calves the size of cantaloupes” because they’re smuggling illegal drugs into the United States. Many Republicans have condemned King for his remarks, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho).
By Jeffrey Meyer | July 23, 2013 | 3:30 PM EDT
Leave it to MSNBC’s Martin Bashir to politicize even the most non-political of events. Take for example yesterday's royal birth, which British subject Martin Bashir decided was an appropriate opportunity to slam Republicans on two different occasions. On July 22 and July 23, Mr. Bashir went on the air to blame the GOP-controlled House of Representatives for the economy's sluggishness as well as to push ObamaCare, which if not implemented, demonstrates how the “difference between the two systems [British vs. American] can be a little bit depressing."
Bashir’s first example of political exploitation occurred on July 22 as a guest on MSNBC’s The Cycle, in which he turned a question about the economic problems in England into an attack on the GOP. Bashir agued that:
Part of the fascination with the royal baby has been because people have been so depressed by the economic circumstances in the United Kingdom that they have been looking for some kind of like relief. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]
By Andrew Lautz | July 5, 2013 | 9:00 AM EDT
The liberal chorus at MSNBC has made it a relentless mission to attack Republicans as unconcerned about the poor. Evening hosts Chris Matthews and Chris Hayes are just two recent examples, the former claiming the GOP “spent months...trying to keep black people and poor people from voting,” and the latter slamming Republicans for an “anti-food stamp jihad.”
The hypocrisy of these attacks may shine through this weekend, as the network broadcasts live from the Essence Festival in New Orleans, from July 5 through July 7. Now, the Essence Festival’s primary purpose is to “celebrate black culture, music and people,” a mission no one could or should criticize. But the Lean Forward network is choosing to promote their GOP-bashing agenda – which includes criticism for Republicans who want to “tear down the poor” – from a festival where the most affordable tickets are currently more than $60 per ticket, per night.
WashPost’s Milbank Sneers: Conservative Leaders are 'Children' that Will Eventually 'Get Around' to the Right 'Point of View'
By Andrew Lautz | May 31, 2013 | 3:29 PM EDT
Although he should have a little bit of latitude as a news columnist for the Washington Post over, say, an ostensibly objective staff reporter, Dana Milbank made abundantly clear on the Thursday edition if PoliticsNation that he has a complete disregard for any sense of fairness or objectivity.
Milbank blasted Republican senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, and other as “children,” telling MSNBC host Al Sharpton he should just accept the need to “be patient” with them, sounding like someone counseling an exasperated mother trying to discipline her toddler.
By Andrew Lautz | May 24, 2013 | 3:42 PM EDT
In a way you have to hand it to Krystal Ball. The former Democratic congressional candidate-turned-MSNBC co-host is always hard at work spinning for the Obama administration, come what may. Appearing on Thursday's Politics Nation, the co-host of MSNBC’s The Cycle raved about President Obama’s May 23 national security speech, claiming the president is “reining in his own power,” a “remarkable and incredibly unusual” move.
Ball fawned over the president’s speech to host Al Sharpton, claiming he “put the steps in place” to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, before offering this proclamation about Obama’s executive power:
By Jeffrey Meyer | May 7, 2013 | 5:05 PM EDT
Ever since MSNBC finally chose to cover the murder trial of abortionist Kermit Gosnell, the majority of MSNBC hosts have used the case as a disgusting opportunity to slam conservatives who want to regulate abortion clinics. Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough was the first MSNBCer to actually mention the case, expressing disgust and outrage over the abortionist's practices.
Today, which marks the 6th day since the jury entered deliberations, the network’s only other conservative, S.E. Cupp, finally used her daily platform to express similar outrage over the case involving Gosnell. [See video after jump. MP3 audio here.]
By Jeffrey Meyer | May 7, 2013 | 11:43 AM EDT
We here at NewsBusters are often extremely critical of MSNBC’s Morning Joe as it often sets the agenda for the daily bias on the cable network. There are a few times, such as the Gosnell infanticide trial, when Morning Joe will actually prompt the rest of the liberal network to begin covering a story that it had previously ignored. Unfortunately that's not the case with Dick Harpootlian's racist attack on Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) at a fundraising dinner with Vice President Joe Biden in attendance.
You may recall that we noted that on May 6, Morning Joe ran a brief segment on the outgoing chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Dick Harpootlian grousing that the Palmetto State's governor, who, like fellow conservative Southern governor Bobby Jindal is of Indian ethnic heritage, should be sent, “back wherever the hell she came from and this country can move forward.”
By Noel Sheppard | April 24, 2013 | 4:18 PM EDT
There are times when I’d really like to see a liberal brain next to a conservative brain to see if there really is a physiological difference.
Consider Salon’s Joan Walsh who on MSNBC’s The Cycle Wednesday actually said the reason former President George Bush’s poll numbers are up is because President Obama is doing such a good job (video follows with transcript and commentary):
By Scott Whitlock | April 16, 2013 | 5:02 PM EDT
MSNBC featured author Adam Lankford on Tuesday to wonder about the "message" of the Boston bomber. Was it to "complain about abortion, about taxes?" The guest, labeled a "MSNBC analyst," guessed, "This did happen on tax day in Boston, the place of the Tea Party." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
He continued the reckless speculation: "Or are they trying to protest, you know, foreign wars or something?" Lankford, a professor at the University of Alabama, has written a book on what makes suicide bombers and rampage shooters do what do. He theorized, "The interesting thing is, this is someone on a stage trying to make a statement and that statement has been lost."
By Jeffrey Meyer | April 5, 2013 | 5:21 PM EDT
MSNBC’s blatant promotion of gay marriage appears to have taken a bizarre and sad turn. Krystal Ball, co-host of The Cycle, has taken to using her four-year-old daughter Ella as a prop in a pro-same-sex marriage video.
In the 3-minute video, Ball asks her young daughter a series of questions about who she is allowed to marry, eventually asking her what happens if she loves another girl. Ball’s daughter, who is clearly taking cues from her mom, says that because she lives in New York she can marry another girl if she loves her. [See video after jump.]
Confronted by MSNBC's Cupp, SPLC Rep Doubles Down On Labeling Family Research Council as 'Hate Group'
By Ken Shepherd | April 2, 2013 | 6:20 PM EDT The recent murders of local prosecutors in a north Texas county -- possibly at the hands of white supremacists -- was the news hook for MSNBC's The Cycle to bring Heidi Beirich of the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on to the April 2 program. In introducing the guest and justifying her expertise, co-host Ari Melber merely described the SPLC as "a group that documents that state of hate groups in America."
It fell to token conservative co-host S.E. Cupp to remind viewers that SPLC leans to the left and has been criticized by conservatives for "smearing religious and far-right groups and ignoring far-left hate groups." "Shouldn't people be aware of your ideological biases before they take seriously [SPLC's] claims of who they should be afraid of?" Cupp argued. A bemused Beirich insisted she had to "dispute the notion of the question on its premise," adding that: