Is this the week that MSNBC really came unto its own?

[Beearewhyain]

They stated what was know when it was known, reported speculation as speculation and never seemed to jump for the sake of "exclusive" or to be first. Might just be a trusted news source.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. I think so

I lived blogged and I used them and The Tlantic Wire with a little from Foreign Policy and the Boston Herald.

[TDale313]

2. I think so.

I have to admit, while I love them, I haven't always thought of them as the best source for live, breaking news. That kinda changed.

[MOTRDemocrat]

3. Pete. Fucking. Williams.

Right about everything.

[Control-Z]

4. Except for Chris Mathews

who was incredibly bad. Embarrassingly bad.

[Beearewhyain]

8. True true

but I have to admit he might be a guilty pleasure if for no other reason than his bull in a china shop ways. However, in this instance, much like the build up to the Iraq War, he was embarrassing.

[Brainstormy]

5. relying on MSNBC

for quite a while now. Fewer hysterics. More thoughtful commentary. And I always trust Rachel.

[JayhawkSD]

6. Not with questions like

"What do you expect to happen next?" following arrest of second bomber.
"What do you expect the President to say?" as they wait for his entrance.
"Do you expect to call for the death penalty?" to the DoJ representative.

[Beearewhyain]

9. Well, that is the speculation that I mentioned

and unfortunately they all do it but there was no definitive statements that seemed to be much more prevalent on other news services.

[patrice]

7. I noticed definite improvement in their coverage strategy, over previous experiences, more respect

and sensitivity for the people of Boston above what MSNBC thinks of itself.

[napoleon_in_rags]

10. I had the sense of a real news network...

not just a commentary network, which is frankly how I thought of them before. The history has not been this way: Jon Stewart, bless his heart, calls CNN the end of the "human centipede" of news, but historically Anderson Cooper has been getting his head punched in on the ground in Cairo, while Fox blames Obama for getting Cooper's head punched in, and MSNBC blames fox for blaming Obama, and Jon Stewart comments on it all. But MSNBC had people on the ground in the fray this time. The combination of people on the ground getting intell, plus fearless commentary is very appealing.

[onestepforward]

11. It seemed it was more important to get the story right

than to be the first to report it.

That's what it used to be.

[quinnox]

12. I was watching CNN

not really a fan of MSNBC. But sounds like they did much better.

[NWHarkness]

13. Except for the morning crew

Mika in particular was hyperbolic and hysterical. She sounded as if she was on the verge of panic al morning yesterday, audibly gasping at news reports, even ones she'd heard before. Her fear mongering was outrageous. While everyone else on the channel was telling us about a city standing tall and fighting back against terrorism, Mika incessantly described Boston as a city broken by fear and unlikely to recover.

Overall they did a great job. Someone mentioned Pete Williams up thread. I was also struck by the quality of some of the experts they brought on, such as Roger Cresey and Cliff Van Zandt.

But they need to be prepared to offer quality coverage whenever news hits, and not leave important stories in the hands of the morning gossip crew.

[malaise]

14. Not really true

They were better than the others but Pete Williams gave us quite a bit of rubbish including that Suspect #2 was not moving in the boat.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Let's See What The Ratings Show...

...and I say that in a positive way. The last remnants of CNN's credibility all but shredded away with their rush to be first (and wrong) while Pete Williams stuck to the old journalistic axiom of check and double-check. Faux wasn't even in the ballgame...taking their cues from CNN. MNSBC's big advantage is a solid NBC News division that hasn't been as downsized as the other networks (especially CNN) and had a local O&O affiliate (WHDH) that was doing solid coverage. In short, MSNBC had the best resources in the right places at the right time. Now...let's see how they handle an international crisis...that's where CNN used to really shine...

[ananda]

16. I only get basic cable..

.. and I was happy with CBS and Pete Williams.

[madokie]

17. As close as we have today for sure

seems to me like anyway.
I used to use DU for that purpose but these last several years that has changed. More speculation and mis reading of fact here now than there use to be.
Since the election of our present President this place has gone down hill in facts reported, up hill in speculation and out right lying.
I just call it as I see it

[seabeyond]

18. both with sandy and the election msnbc held the same standard. it was less in face obvious, but was

there to see.