MSNBC is a news organization that has been the focus of some controversy. It has been accused by academics, media figures, political figures, and watchdog groups of having various biases in their news coverage as well as a more general view of liberal bias. Most of this controversy occurred during the era of 2008-2015.
Video MSNBC controversies
Controversy
Left-wing biased assertion
Commentators have described MSNBC as having a bias towards leftist politics and the Democratic Party. In November 2007, a New York Times article stated that MSNBC's prime-time ranks are more tilted to the left. Washington media analyst Howard Kurtz has stated that the channel's "lineup of the night has been clearly drawn to the left in recent years and often seems to regard himself as the antithesis of Fox News". In 2011, Salon.com notes that "MSNBC's prime-time ranks are now flooded in progressive politics."
In the same year, Politico refers to MSNBC as "leaning to the left". In reference to the changes in the channel's evening program, senior vice president of NBC News Phil Griffin said that "It happens naturally, there is no dogma that we are going through. There is 'Do it. ' "
A study conducted by Harvard University on media bias during the 2008 presidential election found that "A positive tone that includes (on MSNBC) coverage of candidates from both sides.Almost half (47%) of the stories about Democratic candidates are positive, vs. 19% negative and 34% are neutral.Coverage of Republican candidates is not good enough but there are more positive stories (38%) than neutral (33%) or negative (30%). "
In the February 2008 issue of the journal Journal magazine, an MSNBC interviewee quoted a senior executive as saying that liberal commentator Keith Olbermann "runs MSNBC" and that "because of his success, he is responsible" of the channel. The New York Times has mentioned the face of Olbermann's "best known face" MSNBC. In September 2008, MSNBC declared that they removed Olbermann and Chris Matthews as direct political hosts, replacing them with David Gregory, due to increasing criticism that they were "too hard to be seen as neutral in the heat of the presidential campaign."
Olbermann continued to broadcast Countdowns both before and after the presidency and vice presidential debates, and both Matthews and Olbermann joined Gregory on the channel election night coverage. In September 2009, a Pew Research Poll showed that Democrats were far more likely than the Republic to assess the channel profitably and the Republicans were far more likely than the Democrats to see MSNBC less well.
On November 13, 2009, in the days leading up to the launch of the book of vice presidents of the Democratic Republic, Sarah Palin, "Going Rogue", Dylan Ratigan of MSNBC used photographs of Palin on the channel Morning Channel program.. Ratigan apologized a few days later stating, "I want to apologize to Governor Palin and all our viewers.On Friday, in a very misleading attempt to have fun before Sarah Palin's upcoming book, Going Rogue, our staff mistakenly used some things clearly, photographs taken from Ms. Palin without any acknowledgment. "
In October 2010, MSNBC began using the "lean forward" tagline, described by some media, including msnbc.com, as a network that embraces its political progressive identity.
Pro-Obama bias statement
Democratic supporters, notably Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Bill Clinton adviser Lanny Davis, have criticized MSNBC during and after the Democratic primaries in 2008, for covering Barack Obama better than Hillary Clinton. A study conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that MSNBC has less negative coverage than Obama (14% of stories vs. 29% in the press as a whole) and more negative stories about Republican presidential candidate John McCain (73% coverage vs 57% in the press as a whole).
MSNBC's on-air slogan during the 2008 presidential election week, "The Power of Change", was criticized for being blatantly similar to Obama's "Change" campaign slogan. After the 2008 presidential election, conservative talk-show host John Ziegler worked on a documentary film called Malpractice Media.... How Obama Gets Chosen , which is very critical of the media, especially the role of MSNBC, in elections. While promoting the documentary, he was involved in an air dispute with MSNBC newscaster Contessa Brewer, about how the media, especially MSNBC, has described Sarah Palin.
After Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann made controversial on-air comments during the 2008 Republican National Convention, NBC News correspondent David Gregory replaced them, but Matthews and Olbermann continued to work as analysts. On November 4-5, Matthews worked with Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson, Gregory, and Olbermann to cover presidential elections.
