Silencing Donahue and Anti-War Voices

[marmar]

from Consortium News:



Silencing Donahue and Anti-War Voices
January 15, 2012

Amid the war fever over Iraq in 2002, legendary talk show host Phil Donahue returned to television with an MSNBC program that allowed antiwar voices to speak – but his corporate chieftains soon pulled the plug, a shameful moment in U.S. journalism explored in this interview with Dennis J. Bernstein.

By Dennis J. Bernstein


From the early 1970s to 1985, The Phil Donahue Show was broadcast nationally from Chicago. Donahue also co-hosted a compelling political talk show — with Vladimir Pozner of the former Soviet Union — called This Week with Pozner and Donahue from 1991-1994.

In July 2002, MSNBC hired him to host a free-wheeling TV talk show, which hyped the return of Donahue. However, eight months later during the run-up to war with Iraq, behind-the-scenes pressure from the Bush White House — and a groundswell of conservative outrage — led MSNBC to give the anti-war TV talk-show host the boot.

It mattered little that Donahue had won nine Daytime Emmys and a Lifetime Achievement Emmy in 1996. MSNBC claimed Donahue’s ratings were too low to justify keeping the show on the air, even though Donahue was the highest rated show on MSNBC at the time it was canceled and beat out Chris Matthews‘s Hardball, which was then on CNBC.

After Donahue was cancelled, AllYourTV.com reported it had obtained a copy of an internal NBC memo that stated Donahue should be fired because he would be a “difficult public face for NBC in a time of war.” ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2012/01/15/silencing-donahue-and-anti-war-voices/

[xchrom]

1. du rec. nt

[Laurian]

2. I love Donahue

I was so disappointed when his MSNBC show was cancelled. The way MSNBC treated him has always been bothersome and Olbermann's treatment by the same media outlet was a reminder that corporate interests are the only motivating factor in mainstream media programming.

[Kalidurga]

3. If I hadn't known already...

I would be shocked that we don't really have freedom of speech in this country. This is a clear violation of the first amendment, the government has no business whatsoever in communicating with any media outlet to influence what or who they have on television.

[Stuart G]

4. k and r nt.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

5. They don't want our guns, it's our voices they are coming for.

[DirkGently]

13. Well said. (nt)

[roody]

6. Donahue just came to my town

with congressional candidate Norman Soloman. Norm would be a great congress member.

[marmar]

7. Norm Soloman the author?

nt

[roody]

8. http://solomonforcongress.com/

http://solomonforcongress.com/

[marmar]

9. Yep. That's him.

I loved his posts on TomPaine.com

[roody]

10. California will have a new kind of primary

this year due to a ballot measure last year. I voted no on the ballot measure, but it has opened a door for someone like Norman.

[cbrer]

11. WHAT??

Big Media influences the selection process for new shows as part of a political agenda?? Holy crap... Who'da thunk?!

Is there a promotion process from Lieutenant to Captain Obvious?

[zeos3]

12. K&R