Advertisement

At MSNBC, weekends aren’t newsworthy

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The cable network sticks to taped documentaries even as its news rivals cover unrest in Iran.

In recent days, much of the news media’s attention has been focused on post-election protests and violence in Iran. But at MSNBC, the crisis has taken on a bit less urgency, at least if viewers are to judge from what the network is airing.

Advertisement

Over the weekend, with its cable rivals devoting generous airtime to demonstrations convulsing Tehran and online viewers transfixed by amateur video of a young woman apparently felled by a sniper’s bullet, MSNBC stuck to its usual diet of taped documentaries, including one titled ‘Sex Slaves in America.’ A rerun of the prison documentary ‘Lockup’ aired Saturday night. Meanwhile, anchor Shepard Smith was giving viewers of Fox News Channel a special two-hour wrap-up of Iranian developments. CNN likewise devoted substantial blocks of time to covering the crisis live.

On the Web, MSNBC’s coverage decision generated some furious reactions. On Twitter, one user called the network ‘MIA’; another wrote, ‘MSNBC closed eyes to murder in Iran.’ And the Huffington Post’s Tom D’Antoni blogged that MSNBC ‘disgraced themselves this weekend by ignoring the biggest story in the world.’

Thus came another difficult moment for MSNBC, a news network that has struggled for years to strike the right balance between covering breaking news and exploring more distinctive (and often cheaper) alternatives.

Read the entire article: At MSNBC, weekends aren’t newsworthy.

-- Scott Collins

Advertisement