Phil Donahue's show cancelled?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I don''t see his show on MSNBC anymore. It's really weird. he just dissappeared. The MSNBC website makes no mention of the show anymore. The nightly lineup shows no trace of Phil...



Any ideas?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    I heard it was, in fact, canceled. Not sure why. I've also heard MSNBC isn't doing well at all.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    burningwheelburningwheel Posts: 1,827member
    poor ratings. apparently phil thought it would have been cancelled by december but it lasted a little longer



    apparently rating went down when he started his live studio audience programs
  • Reply 3 of 17
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    it went down with barely a ripple~



    glug



    glug





    glug





    .
  • Reply 4 of 17
    toweltowel Posts: 1,479member
    And Phil was <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A6701-2003Feb26&notFound=true"; target="_blank">pissed.</a> With some justification: his show was still the highest-rated show on MSNBC. The numbers for his slot went something like this:



    FOX/O'Reilly: 1.4 million

    CNN/Chung: 0.9 million

    MSNBC/Donahue: 0.4 million



    But that reflects the overall average viewership of the networks:

    FOX: 0.7 million

    CNN: 0.6 million

    MSNBC: 0.3 million



    Counting only prime-time, MSNBC was even further behind:

    FOX: 1.1 million

    CNN: 0.9 million

    MSNBC: 0.35 million



    It actually looks like Donahue was ahead of the curve for MSNBC. But all the same, he was annoying. Speaking as a flaming liberal, he just wasn't fun to watch. But I don't look forward to the day when we can choose between O'Reilly on Fox, Armey on MSNBC, and [insert shrill conservative commentator here] on CNN.



    <a href="http://www.newstribune.com/stories/013002/ent_0130020954.asp"; target="_blank">source</a>
  • Reply 5 of 17
    This was big news a week or two ago.



    What happened was that MSNBC tanked its number one rated show (hosted by liberal Phil Donahue). MSNBC replaced him with a fire-breathing conservative, Michael Savage. This has to be a move to outfox Fox.



    A FAIR <a href="http://www.fair.org/activism/msnbc-savage.html"; target="_blank">press release</a>:



    [quote]

    ACTION ALERT:

    GE, Microsoft Bring Bigotry to Life

    Hate-talk host Michael Savage hired by MSNBC



    February 12, 2003



    The latest hire by the cable news network MSNBC-- co-owned by General Electric/NBC and Microsoft-- is Michael Savage, a radio talkshow host noted for his unabashed bigotry. Savage is scheduled to have his own weekly one-hour show on MSNBC beginning in March.



    Savage routinely refers to non-white countries as "turd world nations" and charges that the U.S. "is being taken over by the freaks, the cripples, the perverts and the mental defectives" (San Francisco Bay Guardian, 9/20/00). In a recent broadcast he justified ethnic slurs as a national security tool: "We need racist stereotypes right now of our enemy in order to encourage our warriors to kill the enemy," he explained (San Francisco Chronicle, 2/6/03).



    "Turd world" immigrants are a frequent target of Savage's anger: "You open the door to them, and the next thing you know, they are defecating on your country and breeding out of control" (Oregonian, 4/24/02).



    At times Savage's arguments echo the conspiratorial scapegoating of the white supremacist movement: "With the [Latino] population that has emerged, since they breed like rabbits, in many cases the whites will become a minority in their own nation... The white people don't breed as often for whatever reason. I guess many homosexuals are involved. That is also part of the grand plan, to push homosexuality to cut down on the white race" (San Francisco Bay Guardian, 9/20/00).



    Commenting on the "Million Mom March" in favor of gun control (which he dubbed the "Million Dyke March"), he dismissed organizers' reference to American children killed by guns (5/15/00): "They?re not kids, they?re ghetto slime... they?re the same kids that are in Sierra Leone toting AK47s."



    Misogyny and homophobia are staples of Savage's show as well as racism. In his book Savage Nation, he argues that Sen. Hillary Clinton and Supreme Court justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O'Connor have "feminized and homosexualized much of America, to the point where the nation has become passive, receptive and masochistic."



    Discussing student volunteers distributing food to the homeless in San Francisco, Savage declared that "the girls from Branson [school] can go in and maybe get raped... because they seem to like the excitement of it. There's always the thrill and possibility they'll be raped in a dumpster while giving out a turkey sandwich" (San Francisco Bay Guardian, 9/20/00).



    In announcing the hire, MSNBC president Erik Sorenson described Savage as "brash, passionate and smart," and promised that he would provide "compelling opinion and analysis with an edge."



