Herman Cain just can’t get any love these days, the Tea Party representative went in search of networks that would air his response to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday and apparently not a single national news network was willing to give him the time of day.

Speaking to the Atlantic Wire a representative for MSNBC gave a stern answer; ”We don’t plan on taking it.”

CNN gave pretty much the same answer regarding the Herman Cain SOTU response while conservative news network Fox News said they wouldn’t air the Tea Party members response live on their network but would make it available as a stream via FoxNews.com

Speaking about the 7-minute speech Cain’s Chief strategist Mark Block speculated that at least one TV network would offer Herman Cain’s rebuttal to the President’s speech but he wouldn’t say which one.

In the meantime TV networks appear unwavering in their call for a two-party system response system which would be disrupted should Herman Cain have his chance to voice his opinion.

Speaking about Cain’s rebuttal Tea Party spokesman Shawn Callahan said

“Last year, [US Rep.] Michele Bachmann did a good job for us, so this year we decided that Herman Cain would be a good fit.”

Callahan said Cain would pen his own remarks after hearing the State of the Union address and added:

“We do expect him to speak to the fiscal issues that the Tea Party Express stands for.”

When basing its goals off Michelle Bachmann type responses it’s no wonder a major news network refused to pick it up.

Do you think Herman Cain should have been given equal airtime to form a rebuttal against President Obama and the Democratic party?

Herman Cain Response To SOTU Doesn’t Receive National TV News Network Coverage is a post from: The Inquisitr

Live by the “values” sword and your campaign dies by it as well, Meghan McCain has essentially said about GOP candidate Newt Gingrich and his third wife, Callista Gingrich.

Meghan McCain, daughter of 2008 GOP candidate John McCain, has a bit of insider knowledge about the way campaign frontrunner’s families are assessed and treated by the media and the American public. And despite leaning on “values” from time to time- Gingrich reportedly recently told a gay voter he should “be for Obama,” his own personal life is not one that is well in line with the ideals of so-called “values voters.” Sure, Gingrich is well able to support poor children being put to work as janitors in schools and eliminating programs that assist those in poverty, but when it comes to his personal life, he’s not a model citizen of the far-right.

Gingrich- who allegedly told a campaign worker once that his first wife was not “young enough or pretty enough” to be First Lady (and “besides, she has cancer”), earlier this year explained his two wife trade-ins as a symptom of loving America too much:

“There’s no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.”

Which totally makes sense. And while those in Gingrich’s life may have forgiven his transgressions, Meghan McCain is skeptical the American public will be as willing to accept the “icy” woman who supplanted Gingrich’s second wife. McCain says of Callista Gingrich:

“I think the fact that she was a third wife and a mistress and is coming off somewhat icy and [her] reputation of being somewhat controversial within their campaign is doing damage. Maybe just to politicos, but I think it’s something that people, and especially values voters, will bring into the race.”

Do you think it’s possible for Gingrich to run on such a conservative platform with his personal history, or is McCain right that when the time comes for voters to pull the lever, they’ll remember his checkered past?

Meghan McCain Knocks ‘Mistress’ Callista Gingrich on MSNBC is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you want to be more informed than your Fox News and to a smaller extend MSNBC news watching friends a recent study by Pollsters at Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey suggest that you should just forgo watching the news all together.

In interviewing 612 New Jersey residents and asking them five questions about Occupy Wall Street, the Republican primary race and events in Egypt the study found that those who avoided Fox News were more informed about widely accepted facts.

When asked if protesters in Egypt had managed to bring down Hosni Mubarak only 49 percent of Fox News viewers answered Yes while 57 percent of MSNBC viewers knew the correct answer. NPR and The Daily Show viewers scored considerably higher with 68 percent answer the question correctly.

When asked if Occupy Wall Street protesters were primarily Republicans or Democrats 13 percent of Fox News respondents answered incorrectly by stating Republicans, that was compared to 14 percent by MSNBC viewers.

The University’s PublicMind Poll goes on to reveal that Fox News viewers are misinformed more than people who view no news at all and more than MSNBC watchers. According to PublicMind’s Daniel Cassino it was hard to extrapolate who actually watched “no news” at all and he says the poll used complex algorithms to strip out certain variables including education levels and geographical location of participants to ensure misinformation was to blame.

In defense of Fox News, the poll could likely be repeated against other networks who put their own slant on events that occur, on the other hand events in Egypt, specifically regarding Mubarak are easy to push home to viewers. The left-wing watchdog group Media Matters For America points to six other polls that revealed the same type of misinformation on the part of Fox News.

