The narrow political spectrum of TV punditry, familiar to Extra! readers, continues to shift to the right. The latest subsidence comes at MSNBC, whose recent changes to its lineup all serve to showcase already well-represented conservative views.
One change is on the misnamed Equal Time, in which Iran/Contra conspirator Oliver North has been made co-anchor with Cynthia Alksne, a former federal prosecutor whose “left” credentials seem to be her appearances as a Clinton defender during MSNBC’s nearly round-the-clock scandal coverage.
This joins Watch It! With Laura Ingraham, a daily morning chat show the channel added last year, which gives Clarence Thomas’ former law clerk an unfettered platform for her conservative political leanings. MSNBC also created a new prime-time show, McLaughlin Special Report, for overexposed Nixonite John McLaughlin. What was “special” about the show was somewhat mysterious, since it bore an eerie resemblance to McLaughlin’s other GE-sponsored program, The McLaughlin Group—which may explain why the show was taken off the schedule in early March.
In a way, it’s a shame that McLaughlin was taken off the air, because with him, North and Ingraham, MSNBC had a team that could speak from direct experience about the Lewinsky scandals: North is famous for public lying, McLaughlin has repeatedly been being accused of sexual harassment (Washington Post, 12/2/89), while Ingraham, as editor of the Dartmouth Review, made a name for herself through secret taping (Extra!, 11—12/95).
But with or without McLaughlin, MSNBC has no hosts or prominent analysts who have the connections and affiliations with the left that any of these conservatives have with the right wing. Where is the balance?
What’s frustrating is that MSNBC has presented its changes as a step towards balance—and they have been accepted as such by some media reporters. Referring to North and McLaughlin’s shows, the Washington Post’s Lisa de Moraes (1/28/99) wrote that “the two new shows are a decidedly conservative move for the liberal-leaning network.”
It’s hard to see on what basis de Moraes makes that characterization, since on the one issue MSNBC has devoted nearly all its time to for the past year—the Clinton scandal—the channel has taken a decidedly pro- Republican tilt. But seeing that its main competition comes from Fox News Channel, MSNBC apparently feels a need to become more obvious and ideological in its conservatism.
ACTION: Write to NBC News President Andrew Lack about MSNBC’s “new” programming—which looks so much like the same old formula. Strong conservative advocates should be matched with equally strong voices on the left, and the demise of McLaughlin’s show provides an opportunity for the cable channel to highlight fresh new perspectives. Write to Andrew Lack at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10012 (phone: 212-664-4611; world@msnbc.com)
