Lionel backs me up: Where was MSNBC during Mumbai?

Air America personality Lionel was watching MSNBC on Thanksgiving and he had exactly the same experience that I had when I tuned in on Friday. It was like nothing was going on in the world -- nothing that deserved to pre-empt a "Lockup: Raw" Turkey Day marathon.

He wrote:

Look, I want MSNBC to succeed. But you have to lose this ridiculous prison filler and be news 24/7. I don't care if it's the best of Dan Abrams. ... What could have possibly been the reason not to blow off the Folsom Prison Hour for live coverage of a terrorist attack?

Here's the problem: MSN is a network that has been through countless restructurings and reductions. And by this point, it's really starting to show. As long as all hands are on board, it does OK -- not to bring up Wednesday again, but I thought the network handled it appropriately, before anyone knew the situation would get so out of hand. But once it did get out of hand and the story got even bigger, that's when MSNBC went MIA.

Like me, Lionel has become a big fan of not just the evening shows but "Morning Joe," the improbably successful Don Imus replacement. (Mika Brzezenski, hot news anchor? Go figure.) But all that gutting ordered by upper management took its toll last week. All that good will was sorely tested by the indifference of MSNBC to the suffering and death in India.

Not only can MSNBC do better ... it must.

Comments

[roy]

Don't hitch your wagon to close to this Lionel guy.

He's a kook who believes, among other things, that the 9-11 calamity was not the result of terrorists flying airplanes into buildings.

[Really? According to this interview all he admits to doing is interviewing some of the theorists and being overly curious about the particulars: http://www.popentertainment.com/lionel.htm --AB]

[Don]

This may be - and I tend to agree... but viewers don't. MSNBC dominated prime time both Thursday and Friday with the doc marathon.

[Jason]

I just go to real news networks when I need real news instead of wasting my time with the half news network, MSNBC. Fox and CNN once again kick their as*es at live news coverage. Even when MSNBC is on the ball their live coverage of major events lack and it shouldn't because they have ALL of NBC News behind them.

[MontyCello]

"not to bring up Wednesday again, but I thought the network handled it appropriately, before anyone knew the situation would get so out of hand. But once it did get out of hand and the story got even bigger, that's when MSNBC went MIA."

I agree with this statement. Wednesday night, MSNBC covered the attacks by giving as much information as was available at that time. Over the weekend, they should have trotted out their anchor for all things, David Gregory, to provide more reports instead of showing the stupid prison show.

Where was heir apparent Gregory during this tragedy? He should have been front and center leading the coverage.