MSNBC Type Cable news television network Country USA Availability United States, Canada Owner 82% NBC Universal, 18% Microsoft Key people Dan Abrams, General Manager Launch date July 15, 1996 Website msnbc.msn.com MSNBC, a combination of MSN and NBC, is a 24-hour cable news channel in the United States and Canada, and a news Website. MSNBC was founded in 1996 by Microsoft and General Electric's NBC unit, which is now NBC Universal. Although Microsoft and NBC shared operations of the company at its founding, it was announced on December 23, 2005, that NBC Universal would purchase a majority stake in the television network, which left Microsoft with 18%. MSNBC cable is currently America's third most-watched cable news channel [1], after Fox News, and CNN, but ahead of CNBC and CNN Headline News. The news station broadcasts primarily out of its studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. [2] MSNBC, like sister channel CNBC, shares the NBC logo of a rainbow peacock. Contents 1 History 1.1 Development 1.2 Launch 1.3 Not just the Net 1.4 Ratings issues 1.5 New Leadership 2 Broadcasts outside US 3 Online 4 Programming 4.1 Mornings 4.2 Daytime 4.3 Evening/Primetime 4.4 Weekends 5 Former programming 5.1 Past hosts/anchors 6 Satellite radio 7 Criticism 8 Previous Logo 9 References 10 See Also 11 External links History Development Microsoft and NBC announced on December 14, 1995 that they would be creating MSNBC. The stated purpose was to combine the resources and reputation of NBC News with the technology of Microsoft to bring an integrated news service on the Microsoft Network and cable television. Microsoft would invest $220 million for a 50% share of the cable network , while MSNBC and Microsoft would share the cost of a $200 million newsroom based in Redmond, Washington. NBC supplied the space with a 18 month old America's Talking network. Roger Ailes, then president of America's Talking, was passed over when NBC executives were looking for someone to run their new cable news operation. Ailes subsequently joined News Corporation as president of the newly-formed CNN rival, Fox News Channel. [3] Launch MSNBC was launched on July 15, 1996 at 9AM EDT from its studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The first show, which was anchored by Jodi Applegate, broadcasted a lineup of news, interviews, and opinions. [4] During the day, rolling news coverage continued with The Contributors, a show that featured Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham, as well as interactive programming coordinated by Applegate, John Gibson, and John Seigenthaler Jr. Stories were generally longer and more detailed than the stories running on CNN at the time. [5] MSNBC originally demonstrated the interactive value of the Internet. The network's first slogan was It's Time to Get Connected, and e-mail addresses and phone numbers were displayed regularly. [6] Primetime featured an hour-long interview program called Internight (which showcased the stars of NBC News)[7], followed by the network's flagship newscast, The News with Brian Williams, and The Site, a show about the Internet and computers co-hosted by Soledad O'Brien and a computer-generated character played by Leo Laporte [8]. The first Internight included an interview with President Bill Clinton, who took questions from callers and e-mailers. [9] Other shows that made use of the internet included News Chat featuring Mary Kathleen Flynn, and a look into the past with Time & Again anchored by Jane Pauley. Black Entertainment Television host Ed Gordon also contributed to the new network by hosting the Saturday version of Internight. The start was a bit rocky due to a series of changes in management and continuing internal squabbles over the direction of the network. In addition, NBC affiliates were concerned that the cross-promotion would divert viewers from their own programs, although that fear abated as the years passed. [10] However, MSNBC was often first to break news. It broke the story of the crash of TWA Flight 800 eight minutes before CNN, ushering in an era of hypercompetitiveness between the news channels that continues today. [11] MSNBC signed a simulcast agreement with