Posted by Chris on March 15, 2013 at 23:32:02:
In Reply to: The end of "The Ed Show" on MSNBC weeknights posted by Damn. on March 13, 2013 at 20:05:05:
msNBC extracted what they needed from Ed and Ed's brand. He turned in the unions and the working man ("wage earners") to msNBC viewers and he sat perfectly in the middle of the Scott Walker drama in Madison. Now that the anti-union movement has become old news (sad), msNBC doesn't need Ed anymore.
When you think about it Ed's radio show is very caller driven and I think because of this he had an overly simplistic approach to his TV show. On a personal note I never found The Ed Show believable or watchable. Following screamer Chris Matthews and even louder screamer Al Sharpton Ed was too loud and the segments too forced.
I found this succinct paragraph from NY Times writer Brian Stelter.>
'The change is predicated on the belief that MSNBC can win a wider audience with Mr. Hayes than it did with Mr. Schultz, a champion of the working class whose bluster didn’t always pair well with Ms. Maddow and the channel’s other prime-time program, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” Mr. Hayes, on the other hand, is just as policy-oriented as Ms. Maddow and Mr. O’Donnell, and is a regular contributor to both of their programs.'
On that note, I can't name one time Ed was on any of the other msNBC shows as a guest contributor. msNBC did trot him out the entire day he was building up to his 47% scoop, but other than that - never on any other msNBC show. Ed was put in his box and that's where he stayed, some of that might be due to the radio show taking up part of his day. Chris can spend all day at the station, he has nothing else going on and msNBC seems to be big on cross-promotion.