Phil Donahue
Gabriel Sherman’s piece in New York magazine (10/3/10) on the cable news wars includes a bit of history on MSNBC‘s firing of progressive host Phil Donahue in 2003; an internal memo at the time worried that the show would be “a home for the liberal anti-war agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity.” Sherman focuses on MSNBC personality Chris Matthews—who sometimes claims he was opposed to the Iraq War—and his desire to get Donahue fired:
Donahue’s problems only increased when Chris Matthews let it be known that he wanted Donahue off the air. Matthews was a rising force at the network, with a reported salary of $5 million. He cultivated former GE CEO Jack Welch and had the ear of NBC CEO Bob Wright. (The two summered together on Nantucket.) Matthews saw himself as MSNBC‘s biggest star, and he was upset that the network was pumping significant resources into Donahue’s show. In the fall of 2002, U.S. News & World Report ran a gossip item that had Matthews saying over lunch in Washington that if Donahue stays on the air, he could bring down the network.
After the item was published, Matthews showed up at Donahue’s office and apologized. “He didn’t deny it,” Donahue remembers. With the war looming, Sorenson and Griffin decided to take him off the air to make way for 24/7 war coverage.
Matthews is a snake. Always has been, since he added his voice to people calling for Clinton’s impeachment. His double-fakeout on the Iraq War is typical.
Chris Mathews should be fired, not for what he said then,but for what he says almost everyday. He IS NOT A PROGRESSIVE!!!
While I have no doubt that Matthews probably wanted Donahue gone, this blog post does not support the proposition that Matthews was a cheerleader for the Iraq War. The link to Crooks & Liars notes that Matthews hosted an unbalanced panel discussion on the War in its run up, but doesn’t state that he supported going to war in the segment. No where in the Crooks & Liars is Matthews quoted as supporting going to war with Iraq.
I would trade Matthews for Phil Donahue any day, any week, any month, any year.
If MSNBC would bring back Donahue, ratings would climb. A worthy partner to Rachel.
The truth will out and Donahue told the truth, while Matthews pandered.
Of course a network owned by a defense contractor wanted the antiwar Donahue out. Only pro war propagandists allowed on the air in the empire!
When Phil lived in Ohio, he was a neighbor and good friend of mine. I don’t know exactly what Chris’s motivation was for getting Phil off the air. He might have been jealous that Phil had top ratings. In any event, Phil represented the majority of Americans who saw Bush’s unconstitutional grab of power from congress with his preemptive, illegal wars and we lost a good, courageous voice for sanity.
I was so angry at MSNBC for dumping Phil! I wrote many letters protesting the cancellation of his show, all to no avail. His was the only show on mainstream media that gave us the unvarnished facts about Bush and his push to invade Iraq. He and Jeff Cohen were a refreshing contrast to the other media warmongers. I am puzzled today that MSNBC has Schultz, Olbermann, and Maddow giving us the progressive take on current events. However, Comcast has taken over, so we may see these shows go the way of Donahue.
Whether or not Matthews was a “snake” isn’t the lesson here. Welch (no one else I’m sure) made the practical business decision. Don’t piss off the White House and the anti-Clinton, anti-intellectuals. That was helped along by his own very conservative leanings, which included not trusting the Liberal guy, no matter how many viewers he could deliver. For him it was a no-brainer. Make Bush/Cheney happy. Make Matthews happy. Make advertisers comfortable. Having a good news product had nothing to do with it. Even to this day I’m positive he’d do it again. Business guys don’t “get” journalism. For them it’s all about the money, not the news product.
The lesson is: Business must be completely divorced from News. Otherwise how could you ever trust it?
God, I hope that Maddow, Olbermann, Schultz (and now O’Donnell) remain on the air. I too was furious when Donahue was canned. Heck, I have been a loyal fan since high school! If we had Donahue in Congress we would have a progressive representative who would stand up to the Rethug kookery. If Phil were still on the air do you think the Tea Baggers would be enjoying such deference from the media?
I am pretty tired of the useless drivel we are fed, you know, the nonsense that is passed off as news. The ‘educational” networks such as TLC now bring us delicacies like the Duggars and Sister Wives, as if a theocratic model is all red, white and blue. Doesn’t it just give you warm fuzzies to watch some bigamist jerk romancing his fourth fourth wife while Mr. and Mrs. Duggar drop their 19th child on the tax payers? Note, Mr. Duggar has managed to have his house legally designated a church so they pay ZERO taxes.
