How To Train, You're Draggin'

Mediaite's Tommy Christopher has put together a thoughtful piece on fixing MSNBC's ratings woes over the last couple of months, and I'm inclined to agree with a good portion of it.

The good news is that much of this is fixable. The news cycle is cyclical (hence the name), and so without changing anything, some of this damage will repair itself. MSNBC has been heavily promoting its full coverage of the George Zimmerman trial for the killing of Trayvon Martin, which could easily make the Jodi Arias trial look like an episode of Judge Judy. MSNBC can also help itself by exercising editorial judgment that plays to its strengths, and serves the public.

But there are things that are more within Phil Griffin‘s control which can be changed. Ratings woes or not, All In is better suited to 10 pm, while O’Donnell is a known quantity who can plug the leak at 8.

I agree with Joe Concha that two hours of Hardball is too much, but I’d keep the 5 pm edition, and give 7 o’clock to a new, younger-skewing talent like Joy Reid, who has been getting a lot of guest-hosting under her belt. Joy has impressive new media chops, but with more reporting experience than a lot of bloggers, and a point of view that meshes well with the network’s fastest-growing demographic. She’d also be the perfect digestif to the more outspoken, and less journalism-focused, Rev. Al Sharpton.

I like Chris Hayes, but he can't handle the 8 PM slot.  Period.  He's a good weekend host, but the 8 PM slot is just too much for the guy.  Hayes is a pundit, not a host.  I mean he's better than Ezra Klein hosting, but he doesn't have the presence.  And yes, I understand what I'm saying when I spend a pretty good portion of my time around here bemoaning shallow, information-free news production on cable.  I also understand that if nobody's watching, there's no point.

And right now, nobody's watching Chris Hayes.  It's sad.  It's also true.  Hayes "bends over backwards" as Christopher puts it to get conservatives on his show.  The problem is Hayes is far too nice to call bullshit on his guests.  He's non-confrontational to a fault and lets quite a bit of GOP gobbledegook slide by without challenging it.  There are plenty of network news shows that already provide that service, which is why I don't watch them.  Lawrence at least fights back.

However, I'm all for Joy Ann Reid over a second hour of Hardball.  Let's make that happen ASAP.