New York Times:
Talk Show Washout Tries Again
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: June 30, 2005
Perhaps the best way to sum up an MSNBC talk show that describes itself as "so fast - it's changing the pace of news" is by adopting the program's taste for summary judgment: "The Situation," starring Tucker Carlson, a former host of CNN's "Crossfire," is all cross and no fire.
Next topic. MSNBC is the River Styx of television talk shows. These kinds of news-based programs were supposed to serve as a farm team for the network leagues, testing the talent of lesser-known commentators and reporters in a looser, more forgiving format. Lately, however, all the synergy is going south, all the way to Hades. Washouts often get a second chance on MSNBC and its sister channel, CNBC, but it is mostly a last chance. Recent fallen stars on CNBC include Tina Brown, John McEnroe and Dennis Miller. Mr. Carlson had to step over the departed Deborah Norville to get his 9 p.m. slot....
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Mr. Carlson, tanned and still wearing his signature bow ties, got a second chance to prove himself on MSNBC when CNN dropped him soon after the comedian Jon Stewart appeared on Mr. Carlson's program on that channel and complained that political pro-wrestling debate programs like "Crossfire" were "hurting America." CNN's new president, Jonathan Klein, said that he agreed wholeheartedly with Mr. Stewart's assessment, adding that CNN would stick to more substantive reporting and analysis.
These kinds of programs may not hurt the country, but they do seem to weaken the intellectual standing of their hosts. When Mr. Carlson, who started as a writer at The Weekly Standard, began on "Crossfire" he seemed like a brainy young contrarian, brought in to challenge liberal pieties - a Junior Miss version of George Will. Time and the ever-shortening attention span of cable news have turned him into a George Will o' the Wisp; his opinions are loud but ever more vaporous....
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MSNBC should follow "Crossfire's" lead and end the misery. "The Situation" is too light a cross to bear, and now its time to fire.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/30/arts/television/30watc.html?8hpib
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