In an interview with the AP [1], MSNBC President Phil Griffin bragged about life after Keith Olbermann, touting the cable channel as "really the place to go for progressives."
Griffin didn't bother denying the liberal bent of the network. He highlighted left-wing anchor Rachel Maddow, hyping, "She really has elevated the discussion and is in many ways the model that we want for cable news."
The MSNBC executive wouldn't discuss Keith Olbermann, who abruptly left the cable network in January. His new show will debut this week on Current TV.
The Media Research Center has compiled a list of Olbermann's worst, most frothing examples of hard-left rage. See Countdown to Unhinged Rage [2] for video of Olbermann slamming conservatives as "murderous," violence-supporting Nazis.
In the June 19 AP piece by David Bauder, Griffin identified his network's brand: "MSNBC has established a sensibility, a position, a platform...MSNBC stands for something and MSNBC is really the place to go for progressives and people who are looking for smart, thoughtful analysis."
Bauder quoted the MRC's Tim Graham on the problem that the cable channel now faces:
MSNBC is facing the same issue that Fox News had during the Bush administration: It's not as exciting being on defense when the party you support is in power as it is being on the outs and on the attack, said Tim Graham of the conservative Media Research Center.
"Now it's, 'Let's not make trouble for these people. They have enough to handle with angry conservatives,'" he said.
Jeff Cohen, founder of the liberal Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, was also quoted in the piece and perhaps touched on Olbermannn's reputation for being difficult to work with.
He delicately explained, "I would argue that it was more independent when Olbermann was there...His charm, if you can call it that, is that he's uncontrollable. He's not a party-line guy."
— Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here [3] to follow him on Twitter.