MSNBC votes off feuding anchors
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NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Whether it was the constant on-air feuding between the anchors or the Republican Party’s protests that it was getting a raw deal, MSNBC moved closer to the journalistic center over the weekend with news that Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann would no longer be anchoring Election Night programming. That duty will pass to David Gregory, the chief White House correspondent who is being groomed for a possible MSNBC primetime slot and/or the moderator job on “Meet the Press.” Matthews and Olbermann will remain as analysts, but Gregory will anchor the remaining primetime telecasts for the four presidential and vice presidential debates as well as Election Night. MSNBC president Phil Griffin told The Hollywood Reporter that the channel made the decision Thursday night after re-evaluating the wisdom of having the two of them anchoring the coverage while at the same time giving opinions. He said the network decided it was better not having them feel like they have to restrain themselves. “If you move two feet over (from the anchor desk), you can say whatever you want virtually at the same time,” he said. It wasn’t a particularly great two weeks of a convention for MSNBC, which was marked during the Democratic convention with squabbling between Olbermann and Matthews as well as “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough and anchor David Shuster about the leftward direction of the channel. Olbermann, who stayed in New York for the RNC, was criticized for his remarks after a GOP video that prominently showed September 11. MSNBC also was stomped in the ratings by CNN during the Democratic National Convention and by Fox News Channel during the Republican National Convention. During vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, the network was the target of the wrath of delegates, who pointed at the network’s skybox and chanted “NBC, NBC.” “That has got to worry them,” said one neutral bystander, who witnessed last Wednesday’s display on the floor. “With the shift at MSNBC, they are becoming the target of Republicans, and that can get really nasty.” More info
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