Infinity Broadcasting station WFAN to carry the Imus in the Morning radio show, which began on September 2, 1996. [12] In November 1996, the network moved to the new Secaucus studios. [13] Not just the Net The original goals of the network attracting a younger, tech-savvy audience, failed to materialize. In September 1997, MSNBC laid off 20% of its staff [14] and cancelled The Site due to low ratings and the death of Princess Diana, causing howls of protest from its viewers, many of whom considered O'Brien a cult figure. [15] The network began moving away from its Internet roots and began covering fashion and celebrity like the other news channels. [16] In October 1997, Internight was replaced with The Big Show, hosted by Keith Olbermann, in hopes that his irreverent style would spike up ratings. [17] After its first year, the network had 24,000 households viewing it per night, paling by comparison to the 578,000 of CNN and the 30,000 of Fox News (then four months younger than MSNBC) [18] The MSNBC web site remained relatively successful, becoming the most-used online news site in 1997[19], 1998 [20], and 1999 [21]. MSNBC significantly increased during the impeachment of Bill Clinton, following a new covering the Big Story format that provided saturation coverage for the top stories. Keith Olbermann left over MSNBC's continuing focus on the impeachment. He was replaced by John Hockenberry, who achieved some success. His Edgewise program focused on newsmakers and made use of Hockenberry's documentary skills. Ratings began to drop after the impeachment trial was completed. Fox was beating MSNBC in numbers of viewers per 24 hours, which was more impressive considering MSNBC's distribution advantage. NBC News stars began shunning the network. Low-rated chat shows such as Watch It, and Equal Time, a Crossfire knockoff, filled out the schedule. [22] Hockenberry was replaced after six months by a rebroadcast of Hardball from CNBC. [23] That show was replaced by Headliners and Legends, a biography program that has been a weekend staple on the network ever since. Also in 1999, the management of MSNBC replaced midday news coverage with a delayed broadcast of NBC News Today called Today on MSNBC and repackaged Dateline NBC stories into MSNBC Investigates, a decision that angered NBC affiliates. On the other hand, 1999 saw a partnership with the Washington Post that permitted more integrated coverage on the web site. [24] On April 3, 2000, a three woman anchored show named Home Page hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, Gina Gaston, and Mika Brzezinski began. [25] Along with Home Page, MSNBC tried to attract female viewers by signing a deal in February 2001 with Detroit radio station WJR to simulcast the first two hours of The Mitch Albom Show. While the pairing was a ratings winner, both shows would eventually be cancelled: Home Page due to sinking ratings; and The Mitch Albom Show due to its constant pre-emptions and some disagreements with the MSNBC management. 2000 also saw John Gibson, one of the original MSNBC hosts, leave the network. His confrontational tenure as the host of the Feedback primetime program foreshadowed his opinion program on the Fox News Channel. [26] MSNBC continued to repackage NBC News programs (Special Edition and Crime Files), and during the 2000 presidential election cycle, reporters and interviews were cycled constantly between broadcast NBC and the cable news channel. [27] MSNBC also commissioned original documentaries similar to The Discovery Channel for use as filler on weekends. Later in the year, Lester Holt received kudos for his daily coverage of the Florida election controversy, allowing MSNBC to beat Fox News during November 2000. [28] Ratings issues MSNBC continued to trail both Fox and CNN. With the success of Fox News Channel, MSNBC tried to copy the Fox News Channel's emphasis on opinion hosts.