Reply #12: Oh, DARN IT, Muff! I should have asked!! [View All]

[Berry Cool]

Muff, I don't mean to be unkind, but...when you said there wasn't going to be any Countdown on tonight, I assumed (which I never should have done...thanks for doing what I didn't gk) that you got your word from a reliable source...such as seeing someone on MSNBC itself, or a promo for tonight's programming *on* MSNBC, saying that some other show was replacing Countdown.

Now, you say that your evidence that Countdown wouldn't be on is only from a) your online cable guide and b) the clock on the Web site.

These are BOTH extremely BAD guidelines to go by, for this reason:

1) Online cable guides are notoriously slow to change, or to be accurate based on late-breaking events. Case in point: When I was watching last Friday's benefit concert, my online cable guide said it was Countdown. Mind you: that concert had been scheduled since about Wednesday, yet my online cable guide still ID'd the show that was on MSNBC at 8 that night as Countdown.

2) The Countdown clock on the Web site has been wrong/weird/glitchy before. It is no more reliable as an indication that Countdown will be on (if it's there) or NOT be on (if it isn't) than the Web site text itself is when it says "Keith shows you," and it turns out that Keith isn't going to show you, because Keith isn't on. In other words, don't rely on the Web site for your latest "is Countdown going to be on"/"is Keith going to be on" info.

Questions? Let's review:

Reasonably reliable sources of information for whether or not Countdown will be on:
1. MSNBC on-air talent (on the day)
2. The Inside Cable News blog (on the day, if news is breaking and its presence is uncertain) -- the guy who does it works for MSNBC and should know the latest poop

Reasonably reliable sources of information for whether or not Keith will be on Countdown:
1. The Countdown newsletter (on the day, IF IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS HE WILL BE ON)
2. The Inside Cable News blog, (on the day, IF IT SPECIFICALLY SAYS HE WILL BE ON)
3. When you tune in Countdown and the voice you hear saying "Which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow?" is Keith's. (Warning: Under certain circumstances, we may get only 15 or 20 minutes of Keith before he throws it over to a sub. This phenomenon is known as Keithus Interruptus.)

UNRELIABLE sources for whether or not Countdown will be on:
1. General MSNBC ads for Countdown, with no specifics as to what will be on the show tonight
2. The clock on the Web site
3. TV guides/cable guides

UNRELIABLE sources for whether or not Keith will be on:
1. The Web site saying "Keith shows you" to plug an upcoming story
2. The fact that a newsletter came out today (unless it says Keith's on, it proves nothing)
3. Chris Matthews at the end of Hardball saying "Now it's time for the Countdown with Keith"

At the same time, the fact that a newsletter DOESN'T appear is not proof positive of no Countdown/no Keith. It could just mean the guy who does the newsletter is on vacation.

PROOF that Countdown will NOT be on:
1. MSNBC talent speaks of/ads advertise other programming at 8 ET
2. Inside Cable News writes of such programming
3. Keith or a substitute anchor says it won't be on

PROOF that Keith will NOT be on:
1. Keith says he will be out/on vacation
2. Inside Cable News says he won't be on
3. The newsletter says someone else is in for Keith

That's where things stand right now. From now on, any time anyone claims to have knowledge that Countdown won't be on, or that Keith will or won't be on, be prepared to be asked, if you don't mention it first: "Source, please?" :-)