David Shuster 'Ripped A New One,' May Be Off MSNBC Indefinitely

[onehandle]

David Shuster may be about to find out what "punished appropriately" feels like.

When news broke that the MSNBC anchor had filmed a CNN pilot, the network did not immediately comment; spokesman Jeremy Gaines would later say that, if the report turned out to be true, Shuster would be "punished appropriately."

After not appearing on-air Friday, Shuster may be off-air indefinitely, according to TVNewser's Gail Shister.

Shister reports that MSNBC President Phil Griffin "ripped Shuster a new one over the phone" and that "a repeat performance is expected in the office." She adds that Shuster will not appear on-air Monday and may not appear on the network again. His contract reportedly expires this year.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/05/david-shuster-ripped-a-ne_n_524938.html

Sucko. David is underrated, if you ask me.

MSNBC gets what it deserves for dicking him around.

[HipChick]

1. Big mistake on MSNBC part..they made a mistake getting rid of Carlos Watson

[hlthe2b]

32. they have a history of getting rid of good talent..

Ashleigh Banfield comes to mind as well. What happened to Watson? Did he show up elsewhere? (no cable here)

[Ian David]

2. Shuster was probably pissed that MSNBC kicked him off Twitter before he did the CNN gig.

I hope CNN gives Shuster his own show.

[Berry Cool]

3. Me too. I'd watch that.

And I wouldn't watch much on CNN.

[onehandle]

4. I miss his twitterisms. He was a bad-ass. nt

[Jennicut]

10. Seeing as I don't get MSNBC thanks to Comcast, I would love him to be on CNN.

[Ian David]

12. Me too, unless CNN manages to corrupt him into a right-wing mouthpiece.

I don't know Shuster personally, so I have no idea how likely that is.

[Jennicut]

16. Yes, I know. That is the issue...would CNN try to over control him?

MSNBC seems to do that now.

[Parker CA]

34. Hey may be their choice to "balance" Erickson's positions. Shuster needs more airtime, period.

[femrap]

22. Comcast doesn't air MSNBC???????

Anywhere????

Wait a minute...didn't they just buy NBC????

[Jennicut]

29. They air it on digital cable only. You have to pay for the digital cable package

to get it. They took it off basic cable in CT. So you can still get it. But I like to save some money and we don't watch THAT much tv.

[femrap]

62. I see....

At times, I wish Cable TV had never happened. Then at 6:30 pm if you were watching TV, you were watching News and not MTV or some other mind-wasting show.

I'm with you on saving $$$$!!!!

[Sheepshank]

35. We have Comcast too

and get MSNBC just fine?

[Jennicut]

55. If you have digital cable, not basic cable with Comcast...and this is in CT.

[xchrom]

11. Another schuster fan here. Nt

[HipChick]

5. MSNBC daytime line-up would be dead to me..they need to get rid of Chuck Todd..

[Cosmocat]

6. Schuster is one of the good guys ...

he just does not even pretend to play the kiss R butt game, beyond tearing into them like everyone else tears into Ds ...

I would hope that if he was flirting around with CNN, he has exit options ... I love the guy and all, but he is basically asking to get canned if he did something with CNN ...

[HipChick]

7. Unless he had a exclusive contract with MSNBC, and they weren't looking to renew his current contrac

He's making sure he has options..

[malaise]

8. His coverage of the Scooter Libby trial

was the stuff of legends. I'll watch him wherever he does - he's a first rate journalist - a rare person on M$Greedia.

[mod mom]

19. +1

[SharonRB]

9. I love David

I'd really hate to see him go.

[tularetom]

13. Why would a smart guy like Shuster want to be associated with a pile of crap like CNN?

He's liable to be looking for work again in another year when it goes down the drain.

[SoCalDem]

59. He was originally with Fox, so he's running the gamut

He should have known better than to approach CNN while still under contract with at MSNBC. I'll follow him to CNN (for HIS show). They have little else there that interests me:)

[socialist_n_TN]

14. I don't know what the problem was.....................

if MSNBC wasn't renewing or even if there was a CHANCE that they wouldn't renew him. In the entertainment business, you've got to look out for yourself first. You can and WILL be fired in a heartbeat, so it makes sense to have options.

What I've seen of David, I've liked and he would bring a little more balance to the rightward tilt of CNN, so the move could be a win/win.

[Walk away]

15. Wasn't he the Director of the News Division at one time...

or is he still?

[OnyxCollie]

41. I believe you're thinking of Dan Abrams. nt

[Walk away]

43. You are so right. All those MSNBCers are starting to look alike to me.

And I actually see them both on the street every once and a while.