[29] In January, Mike Barnicle got a show on MSNBC, but it was cancelled in June 2001 due to high production costs. [30] In June, as a sign of the continuing trouble of MSNBC, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that he wouldn't have started MSNBC knowing what he knew now. [31] After the September 11, 2001 attacks, MSNBC did prove useful as an outlet for NBC News to provide up-to-the-minute coverage, in contrast to broadcast NBC's longer stories. CNBC and CNBC Europe, with little financial news to report, ran MSNBC for many hours of the day following the attacks. The year also boosted the profile of Ashleigh Banfield, who had escaped injury while covering the World Trade Center on September 11. Her Region In Conflict program capitalized on her newfound celebrity and showcased exclusive interviews from Afghanistan. 2002 continued MSNBC's focus on opinion journalism, and low ratings. MSNBC scored up to triple the usual ratings during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and not for its news programming. [32] Alan Keyes is Making Sense debuted in January, featuring the conservative one-time candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination. [33] MSNBC rebranded itself as America's NewsChannel, with a patriotic theme proclaiming MSNBC to be fiercely independent. [34] Jerry Nachman joined MSNBC as its editor-in-chief and host of a news analysis program in May, and liberal talk-show pioneer Phil Donahue began hosting an evening talk show in July. [35] The News with Brian Williams was moved to CNBC, leaving MSNBC with primarily opinion shows in the evening. Afternoons replaced the rolling news coverage with talk shows featuring Curtis Sliwa, Ron Kuby, Bill Press, and Pat Buchanan. [36] The experiment did not last long. Keyes was gone by July. Sliwa and Kuby were removed in October, and Nachman's show was moved in October. Donahue's ratings plunged spectacularly, from 660,000 households his first week to just 136,000 households his sixth week, a drop of 80%. [37] The network was regularly beaten in the ratings by CNN Headline News. Overall, ratings dropped 36% from the previous year. [38] MSNBC publicly proclaimed support for Donahue and moved some shows around to try to stabilize his ratings, which helped increase his viewership to 446,000 households. [39] Nevertheless, the cancellation of his show would stick in the craw of some left-leaning viewers for years. They saw it as an indication that executives had no faith in liberal viewpoints. Donahue himself claimed that MSNBC was trying to "out-fox" Fox by removing him and adding Joe Scarborough to the lineup. [40] In March 2003, MSNBC featured a weekend show hosted by right-wing shock-jock Michael Savage, which turned out to have been an embarrassing move when Savage snapped at a prank caller on his show, calling him a "pig" and a "sodomite," telling him that he "should get AIDS and die" and "go eat a sausage and choke on it." Savage was immediately fired. [41] To fill Donahue's timeslot, a new show, Countdown, debuted. Originally it was focused on the war in Iraq, but eventually, it became a vehicle for Keith Olbermann to return his irreverent style to the network after his self-imposed exile from news. [42] On December 23, 2005, it was announced that NBC Universal would acquire an additional 32% share of the television network from Microsoft, solidifying its control over television operations and allowing NBC to further consolidate MSNBC's backroom operations with NBC News and its other cable properties. MSNBC.com will continue to be 50% owned by both NBC and Microsoft, and its operations will be largely unaffected. NBC will have the option to buy the remaining 18% share from Microsoft after two years. Due to Microsoft's declining influence, rumors are currently circulating in the broadcast industry that the network will eventually be rebranded as NBC News Channel, which is currently used for the network's news service to NBC affiliates. New Leadership On June 7, 2006, Rick Kaplan resigned as president of MSNBC, after holding the post for two years. [43] Following the announcement, it was announced on June 12, 2006, that Dan Abrams, a nine-year veteran of MSNBC and NBC News, had been named General Manager of the NBC News 24-hour cable news channel, effective immediately. NBC News Senior Vice President Phil Griffin will oversee MSNBC. Griffin will also continue to oversee NBC News’ Today and Abrams will report to Griffin. Dan Abrams will step down from his weekday