During MSNBC's coverage of Primary Potomac, Matthews said of President Barack Obama's candidate, "I must tell you, you know, that's part of the reporting of this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. this sensation is on my feet, I mean I do not have too many of them. "
This has led many to have the right to assert that he and MSNBC are biased against Obama.
Phil Donahue Cancellation
Program 2002 Phil Donahue Donahue was canceled at the end of February 2003 during the build-up to the Iraq War. Although the previous statement binds down to a low ranking, Donahue is the month's highest MSNBC event.
A leaked internal NBC study revealed that the studio was worried that Donahue would act as "home to a liberal anti-war agenda at the same time as our competitors are raising flags at every opportunity".
Michael Savage Sacking
During the spring and early summer of 2003, MSNBC featured a weekend talk show hosted by conservative radio host Michael Savage. In July of that year, Savage responded to his idle caller on his show by calling him "pig" and "sodomy", and told him that he "should get AIDS and die". The Savage event was canceled and Savage was fired from the channel shortly afterwards (with some reports putting the termination immediately after the episode in question).
Don Imus Dismissal
In early April 2007, Don Imus, whose Imus in the Morning radio show was broadcast simultaneously on MSNBC, described members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "some nappy-headed hoes". The comments sparked outrage, as many consider them racist and sexist. After the sponsor began to withdraw ads from the event, MSNBC canceled the simulcast. Imus, as well as NBC News, apologized to the Rutgers Basketball team for his remarks.
Rise of the New Right documentary
In June 2010, a documentary film aired on MSNBC and hosted by Chris Matthews titled Rise of New Right received significant criticism from conservatives and the Tea Party movement. The documentary features an interview with Dick Armey, former House Majority Chairman, Orly Taitz, a leading figure in the "birther" movement, and radio host Alex Jones. The documentary also shows Michigan Militia survival training camp and campaigns with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
After the documentary was aired, FreedomWorks, led by Dick Armey, issued a letter calling for the boycott of Dawn and Procter & amp; Gamble, who advertise when Hardball with Chris Matthews .
Olbermann Suspension
On November 5, 2010, MSNBC President Phil Griffin suspended Olbermann unpaid for a $ 2,400 contribution (maximum personal donation limit) for each of the three Democratic candidates during the mid-term election cycle of 2010. Contributions to political campaigns, under the policy NBC News, is not permitted without prior permission. On November 7, 2010, Olbermann posted a message of thanks to supporters via Twitter. On the same day, MSNBC announced that it will be back on air starting November 9th.
Two weeks later, Griffin announced the postponement of Joe Scarborough for the same offense, as the host Morning Joe donated $ 4,000 to Republican candidate in Florida. Like Olbermann's suspension, Scarborough's brief suspension, and he returned to the airwaves on November 24th.
Tucson shooting
During the news cycle after the 2011 Tucson shoot, conservative talk-talking carrier Mark Levin threatened to sue Chris Matthews and some other MSNBC commentators who stated that he might have influenced the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner. Levin also defended Republican politician Sarah Palin from an MSNBC scholar linking her political rhetoric to the hot political atmosphere surrounding the killing.
Paul Bond of The Hollywood Reporter writes "MSNBC is very important in pushing the narrative that the killer was attacked by violent political rhetoric, especially from Palin". Bond also wrote "even after it was discovered that the shooter was an atheist, a flag burner, Bush-hated, 9/11 Truther enjoys joking about abortion (not exactly portrait of Palin's supporters), MSNBC still does not give up on the plot".
