Arch, conservative, preppie guy Tucker Carlson has been ousted from his MSNBC show. Carlson's one-hour talk show, called Tucker, has been canceled. NBC News correspondent David Gregory will take over the hour slot, 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, which will be called Race for the White House. This week will be Carlson's last. Gregory starts on Monday, March 17.MSNBC is reportedly making a series of changes, amping up the political chatter. Considering how much politicking is going on now, including Tucker, it's hard to fathom how switching Carlson for Gregory is going to increase the discourse.
Carlson has known for a while that his show was on thin ice. The ratings have been poor and last November, fans of the program launched a campaign to save Tucker. They failed. But sing no sad songs for Tucker. He will remain with the network as MSNBC Senior Campaign Correspondent and will appear regularly throughout MSNBC's program lineup.
Carlson has been at MSNBC for nearly three years. Prior to the Tucker show, Carlson was at CNN, where he was the youngest anchor in that network's history. In 2004, Carlson -- a right-wing hardline conservative -- had an infamous run in with Jon Stewart on Crossfire.
In addition to the Tucker shake up, MSNBC announced that correspondent Andrea Mitchell will anchor an hour each afternoon and Keith Olbermann's Countdown will rerun every night at 10. That's not all. Commencing March 17, Live with Dan Abrams re-launches as Verdict with Dan Abrams, an hour-long look at the day's news from a legal perspective, and expands to five nights a week.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-10-2008 @ 8:03PM
Joey Geraci said...
The heavens have opened up and the angels have sung!
Tucker was always a pompous ass, and his complete departure from television will be a nice day.
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3-10-2008 @ 8:28PM
Bash said...
Maybe he'll find a job in Scotland. You know, the journalism standards are so low over here they just might take him...
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3-10-2008 @ 9:02PM
Sour Bob said...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmj6JADOZ-8
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3-10-2008 @ 9:06PM
Chaim said...
Ha, thats funny. Tuckers a pompous ass? this from the network that calls Chris Mathews and Keith Obermann stars? Those guys wrote the book on pompous ass. With this move MSNBC officially becomes more liberal left wing then CNN, something I never once thought possible. It's almost as if CNN is becoming the centrist network with Fox on the right and msnbc on the left.
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3-11-2008 @ 9:50AM
Oneiroi said...
Well, Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly is the original pompous ass, everyone else follows in his footsteps.
But I do believe Tucker was a pompous ass before Chris Matthews and Olberman when he was on Crossfire. Chris Matthews and Olberman just started amping up pompousness post fox news.
3-10-2008 @ 9:18PM
Oreo said...
Christ Mathews is the ass. I can't stad him. I think the only reason he is still on the air is because he will work whenever he is told too, god I hate him.
I like Tucker, miss the bow tie through. David Gregory adds NOTHING to the network. He is just 2D and blah and boring and awful.
And CNN isn't in the middle, there are out in space doing god knows what.
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3-10-2008 @ 9:47PM
John Darc said...
rachel maddow still doesn't have a show?
fail.
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3-11-2008 @ 12:23AM
Oreo said...
I always forget her name, but she is funny as hell! Her and Pat Buchanan should get a show together! :)
3-10-2008 @ 9:51PM
ladi said...
Gregory will increase the discourse because he is an intelligent reporter. Carson is both a jerk and a fool and he can't even dance.
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3-10-2008 @ 9:51PM
MacGuffin said...
I like the change. I always watch Hardball. Then at 6 PM, switch over to CNN to avoid Tucker Carlson. Then switch back to MSNBC at 7.
Giving David Gregory his own show is genius. Also Andrea Mitchell will be on at 1 PM.
This really strengthens MSNBC's line-up. Now if they could only get rid of those god-awful doc blocks.
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3-11-2008 @ 12:20AM
Oreo said...
You do realize that you are watching the same Hardball at 5 and 7pm right? Which seems really dumb to me.
3-11-2008 @ 1:46PM
MacGuffin said...
Of course, I realize this. Sometimes they do a live version at 7 if there is breaking news.
So if it is a 'rerun' of the 5 edition, I either watch it again--if it was particularly good--or watch something else.
3-10-2008 @ 9:53PM
Jake said...
I might be in the minority, but I actually like all of MSNBC's. I like that they have a lineup of conservatives and liberals, and Carlson always made good points on his show. Now, his show did seem a little redundant, compared to Morning Joe, Countdown, and Hardball. So I am glad he's still going to be around on these other shows.
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3-10-2008 @ 9:57PM
Bash said...
Gawd people somebody please comment on the boatload of irony in my post... :-)
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3-10-2008 @ 10:09PM
Dawn said...
MacGuffin, you took the words right out of my mouth. I always switch at 6 pm to avoid Tucker then switch back at 7. And I could not agree more about the hideous doc blocks and lockups. Ugh.
Three cheers for David Gregory. I have been waiting for someone to give him a show.
As for Tucker Carlson, hopefully he won't get his contract renewed. I remember when MSNBC cancelled the horrendous Rita Cosby show and said she would remain with the network. I can count on one hand the number of times we've been subjected to her since, thank goodness.
Glad to see the network getting their ducks in a row.
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3-10-2008 @ 10:52PM
Franklin said...
People actually watch MSNBC? That's hilarious.
You socialists never pass up the chance to carry a banner or beat the dead horse of your leftist rhetoric, but screaming it over and over won't make it true.
The eight or so of you commenting here need to turn off your computers and switch on MSNBC. Having the handful of you away from the TV has effectively cut that network's audience in half.
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3-10-2008 @ 11:22PM
bsgfan2003 said...
I was wondering when you would chime in and start body slamming. They are not going to change their way of thinking. Why do you upset yourself so? I'm not trying to be flip with you.
3-11-2008 @ 10:19AM
Oneiroi said...
As opposed to the Rovian-talking-point-obsessed-right make it true?
3-11-2008 @ 11:20AM
Uncle Nothing said...
"Socialists"?
How quaint. It's like my grandma just cussed me out.
I wasn't nuts about Tucker but then why would I only watch broadcasters that I always agree with?
Not everyone who watches Fox News agrees with them. It's refreshing to occasionally see how the other half hates.
3-11-2008 @ 2:07PM
Franklin said...
It's simple, really. Today's liberal is plainly a socialist wanting the government to spoon-fed everything to everyone and wanting everything to be "fair", hence the constant carping about evil, rich republicans.
If you think my using the word "socialist" is "cussing you out", then you've made a conscious decision to become something that you, yourself find to be vulgar.