Greenwald: Cenk Uygur and the ethos of corporate-owned media

[ihavenobias]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/07/21/uygur|Cenk Uygur and the ethos of corporate-owned media>
Glenn Greenwald
Salon.com

...Uygur often refused to treat members of the political and media establishment with deference and respect. He didn't politely imply with disguised subtleties when he thought a politician or media figure was lying or corrupt, but instead said it outright. In interviews, he was sometimes unusually aggressive with leading Washington figures, subjecting them to civil though hostile treatment to which they were plainly unaccustomed. As Uygur put it in explaining last night why he rejected MSNBC's offer to stay on:

I said on the air that most politicians are corrupt. And I remember, my guest was like: "What - how can you say that? These are honorable gentlemen" I am not going to do a show where I pretend that most of the politicians in Washington are honorable gentlemen. Hell no.

Uygur explained that, several months ago, he was summoned to a meeting with MSNBC boss Phil Griffin and told that while it is fun and enjoyable to be an "outsider," that is not what MSNBC is for. Instead, Griffin told him, MSNBC is "part of the establishment," and Uygur must conduct himself in accordance with that reality. It's perfectly fine in establishment discourse to express contempt for one of the two political parties. It's equally fine to periodically criticize your own. But what is most assuredly not fine -- particularly in a high-profile nighttime spot and without having a real power base that comes from mammoth ratings -- is to be aggressively adversarial to the political establishment itself and the financial interests that fund, own and control that political system...

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, ihavenobias.

[theaocp]

2. Much love, Tom.

k&r for the TYT Army.

[ihavenobias]

3. 4 Myths About Cenk Leaving MSNBC

I want to set the record straight on some major misconceptions being pushed/believed by some.

Myth 1 - Cenk was replaced because Sharpton got better ratings for two weeks while Cenk was on vacation.

Cenk was told he wouldn't be getting the show BEFORE Sharpton filled in for him. This was at the end of June. That in and of itself makes Sharpton's ratings totally irrelevant to this story, and it's unfortunate that some people are trying to make this Cenk Vs Sharpton (Cenk has nothing against Sharpton). In http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x7o0sNrulg&feature=channel_video_title|his announcement> on TYT Cenk never talks about Sharpton's ratings (nothing negative about Sharpton at all). He just correctly points out that once he (to an extent) started doing the show his way the ratings went up AND that in the 3 months that make up Q2 of 2011 he beat CNN and improved on Schultz'z ratings from last year (he praises Schultz in that clip btw).

Myth 2 - Cenk claims the Obama White House came down on MSNBC.

Cenk never got more specific than what MSNBC president Phil Griffin told him. People in Washington may or may not include someone at the White House, and Cenk made a point to NOT say it was the White House, or even imply that it was the White House that Griffin was referring to.

Myth 3 - Cenk was demoted, then fired when he didn't accept the demotion.

Cenk was offered a weekend show/contributor role for double the money. Can you think of any other jobs in which you get less responsibility and exposure and a gigantic raise? Also, the NY Times reported that he was well liked at MSNBC but more importantly here's a direct quote from an http://www.huffingtonpost.com/democracy-now/cenk-uygur-leaves-msnbc_b_906708.html|MSNBC spokesman>:

...we were working on a new contract, to develop him into an even bigger television talent.

Myth 4 - Cenk is unemployed/he hosts some obscure web show.

Glossing over the fact that Cenk has been interviewing Senators (Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, Harry Reid, etc.), Congressman (long list), former presidents (Jimmy Carter), Fed chairmen (Alan Greenspan), talk show hosts (Rachel Maddow, Lou Dobbs, Stephanie Miller, Thom Hartmann, etc.), filmmakers (Michael Moore, Robert Greenwald), journalists/reporters (Matt Taibbi and people from the NY Times, WaPo, HuffPo and everything in between) there's this:

http://news.tubefilter.tv/2011/07/15/the-young-turks-breaks-500-million-views-1-million-in-revenue/|The Young Turks Breaks 500 Million Views, $1 Million in Revenue>

[OhioChick]

4. K&R n/t

[pscot]

5. Al Sharpton used to be a rable rouser

Now he's just another millionaire in a 3-piece suit.

[KoKo]

6. I agree...politicians these days really need more scrutiny and not fawning adulation or respect...

:kick:

[ihavenobias]

9. I agree as well but

a depressingly large number of people disagree (even if they don't openly admit it or even realize it).

[nashville_brook]

7. k and r

[Jefferson23]

8. K&R n/t