HistoryProf

maybe they it's just a typo and Dan Savage is gonna get a Savage Love hour? It would at least be more informative and intelligent.....

Struz

If Jesse Jackson, a self-loathing racist, can have his own show why not ?

RayChuang

Let's face it folks.

In the post 9/11 environment Americans are rapidly tiring of the commentary from the Left. Donahue, being a staunch liberal, never could gain a decent audience in today's political climate.

Of course, it didn't help that Bill O'Reilly's show on Fox News Channel is the #1 rated show on ANY cable news station, no contest.

Surf Monkey

Wrong. Donahue was eaten alive because his show sucked. It has nothing to do with his politics. Donahue is best suited to a daytime audience.

Surf Monkey

Who said anything about Jesse Jackson?

Jason

Any time racism in any form is mentioned, Jessie Jackson must be invoked to draw attention away from the issue.

Donahue sucks. He'd be better off taking over any number of failing daytime shows.

Patman

Boo hoo!

Struz

I did.
You said Michael Savage shouldn't have a tv show because he is a self-loathing racist.

I was just pointing out that Jesse Jackson is a self-loathing racist who had his own tv show ?

Struz

No, I mentioned him because he is a self-loathing racist who had a tv show.

Surf Monkey

Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I didn't say that Savage shouldn't have a TV show. I said that the idea of MSNBC putting him on the air was sad.

Surf Monkey

Exactly. His target audience is a daytime one. The cancellation of his show had nothing to do with his politics.

majorjoe23

I was about to post with the Dan Savage idea too. I think they should team the two up as a kind of "Odd Couple" talk show. Call it "Savage on Savage"

Fred Savage could moderate.

BJacks

And Ben Savage can run the coffee machine.

wildcatlh

But then what would Randy "Macho Man" Savage do?

And Michael Savage is an idiot. I hope his show bombs quicker than Donahue's did.

DVD.guy

Phil Donahue Cancelled

It's about time

X

Well, the study commissioned by NBC execs that sealed his fate seems to say it has something to do with his politics.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Commentary: The Surrender Of MSNBC

Written by Rick Ellis, Wednesday, February 25th, 2003

While the official announcement wasn't a surprise to anyone working at the network, MSNBC officially canceled the primetime show "Donahue" on Tuesday, citing disappointing ratings.

And in fact, if you look at the raw ratings numbers, the struggling news channel may have a point. Originally conceived as a liberal alternative to the popular O'Reilly Factor, the show started slow and never recovered. During this month, a "sweeps" period in which ratings are watched closely to set advertising rates, "Donahue" averaged 446,000 viewers. O'Reilly drew 2.7 million viewers, up 28 percent from February 2002, according to Nielsen Media Research.

But as it turns out, the picture isn't as clear as it initially seems.

While "Donahue" does badly trail both O'Reilly and CNN's Connie Chung in the ratings, those numbers have improved in recent weeks. So much so that the program is the top-rated show on MSNBC, beating even the highly promoted "Hardball With Chris Matthews."

Although Donahue didn't know it at the time, his fate was sealed a number of weeks ago after NBC News executives received the results of a study commissioned to provide guidance on the future of the news channel.

That report--shared with me by an NBC news insider--gives an excruciatingly painful assessment of the channel and its programming. Some of recommendations, such as dropping the "America's News Channel," have already been implemented. But the harshest criticism was leveled at Donahue, whom the authors of the study described as "a tired, left-wing liberal out of touch with the current marketplace."

The study went on to claim that Donahue presented a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war......He seems to delight in presenting guests who are anti-war, anti-Bush and skeptical of the administration's motives." The report went on to outline a possible nightmare scenario where the show becomes "a home for the liberal antiwar agenda at the same time that our competitors are waving the flag at every opportunity."

A source close to Donahue claims that while he wasn't aware of the specific study, the tone and outcome aren't surprising.

"It's not a coincidence that this decision comes the same week that MSNBC announces its hired Dick Armey as a commentator and has both Jesse Ventura and Michael Savage joining the network as hosts. They're scared, and they decided to take the coward's road and slant towards the conservative crowd that watch Fox News."

While that assessment may be a bit harsh, it seems clear that MSNBC has surrendered quicker than most recent Mike Tyson opponents. Rather than building a unique voice, the news channel has opted to become a lesser alternative to the Fox News Channel. And that decision was one that even the NBC News study recommended against making.

"The temptation is to chase the audience that is already out there and play to what seems to be working at Fox. But there is another road, and if we build our unique voices from within, we have a chance to develop a loyal and valuable audience."

Well, I guess now we'll never know.

http://www.allyourtv.com/0203season/...03donahue.html

cooper2000

but Jerry Springer and Ricki lake live on...........
Anyone ever see the movie Broadcast News.
Its about what news was going to turn into and it was true.
Look what is littering TVs today...Reality show.
People dont watch much that is good anymore.

dolphinboy

I hope that the last points shuts up those who think this had nothing to do with his politics.

It had EVERYTHING to do with his politics.

I even, someone left of center but not close to where Donahue is perched, thought the show wasn't very good.

But, SO many shows are to the right now, I felt like it was something that needed to be on. Or at least another liberal who might have executed a show better than Donahue was doing.

It would be nice to have some balance out there. I actually think Chris Matthews is the most even/fair guy (of the real "news analysis" shows) out there. But he is off-putting in the way he interviews people and I can't seem to last more than a segment. I like him better when he's doing the college tour.

But I admit, while I don't believe he's fair OR balanced, I watch O'Reilly cause I can only take so much of those crappy shows anyway and he is the most entertaining voice out there. He's kind of like Clinton in that you know he's a liar and a dick, but you can't help liking him...most of the time, that is.

I just don't like having one POV (Fox's and the conservatives). Maybe Michael Moore would be good for the other side. Not that any of the networks would have the courage to hire him. They are all gonna just try and follow Fox.

mgfred

There's another angle to the demise of Phil.

Seriously he never had a chance, mostly because of his politics and his method of delivering his point of view!

Think about it, what kind of people watch those shows in that timeframe? People that are 24 hour cable/news junkies are for the most part conservative. At 8:00PM liberal college students are out doing more important things, maybe even studying! The old folks Phil tries to cater to are already in bed. People watching the news at that time are usually 30-45+ year old male conservatives. There was never a audience there for Phil to get.

His delivery, as I said earlier in the thread, Phil makes you feel bad! Every subject he covers there's the people behind it all, a conspiracy! It starts out with a small player and every road leads back to the White House, Big Business or America on the whole!

I don't want to feel lousy before going to bed!

Same with AM talk radio. If I'm stuck in traffic do I want to listen to a liberal telling me I'm not paying enough in taxes, government is too small and all of the country's problems are my fault? Hell no! I'd rather have a 300 (well formerly 300 lb) guy tell me that all of my problems are the governments fault! The target audience for talk radio is people in their cars. No longer do college students, housewifes, seniors all sit together in a circle around the old RCA radio for the latest in opinion.

There will never be a liberal Rush on talk radio, just no market for it!

Let's hope Phil calls CNN to take over "Talk back live"!

WhoGirl

Sir, you are a genius.

Giantrobo

True. He was smart.

But he was so smart he couldn't really relate to the "Average Joe and Mary". I used to run his radio show on my station and there would be times where I wondered if he could even relate to regular folks. Mind you, I agreed with many of his views. But one needs some flexibility.