MS NOW (formerly MSNBC)

Keith Olbermann's suspension hype ratings bounce has almost completely vanished in only two days. As NewsBusters previously reported, MSNBC's "Countdown" saw a 35 percent rise in viewers Tuesday when the host returned after his brief suspension over his campaign contributions. By Thursday, the number of viewers had plummeted to almost what it was the day before the scandal broke:

Along with the cheerful news that Fox News trounced its cable news competitors on Election Night (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), those longing for more fairness and balance in television news coverage can take some comfort in the fact that the Big Three Networks' evening news shows came in with audiences almost 20% lower during the week before and the week of the 2010 midterm elections compared…

If MSNBC were consistent, Keith Olbermann would not have been the only on-air personality disciplined for making political contributions. For those who don't watch his "Countdown" program (which would be most of the country), Olbermann was suspended "indefinitely" after it was learned he donated money without approval from management to three Democratic congressional candidates. The problem…

Identifying himself with comedian Jon Stewart and his message against extremist debate , MSNBC's Joe Scarborough praised his own morning show for being a safe haven for different viewpoints and calm debate. This, of course, happened shortly after he interrupted a Politico reporter twice and questioned his story's significance. Comedy Central's Jon Stewart had appeared on Thursday's "…

Comedian Jon Stewart on Thursday scolded Rachel Maddow for using the word "teabagger" to describe members of the Tea Party movement. Appearing on "The Rachel Maddow Show" for an oftentimes quite interesting interview, Stewart also criticized others on MSNBC for taking this vulgar joke way too far (video follows with transcript  and commentary):

As NewsBusters reported Wednesday, Keith Olbermann's return performance ratings bounce was less than spectacular at a 35 percent increase over his pre-suspension show. In his second night back, the "Countdown" host lost almost 40 percent of this gain:

"Think of a caged rat, a cornered rat. What does a cornered rat do? It instinctively goes for the jugular. That's where the media are going right now," following the November 2 elections, NewsBusters publisher Brent Bozell told Ernest Istook in a radio interview. The  Media Research Center founder appeared by telephone on the November 11 edition of Bill Bennett's Morning in America, where…

MSNBC's Joe Scarborough blames Sarah Palin for the GOP's failure to capture the Senate because of her efforts in drafting candidates who were defeated in Delaware and Nevada. "But for Sarah Palin, the Republican Party would control the Senate right now," the former Florida congressman stated on ABC's "The View" Thursday. "She's not a national ticket," he added when the conversation…

 Appearing as a guest on Tuesday’s Last Word on MSNBC, Mark McKinnon - former media advisor to the Bush and McCain presidential campaigns who writes a column for the Daily Beast- blamed Sarah Palin for the Republican Party’s failure to recapture control of the Senate, charging that "she put up some candidates that really weren’t qualified." He continued: "They lost. We lost. The Republicans…

 Appearing as a guest on Monday’s Last Word, MSNBC contributor and Princeton University Associate Professor Melissa Harris-Perry claimed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama have pushed a "sort of center right" agenda as she defended Pelosi’s decision to stay on to lead House Democrats despite her party’s defeat. As she missed the point that most moderate Democrats hold…

  Since Republicans won control of the House of Representatives last week, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann has recited at the end of his Countdown show a new sign-off each night he has hosted noting the number of days since the GOP victory and mocking Speaker-designate John Boehner by sarcastically asking, "Where are the jobs?" At the end of Wednesday’s Countdown, he ended the show: "That's November…

With all the hype about Keith Olbermann's brief suspension and his triumphant return to MSNBC Tuesday, one would have expected his ratings to explode as first-time viewers tuned in to see what all the fuss was about. When the dust settled, the "Countdown" host's total viewers rose 35 percent from last Thursday's show before the controversy began, but most embarrassingly, Rachel Maddow…

Is Chris Matthews taking lessons from Ed Schultz on keeping it classy? In August and September, Schultz got off a series of fat jokes aimed at NJ Gov. Chris Christie.  After Schultz eventually stooped to calling Christie a "fat slob," he was reportedly reprimanded by MSNBC president Phil Griffin. On this evening's Hardball, Matthews got off a fat joke of his own at Christie's expense…

Using his best attempt at a football analogy, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) tried to explain Wednesday that Speaker Pelosi is the best choice for the Democrat House leadership even though she is unpopular with the American voters -- or in football, the home fans. "What the Republicans and others in these campaigns are asking us to do is to say 'Well, because the Jets fans are booing Eli…