Good OJR article on MSNBC and MSNBC.com

[crispini]

MSNBC.com survives, thrives despite trouble between parents
As Microsoft and NBC try to ditch their 99-year MSNBC cable deal, the bright spot is their joint Web venture, which tops the charts and sports a user-oriented redesign. The honcho of MSNBC.com tells us how they did it.
By Mark Glaser
Posted: 2005-06-28

Charlie Tillinghast
You always wonder about that kid who always has a smile on her face and a laugh, even though her home life is a wreck and her parents are constantly warring. How does she do it?
The same thought crossed my mind when considering MSNBC.com, a Web site birthed by the promise of combining technology and journalism some nine years ago. Now, the site has a laundry list of what executives would call, um, challenges: Microsoft and NBC Universal have been trying to get out of their TV joint venture for more than a year; the MSN portal's traffic growth and vision have lapsed; and four key people -- including the president and editor-in-chief of MSNBC.com -- have exited.

Still, the site has a lot to smile about. Despite the loss of talent, the site was named Best Journalism Site by the National Press Club for the second straight year and nabbed an EPpy Award for Best Overall TV Site over rival CNN.com and ESPN.com. Despite traffic falling off at MSN.com over the past year, MSNBC.com has boosted its traffic by 12 percent to lead CNN.com for the past three months. And MSNBC.com's new redesign adds a unique recommendation engine that highlights similar stories depending on what articles you've viewed before.

"There's no doubt they're still in the game despite Yahoo's advances," said former founding editor of MSNBC.com Merrill Brown, now a consultant and head of the News21 initiative. "Their cable partner hasn't been doing so well, and their network TV partner -- which was always the highest priority when I was there -- has a variety of management challenges as well. If NBC got running on all cylinders, if MSN clarified where it was going, if they got some strong dynamic new management into MSNBC.com, I think the opportunity remains. But it has some issues right now and it feels a little funky."

... more...
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/050628glaser/

[Berry Cool]

1. Yeah, but did you see what I saw?

I quote:

"One source with inside knowledge told me the TV joint venture is likely to end in the next three to six months, but the complicated 99-year deal between Microsoft and NBC is quite expensive to break up. Microsoft has invested more than $500 million in the TV venture.

"'Both partners are motivated to change the relationship and will do so soon,' the source said on the condition of anonymity. 'The deal is pretty much impossible to get out of or modify without the consent of both parties. If that weren't the case, it would have cratered long ago.'"

And:

"But what comes next for MSNBC.com bears watching, if only to figure out what its name might be if the TV channel disappears or is renamed."

In other words, it's pretty much a given that Microsoft and NBC Universal are going to have some sort of amicable divorce before the year is out as far as this little marriage known as MSNBC TV is concerned. And it is NOT a sure thing that when they do, one or the other of them (most likely NBC) is going to find itself a new partner to pick up and carry on where the old one left off.

This is not good news, people. Far from it.

In other words, no need to worry about Countdown being canceled anymore. Worry about MSNBC simply...ceasing to exist. In ANY form. And if that happens, guess who's out of a job again. Unless, of course, that's part of what what mending these napalmed bridges and rivers over at ESPN was all about. If so, kudos to Keith--he's thinking smart.

But as for our source of news without the conservative bias...well, I got a bad feeling about this. Looks as if we who appreciated our news with snark may be out of luck.

[RevCheesehead]

2. On the other hand, this may be a golden opportunity.

What if XX-NBC took a sudden, dramatic turn to the left? It would at least then appear (to us) as moderate. Maybe they could fulfill the market niche that Air America does for radio?

OK, OK - I swear I'm NOT drinking tonight. But I can dream, can't I?

[crispini]

3. Yeah, I caught that too.

I have to admit, MSNBC is consistently the lowest-rated of the cable news networks -- it'll be interesting to see what happens. I'd find it hard to believe that it could just go away.... but who knows? :shrug: :scared:

[gkhouston]

4. they may try to sell to someone else. In which case, what's

one of their strongest prime-time shows... :think:

Even if the network goes completely *poof*, someone else might see that as a golden opportunity to scoop up Keith, with or without the "Countdown" format. Let's not fret too much; it's early days yet.