If we want anything close to a free press, there need to be some serious changes by the FCC. Step one should be implementation of new rules akin to the Fairness Doctrine. The decline in the objectivity of the media can be traced directly back to loading public agencies with far right politicians whose only interests are those of shareholders. Democracy and the public be damned. Without substantial and fundamental changes the notion of an independent media will remain a pipe dream. Without an independent media our so-called ‘democracy’ will not survive.
Michael Perente wrote “Democracy for the Few” which has been updated many times which pretty much
laid out this monstrosity called the best system humankind has devised. For the wealthy that is, for the rest of us barbarism.
As far as Chris Matthews is concerned, I could care less what he says. His voice added to the rest of the pundits amounts to nothing more than drivel, far right wing nut heads, talking about war as if it were an honorable thing; which it is not.
As for the lesson drawn from the incident of the firing of Phil Donahue. business interests are now in control of not only the news departments of all the major networks, but also the ‘all news channels’ that are supposed to be news are nothing more than talking heads debating which talking head is more obnoxious and obscene than the others.
I for one, have given up the idea that we will ever again have a disinterested, dispassionate news media that holds no viewpoint of its own, but reports the news the way it happens. This not only includes the mainstream media but the ‘progressive media’ as well.
We in America, do not need more progressive media but a complete cultural shift to a media with absolutely no direct viewpoint and responsibility than to report the news as it happens and not to put ‘spin’ on anything. This is the only way to insure that Americans get the true and complete news and not the drivel they call news today, which is nothing more than entertainment wrapped up in a package palatable to the third grade mind. Newspapers, written at a third grade level because people cannot understand anything more than that, commentary masquerading as news, major network news giving us the biased and varnished drivel of the coporations media directors.
Enough already! Demand real news not entertainment.
Now I know why I was never tempted to watch Matthews.
At times Chris Matthews can be quite an annoyance, hearing him talk over his guests is reminiscent of the childhood I had when “children must be seen and not heard” was the culture. However, there are times when he appears keen to reveal the truth about what’s going on in this country. Recently he has on a few occasions remarked about the hysteria of the right wing hacks who are bent on the destruction of Obama and the US. It is my opinion that Matthews does not compare favorably against Phil Donahue on several metric, but I thank him for the little good he brings to the current political culture in our country.
It would be good if Chris Matthews did get a good kick in the pants. Today he was talking about how could President Obama talk about Karl Rove and what a rotten hateful partisan he is running ads in every states against Democrats. According to Matthews he must be talking about the economy. I want President Obama to slam Rove, kick Rove, blast Rove and tell everyone about the corruption and evil of Karl Rove at every appearance.
That’s exactly right, Bill B. It’s always about “business,” and that’s it–except when someone possessing an enormous fortune takes exception to something that might raise eyebrows and perhaps start a shouting match on the golf course or at the club. Then, some money-making deal might get axed no matter how lucrative it is, and Donahue was definitely a success. It is indeed about only the money, and the company one keeps. Certainly Jack Welch is an abhorrent fellow, as are many of his friends and acquaintances, and at Welch’s level of criminality and venality anything is possible, except democracy, moral reckoning, and any kind of goodness.
You can see that Mathews is more interested in listening to himself than wanting viewers to hear his guests.
Don’t you just lover OUR CORPORATE CONTROLED MEDIA.
Thank God for the internet where we still can get some information.
Its clear that the main stream media panders to whoever has money and power.
I am afraid that America is lost and most people are being manipulated.
Old Frat Boy Tweety is a dump eating dog.
Donhue? No loss, as far as I’m concerned. Donahue worked all this time, for a station devoted to conservatism, at best. But compared to Matthews, Donahue is a media prince. Matthews is the bottom of the media barrel, a sneering, contemptible louse. Like Lieberman, Matthews joined other Clinton haters in promoting the impeachment of the former president. Matthews is beneath contempt.
Chris Matthews is occasionally clever but he is never bright, original, profound, or insightful. And, Lord knows, he’s not a witty fellow. He does, however, know how to give the big guys a frequent peck on the “cheek”. MSNBC might actually be able to find an identity if Donahue or someone with his ilk – brains, courage and originality – got CM’s slot.
Donahue ,Matthews, Kieth Obermman,Janeone Garofalo,Colmes,Carville….. wish they all had three hour shows each and every day. The more they try to articulate their beliefs the better it is for we conservatives.I still believe Donahue may of been removed for that exact reason.He would of been death to progressivism.You see he actually(swear to God)He believes in it. For America …..it is just abhorrent. And that bleed through would hurt Lord Obama.