Mitt Romney Video
Anchorwoman Andrea Mitchell was caught showing video clip of GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney at a rally in Pennsylvania. The edited version featuring Romney says how amazing it is to get a custom made sandwich, using a touch screen ordering device at Wawa's store. What the audience did not see or hear was almost three minutes from Romney discussing the many documents faced by the eye doctor whom she spoke to get the post office to change her address. He expressed his amazement at Wawa's efficiency to underline how the private sector is often more efficient than the Government. Romney-Ryan chant video
At Morning Joe, a discussion of Romney depends on her partner. Paul Ryan's popularity begins with a clip of the Romney rally that shows people babbling. In clips Romney instructs them to chant "Romney-Ryan". According to the subtitle added by the show, they shouted "Ryan", which along with the introduction of the clip, made it appear that Romney injected his own name into the song "Ryan". A caller for TheBlaze TV's Pat & amp; Stu said he was at a rally and they shouted "Romney".
Reporters who attended the event from the BuzzFeed website, and New York Times both confirmed that the crowd was shouting "Romney", and she added her spouse's name. In response to criticism, Joe Scarborough tweeted that they were shouting "Ryan", and that he would "record those associated with lies". Lauren Skowronski, spokesperson for Morning Joe, sent an email stating that, "the tape clip is untouchable and played as recorded," though "Ryan" subscript is clearly added to the clip.
Bias against Romney and for Obama's week before 2012 presidential election
A study by the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism found that MSNBC's coverage of Romney during the last week of the 2012 presidential campaign (68% negative without positive stories in the sample), was much more negative than the press as a whole, and even more negative than during 1 to October 28, when 5% positive and 57% negative. On the other hand, their coverage of Obama improved in the last week before the presidential election. From 1 to 28 October, 33% positive stories and 13% negative. During the last week of the campaign, 51% of MSNBC stories were positive while there was no negative story at all about Obama in the sample.
Host Martin Bashir resignation
Host presenter Martin Bashir resigned after making controversial comments about Sarah Palin. On November 15, 2013, Bashir criticized Sarah Palin for comments that she made comparing Federal debt with slavery. Bashir attempted to counter Palin's comparison by referring to the cruel and barbaric slavery punishment described by the slave watcher Thomas Thistlewood, especially the so-called "Derby dose" which involved forcing the slave to defecate or urinate into the mouth of another slave as punishment. Bashir then concludes by saying "When Mrs Palin summons slavery, she not only proves her rank ignorance, she insists that if anyone really qualifies for the dose of discipline from Thomas Thistlewood, she will be an outstanding candidate."
Host Melissa Harris-Perry and guest panel ridicule Mitt Romney adopted black grandchild
Political commentator Melissa Harris-Perry and her guest panel, reviewing the 2013 segment of her show, show pictures of former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and her extended family. Mr. Romney holds his knees his adoptive grandson, Kieran Romney, an African-American. Harris-Perry and his guests, including actress Pia Glenn and comedian Dean Obeidallah, joke about coming up with a description for the photo. Glenn sings, "One of these things is not like the others, one of them is not the same." Obeidallah said, "This summarizes the diversity of the Republican Party and [National Republican Committee], where they have all conventions and they find a black man." After that, Harris-Perry issued an apology in a series of Tweets.
Biracial Super Bowl Cheerios Ads Tweets
On January 29, 2014, a tweet was posted on MSNBC's official Twitter feed that suggested conservative groups hate the biracial family: "Maybe the right wing will hate him, but others will be awww: #Cheerios ad w/adorable new biracial family". Led by conservative bloggers and news contributors Michelle Malkin, many conservatives tweeted their family photo of biracial with #myrightwingbiracialfamily hashtag. Many criticize the network for constant feeds and the desire to spread negative stereotypes, while others point back to many similar incidents by the network as part of a disturbing culture.
MSNBC then deletes the tweets, posts the new one with an apology, stating the original tweet does not represent the network position. MSNBC Executive Editor Richard Wolffe also tweeted that "The Cheerios tweets from @msnbc are stupid, offensive and we have dropped them, it's not who we are at MSNBC". Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus sent a letter to network chairman Phil Griffin stating he would encourage all conservatives not to participate in the network until there is a public apology. Griffin apologized several hours later, stating the person who had posted the tweet had been fired. Priebus accepts the apology, saying that they will continue to monitor unacceptable patterns of network behavior to see if it really changes.