show "The Abrams Report" but will remain as NBC Chief Legal Correspondent and contribute to NBC and MSNBC news programs. On June 29, 2006, Abrams announced a revamp to MSNBC's early-primetime and primetime schedule. On July 10th, Tucker (formerly The Situation with Tucker Carlson) started airing at 4pm and 6pm ET (taking over Abrams' old timeslot), while Rita Cosby's Live & Direct was taken off the schedule. Cosby instead was given the role of primary anchor for "MSNBC Investigates" at 10 and 11pm ET, the new programming that took over Cosby and Carlson's timeslots. According to the press release, "MSNBC Investigates" promises to "...complement MSNBC's existing programming by building on our library of award winning documentaries." [1]. The move to taped programming during 10 and 11pm is likely a direct result of the success the network saw with their Friday "experiment" by replacing all primetime programming with taped specials. Broadcasts outside US MSNBC is only shown in The United States, Canada and parts of Latin America. In Europe, Asia and Africa MSNBC is not shown on a channel in its own right. However, MSNBC is shown for a few hours a day on the 24 hour news network Orbit News in Europe and the Middle East. During breaking news MSNBC is also shown occasionally on sister network CNBC Europe citation needed]. In Turkey, NTV-MSNBC is the news network of the Turkish broadcaster NTV Turkey. The network is a joint partnership between the two, although very little Turkish content makes its way onto English MSNBC. English content on MSNBC is translated to Turkish. [2] In the UK, during major US breaking news the now closed ITV News Channel (ITN) occasionally showed MSNBC and some of its reports appeared in the ITV News bulletins. Online MSNBC.com, is the online news outlet for the NBC News family, including networks shows such as Today, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC as well as MSNBC TV. In addition to NBC News content and material produced by the site's own staff, MSNBC.com also hosts articles and features from several partners, including The Washington Post and Newsweek magazine. The site is produced out of newsrooms in Redmond, Washington, Secaucus, New Jersey and London, England. It is the news provider for MSN, the portal site and online service operated by Microsoft, but is editorially and financially separate. MSNBC.com is currently in a fierce battle with CNN.com for the position of top online U.S. news site. The site's use of the MSN Video Player, which relies on Windows Media Player video compression technology incompatible with the Macintosh platform, has drawn criticism for excluding Mac users from taking full advantage of the site. Programming MSNBC's programming is segmented into four distinct segments: mornings, daytime, primetime and weekend (all times Eastern). Mornings Early mornings start at 5 a.m. with First Look, anchored by Kristine Johnson. Mornings continue with Imus in the Morning, a simulcast of nationally syndicated radio personality Don Imus's show from WFAN radio. The program originates from MSNBC studios in New Jersey, the Imus Ranch in Ribera, New Mexico and the WFAN-AM studios in Queens, New York. Imus airs from 6–9 a.m. Daytime MSNBC Live logo Daytime programming begins at 9:00 a.m. with MSNBC Live, a program featuring continuous live news coverage, guest analysis, interviews, and NBC Weather Plus forecasts. Starting the shift to specialized programming at 3:00 p.m., The Most with Alison Stewart features the most watched, read, or covered stories of the day as seen on American news channels, online, or e-mailed. During the early afternoon, the bottom of the hour news-breaks are also replaced with CNBC Market Wrap. The short program features news on the U.S. market moves of the day, hosted by Margaret Brennan. Evening/Primetime Hardball with Chris Mathews program logo Evening programming begins at 4 p.m. with Tucker, a program featuring host and guest analysis about the news of the day, hosted by Tucker Carlson. The evening continues with Hardball with Chris Matthews at 5 p.m. Hosted by political reporter and author Chris Matthews, Hardball features a mix of political and other news, in