I am surprise so many Bam believers here are attacking mr tingle down my leg though.You guys are sounding more and more like a rabbid pack turning on your own.Obama better watch his back.
I can’t stand Matthews…The way he sucked up to Schwarzenegger when he was running for governor made me ill. I swear… he behaved like a giddy teenage girl.
Matthews and his ilk in the media are complicit in the deaths and maiming of thousands of troops and hundreds of thousands (at least) of people in the territories occupied by the U.S. MIC …including the brutal occupation of Palestine via our unconditional support of Israel’s right wing government.
Notice how representatives of Christian or Jewish groups who are organizing and speaking on behalf of the Palestinians are almost never invited as guests on cable news..even on MSNBC?
To his credit …in spite of receiving a “slew of threats”, Jon Stewart was able to squeeze in one interview…(though I believe they did not air the usual re-runs). See the excellent article by M.J. Rosenberg and links to interview below:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/29/jon_stewart_creates_sea_change_on_middle_east_cove/
Another sad day for Democracy ….another win for the Empire
This topic is pathetic and about 9 years too late…..FAIR is also losing it!
So long as we’re pointing fingers at former GE CEO Jack Welch, don’t forget Welch created a bubble of false prosperity at GE by getting the largest munitions manufacturer in the world into the financial credit business. This pumped up GE’s price share hugely in the ’90’s, allowing Jack himself to leave the corporation a billionaire. But with the collapse of the financial bubble GE’s stock has sagged and stagnated, leaving investors in this “blue chip” stuck with a turkey. No telling when or if the share price of this giant corporation will ever climb out of the Welch-made swamps again. Nice con, Jack! And to think Welch was celebrated for decades as a business genius. I guess he was, for those in on the con.
hardindr, we didn’t say Chris Matthews supported the war; we’re skeptical of the idea that he publicly opposed it.
Werner, click on the link on the word “firing” to see FAIR’s response at the time to Phil Donahue’s firing.
Chris was so smitten by GWB for a few years that I found him very unsavory. He has been a little more partisan of late and may have felt suckered-in to his odd Republican-like stances for war and GWB. He was one of the WMD are all over Iraq crowd, which keeps me from believing many of his current political insights. He is a fast talker, if nothing else.
Let me restate that Matthews wasn’t in the forefront of the WMD crowd and he did push the story that WMD weren’t found. But he did say that “We’re all neo-cons now” and I have to say that I was and never will be one of those neo-cons.
People probably forget that Chris Matthews grew up in Union City, New Jersey. He went to high school there and graduated at the top of his class. That wasn’t too hard since the rest of his class had dropped out by the 10th grade. [Dropping out of high school is the state law in New Jersey. Upon his graduation, Matthews was arrested by the New Jersey State Police.]
Union City has the distinction of performing the Passion Play since 1931. That makes the town the longest, continuous site performing the Passion Play in the US. Matthews somehow wound up playing every part in the Passion Play. Still, he claims his favorite part was portraying Judas Iscariot. [The audience would each throw 30 pieces of silver at him every time Judas appeared.]
Phil Donahue — on the other hand — went to a parochial high school in Cleveland. That school also performed the Passion Play every year. Too make it as authentic as possible, “Christ” was scourged with a nun’s pointer during each performance. Phil’s role was as the head of John the Baptist. [Great special effects, by the way.] The part of Salome was played by: (you can fill in the name of any 1950s sexpot at this point).
So when Chris apologized to Phil, it was based more on their common experience in religious drama than anything else. Or so Chris would have us believe.
James….. Now hold up thar young feller. Whenever i hear terms like international banker and Jews linked i know we are in for a long day.Jus simma down.Lets not go hard core nazi on yo ass
I was raised a Catholic like old Phil and Mr tingle up my leg-and i went to some fine schools that taught a pretty clear lesson plan on race hatred and anti semitism. Taught us to use our nose.And right about now Im getting a whiff of someone who believes in a big pile of poop….JAMES
ok james thanks for that bit of clarity .I actually appreciate it more than you know.Wish more folks on this blog list and in government were as honest.It would go a long way in cutting through the smoke screens.And no Michael e is not my name ,and boy oh boy do I remember now why I did not list my actual name or any other info.So I gotta go now.Gotta see a man about a horse.I can walk to earth from here.So see ya later ummm…. Yeah see ya later.
Hey Tim, and Woodward and Bernn and all the rest….How do you feel about what has just been said by James?