Celebration of Cinco de Mayo
On May 5, 2014 during the "Way Too Early" event, a segment was performed on the historical background of Cinco De Mayo and featured Louis Burgdorf dancing around the set in the sombrero, shaking maraca and drinking tequila, which hosted Thomas Roberts called " go-go juice ". This segment received rapid criticism for mocking Mexican heritage and the use of fake stereotypes. MSNBC apologized the next day, saying there was no intention to be disrespectful and that while props were planned, Roberts and Burgdorf acted like they did themselves. Both hosts also apologize, though they partially redirect the error to their producers as it allows the segment to start.
Assertion bias in financial problem coverage
In his book, Michael Arria writes that the problem is not so much left-wing or right-wing as MSNBC and other media that serve their own financial interests. Arria says that the example of ignoring news that threatens her own financial interests is that MSNBC is silent about the proposed Comcast-Time Warner cable coupling.
Comments about Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal
In January 2015, Arsalan Iftikhar of TheMuslimGuy.com was on MSNBC to discuss the resignation by Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal of the Muslim "travel ban" in London. Iftikhar commented that Jindal, who is an Indian-American, "might try to rub some chocolate from his skin" ahead of the possibility of holding the 2016 president. Host Alex Wagner did not challenge the comment. MSNBC then released a statement saying: "We found this guest comment offensive and unacceptable and we are not planning on inviting him back."
Israeli-Palestinian conflict coverage
A series of errors hit MSNBC in October 2015 while covering ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and added to the recurring anti-Israel bias claims of the network. Ayman Mohyeldin reported directly from Gaza, where he claimed to have witnessed an unarmed Palestinian man shot by Israeli police at the Damascus Gate. The studio announcer immediately corrected him in the air, because the photos and pictures directly from the scene clearly showed that the man was holding a large knife, and the video confirmed the police had told him several times to stop as he swung it toward them. Mohyeldin, who has a negative history covering Israel, is trying to back down by claiming everything is moving too fast for him to concentrate (though just insisting that the man is unarmed). Although initially he claimed to have a good point of view about the incident when released, later reported that it did not happen in front of NBC News cameras.
Also in October 2015, MSNBC was criticized for using a series of long-discredited Israel-Palestine maps for being historically inaccurate and labeled as anti-Israeli propaganda. Efforts by Kate Snow anchor and reporter Martin Fletcher are to show Israel's "encroachment" on the "historical land of Palestine" since 1946. One of the biggest distortions is the first map to claim a Palestinian Arab Palestinian state in 1946, under the British mandate at the time. The second map is the U.N. partition plan. 1947, which recommends the territory (still under British control) is divided into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs, but the network does not recognize that Arabs reject the plan. Israel also did not claim independence until 1948, which further proved the map to be inaccurate. Once called, Fletcher, who claims that Jewish settlements will continue to eat the land, admits mistakes on Facebook saying, "The first of the four maps is wrong and should not be included, I hope I pointed to that when I first saw it." A network spokesman said the effort was to "explain the geographic context of the Israeli-Palestinian issue" and that it would re-broadcast the correct map the following week, which it did.
Maps MSNBC controversies
Criticism of individuals
Chris Matthews: Matthews, MSNBC's Hardball TV host Chris Matthews aired interviews with former GOP Chairman Michael Steele on Sunday, April 23, 2012. In an interview, Matthews wrongly stated that Mitt Romney was "flat-earther" and do not believe in evolution. He also calls the GOP "the Grand Wizard Crowd", which he then apologizes to. Matthews also made many disparaging comments about women in politics during his career, including Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin and Melania Trump, often based on their personal appearance or life.
See also
- Al Jazeera controversy and criticism
- The BBC controversy
- CNN controversy
- The Fox News controversy
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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