    A recent episode of the channel's Donahue program (2/10/03) featured a full-hour, one-on-one interview with white supremacist Jared Taylor. Does MSNBC believe that promoting hatred is a way for the struggling channel to build an audience? <hr></blockquote>



    Salon.com's <a href="http://archive.salon.com/books/review/2003/02/19/savage/index.html"; target="_blank">Savage with the Truth</a> explores the subject in greater detail.



    This guy has no class.
  • Reply 6 of 17
    It's media politics. Donahue was THE highest rated show on MSNBC. For some reason, the powers that be disagreed with what he had to say. They would tell him who he was going to have on his show, what to say, and how to conduct interviews with his guests. He had no control over the content of his own show and it was unfortunate that MSNBC coporate decided to can him. The Savage Nation is one hell of a show though. It's not for the weak hearted. Even though I consider myself more liberal than conservatice, I agree with a lot of the things Savage has to say.



    [ 03-16-2003: Message edited by: filmmaker2002 ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 17
    fellowshipfellowship Posts: 5,038member
    I think what we are seeing in the US is the demand for conservative shows. I did see a part of the Savage show on MSNBC last night and I will say It came across as if he has no experiance on air just yet. I mean come on, he had a stupid pointer to point at his screen behind him. I have heard Savage on the radio and I think some of what he says makes sense but he comes across as a "Howard Stern" style guy replacing the subject of sex in the case of Stern with politics in the case of Savage. I really don't care for his style. I think of all conservative hosts I admire Sean Hannity the most. Hannity uses logic over emotion and to me Hannity has the greatest level of integrity. As for liberal hosts it is all but impossible to find one who has an ounce of integrity.



    Fellowship



    [ 03-17-2003: Message edited by: FellowshipChurch iBook ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 17
    fran441fran441 Posts: 3,715member
    [quote]As for liberal hosts it is all but impossible to find one who has an ounce of integrity.<hr></blockquote>



    Like Bill O'Reilly has integrity. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 9 of 17
    fellowshipfellowship Posts: 5,038member
    [quote]Originally posted by Fran441:

    <strong>



    Like Bill O'Reilly has integrity. <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>



    I never said he did.. LOL



    Hey I am honest.. If I see a bad talk show host liberal conservative or other I don't care for them.



    Fellows
  • Reply 10 of 17
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    [quote]Originally posted by FellowshipChurch iBook:

    <strong>



    I never said he did.. LOL



    Hey I am honest.. If I see a bad talk show host liberal conservative or other I don't care for them.



    Fellows</strong><hr></blockquote>

    So how exactly do you like Sean Hannity?
  • Reply 11 of 17
    fellowshipfellowship Posts: 5,038member
    [quote]Originally posted by BR:

    <strong>

    So how exactly do you like Sean Hannity?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    BR I don't know why you would ask. I like Sean Hannity because he is well articulated on issues that more times than not I agree with his philosophy and ideas. That's why.



    Fellowship
  • Reply 12 of 17
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    It should be clear to anyone that the White House ordered this show off the air before the war started.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    I've been listening to a lot of talk radio lately for some reason and Savage is mostly garbage. I've listened to Hannity a few times and my favorite part of all of them is listening to the Holywood types Hannity has on his show. Freaking laughable these idiots are.



    O'Reilly is big on moral grandstanding. I get very very tired of his "back in the day" bullshit. Hannity is at least open about what he is, so he's much easier to stomach. Savage is crap. Mike Gallagher irritates the ever-loving shit out of me. Limbaugh is lots of fun (entertainment only, kids, entertainment only).
  • Reply 14 of 17
    Yeah, when I called the Savage show "one hell of a show" I didn't mean it was good, it was just in your face and kinda intense...he's obviously VERY outspoken. I was surprised that he cut off half of his callers before they were able to get a question out. I agreed with a lot of the things he had on his show on Saturday afternoon, then again that was the only show of his I had ever seen and heard. I agree with Fellowship though...he's obviously not used to being on TV (with crap like the pointer) but his speech about Jessica Lange and showing the WTC footage I agreed with. I do really like O' Reilly. Sorry, just covering my @$$...



    [ 03-17-2003: Message edited by: filmmaker2002 ]</p>
  • Reply 15 of 17
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    [quote]Originally posted by FellowshipChurch iBook:

    <strong>



    BR I don't know why you would ask. I like Sean Hannity because he is well articulated on issues that more times than not I agree with his philosophy and ideas. That's why.



    Fellowship</strong><hr></blockquote>



    He's just another self-righteous prick. That couldn't have anything to do with why you like him, could it?
  • Reply 16 of 17
    I wonder how these Libberals talk show hosts will do in Europe. Send them there. I give them 2 years to swing the continent conservative.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    The only talk show host I listen to these days is <a href="http://www.lauraingraham.com/public/"; target="_blank">Laura Ingraham</a>. What. A. Babe. And she's from Glastonbury too. I grew up in the wrong town.
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