Are Matthews, Olbermann, And Shuster Adding To The Problems Of MSNBC News?

My cable news viewing habits have changed in recent years. My remote control would guide from CNN to MSNBC to Fox at a record pace. I could find out who was on all three channels in less than a minute and then decide whom I would watch. My interest was in who was speaking and not which network they were on. This has all changed.

MSNBC has three people who have so irritated me that I can no longer watch them. Most of my problems with them involve (1) rudeness, (2) immaturity, and (3) zealotry. This was not an easy decision because of my avid interest in this country's political future. Regardless of my interest in the subject I can no longer subject myself to their approaches to interviewing, offering opinions as fact, and poor journalism techniques. The real mystery is why this continues day after day when any top GE executive should realize the obvious.

The rudeness is personified in Chris Matthews. If constantly talking over someone and being disrespectful of someone because you have a different political view is "good TV" then this country has deteriorated to a very low state. Chris Matthews is a pleasant person if he can just control himself but he has an uncontrollable desire to interrupt so he can insert his opinion in answer to a question he just asked a guest. This usually occurs when the guest fails to agree with Matthews or is slow to mention the point of view that Matthews possesses. This comes across as extremely arrogant which seems to be a liberal trademark but Matthews seems to excel at this unpleasant trait even for a liberal.

The immaturity is personified in Keith Olbermann. My first inclination was to blame some MSNBC producers for this but it became obvious that Olbermann was not being fed a script containing childish remarks but he was simply venting while using his own techniques and ideas. When someone in Olbermann's position is making the salary that he makes but cannot refrain from using tactics that were last seen being used by a bully in grammar school days you have to conclude that Keith Olbermann never grew up. He still thinks that a constant barrage of nasty comments and attempts at ridicule will somehow gain viewer respect. This is misguided and counterproductive. It might make Olbermann feel good inside to vent and might encourage a group of radicals and zealots but it becomes very disgusting for the public to watch over and over again.

The zealotry is personified in David Shuster. Shuster is the perfect individual to pair with Matthews and Olbermann on MSNBC. Shuster has this fixation on certain republican situations and he will "drive it into the ground" when no other station cares. The Libby case was on day after day with Shuster reporting tantalizing expectations that just around the corner was the "smoking gun" that was going to bring down the Bush administration. While this was going on Fox concentrated on the blatant criminal acts committed at the UN and presented the facts that supported their report. David Shuster needs to learn a simple truth that my wife had to learn about craft sales. You want to make items that the public will buy not just items that you personally think "are cute".

MSNBC could be a good, competitive news channel but unless their many chronic problems are repaired and repaired quickly the whole place is destined for the news channel scrap heap in the sky.