It’s not that he’s not a nice guy per se. Tucker Carlson, the famous bow-tied pundit who’s made a living inspiring heated debate, was pulled from the airwaves by MSNBC on Monday. Sort of.
“Tucker,” the daily talk show hosted by Carlson that failed to bring in viewers, was pulled by the cable news network in favor of a presidential election talk show to be hosted by NBC News’ Chief White House correspondent David Gregory.
“Tucker” first aired in 2005 after his previous gig as co-host of CNN’s Crossfire fell by the wayside shortly after a scathing appearance by Jon Stewart, who skewerd Carlson and the format of the show as being too partisan. For the entire segment, check out the video bar on the left. Trust me, it’s a doozy.
Carlson will remain with MSNBC, appearing as an analyst on other shows.
In addition to Gregory’s new show, Andrea Mitchell, the political correspondent who has been traveling with the Clinton campaign for NBC during this election cycle, will get her own election-centric show as well, to air weekdays at 1pm.
In the end, this is both a good and a bad move for MSNBC. Carlson was a conservative voice on a network that has been targeted by rivals as being too liberal. His partial removal may renew calls of liberal bias, as personalities like Keith Olbermann continue to grow in popularity.
But on the other hand, Gregory is an up-and-coming newscaster who has proven to be a popular voice in news. Appearances on the Colbert Report and a substitute for Matt Lauer on the Today Show have cemented Gregory’s status as a youth-friendly face in a traditionally older market.
Plus, this story gives us an excuse to pull out the footage of Stewart vs. Carlson from 2004. I can’t stress the awesomeness of this video enough. Don’t forget, its on the left.
Filed under: Uncategorized
