What the fuck is MSNBC doing??? Keith is the highest rated on

[movonne]

MSNBC...this was just an excuse to fire him...and that is what they are doing even if they want to call it something else...

[polichick]

1. Could be the beginning of the end of that lineup - if so this country is totally fucked.

[StandingInLeftField]

2. If I were Racheal, I'd be scanning monster.com.

[moondust]

3. The Big Purge?

Cultural revolution?

Stay tuned (out).

[Kookaburra]

4. Could this be a ratings stunt?

I find it hard to believe they would let the one who brings in the most viewers go.

[JonLP24]

5. Happened to Donahue.

Though in that case I'm not 100% (still pretty) sure if he had the highest ratings on the network but I do recall he had good ratings.

[katnapped]

6. IOKWYAR (but you knew that already) n/t

[Jennicut]

7. MSNBC is going to go down the tubes if they get rid of Ed and Rachel too.

[librechik]

8. MSNBC FIRED it's highest rated anchor in 2003, Phil Donahue

because they were afraid he might have antiwar guests on.

[Myrina]

9. ... they know exactly what they're doing.

... and don't forget who their parent company is.

[Egnever]

10. They are reminding him he is not above the rules,

[jobycom]

11. Who knows? It might just be some internal warning to KO.

He may have pissed off the boss, and the boss is just showing him how little his contract and his fame really matter.

Or maybe it's the opposite, and MSNBC is creating cover for some future action by holding Keith to this minor contract clause. Say, for instance, they want to go after someone else, but don't want to appear to go after him, they do this to KO, and someone else can argue "But, wait, Billy over their does it all the time!" and that lets them go after Billy.

Or maybe it's a contract negotiation ploy. Or maybe it's PR to make MSNBC look more objective. Or maybe they are tired of Keith's show and want an excuse to shake things up.

Corporate politics are as complex as Washington politics.

[thereismore]

12. Echoes of Donahue. Fuck the corporations. nt

[Bryn]

13. Good Luck, MSNBC

I've been wanting to cut off TV Cable, but couldn't because of MSNBC due to Keith, Rachel, & others. If Keith isn't back soon, I will go ahead and cut it off. I can watch Rachel online.

[slackmaster]

14. I agree with BurtWorm's theory that they'll leverage the incident into a publicity stunt

To increase ratings when the re-instate him.

[Bonhomme Richard]

15. GE Corporate profits trump the NBC divisions profits.

Kissing conservative ass. Consider this as an olive branch being sent to Boner.

[madfloridian]

16. They fired Phil Donahue, remember?

His was a top-rated show as well.

[TygrBright]

17. WTF is MSNBC Doing? Walking right into an alligator-infested swamp.

See here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9489339&mesg_id=9489339

helpfully,
Bright

[cbdo2007]

18. This is a publicity stunt. They're trying to make a point about political contributions.

He's easily their biggest star and this will get him a sh*tload of publicity, geez just look at the uproar here at DU about it.