# Microsoft sells MsNBC - too left wing these days.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 17, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495 "2012-07-17T06:09:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/1 "2012-07-17T06:09:56Z")
Microsoft plans to create their own independent news site. Underlining is mine.
Smartest move from Microsoft that I’ve seen in a long time. I stopped watching MSNBC’s cable news after Chris Matthew’s comments about Obama and a thrill going up his leg. Even before that I had reached the point where I never knew if I was hearing real news or their spin. Their slant for Obama (against Hillary Clinton was just unreal.
I prefer the old days of neutral news broadcasts and newscasters kept their opinions to themselves. I guess we’ll never see those days again.
[http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/story/2012-07-16/MSNBC-and-microsoft-part-ways/56246728/1](http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/story/2012-07-16/MSNBC-and-microsoft-part-ways/56246728/1)
> [@](#):
>
> Microsoft, in particular, had grown frustrated by contract terms requiring it to exclusively feature [MSNBC.com](http://MSNBC.com) content on its own websites. That exasperation was exacerbated by the MSNBC cable channel’s strategy to counter Fox News Channel’s appeal to conservative viewers by tailoring its programming for an audience with a liberal viewpoint.
>
> The strategy fed a perception that material from MSNBC’s website was also politically slanted.
>
> ‘Being limited to [MSNBC.com](http://MSNBC.com) content was problematic to us because we couldn’t have the multiple news sources and the multiple perspectives that our users were telling us that they wanted,’ said Bob Visse, general manager of [MSN.com](http://MSN.com).
> **[Microsoft abandons MSNBC.com after 16 years over fears news site was becoming...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2174148/Microsoft-pulls-MSNBC-com-ending-16-year-relationship-NBC.html)**
>
> Microsoft is pulling out of the joint venture that owned MSNBC.com, freeing the world's largest software maker to build its own online news service after a 16-year relationship.
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### Author:  [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/2 "2012-07-17T06:23:01Z")
I don’t look to MSNBC as a serious news front.
I do enjoy some of their shows: Ed, Rachel. It’s a guilty pleasure. Same goes for Bill Maher.
I should get a pass though. See’n as how I live in Texas and lean to the left. Talk about stranger in a strange land.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/3 "2012-07-17T06:29:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> I prefer the old days of neutral news broadcasts and newscasters kept their opinions to themselves. I guess we’ll never see those days again.
When do you feel those days were? ETA: And what were the “neutral news broadcasts”?
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### Author:  [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/4 "2012-07-17T07:00:23Z")
I’m amazed Microsoft has stuck with the partnership for this long. Political slant is the least of their issues-- I have no idea what Microsoft thought they were still getting out of the deal 15 years on. Maybe it was a reasonable gamble back in the 90’s when people thought traditional media was going to be subsumed by the internet, but it should have been clear what a massive blunder it was by, oh, 2002 or so.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/5 "2012-07-17T07:10:16Z")
When I grew up in the 70’s we had real news broadcasters. Cronkite, David Brinkley tried to give a neutral tone to the news. Sure, it’s impossible for any reporter to totally hide his own views, but at least they tried. Once in awhile Cronkite would read a commentary for a minute or so. Nothing more. Certainly no hours long talking heads debate like we see today.
Today I couldn’t even tell you who the real news broadcasters are on any of the channels. The line between reporter/journalist and commentator is so fuzzy. I know Chris Matthew calls himself a commentator theses days. Wolf Blitzer? I remember over a decade ago he was a legitimate news correspondent. What is he there days? Reporter or commentator?
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> When do you feel those days were? ETA: And what were the “neutral news broadcasts”?
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### Author:  [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/6 "2012-07-17T07:16:59Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> When do you feel those days were? ETA: And what were the “neutral news broadcasts”?
We’ve secretly replaced Chris Matthew’s script with scripts from Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, and William Randolph Hearst, let’s see if… .
CMC fnord!
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/7 "2012-07-17T07:17:55Z")
Getting back on topic.
I wonder how many people knew Microsoft dropped the MSNBC cable channel in 2005? They’ve only been associated with the MSNBC website since then.
I didn’t know this. I’ve been blaming the web site for all the viewpoints expressed on their cable channel.
> [@](#):
>
> The breakup announced late Sunday dissolves the final shreds of a 16-year marriage between Microsoft and NBC News, which is now owned by Comcast. The relationship began to unwind in 2005 when Microsoft sold its stake in MSNBC’s cable TV channel to NBC.
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### Author:  [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/8 "2012-07-17T08:14:14Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> When I grew up in the 70’s we had real news broadcasters. Cronkite, David Brinkley tried to give a neutral tone to the news. Sure, it’s impossible for any reporter to totally hide his own views, but at least they tried. Once in awhile Cronkite would read a commentary for a minute or so. Nothing more. Certainly no hours long talking heads debate like we see today.
There’s still no “hours long talking heads debate” on nightly news broadcasts.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/9 "2012-07-17T15:05:46Z")
I know this is redundant but:
1. MS hasn’t been affiliated with the cable channel in years. (Cf. **aceplace57** ’s post but note the buyout of MS’s share of the cable channel _began_ in 2005 with a 2 year option to buy the last 18%. But their management involvement ended in 2005.)
2. The bias aspect is both wrong (for the above reason) and is speculation by misinformed writers. More proof that journalism is dead.
It’s all about the ad restriction component tying them to a weak web site.
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### Author:  [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/10 "2012-07-17T15:17:42Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#):
>
> There’s still no “hours long talking heads debate” on nightly news broadcasts.
But they do have a really amazing hours long talking heads debate show early on weekends in the form of _Up with Chris Hayes_. Two hours of panels discussing topics intelligently, rationally and respectfully. The _Melissa Harris-Perry_ show which follows does a very good job as well. And, of their prime-time block, no matter what you think of her politics, Rachel Maddow works very hard to respectfully allow people with whom she disagrees to have their say.
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### Author:  [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/11 "2012-07-17T15:52:58Z")
I used to love the website MSNBC…it was always my go-to site for news (among others).
However, it has become impossible to view that website for at least the last year or so - they have so much crap uploading in the background your page(s) are jumping back and forth, pictures are bumping things up and down, ads are popping in non-stop; I finally had to give up. Their webmaster/designer should be banned from the internet forever.
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### Author:  [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/12 "2012-07-17T16:20:46Z")
Will this effect [MSN.com](http://MSN.com)? I stopped reading the news on [MSN.com](http://MSN.com) years ago because the leftward slant on anything political was way too obvious and way too annoying.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/13 "2012-07-18T01:13:04Z")
I always read the headlines from CNN, MsNBC and Fox websites. Usually you can count on the headlines being legit news. Earthquakes, hurricanes, Crime etc. even Fox news reports that legit.
[Reuters.com](http://Reuters.com) is another good World news source. It’s the first place I go for news.
Don’t watch cable news at all. I try to watch ABC World News with Diane Sawyer. I’ve always liked her reporting. She’s not really a grizzled, hard news veteran but she does a good job.
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### Author:  [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)
#### Post date: [July 18, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/14 "2012-07-18T01:20:33Z")
Too biased but more importantly not profitable.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [July 19, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microsoft-sells-msnbc-too-left-wing-these-days/628495/15 "2012-07-19T05:47:37Z")
> [@Diceman](#):
>
> Will this effect [MSN.com](http://MSN.com)? I stopped reading the news on [MSN.com](http://MSN.com) years ago because the leftward slant on anything political was way too obvious and way too annoying.
Yes. That’s the primary purpose for the break up–Microsoft was in a contract that they had to use MSNBC news.
What I don’t get is why the website has to change its name when the cable channel did not.