2005 marks the 10th year of MSNBC’s existence. With that landmark in mind, an examination of MSNBC is in order. The purpose of the first of what will be a three part blog analysis of MSNBC will be to look at the NBC/MSNBC relationship.

One could start off such an analysis by asking the question “What is MSNBC?”. There seems to be a lot of misconception and confusion on this topic. In the cable news wars, the fight has always been framed as CNN vs. FOX vs. MSNBC. But this assumption is based on a somewhat flawed premise; namely that MSNBC is anindependent entity like FOX and CNN.

If one takes the view that MSNBC is its own organization ala FOX and CNN, then one would naturally want to hold MSNBC to the same level of scrutiny that would be used on either of its two competitors. And when utilizing such a worldview, MSNBC appears to suffer by comparison in some areas.The problem with such a comparison is MSNBC is not an independent entity to the degree that CNN and FOX are and I don’t think a lot of people realize this and take it into account when looking at MSNBC. Therefore another purpose of this first entry is to try to explain why MSNBC is different from FOX and CNN in several critical areas.

The MSNBC/NBC/GE relationship is a complex one but it directly impacts what MSNBC can and cannot do and how it can and cannot go about doing it. This must not be understated as it is the single most important factor why MSNBC is the way it is. Both CNN and FOX do not have anyone to compete with or answer to except other cable news channels. That is not the
case for MSNBC. MSNBC’s existence depends greatly on what NBC, NBC’s affiliates, and NBC News say it shall be. The buck does not stop at the desk of Rick Kaplan, MSNBC President. In many ways it’s only buffered there and filters on up through the likes of NBC News President Neal Shapiro and even up to the desk of NBC President Jeff Zucker.

Often Shapiro and Zucker are the ones who say what MSNBC can and cannot do. Though to be fair it would be a more accurate representation to say that they provide a framework for Rick Kaplan and MSNBC to operate out of. But make no mistake, while CNN and FOX don’t have to clear a lot above the heads of Jon Klein and Roger Ailes, Rick Kaplan has to run a lot on
up to Shapiro and Zucker.

This is not to say that Rick Kaplan isn’t his own man and I am not at all arguing as such. I don’t think for one second that he would have taken the job just to wind up being a network toadie. Rick Kaplan has a vision and ideas, and while I may not agree with everything he has done, it is clear he is putting his own imprint on MSNBC. But at the same time he does not have the carte blanche that Klein or Ailes have and he never will because of the outside pressures and competing interests that bear down on MSNBC both from NBC corporate and NBC News.

MSNBC is something of a paradox. On the one hand it is supposed to compete with CNN and FOX in terms of news coverage and viewers. And yet on the other hand it is not supposed to undercut NBC News or NBC programming. This would appear to be an untenable position for MSNBC, in its current form, to be in because the case can be made that MSNBC can’t do both and do them effectively because the two directly conflict with one another. You can’t be expected to match CNN and FOX if your approach is being governed by the principle
that you must not undercut your bigger, more well connected sibling.

And yet this seems to be the lot that MSNBC has drawn. Or rather, to put it in more appropriate terms, this is the hand that MSNBC has been dealt by NBC Corporate and NBC News; compete with the other two cable nets but not at the expense of us.

Take the Imus program for example. When everyone else is broadcasting news, MSNBC is in effect simulcasting radio. While it should not be ignored or discounted that Imus lands bigger numbers on MSNBC than their daytime programming and he does get some A list guests and politicians, it is still basically a radio show being shown on TV. Few in studio guests are ever present, most are just detached voices coming over a phone line. Compelling TV it is not. FOX has “Fox and Friends” and CNN has “American Morning” while MSNBC in essence broadcasts radio. Why does MSNBC wait until 9 am EST to start its news day?

To get one possible reason, all one has to do is take a look at the 800 lb. gorilla that also airs at that time; NBC’s Today Show. I read somewhere that this monster of a program generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for NBC. If you are Jeff Zucker or Neal Shapiro do you want to mess with that success? Do you want to have your affiliates call you up and complain about lower numbers (along with the corresponding lower ad dollars) because viewers are jumping over to MSNBC for news? Of course not. You would want Today to be the only NBC show doing news during that time period. And that’s what they have now. And you know what? From a business standpoint, it’s the right call to make because NBC is the bigger profit generator. But there should be no illusions about why Imus is on MSNBC. It isn’t because someone had a great idea back in 1995 to put radio on TV.

When was the last time you saw MSNBC get a big name interview before The Today Show? Or before NBC Nightly News? Or before Meet The Press? Or before Dateline? The word “synergy” is bounced around a lot by NBC and MSNBC execs and it has become standard to hear “MSNBC…backed by the power of NBC News”. And yet a lot of that synergy and power seems uni-directional; going from MSNBC to NBC and not so much the other way around. NBC News has siphoned off some of MSNBC’s better talent over the years. John Siegenthaler, Soledad O’Brien, Lester Holt, and Natalie Morales all started off as MSNBC anchors. NBC will always pre-empt regular programming for NBC News coverage of special events but rarely will simulcast an MSNBC live broadcast unless it is an extreme emergency and NBC News for whatever reason can’t do it. MSNBC talent are rarely seen on NBC News shows (some of you out there will undoubtedly say, “What about Lester Holt?” but he is no longer exclusively an MSNBC employee…he’s more of an NBC employee who hangs out on MSNBC when he’s not doing anything for NBC). There is little cross promotion of MSNBC on NBC.

Of course this is the way it is because NBC News’ financial stake is much much larger than MSNBC’s and therefore much more valuable to NBC. This is the crux of the issue and MSNBC’s conundrum as it moves into its second decade of existence; how to function well as a news organization given that your parents do not necessarily have your best interests at heart.

It is important to keep this in mind when talking about the cable news wars. To compare MSNBC to CNN and FOX is a mistake because though their goals are the same, the structure and operation of MSNBC is significantly different from that of FOX and CNN. A more apt comparison would be to compare NBC and MSNBC to CNN and CNN Headline News as the structures and organizations between the companies are more similar (though at the same time one could write a whole essay on why MSNBC’s functions and its mission are very dissimilar from Headline News’). Ironically, the ratings success of Nancy Grace on HLN may have forced upon CNN the very dilemma that NBC has successfully managed to avoid for the last 10 years on MSNBC…having a show on the offshoot network capable of undermining the parent company’s programming.

In the next part of this series I will examine in more concrete terms how this NBC/MSNBC dynamic plays out in what you see on the air.