addition to interviews with politicians and debate about political issues between analysts. From 6 to 8 p.m., Tucker and Hardball are re-aired on the network, though the programs may be updated if news warrants. Countdown with Keith Olbermann logo Primetime starts with Countdown, a sometimes irreverent look at the day's top news, at 8 p.m. Hosted by Keith Olbermann, Countdown is styled like a radio music countdown, starting with the day's number five story (usually the top story of the day) progressing to number one (which is usually fluff). According to Olbermann, the higher the story number, the more buzz it is expected to get around the water cooler. [44] The last live program to air each day, Scarborough Country, airs each day at 9:00 p.m. Hosted by former Florida representative Joe Scarborough, it focuses on political, social, media and religious issues. Primetime ends with the MSNBC Doc Block, airing from 10pm-12am ET. The program features two documentaries from MSNBC's resources of award winning documentaries. It also features documentaries from Rita Cosby's newly formed Rita Cosby Specials unit. Weekends MSNBC Documentaries logo Weekends begin with continuous live news coverage from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. with MSNBC Live, hosted by Alex Witt from 8 a.m. to noon, followed by Contessa Brewer from noon to 4 p.m. Evenings begin at 4 p.m. with back-to-back MSNBC Documentaries, with brief news-breaks at the bottom of each hour. The documentaries continue throughout the night until the next morning. Sunday's programming alters slightly with three additional programs. Mornings begin with a 30-minute cut down version of Tucker at 7 a.m., followed by the business-oriented Your Business at 7:30 a.m., hosted by JJ Ramberg. The network also broadcasts Meet the Press with Tim Russert at 6 p.m. 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Former programming A Region in Conflict Alan Keyes is Making Sense America's Voices Ashleigh Banfield: On Location Barnicle Buchanan and Press Charles Grodin Connected: Coast to Coast Countdown:Iraq Crosstalk NBC Curtis & Kolby Deborah Norville Tonight Donahue Edgewise Equal Time Feedback with John Gibson Hockenberry InterNight Jesse Ventura's America Lester Holt Live Morning Blend Morning Line Morning Line MSNBC Adventurer MSNBC Reports (Live Broadcast, now consists of Dateline reruns) Nachman National Geographic Ulitmate Explorer NBC News @ Issue NBC Newswire News Chat Newsfront Remember This? Rita Cosby: Live & Direct Saturday Final with Lawrence O'Donnell Special Edition The Abrams Report The Big Show with Keith Olbermann The Mitch Albom Show The Mitchell Report The News with Brian Williams The NFL Now with Mike Francesa The Savage Nation The Site The Situation with Tucker Carlson Time and Again Today in America Today on MSNBC Watch It! with Laura Ingraham Weekend Magazine with Stone Phillips Weekends with Maury and Connie Past hosts/anchors MSNBC is derided by broadcasting analysts for its "revolving door" tactics when it comes to talent, i.e. rapidly canceling shows and having its anchors depart after only a couple of years with the network. None of MSNBC's current anchors have been with the network since its conception. Past MSNBC shows featured hosts such as : Dan Abrams Mitch Albom Ashleigh Banfield Mike Barnicle Patti Ann Browne Pat Buchanan Cheryl Casone Virginia Cha Connie Chung Rita Cosby Ann Curry Lisa Daniels Laurie Dhue Phil Donahue Maurice DuBois John Elliott Gregg Jarrett John Gibson Alexis Glick Bud Hedinger John Hockenberry Lester Holt Laurie Jennings Alan Keyes Ron Kuby Bob Kur Leo Laporte Frank Luntz John McLaughlin Sean McLaughlin Randy Meier Andrea Mitchell Natalie Morales Rob Morrison Bill Moyers Christy Musumeci Deborah Norville Jerry Nachman Soledad O'Brien Lawrence O'Donnell Jane Pauley Stone Phillips Maury Povich Bill Press Ron Reagan Forrest Sawyer Michael Savage Sam Shane Curtis Sliwa Bianca Solorzano Sharon Tay Jesse Ventura Brian Williams Jessica Yellin Satellite radio As of September 4, 2006, MSNBC is no longer offered on XM Satellite Radio due to scheduling changes across the XM platform. [45] Criticism MSNBC has received criticism, particularily