Book to tell how inside story of MSNBC canned Donahue for antiwar views

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Jeff Cohen: Being a TV Expert Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry

Watching the nightly news last night was a hair-pulling experience -- even more than normal.

The top story on national TV was the Senate testimony of the top military brass, who basically admitted that the U.S. invasion of Iraq had brought on a disaster.
It wasn’t the news that prompted my hair-pulling (who doesn’t know Iraq’s a disaster?) -- but the way it was reported.
On NBC News, viewers saw Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testify that he’d “never painted a rosy picture” of Iraq and that he hadn’t been “overly optimistic.” And NBC allowed the claim to go unrebutted.

Somehow NBC couldn’t dig up the quotes of Rumsfeld saying that he doubted the war would last six months (Feb. 7, 2003) or that US troops “would be welcomed” in Iraq (Feb. 20, 2003) or that “we know where are” (March 30, 2003). The quotes were easily dug up by ThinkProgress.
For me, there was something worse than allowing Rumsfeld’s doozy to go unrebutted. It was who NBC News turned to for expert analysis of the testimony: retired General Barry McCaffrey.
I admit that the issue is personal. McCaffrey and I were once TV pundits together -- working for the same boss: NBC/General Electric.

In the months before the invasion of Iraq, I worked at NBC’s cable news channel, MSNBC, as an on-air commentator and as senior producer on its most watched show, “Donahue.” That show was terminated for political reasons three weeks before the war. I tell the whole story in my upcoming book, “Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media.”

more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-cohen/being-a-tv-expert-means-n_b_26547.html

[chimpymustgo]

1. Here's more from the article on McCaffrey:

-snip-

During the invasion, McCaffrey crowed, “Thank God for the Abrams tank and the Bradley fighting vehicle.” Unknown to MSNBC viewers, the General sat on the boards of several military contracting corporations -- including IDT, which pocketed millions for doing God’s work on the Abrams and Bradley.

-snip-

Looking forward to Cohen's book.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

2. Cohen's great

we brought him to campus last year. A genuinely decent guy and a real class act.

He's probably one of the most underappreciated minds on the left.

[CoffeeCat]

5. I totally agree...

...when I was in college (in the early 90's) he spoke at our university. He debated
Bob Novak!

Cohen blasted Novak and made him look like a doddering old fool. He whipped him so bad
that it ceased being a debate. Novak began making jokes and sarcastic remarks--because he
couldn't counter Cohen's common sense and intelligence.

It was during this debate that I realized how cowardly and weak the right-wing pundits are.
They are like abusers--puffing up their chests and acting all tough when they call all of
the shots and hide behind their microphones, screening their calls. When they get in the real
world, they can barely function.

It was quite a sight.

After the debate, Novak couldn't get out of the building fast enough, but Cohen stayed for an
hour--talking politics with a group of college students.

Like you said, he is under appreciated. He is highly intelligent and articulate.

(I also was seated next to Cohen on a flight. We talked politics and media for a long time. He was the head of FAIR at the time, and I was a journalism student. My one brush with greatness!)

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

7. that he explains why he didn't get the crossfire gig

when michael kinsley left the show, many auditioned for the left slot on the show.

according to jim hightower, cohen tested extremely well with the shows produsers and was expected to get the job, but for some unknown reason, it ended up going to a then-unknown bill press.

we all know how stuc k up novak's butt cnn was for years-he appeared or produced half their 'ebate' shows. i'm sure it was he who got cohen booted.

[Double T]

3. Time to 'program out' nbc and msnbc on the TV.......

censorship revenge!

[CoffeeCat]

4. The best part of that article...

was Cohen's statements about holding Hillary Clinton accountable for her actions, too.

Cohen is right. She has the audacity to call for Rumsfeld's firing--AFTER she remained virtually silent on the war for months, and voted for every measure supporting it. Furthermore, she refused to denounce her initial vote on the war, when other Dems (Kerry, etc) came out and said that they were wrong to have voted for the war.

Really, Senator Clinton. Your grandstanding is similar to the tactics Lieberman used today, when he said that if he was Bush, he would have asked for Rumsfeld to resign.

I hate it when politicians talk out of both sides of their mouth--and when they assume that we aren't noticing the hypocrisy.

[davidwparker]

6. I like Cohen. He was at Faux until he had enough. Also, on Outfoxed

talking about it.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

8. the show he was on

'faux news watch' really didn't fit the mold of other programming there. it was buried on sunday and was one of the better debate programs on TV. it's since turned into another all rightwing joke, last i saw it-with jim pinkerton dominating the show

[davidwparker]

10. that was why it was the only show I watched. His replacement on the

show was good too. I no longer watch any faux, msrnc, or cnn. just get my news from AAR, blogs, FSTV, Link TV.

[NashVegas]

9. Oh, the Irony

MSNBC made a horrible business decision in canning Donahue. Had they kept it, its ratings would have gone through the roof, as it was the only traditionalist-lefty show on the news channels.

[LaPera]

11. I've always loved Phil Donahue. His heart was ALWAYS in the right place...

Sometimes he was a little off base...but who the fuck isn't now and then?

But Donahue has always been a progressive liberal and has never backed off...even when Jerry Falwell and the neocoms called for his head and most "liberals" went hiding in the corner...Donahue was there taking the shit and standing his ground.

And asshole know nothings still make fun of him.

Phil is one of the great ones, someone that one can ALWAYS depend on!!!!