In the meantime 612 viewers in New Jersey is hardly a comprehensive study regarding the worldly views of a network that garners millions of viewers. While I’m not quick to defend Fox News I also strongly believe that a similar sample could provide the same type of results against other news factions both on the left and right. I do however understand how Jon Stewart fans repeatedly answer world view questions correctly during these types of polls since Stewart tends to focus on major news events and relentlessly repeats events that led up to and involving major milestones in national and international news. Stewart’s Daily Show broadcasts also generate plenty of “water cooler” talk compared to traditional news which in turn helps inform a larger base.

I personally would have liked the poll to ask more hard pressing questions that offer fact based answers that have been “muddled” by left and right wing media’s attempts to push misinformation to their readers.

Fox News Viewers Are Less Informed Than Other News Watchers, Non-News Viewers [Study] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apparently, it’s been NBC’s mission of late to recruit as many high-profile contributors as possible, preferably those who happen to be sons or daughters of notable politicians.

The latest to join MSNBC’s roster of contributors is Meghan McCain, the company announced on Monday. McCain was a frequent guest on the network for the past two years, but now she’ll be a paid, regular contributor on MSNBC.

“It’s a unique opportunity to share my perspective as a Republican on a network I respect and have built a relationship with over the past two years,” McCain said in a statement.

McCain is the second daughter of a politico to join the network in under a month. Just last week, NBC announced that Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, signed on with the network. Clinton will be working on “NBC Nightly News” and will be acting as a correspondent on Brian Williams’ newsmagazine, “Rock Center with Brian Williams“.

Back in 2009, it was announced that then-27-year-old Jenna Bush Hager, daughter to George W. Bush and Laura Bush, signed on with TODAY as a correspondent.

McCain is a frequent contributor at The Daily Beast. She also has a memoir out, “Dirty Sexy Politics“, and a children’s book, “My Dad, John McCain“.

Do you welcome McCain as an MSNBC contributor, or do you think her hiring smells of nepotism?

[Image credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson]

Meghan McCain signs on as MSNBC contributor is a post from: The Inquisitr

MSNBC will air a special Dr. Conrad Murray documentary on Friday @ 10 PM ET. The documentary will show how Murray’s legal defense team prepared for his involuntary manslaughter trial.

Titled Michael Jackson and the Doctor the program will also re-air on Sunday @ 9 PM ET and is being called the untold inside story of the Dr. Conrad Murray trial.

In the documentary British reporter Steve Hewlett interviews Murray and according to MSNBC:

“October Films spent two years gaining exclusive access to Dr. Conrad Murray and his defense team, led by Ed Chernoff, a Houston-based defense lawyer, and J. Michael Flanagan, a Los Angeles-based defense lawyer. In a series of very personal interviews, Murray discusses in detail Jackson’s fragile health and mental state, yet unstoppable dedication to creating a successful world tour. The documentary gained access into the closed-door meetings with Dr. Murray’s defense team both before and during the trial, giving a look into their strategy and how they pieced the case together.”

The 58-year-old cardiologist was found guilty on Monday of manslaughter in the death of Michael Jackson after a jury of his peers found him guilty of a propofol overdose.

Murray now faces up to four years in jail, a sentence that could be handed down on November 29 during the doctors sentencing.

Will you be tuning in to watch the Dr. Conrad Murray documentary when it airs on MSNBC?

MSNBC Announces Dr. Conrad Murray Documentary is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ed Schultz has been suspended for a week from his MSNBC show for calling Laura Ingraham a “right-wing slut.”

Schultz did not make the comments on television, but uttered the epithet on his syndicated radio show Tuesday. The internet freaked out, and Schultz, who replaced embattled former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann on the network following his controversial departure, quickly went off the air for a week without pay.

MSNBC did not take the transgression lightly, and released this statement chastising Schultz:

“MSNBC management met with Ed Schultz this afternoon and accepted his offer to take one week of unpaid leave for the remarks he made yesterday on his radio program. Ed will address these remarks on his show tonight, and immediately following begin his leave. Remarks of this nature are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Schultz, described by blog Politico as “visibly shaken,” also addressed the incident before stepping into time out. The anchor said the choice of words was the “lowest of the low” for him, and apologized profusely, adding:

“On my radio show yesterday, I used vile and inappropriate language with talking about talk show host Laura Ingraham. I am deeply sorry, and I apologize,” he said. “It was wrong, uncalled-for and I apologize for the severity of what I’ve said… I have embarrassed my family. I have embarrassed this company,” he said, a remark that New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman took as an indication of new MSNBC parent Comcast’s possibly laying down the law.

“I have never been in this position before, to the point where it has affected so many people, and I know that I have let a lot of people down,” he said.

Co-host Thomas Roberts will fill in for Schultz while he sits and thinks about what he’s done.

Ed Schultz Suspended For Calling Laura Ingraham a ‘Right Wing Slut’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you got freaked out and joined a Facebook group to get Keith Olbermann his job back, you can chill out now- he’s back tomorrow after a four day, two show suspension.