[CoffeeCat]

17. I don't watch a lot of television...

...but I love David Shuster.

I'll go where he goes.

[mod mom]

18. If he goes to CNN, then I'll start watching that network. I appreciate his honesty and hard hitting

questions.

[global1]

20. He Was Most Promising For MSNBC ......

I can't believe they would even consider letting him go. Didn't mince words. Tells it like it is. That's the kind of person we need on the news. Hope they would reconsider letting him go.

[99 Percent Sure]

21. Well, Shuster announced on Thursday that he would be

reporting from the US Open beginning today. . . .

[xultar]

23. Shuster wasn't getting enough airtime. He did what he had to do. BRAVO

[AzNick]

31. Kudos to CNN if they hire him

Maybe they're tired of being called corporate shills and realize their ratings are going down for being too much of that.

[glinda]

33. It would be terrible if he went to CNN. I wish he could stay on MSNBC. He is good.

[AzNick]

37. Better exposure, more $$$ too and a leftie on CNN

[Ganja Ninja]

38. The problem with CNN hiring him is they'll put him in the standard CNN format.

He'll be little more than a presenter and every story will be parsed by anywhere from 2 to 7 pundits all trying to talk over each other. It's why CNN is so unwatchable, 20 out of every 30 minutes is filled with mind numbing cross talk.

[AzNick]

58. Like Rick Sanchez?

[one_voice]

24. Oh nooo...

I really like David Shuster.

I'm not crazy about CNN but I would watch Shuster if he had a show.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

25. I dig David. He's a good reporter and is "balls to the wall." Did a particularly good job

reporting on the Valerie Plame story. They've been dicking him around for the past year, I think. It would be a shame if they fired him, but it would be MSNBC's loss. What, that dork Willie Aames (Geist... I think he looks like Willie Aames) gets to stay, and Shuster gets canned? That's bullshit.

[Lugnut]

26. Phooey.

David is one of the few anchors worth watching on MSNBC.

[otohara]

27. I Love DS

he pushes the limits -

[bluedeminredstate]

28. Supposedly a decent guy

My nephew is a camera guy for the network in Washington and knows all the people at NBC and MSNBC. He told me that David is a class act - a real journalist who cares about what he puts out there and a very nice guy as well.
He sure has some great stories to tell and some of them are not very flattering to some of the on-air talent, but he has nothing but good things to report on Schuster.

[Historic NY]

30. Wouldn't it be nice if all our favorites started their own TV network. Would liberals listen?

put them on Gore TV.

[NorthCarolina]

60. I'd probably watch it

but I'm not sure about the "Gore TV" part. Wasn't Gore involved with the DLC? I would question his "Liberal" credentials.

[Vinca]

36. MSNBC should be giving him a show in the evening, not letting him go.

He'd be great in place of Tweety's rerun at 7. It seems he's really been jerked around by MSNBC, but I'd hate to see him leave.

[KharmaTrain]

39. If So...He Violated His Contract...

MSNBC did what they had to do. Sad to hear as he's one of the best anchors on the network, but he knew what he was doing was in violation of his contract. It's one thing to carry on talks with a competitor...happens at drinkie-drinkie parties all the time, it's another to provide the competitor a pilot. If he was unhappy with his deal then he should let his agent (I'm sure he has one) deal with it...in the meantime this was a breach of contract and I wouldn't be surprised if MSNBC not only terminated him (sad to say) but forces him to sit off the air until his current contract expires...lowering his market value in an already depressed market. Not a smart move.

[UTUSN]

40. How did AMANPOUR handle the ABC deal - was her contract in a negotiable phase? n/t

[KharmaTrain]

49. I Would Imagine...

Not familiar with her deal but IRC, she was no longer a full-timer at the network...working on either an independent contractor deal or per diem. She had been doing work with CBS...with CNN's blessings. I would imagine her new deal with ABC was negotiated by her agents so that she either was clear of any CNN obligation or she (or ABC) bought out any existing contract.

[Dappleganger]

42. Read up on what NBC news and Neal Shapiro did to Ashleigh Banfield.

Pretty much put her into a closet with a the bare necessities and then forced her to wait until her contract was up.

[KharmaTrain]

46. That's The Employers Discretion

They paid her as for the duration of her contract. They chose not to use her, not the same as someone violating a contract. I know of too many radio and television types who've had a similar treatment as Ms. Banfield. It's similar to a ballplayer that a manager chooses not to play. What Mr. Shuster did was the equivelent of doing a free try-out for the cross town team.