from David Brock and Media Matters for America, for its programming and journalistic ethics. MSNBC's weeknight primetime shows are mostly opinionated, personality-driven shows, which some claim only offer talking points and no real news of any kind. These opinion shows allegedly show a Republican, conservative slant. Shows such as Imus in the Morning, The Situation with Tucker Carlson (a well-known right-wing pundit), and Scarborough Country (hosted by Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman) seem to show conservative biases on the parts of the hosts, guests, and stories covered. These shows greatly outnumber Countdown with Keith Olbermann, a show with what the group claims is a "non-partisan" host (see below for criticism on "Countdown"). MSNBC was also criticized for the hiring of past hosts with notable backgrounds in conservative politics. MSNBC formerly broadcast shows hosted by former Republican presidential candidates Pat Buchanan and Alan Keyes. MSNBC also let far-right shock jock Michael Savage have his own show, but fired him in 2003 when he told an on-air caller to "Get AIDS and die." While more liberal groups such as Media Matters have criticized MSNBC for a conservative bias, the conservative media watchdog group the Media Research Center has argued opposite - that MSNBC has a liberal slant. The MRC points to Keith Olbermann's and Chris Matthews' programs most frequently as examples of liberal bias on MSNBC. Previous Logo MSNBC logo, 1996-2006. MSNBC logo, 2006-Present. References See Also List of DirecTV channels List of Dish Network channels External links Official Site Photos of the MSNBC studio NBC Universal, Inc. (a subsidiary of General Electric) Universal Studios: Focus Features | Islands of Adventure | Rogue Pictures | United International Pictures (50%, with Viacom's Paramount Pictures) | Universal Animation Studios | Universal Home Entertainment | Universal Orlando Resort | Universal Pictures | Universal Studios Hollywood Theme Park and Tour | Universal Studios Florida Theme Park | Universal Studios Japan | Universal Studios Theme Parks Broadcast Television Networks: NBC | Telemundo NBC Universal Cable: Bravo | CNBC | MSNBC | Mun2 | NBC Weather Plus | Sci Fi channel (United Kingdom) | Sci Fi Channel (United States) | ShopNBC | Sleuth | Sundance Channel (co-owned with Robert Redford and CBS Corporation) | Telemundo Internacional | Telemundo Puerto Rico | Trio | Universal HD | USA Network Television Production and Distribution: NBC Studios | NBC Universal Television | NBC Universal Television Distribution | NBC Universal Television Studio NBC Owned & Operated Television Stations: KNBC | KNSD1 | KNTV | KXAS1 | WCAU | WMAQ | WNBC | WRC | WTVJ | WVIT Telemundo Owned & Operated Television Stations: KBLR | KHRR | KDEN | KNSO | KTAZ | KTMD | KVDA | KSTS | KVEA | KXTX | WKAQ | WNEU | WNJU | WSCV | WSNS Spanish Independent Television Station: KWHY ShopNBC Owned & Operated Television Station: WWDP Internet Venture: NBBC 1The stations are co-owned with LIN TV in a joint venture (76% owned by NBC, 24% owned by LIN). KNSD also includes a repeater used for rebroadcast of Entravision's KBNT-CA. v·d·e Microsoft Corporation Software:  Windows • Office • Server System • Dynamics • Visual Studio • Money • Encarta • Defender • more... Technology:  Active Directory • DirectX • .NET • Internet Explorer • Windows Media • PlaysForSure • more... Web properties:  Windows Live • Office Live • MSNBC • MSN • Hotmail • Messenger • Spaces • Groups • Passport Gaming:  Microsoft Game Studios • Zone • Xbox • Xbox 360 • Xbox Live (Marketplace • Arcade) Hardware:  Zune • MSN TV • Natural Keyboard • Mouse • Sidewinder • Ultra-Mobile PC • Fingerprint Education and Recognition:  MCPs • MSDN • MSDNAA • MSCA • Microsoft Press • Microsoft MVP Board of directors: Ballmer • Cash • Dublon • Gates • Gilmartin • Korologos • Marquardt • Noski • Panke • Shirley Search Term: "MSNBC" Categories: Articles with unsourced statements | MSNBC | 24-hour television news channels | General Electric subsidiaries | Microsoft subsidiaries | NBC Universal networks | 1996 establishments | American television networks

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