Olbermann got publicly wrist slapped last week for unapproved donations he made to three Democratic party candidates in two states. MSNBC president Phil Griffin released a clipped statement at the time saying Olbermann had been suspended ‘indefinitely,’ which a new statement seems to indicate works out to be a very brief time. Says Griffin:

After several days of deliberation and discussion, I have determined that suspending Keith through and including Monday night’s program is an appropriate punishment for his violation of our policy. We look forward to having him back on the air Tuesday night.

Mediaite is quick to point out that the statement specifically indicates Olbermann is allowed to return to air Tuesday, not that he will definitely be hosting tomorrow’s Countdown. It is fairly likely, though, that MSNBC won’t be Olbermann-less for very long.

‘Indefinite’ Olbermann suspension turns out to be two shows is a post from: The Inquisitr

Keith Olbermann, you are having the worst week ever.

Olbermann, who has been described as a “top anchor” on MSNBC, was unfavorably cited by Jon Stewart at the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,” leading to his decision to remove the “Worst Person in the World” segment on his show. However, politics blog Politico then fingered Olbermann as a donor to the election campaigns of three Democrats in two states, leading to his ‘indefinite’ removal as a host for MSNBC. In a statement, president Phil Griffin chided:

“I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.”

The New York Times said folks at MSNBC’s parent company NBC were tight-lipped about the popular, openly liberal host’s future at the network, but say the move is not one on the path to axing Olbermann. Some see the very public wrist slap as an indirect critique of Fox News’s bald-faced bias, and as an attempt to differentiate itself from the highly criticized, mostly conservative network’s variant journalistic standards.

The Times quotes Michael Moynihan of Reason magazine, who wonders why Olbermann can’t make official what he says nightly on television:

Mr. Moynihan asked, “Isn’t it unfair to hold Olbermann, who is one of the most partisan people on television (if not of Earth), to the same standards as, say, Brian Williams? Countdown exists to promote Democratic candidates and liberal policies, which is just fine by me. So why shouldn’t Olbermann, as a private citizen, be allowed to donate money to those candidates he plumps for on television?”

In a statement made after the existence of the donations was made public, Olbermann admitted to donating the money, but indicated that he did not use his influence inappropriately to sway voters:

Bitchslap: Olbermann suspended ‘indefinitely’ for donating to Dems is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chris Matthews reminded everyone last night how much it must suck to have to react to things like the State of the Union address on live TV.

In what appears to be the clumsiest compliment ever recorded on live television, Chris Matthews, chatting with Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann, begins to wax lyrical about how “post racial” the president appears to him. There are several clips floating around, but the clip below, a slightly longer version, seems to provide more context for the remarks. (Of course, some might say he was trying to dig himself out from his ill-thought out turn of phrase, but I think Matthews was genuine in what he thought was praise.)

Matthews will undoubtedly not hear the end of this for a while, but do you think it was a bit of clumsy, old fashioned attitude showing through (remember, VP Joe Biden and Harry Reid have made similar poorly received comments) or something more inexcusable?

Chris Matthews comments on SOTU: “I forgot he was black…” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yesterday MSNBC acquired hyperlocal startup Everyblock for an undisclosed sum, but believed to be in the low millions.

Everyblock aggregates publicly available information by locality, for example police reports, restaurant inspection data, community service releases and more. It’s not a hugely innovative service, but it does offer a low cost, hyperlocal model that actively competes with local newspapers.

The entry by a television network into the hyperlocal space through acquisition isn’t terribly surprising, but it could be the start of an interesting trend: TV networks owning local news online in place of local newspapers.

Television isn’t immune to the downturn, and advertising has declined in the sector. Compared to the newspaper industry though, they are mostly worlds apart. Smarter, newer television networks (although MSNBC is a division of NBC, they are newer) are more nimble in production and management, vs the newspaper industry that is still heavily burdened by archaic management and oversight structures that unfortunately for the sector end up burdening acquisitions and in house hyperlocal plays.

Whether television networks can make a go of hyperlocal is another matter: the notoriously difficult space is paved with the bodies of startups that have failed. Likewise though the leverage opportunities may give the networks a strong base from which to become successful hyperlocal players. Either way, the days of local newspapers will continue to be numbered, and someone or something will fill the void.

With MSNBC entering the hyperlocal space, could TV networks be Newspaper killers? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Kind of scary looking blogger Marcy Wheeler raised a few eyebrows by using a common euphemism for oral sex on a MSNBC segment.

Marcy’s expressing frustration at lack of investigation into the recent news that Dick Cheney supressed a whole frickload of information from the POTUS and Congress, and she invokes the whole “Clinton got impeached for a BJ” argument. The anchors quickly begin tripping over themselves to apologize on Marcy’s behalf but the damage has already been done. Won’t someone please think of the children?!?