Wow somebody pulled the james blog two above.That is a first.It was a rant against jews if ever i heard one.Very underhanded pulling it.Who did pull it?Was it you FAIR?
From “About FAIR’s Blog”:
“We welcome you to join in the conversation and contribute your ideas and comments to the posts–but please note that we reserve the right to delete abusive commentary.”
In our view, those posts were abusive.
FAIR is being conscientious by reminding us of infamies passed. Matthues should be canned and Donahue given his place and salary. He is a lout who I never trusted, too close to his subject matter. That and his tendency to not let his guessed talk. He loves his own voice too much.
Why is this not surprising? FAIR could raise some scratch by hosting a “Chris Buckley is a…” profanity contest – $2 a pop for some screen time on a home page banner. It would be fun, and for a good cause.
For my time, I’ve long believed that Chris Matthews is William F. Buckley’s love child. (The other half is unclear, but I’ve heard whispers of ‘Jeanne Kirkpatrick.’ Others claim Madeline Albright.)
Having watched Matthews as another lightweight talking head on the McLaughlin Group for many years, it seems to me that he is just another “weather vane” pundit…whichever way he thinks the political wind is blowing is usually where you will find him… Today, he supports Obama, but if the Tea Bagger-Republican alliance takes over the US Congress I’m sure he’ll be singing a completely different tune….
I always get the impression that Mathews is close to the Republicans on Monday and closer to the Democrats by Friday. It’s a kind of weird evolution thing.
I was aware of what Chris Matthews did to Phil Donohue, but not the detailed story. One night one of them had the other on his show, can’t remember which way it went. In a discussion of Central America Chris, in his naive way, protested that the U.S. didn’t do or have anything to do with the atrocities and other forms of violence experienced by the populations of these countries. Phil politely disagreed and went on to differ. You should have the seen the look on Chris’s face. I just smiled. He looked like a little boy didn’t know what to think.
Also, at one point in a discussion of Phil’s show, Chris started flailing his arms around and asked Phil, “What is this all about?” It’s hard to remember now, but I think Phil just explaine that when he became impassioned about an issue (which was of course most of the time) he tended to do that. When I told another woman about this she mused at what Chris did and said… “public humiliation.”
That really was what Chris was doing wasn’t it? I just nodded in agreement. I told this woman about that at a rally for Jerry Brown at Central CT State Univ in New Britain, CT in 1992, so now I’m confused. Had this situation been going on all that time, through the ’90’s until Phil was fired in 2003?? Can anyone comment on this? Now I’m curious. thanks
First it was Donahue, next it will be Olbermann, Ed, Radigan, O`Donnell, and Maddow, mark my word. With right-wing Comcast in thedrivers seat, its complely predictable. This bit of micro in the macro should be a reveille for radicals. Since Obama has sold out to the right, the only recourse is for the Dems to regroup, kick out the so-called moderates, vote a new candidate in the next primary and take it in the cajones until the public has awakened and votes them in.
One more very sick puppie that MSNBC needs to dump. Matthews getting as disgusting as Olbermouth. How can any reputable media station put up with his insulting, twisted words and attitude ???? Can MSNBC spell liberal embarrassment !?!?!? Dump his ugly, stupid a _ _ .
Whatever happened to intelligent objective watchdog reporting? Fox.
Let all the liberals live under shar ia law for a bit ….and see who will be marching in the streets here. Useful idiots.
Counting the day’s till Keith Oberman gets set at Current TV, wouldn’t it be great to have Phil Donahue with a show on Current TV too.
Ya know, Chris Matthews is one of the WORST JOURNALISTS on air. I love MSNBC but I can barely stand Matthews show and they show it TWICE! He is a glad hander and panders to conservatives while desperately trying to be on every side of an issue. Often, he will claim he is slightly more conservative than a guest to burnish his, “I’m a middle right conservative.” I don’t believe a word he says. He also turns every interview back to himself and rarely shuts up long enough for a guest to answer a question. His viewers have all got to be sick to death of hearing about his growing up in Pennsylvania and how he thinks every guest is the best since sliced bread!
Did anyone see Chris Hayes this past Friday night hosting a panel on the media’s failure in the run-up to the war and presenting Chris Matthews as a dissenting voice at the time by citing Matthew’s newspaper articles. It was absolutely shameless on Chris Hayes’s part. Apparently, Hayes’s rise was in part due to his willingness to carry water for MSNBC.management who were no doubt doing damage control after the Donohue-Matthews mix-up that hit the blogs this past week.