[KharmaTrain]

47. Ooops

Nevermind...

[bridgit]

44. People are looking through MSNBC & too many think their hang-up for lock-up plays like a fetish...

The egos of MSNBC are in a lesser position to be running people down the road

[SemiCharmedQuark]

48. CNN isn't great either. Hiring the RedState guy? WTF were they thinking?

[bridgit]

54. There's no doubt about that cause that dude is a fucking idiot - Howie Kurtz rationalizing Limbaugh

on Reliable Sources :rofl: by way of his 15mil listener audience - Howie Kurtz of all people, I felt like whispering in his ear, "Pst, hey Howie...Hitler had lots of followers too" Before Fox I called CNN our only example of a simple abomination - I see they're trying to claim supremacy in the idiot world by hiring that shit-talking RedState bigot

[ladywnch]

45. let me get this straight;

his contract is up this year and he is pursuing new opportunities.......and this is some kind of violation of contract?!!?!!!! They expect him to wait until his contract is finished before he starts his job search? that is just insane.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

50. Yes, it is a violation of contract. His agent or lawyer should have explained that to him.

[HipChick]

52. Depends on the type of contract he has..

No-one is commenting on that..besides being inappropriate...

[ladywnch]

56. his agent or his lawyer should have never let him sign a contract

with such a ridiculous clause. I don't know of any other profession where you have to wait to be unemployed before you're allowed to look for a new job. If this was the first year of his contract I could understand them being PO'd but it is the last year of his contract and if they haven't approached him to discuss renewal he should be free to navigate. IMO

[DCBob]

51. Damn.. He one of my favorites.. He made it through the Chelsea scandal...

maybe he can survive this one too.

[csziggy]

53. MSNBC already screwed up by breaking up Schuster and Tamron Hall

They were a terrific team in their afternoon slot - informative, witty, and getting to the root of the stories. Then the network moved Dylan Ratigan to the last hour of their slot, split up Hall and Schuster, started using them to fill news slots from 10 Am to 4 PM, generally under utilizing some of their best talent - the same way they under utilized Carlos Watson, then dumped him.

Since MSNBC cut back on Hall and Schuster's time, I have watched much less of MSNBC during the day. Schuster is smart enough to see the writing on the wall - he is on a downward slope at that network. So I don't blame him for checking out alternatives. If CNN is considering him for his own show, he cannot afford to turn his back on that possibility.

Who is MSNBC going to use for their daytime coverage? The bimbos they have on during the noon hour? Some other junior talking head that is the epitome of 'know nothingness'?

[DangerousRhythm]

61. I LOVED watching Hall and Shuster... they had great chemistry and...

They'd both rip fools apart appropriately. They were so fun to watch. What a shame that they put Dylan Ratigan on and destroyed their whole daytime thing, bah!

I hope Shuster gets something on CNN because TV needs a sane voice.

[Cleita]

57. So his contract was going to expire and he went looking for another job?

Since when is slavery back in the USA? I mean if no one was telling him that his contract would be renewed, wouldn't it be wise of him to go looking for a new gig? I don't know if that is what happened, but still it's no reason to treat him this way. Don't those guys have a union? Maybe it's time to get the union behind this. I hope he joined up.

[winstars]

63. MSNBC is Fucking Stupid!!!

Hey, don't we all remember that it is Shuster that they went with for HOURS at a time on weekends or whenever there was some "breaking news" and/or when they had to cut into their PRISON PORN WEEKEND programming... There was at least a half a dozen times when he was there for us because they had nobody else to sit there for a long long time doing the job!!!

His paring with the wonderful Ms. Hall worked great IMHO. They kicked ass and took names and had a funny cute certain vibe that definitely worked for me. I did not understand when they broke up the pair of them...

Yes, he was at the Libby trial, every day of it and would report back each night to Tweety and KO. Remember??? He was/is clearly like minded to most of us here and reported the sordid Libby trial accordingly.

All that said, making a pilot for CNN was not too bright an idea on his part.

But I in the end blame MSNBC for, as someone else said above, dicking Mr. Shuster around so much that he would even entertain the idea of going over to CNN. I hope he is only suspended for a short time and then somehow they see what they really have and use him better. (YEAH, RIGHT!!!)

I think emails to the big shots there at MSNBC from us could only help...

[upi402]

64. Sad. MSNBC is the ONLY news I watch. Nix Andrea Mitchell, Morning Joe for Amy Goodman

and Laura Flanders and us laid off fools can watch mid day too!