Girl, you’re making us all look like we don’t have home-training or manners!

(Video) Blogger, please… don’t say BJ on the news is a post from: The Inquisitr

You might be rich, a segment that airs Sundays on MSNBC in the U.S, says there could be money sitting around in State coffers that’s yours and you don’t even know it.

On Sunday night Dateline MSNBC aired an episode of You might be rich where they discovered a man was owed $1,046,000 when he only expected to recover about $50,000 doing his own research. In fact, the show has put up a website where you can go and enter your details and find out for yourself if the government owes you money.

Here’s the link to the “You might be rich” website.

Here’s more info about the show You might be rich from the Dateline MSNBC site:

In state treasuries across America, billions of dollars in unclaimed property sits, waiting to be returned to millions of people. Yet many state officials don’t have the resources to find everyone. Last August, Dateline NBC helped states crack some of their toughest, unsolved cases with the result of nearly $2 million being returned to average Americans. Now NBC News’ Tiki Barber and his team, including NBC News’ Peter Alexander and MSNBC’s Tamron Hall, are back at again, finding ordinary people who are unaware they have money coming to them in “You Might Be Rich!”

And here’s a video clip of the show You might be rich that airs Sunday’s on MSNBC:

You Might Be Rich and not even know it, Says Dateline MSNBC is a post from: The Inquisitr

MSNBC “Oh God” Video

The hushed remark, followed by laughter in the background, aired immediately after MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann introduced the Republican governor. Internet speculation has placed the voice as being either Olbermann’s or fellow MSNBC host Chris Matthews’. MSNBC has yet to deliver any response of its own.

Here’s the MSNBC “oh God” video. Watch and make your own conclusions.

MSNBC’s “Oh God” Moment: Whoops, Was That Mic Still On? [VIDEO] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Brzezinski says a man approached her while she was standing outside a well-known Washington hotel early in the morning and waiting for a driver to pick her up. Brzezinski co-hosts the “Morning Joe” program, which is normally based in New York City but was broadcasting from D.C. this week.

Mika Brzezinski discussed the incident on the MSNBC morning show when her co-host, Joe Scarborough, brought it up to Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty — who just happened to be that day’s guest. He questioned how safe the city really was as America prepares for the Barack Obama inauguration, which is expected to draw record crowds to the D.C. area.

Brzezinski said the man walked across the street toward her and asked for $20, telling her if she handed over the money, nothing would happen. Brzezinski handed the man the $6 in cash she had, she said.

“Mayor it was six dollars, it’s okay,” Brzezinski said on the program. “I love that hotel. I’ll need six dollars before I leave the bureau is all.”

The mayor promised the incident would be fully investigated.

Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC Anchor, Mugged En Route to Studio is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Huffington Post JV 23/6 has been a bit hit and miss with its content, but lately it starting to get better. Their latest: Keith Olbermann in a Minute captures the spirit of MSNBC’s nightly show host.

One both those on the right and left will probably enjoy.

Keith Olbermann in a Minute is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hulu is to enter the live streaming space for the first time, offering the remaining two Presidential debates live as part of its new Hulu Election ‘08 portal.

The new portal features clips and full replays of major political stories (such as previous debates) and topical clips, such as last weekends Saturday Night Live send up of the Vice Presidential debate. It sounds like a good service, and I would have tested it before writing this post, but like everything else on Hulu it’s georetarded, so nothing on the page can be viewed outside of the United States.

Hulu has long blamed its content partners for its georetarding policies, and until now, as much as many of us outside of the United States hate it, the argument has had some level of validity. For example, I’m unable to stream shows directly off of most rights holders websites, so it’s a uniform decision that drives the rest of the world to Chinese hosted streams, YouTube or bittorrent.

But the election material is very, very different. There’s absolutely nothing I could find on the Hulu Election site I can’t already watch outside of the United States legally from content providers. Among the key providers of footage for Hulu are NBC/ MSNBC and Fox, and guess what: videos from both can be watched on demand outside of the United States (at least they played for me in Australia), and that’s direct on the site, and through embeds popular on other sites. And it’s not just the strictly political news content either: I can play the Saturday Night Live clip on an NBC embed as featured here on The Huffington Post.

So what exactly is Hulu’s excuse now? That it’s too hard perhaps to drop georetardation for some videos and not all of them perhaps? hardly seems a challenge when you consider that NBC can block full shows, but display clips. One can only presume that simply Hulu doesn’t care. If Hulu’s georetardation policies were a joke before, they are now officially beyond a joke. EPIC FAIL.

Hulu’s georetardation policies now officially beyond a joke is a post from: The Inquisitr